My Travel Diaries 2019
United Kingdom (UK)- Three Cities
The year is winding down and I am finally getting time to take stock of my most recent travels. It feels like am documenting about a December holiday even though this is about a trip to London, Bristol and Cambridge that took place end of October- beginning of November.
I took the opportunity of being in the UK while attending the Mozilla Festival 2019 in London to do a couple of budget friendly visits in three cities. Well, truth is I had registered to attend the University of Cambridge Postgraduate Open Day which was scheduled for 1st November. I have been scouting for PhD programs and I thought this is a perfect chance to see for myself what they have to offer. Even more, a chance to see Cambridge. So I planned my travel in a way that after the festival on the 28th October, I find stuff to do in between and finally attend the open day and travel back to Kenya on 2nd November.
PS: It is a long read, take your time :-) read it in bits, city by city.
London
My first ever visit in this city was in 2016 and I did a ferry tour around London’s bridge. On that day the bridge was opened up because a ship was going to pass there. I had only seen this in movies and it was such a spectacle, complete with the lights. It was the perfect time to sing a song we were taught in kindergarten about London’s bridge — one of the reminders that our education system was wholesomely inherited from the British. “London’s bridge is falling down , falling down, London’s bridge is falling down, my fair lady♭♭⏯”.
Fast forward in 2019 I was not particularly excited by the bridge, I was looking to do at least one more museum visit or something related. No particular plans but open to ideas is how I carry myself in these trips often times. I had visited the natural history museum twice(I know) and I still don’t believe I have exhausted everything about that space but wasn’t looking to go again. In the true sense of “I am open to ideas” my friend Tendai was taking another friend , Grace to tour the Shakespeare’s Globe so I tagged along.
I first encountered Shakespeare’s work through a set book selected for the secondary school national exams in Kenya from 2006–2008. We had to study Merchant of Venice as part of the curriculum. Girl, didn’t I enjoy that book. Frankly speaking though, I enjoyed it more post examination. I think exams can kill the joy of literature, I digress. I was pretty excited about this random plot to the globe. It was so chilly and my savannah body was not holding it down well, but I braved it. We had a very enthusiastic tour guide who made the whole ‘braving the cold’ worth our time- going round the theatre, which was basically outside — in his words “ In Shakespeare’s time all plays were performed during the day during summer, spring and the theatre was reconstructed to mimic exactly that. I could not help but be nostalgic about the few lines from the Merchant of Venice, especially because I have grown to see how true it was in Shakespeare’s time and still true now : “The devil can cite scripture for his purpose”. It is one of those phrases that reminds me that society does go full circle and that what exists now in terms of human behaviour did exist centuries before.
In a bid to satisfy my need to remember that I was here — especially because I have never quite read any other of his works, I bought a small compilation of Shakespeare’s sonnets from the souvenir shop. In my own words to Tendai and Grace “ I am in the season of love “. Tendai was our official tour guide back to our hotel — of course taking us through parts of the city we had never been before. I was glad I got a chance to do something history related.
Bristol
Bristol came up in a conversation with my friend Walter who was also attending the Mozilla Festival. His colleague, Eriol, lives there and they had offered accommodation in a boat for the days we wanted to be around. I tagged along in the accommodation plan as a friend to Walter. We set off on our journey to Bristol by bus on 28th October in the afternoon. We boarded our bus from Victoria coach station. We took the tube from the London bridge underground station and got off on Victoria station after which we had to walk for about 7 minutes. That walk to the station felt so long mostly because I had a somewhat heavy suitcase, we were also running out of time and the directions weren’t very clear . Even worse, nearby, across where the station was(though it was not visible to us) were some coaches(buses) parked and they looked like the ones we were to board but nobody around there seemed to know or want to assist with clarifications. We arrived just in time as the last boarding call was done. I was sweaty and tired from that stint and vowed to myself (again)to be on time next time.
We arrived in Bristol at around 7pm and our host was waiting for us. A small hitch had happened on our way there. We had to change our accomodation to a hostel because there was an oil spill at the marina(where the boat was) and everyone had been evacuated. Part of what I have learnt in random travels is being open to such changes. We checked in , and went straight into exploring the nearby area as we searched for a restaurant. The first thing that caught my eye while we got into the YHA hostel was the banner on the bridge across the river written “#WeAreBristol” . I was intrigued — there was a sense of pride in the city especially in that hashtag. Eriol had mentioned that it is definitely a vibrant city and their words “not as pretentious as London”. Having heard this statement before while having dinner with a couple of Londoners I was curious what’s more to it.
