June 19-July 2, 2018  - London West End and Bodiam Castle

For Elder Burkinshaw's birthday, the kids sent money so we could see the musical "Aladdin" in London.  On Saturday, June 23 about 3:45pm following our early shift at the Temple, we drove to the Lingfield train station car park (aka parking lot) and caught the Southern train to Victoria Station.  From Victoria Station, we got an Uber to the Prince Edward Theatre.  We had purchased tickets on-line but picked them up before the show.  We then walked to Chipotle Grill which was only about a quarter-mile from the theatre.  Saturday evening the West End (Theatre District), especially because it was the summer tourist season, was quite crowded and allowed us to observe an interesting cross-section of humanity (hopefully that is a diplomatic characterization :-).  After dinner at Chipotle, we had an ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry's and were in our seats about 20 minutes early for a 7:00pm start.

"Aladdin" marquis at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End (Theatre District)

Sister Burkinshaw pointing to the "Aladdin" signs in front of the Prince Edward Theatre.

Street view from the outside balcony of the Prince Edward Theatre.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw and Sister and Elder Page at the Prince Edward Theatre before the start of "Aladdin".

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw with the Prince Edward Theatre stage in background at "Aladdin"

The singing was excellent, the staging and special effects were amazing and it was a very enjoyable evening.   The show ended at 10:00pm and we caught an Uber to Victoria Station and were in Lingfield by 11:40pm and drove into the Temple car park at 11:50pm.  Having worked out the logistics, we're ready to try this again!

On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, we were working the late shift at the temple (start time 3:00pm) so we went to Standen House in the morning to explore the grounds a little more and purchase a pillow that Sister Burkinshaw had seen during our visit in April.  While there, we took a few additional pictures.

This photo of the English countryside from Standen House shows how dry the weather has been as this meadow has dried up.  Beyond the meadow, the landscape still looks quite verdant but you can see other dry patches indicating an unusually warm and dry summer this year.

We found a cool and shady spot to take a selfie at Standen House.

There are a variety of cows here in the area and one of the varieties is the Simmental which originated in Switzerland.  Elder James Guenther, one of our temple missionary associates (and a farmer who sold his farm before going into the mission field--they had two daughter), is from Alberta and he said the Simmental was his favorite beef cow.

It was so warm at 10:00am that Sister Burkinshaw has already shed her sweater.

For lunch, we had a delicious tomato and basil soup with wheat bread.

Here is the "William Morris" designed pillow that we purchased at Standen House. (William Morris founded the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and designed some of the most recognizable textile patterns of the nineteenth century.)

Since we were on the late shift this week, following our 5:30am walk one morning, we took a few hours to weed the flower beds in front of the temple.  Here's some "post-weeding" pictures of the beds, showing how colorful they have become.

The summer flower beds at the London Temple.  We had just finished weeding so hopefully, no weeds are visible. ;-)

Close-up of the summer flower beds at the London Temple.

Side-view of the summer flower beds at the London Temple.

On Friday, June 29, 2018, the London South Mission, which had it's offices here on the London Temple grounds, was absorbed into the London Mission and the Birmingham Mission.   We took a picture of the London South Mission Office as a reminder

Mission Office for the London South Mission which has now been absorbed into the London Mission (headquartered at Hyde Park) and the Birmingham Mission.

We sold our 5-speed manual 2005 Renault Scenic and bought a Skoda Octavia which has an automatic transmission.  When you're trying to adapt to driving on the left-hand side of the road, the automatic transmission greatly simplifies driving.  Here's a few pictures.

2008 Skoda (made by Volkswagen) Octavia with automatic transmission.

2008 Skoda Octavia.

2008 Skoda Octavia with automatic transmission.  The Skoda cost a little more than the Renault, so now when we fill the gas tank, the value of the car only increases by 10%! :-)

On Monday, July 2, 2018 we went on an excursion to Bodiam castle, which is about an hours drive from the Temple.  We were going to ride with the other temple workers in the temple van, but there were more participants than seats, so we drove and took our friends Raul and Karen McQuivey with us in the Skoda Octavia.

