Well. Today was Sunday. My last full day in London. Already. And I say it again, time is moving too fast.
I had my usual breakfast, and every morning just about I've met people (yesterday an Italian guy and a guy from Virginia Tech) and today a guy from Portugal! Always interesting. After, I headed to church. Hillsong has a church plant here so I wanted to check it out! It was interesting. After, I wanted to go to Hyde Park because I wanted to go back to the 'Winter Wonderland' market, get some food, and then walk over to Speaker's Corner to hear some people on their soapboxes. Well the Wonderland was PACKED. But I managed to get some german type fried potatoes with a sauce and such, so I took it and ate it on a park bench and people watched for a bit. The I continued on to the Speakers Corner.
It was so interesting. The people that get up on soapboxes in the first place are a bit on the unique side, but that is an understatement even. There were 4 people who stood out the most to me. One guy was looking very 'Texan' actually, or just cowboy ish. Because he was definitely from Britain. He was preaching about Jesus and Christianity, a bit off maybe, but he had the main bit right haha. But he was just, interesting. I think that is my word for they day.
The next guy was someone who, for the majority of the time, I had no clue what point he was trying to make. He was trying to speak super articulatedly, and use big words, to express his opinion on evolution. I finally found out he was against evolution, but I never understood what his reasoning was, except that he was a Christian, but he never got around to an actual stance. Interesting fellow though.
The third most interesting (these are going in rank of intensity and interesting-ness), was a man, who I think was a Marxist, explaining what was going on with Wikileaks and Julian Assange right now, explaining how corrupt the British and American Governments are with all of the cover-ups. Expressing also how it was in-just to have Assange locked up right now. He was a very good speaker, good at expressing his point, dealing with people who interrupted, entertaining, and had good points. I took a bit of video to show Matthew (assuming he has been following with the Wikileaks stuff too) haha.
And, the last, and by far, most outspoken, insane, speaker I listened to (I walked by about 4 times and stopped to observe) was a woman, her name Diana I think, WHO WAS INSANE. The first time I walked up, she had stopped talking because some man had used a cuss word in her direction (Half of Speaker's Corner is the audience who is allowed to heckle, comment, insult, joke about, or ask questions, to the speaker) and she had just started staring at him, obviously insulted. She said a little something about God, and I figured she was trying to preach God to people and had gotten a bit flustered at people heckling her, so I thought I would watch to see what happened next, if she regained composure. Well BOY was I WRONG. I, like, can't even put into the right words her stance, on life.
Basically, she was using God, and her opinion in general, to state that Britain is for the British, and all the immigrants were going to pay for invading her country, and that they needed to leave because they were ruining her culture. That is a light version of what she was saying. And she was this small, white haired, white woman, talking to almost ALL middle easterners, insulting their faces, but it was such crazy talk that they weren't even insulted, they were just making jokes with each other and her at her. They were quite funny. I'm glad that they didn't get angry. There is no point in trying to reason with a lunatic. She was just saying stuff like, british territory was her God given land, and not theirs, and that she had a right to be there, not them, even the people, like the younger generation that is born in Britain (who's parents immigrated over), she said do not belong, that the will never be British, etc etc. I can't even remember all she said, she would just yell and call people out, saying that she could tell they were getting scared, and that God was going to judge them, that she didn't care about their sad lives and how they worked hard, and blah blah blah, oh my gosh. Some of the arab men started just throwing stereotypes at her to feed the fire hah, like saying they immigrated because they don't have to work now, where as in their country they did, or other things. And she said..well anyways, I could start going in circles with what she was saying.
She had no good points, you could not even find one single valid thing she said. Nothing about immigration at all hah. She was just racist. Plain racist.
I need to stop ranting about the ranter. I took some video's of her, but I need to watch them and see if you can understand them, and also which one I want to post, since I took so many.
After that experience, I was ready to warm up indoors. But first I needed to buy my train/ferry ticket for getting to Dublin tomorrow. So I went to the Victoria station, bought that, and then went in search of my comfort zone, Starbucks. Found one, easily hah. Got my coffee, and thankfully a seat opened up in perfect timing for me to get a cozy nook in the corner. I wanted to read, journal, and just sit for a while. And that I did. Then, due to the crowding, a guy came and asked to share the table with me. Why not! So he did, and immediately made a phone call, IN FRENCH. I could not ignore this person anymore. He was French! So I struck up a conversation with him, and he has virtually no french accent, all british, because he has been working in Britain for 3 years, as an Engineer, and is about to take a new job back in Paris. Anyhow, we just had a nice conversation before he had to go catch his Coach. I love random conversations with strangers. I have had quite a few of those here in London. Good conversations with people whom I will never see again.
After Starbucks, I went in search of Westminster Abbey, there was a free organ recital, and that way I could go to a recital, AND get into the Abbey for free instead of normally paying around 10 pounds I think?
The abbey was beautiful, of course, and the organ music was pretty, but I just don't just don't understand a lot of organ music. It sounds offbeat to me! Like they are playing organized nonsense. Pretty notes, just at an awkward rhythm I guess. That is just me. After, I went back to the hostel, which is where I am now!
Dublin tomorrow!
Also, failed to take even one picture of myself here..
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