Today I went to the Lake District with my class. It rained. I stared out the bus window, mouth agape, in shock at how wildly beautiful it was. If you ever need to understand the picturesque and the sublime, the Lake District is the place - obviously, that's where a lot of the writers on the picturesque and the sublime got their inspiration.
We went to the most beautiful house, too - an Arts and Crafts masterpiece. Also jaw-droppingly nice. It was all carved wood panelling (done largely in rowan berry and leaf motifs - which made it even better, considering my personal attachment to that plant), simple stained glass, and window seats and Inglenook fireplaces, which I am wildly in love with. Always have been. If I could make my own house, it would be small and furnished almost exclusively with built-in furniture - window seats and Inglenooks, dining table with a banquette, beds set into walls, and book shelves book shelves bookshelves.
Also today, the only church designed by one of the great Arts and Crafts architects, full to the brim with Morris & Co. stained glass designed by Edward Burne-Jones. Impressive, to say the least. And so gorgeous. I love Burne-Jones with a wildly colourful, flowery, mannerist passion. Oh, and one of the angels in the main east window looked quite a lot like Evan, a friend of mine from Wesleyan. Which was strange.
The day ended with us all stood on the edge of Lake Windermere, being dripped on by trees and stared at by swans, drinking wine from plastic cups. It was a nice way to end the class, and it was our last real meeting. Which is too bad in some ways, but good in others. I was getting really, really tired of Gothic revival churches (which was a great thing about today - only one Gothic Revival thing, the rest was Arts and Crafts!), and spending so many hours in the bus with a small group of people was really starting to grate on my nerves.
It was a 7am departure again this morning. I'm tired, but not sleepy - maybe because I just had a huge cup of tea. I've been watching Michael Palin tour about Eastern Europe, and a book quiz which made me feel both intellectual and not well-read. I'll miss being able to watch BBC programs on demand.
I did well on my exam last term, I've found out - so that's nice! Hopefully I can get down to work on my paper for this term and do well again.
Hm. Time to turn on something instrumental and get under the covers with my book on William Morris and garden design. It all sounds rather pleasant, which is good, because it's work for my paper.
(largely copied from my livejournal)
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