London: Much Ado About Everything

Week Two saw the start of my classes. Well, some of them. Human Rights doesn’t start for a couple of weeks; and as for Criminology, the lecturer didn’t bother to turn up to the lecture. It was all right, though – while waiting, I bonded with my classmates in collective frustration.

Moral Philosophy is possibly the most interesting subject I’ve ever taken. We spent the first seminar discussing the concept of blame, and whether you can morally blame anyone for anything. I completely disagreed with the philosopher in question, but it really made me think. And the tutor is hilarious, all flighty and easily distracted, with a brilliant ‘Mum’-type sense of humour.

I went along to the MedSoc Choir, just to see what it was like, and was vaguely disappointed. Not sure I’ll be returning. Luckily enough, I’ve found something else more musically exciting: the Gilbert and Sullivan Society! Gilbert actually studied at King’s, which is slightly cool. This year the G&S Soc is putting on Iolanthe, a musical about fairies and the House of Lords. I don’t know much more about it, but the song we sang through was as silly and hilarious as any good G&S song should be. And I met some really lovely people – read: Who fans – so I can’t wait for the next rehearsal.

The free Indian buffet after rehearsal was a nice bonus. Finally: real food. Someone send me recipe ideas, please! I’m full of beans.

Back when writing lists of Things To Do In London, ‘seeing a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’ featured prominently. Despite arriving in London barely a fortnight before the end of the Globe season and after all tickets had sold out, I managed to see not one but two shows. For a grand total of five pounds.

Yeah.

I saw Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus on Tuesday. It was fantastic – lots of creepy deals with the devil and funny audience interaction. Oh, and Rory from Doctor Who played an incredibly intriguing Mestophales. That was an unexpected highlight. On Saturday, we went back and saw Much Ado About Nothing. Brilliant. Hilarious. Quite a lot of violence against women, but I suppose I’m not in Australia anymore.

It was really great how we got to see both shows. The trick is to show up at the theatre an hour or two early, line up behind twenty other people in the ‘return tickets’ line, and eventually get free tickets from school teachers with absent pupils. Win.

I’ve done a lot of other stuff this week as well. There was a pub quiz on Wednesday night run by the History Society, the Doctor Who Experience with the lovely Zoe on Thursday (we meant to see the Dickens Museum, but alas, it was closed), my first of several trips to the overflowing oddity warehouse that is the V&A Museum, and an absolutely lovely picnic on Primrose Hill with Polly and my new friends, the Jane Austen girls.

An excellent week! Full of friends and ridiculously hot weather and Shakespeare. I’m falling a bit more in love with London every day.