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Mime Festival – English Festivals and Events

October 22, 2014

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Mime Festival – English Festivals and Events

England is a diverse land full of a number of things to offer. There are many English Festivals and Events based on tradition. It may seem strange to foreigners, but one has to admit, nobody celebrates quite like the English.

Apart from the normal kind of festivities, I had the chance to attend the London International Mime Festival, which was quite a sweet surprise. Yes, a real Mime Festival!

I attended the performances with a few friends who were all theatre and arts enthusiasts, but I have to say, we didn’t quite get what we expected. Most of us had seen silent plays or something close, but never actually mimes.

I pictured them like in cartoons, white and black with a French hat. But the festival completely blew my mind.

The performances were unveiled one by one; we were all intrigued by the ambience and the entire feel of it. Little did we know what was about to come our way would be memorable for life.

After the Circus tricks and the Extreme Dances, it was time for the Physical Imagery, breathtaking and extremely well-rehearsed moves depicting such sweet little stories. The whole festival was full of such beautiful little anecdotes that shocked us or made us laugh from time to time. Imagine thinking back to when you were a child and your mom or dad reading you a bedtime story and picturing that story unfold in your mind. That’s what it felt like to see these amazing performances!

Dancers and Jugglers glided through every now and then while the mime’s story was told, it was great to see such precise movements and such deep meaningful steps. With every move, the mime shifted our moods as the story unfolded.

By the time this was done, my friends and I were dumbstruck at just how much can a person say with his hands, feet and the way he moves them? We found out that day.

The Mime Festival went on with many great performances; Exotic Japanese Puppetry, Ballet Dances, The Puppet opera, The Fox Dance, and so on and so forth.

It was a night full of lights and stars with art and culture surrounding us. Attending the London International Mime Festival was one of the most artistically liberating experiences of my life.

After the mime festival ended, my friends and I stopped at a small English café on our way back home and we sat and recapped the beautiful performances we saw that day; we talked about the jugglers and the dancers, with their costumes and tricks; the imps and the acrobats with the agile leaps and the soft landings, it all seemed very far away yet still fresh in my memory.

But the thing I can’t seem to forget is the story the mimes depicted, how their fingers could depict a sunrise as well as the darkest hour of the night. I don’t remember each part, and I guess it doesn’t really matter. What mattered was the narrative. The way the story was told.

I’ve lived in many places, and life has been different during them all. But a land where people invest time and money for the education of the human mind, for the preservation of an art, for keeping the essence of telling a story, and for the simple things in life, is a land worth visiting and enjoying all it has to offer. And be sure to never run out of power anywhere on your trip with any of your mobile devices with the best external power for phones and tablets.

Oh, and the mime festival this year is from January 8th to the 13th. If you have a chance, I highly recommend checking it out!

Enjoy!

Northern England Road Trip

October 21, 2014

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Northern England – Road trip around the Northern Bend

I remember the first time I read about England, I must’ve been in middle school. The maps included were amazing, they really made me feel like I was in the country, seeing the landscape, smelling the sweet scents of the air, reliving a part of history that is truly amazing. I knew then that I wanted to not just go, but to take a Northern England Road Trip!

bridge — A Gorgeous town on the road to northern England

I had gone on a Northern England road trip a while ago; it was an amazing experience.

Like the ones we dream of when we’re young, either soaring through the skies, going to the beach with the family, which I shared with a few friends and family after my return. But I felt that the experience had to be shared on a larger scale. That’s when I decided to write about it in hope that I will inspire more people whether local or tourist to take on this amazing journey.

Before we start I must confess that I am one of those people who derive therapeutic pleasure out of driving. So the drive was long but a satisfying one, the scenery was breathtaking and the pubs were simply amazing.

The route I am going to be talking about starts around 12 miles after Alston, with a right turn taking us on the B6305 to Hexham. If you haven’t been to Hexham, I suggest you make a stop in this town just like I did.

I found the town to have a rich historic significance, build around a Benedictine monastery, called the Hexham Abbey.

I took my time enjoying the architecture of the structure and the stained glass was simply marvelous, while observing the crypt I was told, the bricks used in its construction were reclaimed roman bricks.

This moment was my first Northern England Road trip “wow” moment because it made me think for a moment. Rome is in Italy, I am here in this gorgeous town in northern England. Talk about a distance and still we’re talking about the Romans!