Bodiam castle was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalingridge, a former knight of King Edward III to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years' War.  At the time it was built, the River Rother was large enough to sail ships to Bodaim.  The castle's structure and design in an artificial watery landscape show that appearance was an important aspect of the castle's design as well as defense. It was the home of the Dalyngrigge family and the center of the manor of Bodiam.  It's rectangular shape with towers on each corner makes it the quintessential castle although the interior has not been maintained.

Bodiam castle from the southeast.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw in front of Bodiam Castle's south side.

Bodiam Castle from the northeast corner.

Sister Burkinshaw on the bridge across the mote to Bodiam Castle on the north side.

Bodiam Castle floor plan

The interior of Bodiam Castle looking towards the south.

Elder James and Sister Cheryl Ann Guenther (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada), Sister Burkinshaw and Sister Brenda and Elder Ron Linford (Casper, WY) on the tower at Bodiam Castle.

Sister Burkinshaw in the stairwell of one of the Bodiam Castle towers.

One of the former owners of Bodiam Castle in the early 1900s was Lord Curzon, who was decidedly against female suffrage.  His "Fifteen Good Reasons Against the Grant of Female Suffrage" were quite humorous.  Sister Burkinshaw really liked #4! ;-) 

An informative plaque about castle hygiene.

The castle pottie - looks like it might be a little cold in the winter.

A medieval dress in front of the castle toilet plus the plaque shown below provides some interesting methods to preserve clothing! 

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw sitting on the thrones for the king and the queen of Bodiam castle.

Interesting background on the origin of the boardroom table and chairman of the board.

This is what the mote looks like.  Note how large the fish are compared to the ducks.  Based on what went into the mote, we would not recommend eating those fish! ;-)

Near Bodiam Castle is Bateman's which was the Jacobian (i.e. during the reign of King James I who commissioned the King James translation of the Bible) estate built in 1634 which was later refurbished as the home (1902-1936) of Nobel Prize winning British author, Rudyard Kipling.  Kipling used the proceeds from his Nobel Prize for Literature to build the beautiful gardens.

Bateman's is the 17th century home which was restored by author Rudyard Kipling where he wrote some of his most famous works.

Rudyard Kipling lived in India for a time and that is what gave him the inspiration for such stories as The Jungle Book.  As you can see, he borrowed an Indian custom by hanging a brass fish from the mantle.  If it faced away from the door, visitors are welcome.  However if it is turned toward the door, that is a subtle hint that it is time for visitors to go home!

This was Rudyard Kipling's Citation for the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He used the proceeds to build the gardens at the back of his estate (see picture below).

Rudyard Kipling had all the latest technology in his home including this "Thomas A Edison" trademark gramophone.

At the back of Kipling's estate, there were readings of his literature.

Listening to readings from Rudyard Kipling's works were (second from the left) Elder Raul McQuivey, Sister Karen McQuivey, Elder Burkinshaw, Sister Cheryl Ann Guenther.

Sister Burkinshaw holding the well known children's book "How the Leopard got his Spots" written by Kipling it is one of several bedtime stories for his daughter Josephine. These had to be told "just so" (exactly in the words she was used to) or she would complain. The stories describe how one animal or another acquired its most distinctive features, such as how the leopard got his spots. For the original book, Kipling illustrated the stories himself.

The pond and gardens behind Rudyard Kipling's estate called Bateman's.

A tree stump carved with a likeness of Rudyard Kipling on the grounds of the Bateman's.

We end with "If -" which is perhaps one of Rudyard Kipling's most famous poems and was the final reading at his estate.

                            If — 

                   by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Many of the great thinkers and poets recognize that man has the capability to become more than anyone could possibly imagine.  These are the truths we share every day as we perform the ordinances in the London Temple.  May we always remember our royal heritage!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw