The Week's Tales, Part 3

On Monday, my International Business class was having its last meeting. At 9 AM, we got together and walked to a nearby cafe...and stayed there for two hours. Goodness. So, I put off my plans to sit in on a court session at Old Bailey for Tuesday. Ah well. The class finished just fine; it was terribly easy. I think the professor might have liked me though, because at the end of our cafe table hoarding session, he offered to be a reference for me should I ever need one. He also recommended St. Martins in the Fields church for some good classical music concerts after asking if I liked that genre. I think it may have helped that I'm a female with one major in economics-- econ and finance are typically very male-dominated. To make a rather abstract analogy, physics/chemistry is to economics as biology/agricultural science is to marketing.

In any case, I forwent my plans for Old Bailey in favor of an afternoon exploring the Bank of England, Southwark Cathedral, and the HMS Belfast. The Bank of England was so cool!! It's basically like England's Federal Reserve. Wow. I just finished an intermediate macro class where a good part of the focus was on interest rates, monetary policy, inflation, and unemployment. And here I was, standing in the bank that decides England's monetary policy! Very cool, very cool. Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England has a mandate to maintain inflation at 2% without specific regard to unemployment. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve must balance unemployment as well as maintaining price stability at whatever level they choose. Alright, alright, I'll stop the macrecon. :)

Finishing up with the Bank, I walked across London Bridge (this is not the iconical Tower Bridge) to find the Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum. On my way, I stumbled across a beautiful looking church and found out it was the Southwark Cathedral, one of the oldest Gothic buildings in London. Very pretty. But as it turned out, the Tea & Coffee Museum was closed for refurbishment, so I back tracked and stopped at the HMS Belfast, an old British flagship cruiser used in World War II and the Korean War. The museum inside the ship was very well put together with examples of ship life. During the middle of my tour, I was a little hungry, so I stopped by the outdoor cafe seating on the ship's deck and munched on some Chips Ahoy cookies. Looking out over downtown London, I could scarcely imagine what the ship must have been like sixty years ago, firing away at German ships and Normandy positions. There I was, having a snack on a ship that helped decide world history. Wow.

What with a full day of touring on Monday, I decided to do just one thing on Tuesday. And that one thing was visiting Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England. Public visitors are not allowed to bring large bags, cell phones, or cameras, so the average tourist can't really go. Tuesday morning, I put my Oyster Card, wallet, and Tube and London maps in my small purse and set out to sit in on a court meeting. My frisk count is up to two since being here! I got in just fine and followed some people to the appeal court of a relatively high profile murder case from 2000. Wigs and robes are normal attire for the lawyers (solicitors) and judges. Ah, and the solicitors referred to the judge as 'my lord' and 'your lordship.' I'm glad I went, but it's too bad I couldn't take pictures.