Temple Time
What a pretty and peaceful place the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' London Temple is! Feeling the Spirit and sharing an evening of service there with Mike and Tyler was a wonderful blessing to be sure!
It's a bit of an adventure to travel there sometimes because the temple is located in Surrey -- a combined train/taxi/walk there from our flat, but how very grateful we are there is a temple that close to us!
The 12th temple built (after Hamilton New Zealand and before Oakland, California), it was dedicated in 1958 by President David O. McKay. President Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated it in 1992.
The temple is surrounded by 32 acres of lovely grounds complete with flowers, ponds, bridges, lawn and trees. Because it was raining and then dark, we didn't stroll the grounds this time, but we did get to peek into the nearby Visitor's Center. Love the Christus statue there!
Dedicated in 1958, this temple "serves church members in south Wales, the Channel Islands, southern parts of England, northern parts of France and the Limerick District in the Republic of Ireland." * (Wikipedia)
Around the Globe
A production of "Much Ado About Nothing" was especially captivating as we enjoyed it in the oak-and-thatched-roof replica of the original Elizabethan theater -- Shakespeare's Globe in Bankside, Southwark.
Tyler and I toured the fantastic theater and learned some very interesting things. Such as . . . the original was built in 1599, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt and then demolished in 1644. The current timber-framed building was constructed in 1997, seats 1,600 spectators and sports the only thatched roof allowed in London since the Great Fire of 1666 (because of the fire hazard, it is now complete with oodles of sprinklers). It was constructed using wooden pegs and goat hair mixed with plaster for the building's outer covering.
And . . . the open air theater features a thrust stage. That projects into a large circular yard which is also filled with the standing portion (some 700 "groundlings") of the audience. All that is surrounded by three tiers of raked seating with benches (and cushions are available for 1 pound if you really want to splurge -- I did ;) ). Each of the performances are designed to recreate the Globe's original environment -- there aren't any spotlights, microphones, speakers or amplification. It also adds to the flavor of times-gone-by that all the music is performed live and that the actors and the audience can see each other.
The show itself was amazing and so funny; what gifted actors. They very much involved the audience in their antics and meaningful looks & asides. Costumes for this production of "Ado" were not period, but more modern. It was one of the best shows we've ever seen -- loved it all!
Dinner at a nearby pub (for delicious burgers and chips) topped off our "bit of Britain's theater culture" day.
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