Hot bath is good. Hot bath is just chife! My legs forget three days of uninterrupted running across Great Britain, while I recall Edinburgh, London and Durham cathedral where I was standing in a robe, like Harry Potter.

MBA Procession

In MBA Robe


MBA Graduates in Hatfield Chapel


Inside the Business School


The Main Gallery, Durham Castle


Dinner in the Great Hall


Holyrood Palace


John Knox House


Royal Mile


Buckingham Palace


Assyrian Kings around the World Tree


Parthenon Facade Reconstruction


Ship-like Clock, 16th c.


Dickens House


London Political Advertising

4 years of studies are over. Years when I scarcely had any holidays. I've had disappointments and discoveries, new acquaintances and new job I got through my studies. I am yet to think it over, and now it was something like a tourist trip, whereby I took active part in a cathedral ceremony.

Road to Durham was a mess again. The moment I decided to buy tickets to Newcastle via Amsterdam KLM suddenly raised the price. To avoid paying 4 times more I had to take a flight to London. I saved on train tickets by paying in advance, but the flight was delayed due to mist (despite a window seat I first felt the ground, then saw it), so I was at the station 10 minutes before departure. Train journey was also delayed by a snowstorm at York. Everything started next day.

Then we entered the Great Hall. The castle itself was erected by Normans in the 11^th c., but only one chapel dates back to that period. The hall was built 200 years later, but they still use it for university occasions (the castle itself houses a student hostel).

Nothing foretold the festivity in the morning. People and cars seemed to follow their own businesses yet moved in the same direction, up to the castle and cathedral area. They handed me the robe immediately, the first one at hand. I wonder, why have I faxed them my height figure I had to re-calculate into feet and inches? By the way, they gave me no hat. They don't have enough, so hats are allowed to take pictures only (and only by official photographers for pay).

We formed a festive procession in the castle inner yard and after that the column of fresh bachelors and masters marched to the 11^th c. cathedral. Some tried to take pictures inside as well, but they watched us close, as you've got to buy the official video. It was expected, but I was surprised by the fantastic organ music inside during the whole ceremony. I'd already had several occasions to experience musical performances in churches with their unique acoustics, this time I was not disappointed either. Look forward to receiving my DVD to enjoy it again.

They called my name (and missed the second "S"; I ought to have registered as Ros to avoid misspelling in diploma), the officer invited me by his mace to the centre, where the university chancellor shook me by hand. It looked a bit ordinary, but what did I expect them to do? To put me on my knees and drop a sword onto my shoulder? Have not deserved the honor. I'm no Sean Connory.

The mess around the Palace Green followed, everybody making pictures in four-edged hats, ordering videos, returning robes. We also had separate business school pictures inside the Hatfield Chapel, gathering inside the business school itself, a buffet in the castle main gallery and a dinner in Great Hall. It was to be followed by a ball, but I left the event like Cinderella, by midnight to grab some sleep before the early morning train to Edinburgh.

I used to write after the previous trip to that city about my wish to return there. I can't say even now that I have seen everything I wanted. But my knowledge has definitely increased. As usually I took the wrong turn at the station by choosing the Royal Mile instead of the Georgian Town. But it was for the better as I started by visiting the Holyrood Palace. I believed to have seen all the Scottish royal treasures in the castle, but Holyrood convinced me I was wrong. It is not allowed to make pictures of the richest palace collections, magnificent halls and small rooms still filled with the spirit of Mary Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charles. But the palace is impressive from the outside as well! Even without the gardens I had to miss due to winter-time.

The same street presents a remarkable contrast to these treasuries, it is John Knox House. It was that man who made the Scots appear as we know them, miser and a bit ascetic Protestants.

I completed my dip into the old Edinburgh by taking another unique tour, the one to Mary King's Close. Don't search for it on a map, this place is occupied by Treasury. But it exists. Under the Treasury. The matter is these closes run down from the Royal Mile. The place used to contain dens, and they decided after another plague not to destroy them but use their walls as basement for the Treasury. But the close remains and still contains cabins with no draught and plaster made of the ashes of those died of plague. No running water, the most junior in the family had to take the dirt and pour it in the door down the close to the present station. No wonder epidemics were so frequent there! Doctors used to wear thick cloaks and masks, rubbed themselves with spices to protect from miasmas and thus were not affected. True plague carriers were rat fleas, which were unable to penetrate the above clothes and disliked the odor. One of the tourists told us, these people didn't leave the dens even if they had a normal house in another district, because all of them were tenants and could leave their rent right through living elsewhere. A kind of apartment registration of the 17-19^th cc.

I had to return to London one day before departure, as it was the only way to be in time for the flight at 1:30pm. What a nice opportunity to walk along the English capital! Is it only English? I reckon London has long become a metropolis, one of the global capitals. What collections have the UK rulers gathered! They are available to look in the Queen's Gallery of the Buckingham Palace. Another good surprise for me, my visit coincided with the exhibition of my favorite Dutch painters! I stood still in front of Breughel the Elder's  Massacre of the Innocent. A common Flemish town, common people. But they are doing most uncommon things. Children never play but make a crowd. Handsome and ordinary looking soldiers and officers get through the windows, break the doors, swing weapons. All of them wear the Duke of Alba uniforms. No wonder that the emperor who received the painting asked to paint over the killed children, whose place is currently occupied by strange looking geese and dogs.

The British Museum was my main omission last time, when I got there just before closing. I was not far from that this time as well, but managed to see all the major halls. Parthenon façade extended my October experience received in Greece. I'd have apparently failed to observe it in such detail there, especially with the restoration attempt on the original painting it contained.

Assyrian relieves impressed me a lot. They don't contain any sign of destruction, you feel as if they were made yesterday! Here you see soldiers running, or a "peace-keeping" expedition on both sides of Tigris (or Euphrates), or the kings around the World Tree.

AD exhibits however looked a little messy to me. How do you perceive "European Culture, 17-19^th cc."? It occupies one hall (though a spacious one). Don't laugh yet! Another hall is dedicated to "European Culture, 20^th c." Some exhibits however impressed me a lot, i.e. Byzantine mosaics and 16^th c. clock in the form of a ship with an emperor sitting and prince electors moving around. The note stated that it was a captain initially and his crew members.

London is impossible to observe in full. This time I had to drop a visit to opera and made a picture of Dickens house from outside only. No matter, I will return to that city some time, as many roads meet there. But now it's time I sorted out the pictures and returned to daily routine. As an MBA already.