We had a lazy start to the day, sleeping in, going to have brunch at an Indian restaurant, then we set off to look for a Primark store to shop for various things. What I really liked about this day was the fact that everything was within walking distance and there was no need for buses or tubes or trains. While these modes of transport are very convenient , I was already getting tired of it while in London. Apart from the cost, the logistics of figuring out where to board or alight was not really appealing to me. Eriol had also told us that Bristol didn’t have an underground tube system like London — this was of course after I asked whether I can use my Oyster card there.
On the next day I went to Framework a co-working space to get some work done. They have a one day free trial then one can make a decision about using it for an agreed period of time at a fee. I took that chance to explore what co-working spaces look and feel like in Bristol. They offered free coffee , very steady internet connection and had various types of spaces including meeting rooms that one could hire. When you get in there’s an option to be taken around for a tour or settle right in to work. I chose the former. I love to familiarize myself with spaces and also to ask questions and possible history(if any). Framework space was reclaimed from an old factory.
After I was done, I took a walk into the city centre where I visited a bookshop and later a museum and cultural centre . The bookshop I visited was called rough trade. What drew me to it was the display of books from outside. When I got in, I was wowed by its seemingly non-conventional style and almost ‘revolutionary” collections. The arrangement of its wares was definitely not like the bookshops am used to, with clear aisles and some type of order. In addition there was music records too. I would describe the place as an artistic store more than a bookshop. I didn’t get a chance to ask a lot about its origin but it was interesting to look it up and find that it also organizes events and it was originally stocking up music but has extended its scope over time. They have five stores so far, four in the UK and one in the US. I sometimes try to buy a book in most cities I visit and this wasn’t going to be different. I bought two books that had a discount, one titled ‘On Palestine’ by Noam Chomsky and Illan Pappe and ‘On anarchism’ by Noam Chomsky. They also had vinyl copies of various hip-hop, soul, funk music from artists like Bob Marley , Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse. I was impressed. I walked around the bookshop window shopping for a while and almost wished I could sit there for a while and just take it all in. The radicalness of it all.
I had already spotted the Palestine flag outside a certain building on my way into the city centre the day before and had made a mental note to ensure I pass by and find out what it’s all about. That was my next stop after Rough Trade. It was a Palestine Museum and Cultural Centre. Though it doesn’t operate on weekdays I got in and had a brief chat with two women who I found there. Until 2015, I knew very little about Palestine and its history. Over time I met two Palestine women in separate occasions who really shed some light on the plight of their country that is constantly under threat of occupation, and the history of it all. I also started reading a little more about the geo-politics (ally countries) that support Israel and therefore it was very interesting to find this cultural centre in Bristol. The woman who founded it spoke to me and said it is the only one in the whole of the UK . I took note on how diverse this city is — to the extent of its residents being able to express themselves regardless of the country’s politics. I wished it was a weekend so I could indulge more about Palestine history and its people but I also rejoiced when I remembered I have a book on Palestine. You win some, you lose some.
A walk around the city centre also led me to see lots of murals and graffiti on various buildings. It is my unverified theory that when you have a city with murals and graffiti, self expression is not censored in that city and that art is at its soul.
On my last day in Bristol I visited the Bristol Museum. My museum visits normally goes two ways. If I am accompanied by my cultural enthusiast friends(hello Nyambura and Flo) they are my default guides. If am alone, I walk around randomly , reading the display information in various sections. The visuals would attract me more in such lone tours and also any running exhibition that is in place. During this time the Bristol museum had an exhibition on magic. That was definitely the first section I visited. It was amusing to listen to audios on people from the UK who practice magic, the use of tarot cards , palm reading and much more. To be honest I went into the exhibition expecting to see a lot from the African continent but was pleasantly surprised by how much ancient magic is in Europe as well. The other interesting stuff in the museum was the exhibition about Egyptian mummies and also the map displays of the evolution of Bristol city. I can barely interpret maps but I was fascinated that such records were in existence and are part of the museum.