Anyway, after I left the town of Hexham, I continued on my northern England road trip and found myself a couple of miles south of Hadrian’s Wall. Since this was my first seeing the monumental wall, I took a brief detour from north of Chollerford and then west on the Military Road, B6318. I just had to walk the wall, so I started from the section near Once Brewed, a thrilling experience walking on a piece of history itself. This was THE furthest extend of the Roman Empire, in its height, stretching from the Middle East to Northern England!

hadrian's wall, roughly 1200 miles from Rome — hadrian’s wall, roughly 1200 miles from Rome

After musing around the wall, I headed back to Hexham and on my way I visited the Roman garden in Chollerford.

From Hexham I headed south on the B6306, driving through the tranquil Slaley Forest to the tiny village of Blanchland, where I stopped and dined at the historic Lord Crewe Arms Hotel and its cozy fireplace.

I would say of the entire Northern England Road trip, this is where I was the most relaxed. The town is what one pictures in there head when reading about “old” England. Peaceful with very kind people. Home are filled with flowers and books and great smelling foods! The hotel was picturesque

garden at the lord crewe arms hotel, blanchland

Beyond the Blanchland Derwent Reservoir, I turned left on the B6278 at Edmundbyers leading me to the Manor House Inn. I visited the pubs famous for the best pub food in north eastern England, and left immediately. My next stop was Allenheads, and that is because I just couldn’t have left without visiting the Allenheads Inn. There I saw the most incredible and extraordinary décor, the food was just as excellent as the environment, and if you do manage to go there don’t be surprised to see a four foot wooden chicken on a dining table.

Eventually, I continued on north on the B6295, till I got to Allendale Town, mostly because I wanted to see The King’s Head and it was nice to visit the town as well. I was told by the people that New Year’s Eve is the right time to visit Allendale. However, the town has a nice rustic feel to it and I simply breathed in the atmosphere while travelling through it.

Finally, a short run north on B6295 towards Langley, then a left back on the A686 for an exhilarating descent to Penrith. It turned out to be an incredible drive around the country which I will cherish for a longest time to come.

Brougham Castle near penrith — Brougham Castle near Penrith

This was one of the most scenic trips I ever took in my life and was totally surprised and impressed by my Northern England Road trip. The trip is easy to make with plenty of tour buses going to all of these beautiful towns. But if you get the chance, rent a car and truly take in the sights!

The English Pub

October 17, 2014

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The English Pub Guide

When it comes to the The English pub, I have my fair share of stories to tell. One of the first things a tourist should learn in my experience is how the pub scene works. The first time I wandered into a country the English pub, I was expecting a cold beer, cheers in an English accent, and some friendly conversation, though it didn’t quite turn out that way.

The Infamous Bitter Service

When you head into an English pub, never order a beer unless you like being laughed at. People refer to their beer with specifics, such as a bitter. Bitter is a distinctively popular British beer, though it comes in many different types now, it’s a brownish red ale, strongly flavored with hops. Another thing that might surprise you is that a bitter is served at room temperature and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

I learned this rule the hard way. Hopefully my blog will make a difference for you. The Brits posses a sadistic sense of humor, they will sit and laugh at the poor oblivious tourists who don’t know that there is no concept of service in the pubs. Whether you want food or beer, you’ll have to go to the bar to get some service.

Another thing, the bars over there don’t keep tabs for you, so you’ll have to pay for the drinks and food upfront.

It may seem a little weird for the first time visitors, but this is their culture and I for one love learning new culture.

Different Kinds of English Pubs

In England there are several different kinds of pubs and they all attract different kinds of crowds.

The English pubs in the city centers attract a diverse group of people, usually those working in the area. These are filled usually during lunchtime and after work hours when coworkers and friends get together to unwind over a warm bitter.
Then there are the themed pubs, mostly in the city. These could be anything from a jazz pub, comedy pub, and gay pubs, etc.
One of my favorites, the country pubs is a piece of their cultural heritage. Though it may not look the same from the inside.
Then there are the local pubs and since they are pretty local, they aren’t quite welcoming especially to visitors.
Another one of my favorites is the freehouse. Since most of the pubs are licensed through breweries, they are not allowed to sell drinks from their competitors. Freehouses are independent pubs which serve different varieties of beers. They are the best place for a visitor in the hope to try out different local drinks.

I hope this blog post gave you enough information to be able to enjoy the english pub scene in the country without any worries. If you are out visiting England, absorb as much of the culture as you can, because you will definitely miss it once you are home. Drink up, enjoy, savor it!

Cheers.

http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Great_Britain-London/news-The_English_pub_two_thousand_years_of_history

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