105 Days and Counting!

As most of you may know, I've just finished planning my research trip to London for the month of May. Sleep has become impossible now for two reasons - one, I'm super excited and two, I'm super worried about how much this whole thing is going to cost me in the end. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world (right behind Tokyo and Oslo, as I understand it) and everything for the hotel room, to the tube pass, to food costs are already starting to build. But, I shouldn't get ahead of myself...

I'm going to London to do reasearch for my History Masters. I'm working on exploring the relationship between the British Empire and the British national identity. When I ask you to think of the average Brit, do you not see someone sipping at a cup of tea? or enjoying a curry? or downing gin? All of these characteristics are resultant for British forays into the wider world - why, then, do we associate such foreign things with what it means to be British? That's what I'm trying to explore and understand. While lots of work have been done in the fields of national identity, the Empire, and consumption of goods, few historians have thought to consider these dynamics as a single subject and that's where I come in. So, while I'm primarily going to England for reasearch, I can't be expected to spend ALL my time in an archive.

I'm leaving Canada on May 8th (a Friday) for an overnight flight into London's Heathrow airport. When in London, I'll be staying at the Royal Court Appartments in a studio appartment. I was looking at pictures today and, while it seems smaller than I could have hoped, it's got a bed, a table, and a small kitchennet. And, I guess there's worse things than not wanting to spend too much time in your room when in London. The hotel is close to the Paddington tube station which is only a few blocks north of Hyde Park; Kew, where are archives are, is on the other side of the Thames River, but not too far away. I'll be in London for my first two weeks, but then, I get to be a real tourist!

I've booked myself a bus tour of Southern England with Globus and this is what I'm probably looking forward to the most. On the trip, I'll be seeing Hampton Court, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tinter Abbey (in Wales), Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury chatedral, Arundel, Brighton, and Leeds castle. Lots of hot spots for historians and all in just 8 days - what more could I ask for?

All in all, by the time I get home on June 1st, I'll have travelled over 11,000 kilometers for some education, exploration, and adventure.