On my way back from the museum my eyes caught an interesting signage on one of the buildings along the Queens road. I was delighted by the coincidence of this historical piece of information “ William Budd…pioneer of isolation of infectious diseases lived here…”. The environmental health practitioner in me could not have failed to take note and take a picture.
Cambridge
Cambridge was my final city in this brief tour. A friend who works in Cambridge and lives in a nearby town called March was hosting me for a night and I was pretty excited with the idea of being in a home finally. In between staying at a hotel and hostel, I just wanted to feel like am in a home. I arrived in Cambridge on 31st evening. I didn’t get to see much of the city as it was already dark. Cambridge was so cold I finally got good use of some ear muffs I had bought in Bristol. I had already written down my itinerary for the postgraduate open day at Cambridge University which I was to attend the next day. That made me sleep easy.
As my friend and the hubby dropped off to work I began to familiarize myself with Cambridge city centre- which is pretty much occupied by the University of Cambridge. I went into the New museums site and student centre where I got a map and a couple of booklets about the open day. I tried to read the map(LOL) and asked for directions on the nearest college. I found myself at Downing college. There were postgraduate students who had volunteered to help out during the open day to take prospective students around. My first impression of Downing college was its sense of calmness and proximity to town centre. But what was initially confusing as we went round was that a college is not necessarily where your department of studies is, it’s more of a system that supports your life in university outside of academic work, that is accommodation, fellowship, sports(rowing in this case was particularly popular). The accommodation buildings were quite appealing in the sense that each room is sufficient, with a study table, storage, bathroom and toilet ensuite and a shared kitchen space. I also loved that they had a library within vicinity , gym facilities that are subsidized and of course a catering unit too.
I had pre-booked a lunch that was being offered in one other college, Clare hall. As soon as I was done with Downing I started asking for directions to Clare hall. For this one I had to take a bus though a lot of people said its a 20 minute walk. Considering my low sugar levels and my not so good map-reading skills I preferred to take the bus. Luckily, I met a woman in the bus who was going to a nearby college and directed me accordingly. I arrived just in time for lunch. I was received by one of the fellows of the college and she straight up guided me to serving food. At that point I knew I had made the right choice to pre-book lunch. The meal was quite filling and they had a variety to choose from including dessert. During lunch the fellow told me a lot of things about Clare hall. Some of the interesting facts I got from the conversation was that it’s one of the smallest (in terms of numbers) colleges in Cambridge and that its not very big on traditions where fellows, postgraduates and undergraduates must always have a distinct separation in terms of sitting space while in the dining hall. I took not of this and compared the sitting arrangement to what I saw in Downing and it was different. I guess it’s the smallness of the college that propelled it to such egalitarian like arrangements. After lunch one postgraduate student took us around the college. They also have a rowing team( at this point I understood that rowing is big in Cambridge), a small library that only has books written by students and fellows from Clare hall. Its small size we were informed is also because the college is adjacent to the university’s main library. It was also interesting to know that Clare hall only has postgraduate students and the student who took us round told us that this was one of her main reason for choosing the college.
After the college tour I decided to walk back to the students centre, this time taking note of my surroundings while reading the map. I was energized(must have been the food). It was interesting that it was almost 3pm and its when I was beginning to understand that all the colleges are within reach of each other and it’s almost like a ring road going around the Cambridge university area. I got into the Corpus Christi college, it attracted me purely because of that name. It had such a well maintained lawn and really ancient buildings that had a feel of Harry Potter. I wasn’t up for any tour so I took pictures and left. I was also keen on being on time for two sessions that had been scheduled for the evening , “how to write a proposal” and how to get funding opportunities to study in Cambridge”. These sessions were very informative and while there I made contact with one of the PhD students who was in the department I was interested in. I met my friend at the end of the day , and I told her about my very fruitful day. I was happy with myself , the information I had gathered and the confidence to start thinking about my Phd was fuelled.
We went back to the house so I could have a meal, pack my bags and take a train from the March train station back to Cambridge where I was going to board a bus to Heathrow Airport. I was ready for my flight back home. I am always excited with the idea of going to a new country or city and being able to have numerous experiences. To that end, this trip was fruitful!!
I want to wish you all a happy new year 2020, and may the coming year be filled with exciting adventures!!
