The Scandalous Lady W: A Review

Blogger's Note: The proper name for this post should probably be: "The Scandalous Lady W: A Review by an American Pretending to be a British Reviewer For Class." 

But that's a tad too long, I think. So I'm leaving it. 

Anyways, for my Contemporary British Broadcasting class, I had to select something to watch or listen to from BBC's iPlayer, where you can stream content previously broadcast. Since I'm an absolute sucker for period pieces, I gave The Scandalous Lady W a shot. 

My thoughts? I've posted the review below. But here's a tl:dr: Loved it over all, but there was too much sex. Don't show this one to the kiddos.

The assignment was to write it in the style of a British review, and I'm not sure I pulled it off, but I did the best I could.

The Woman who Took 27 Lovers: BBC’s The Scandalous Lady W

It took me a while to select a film to watch from the BBC’s selection on their iPlayer, but as I scrolled through the pages and pages of content, a picture of a woman and two men in matching red riding outfits immediately caught my eye. The title under the picture introduced the film as “The Scandalous Lady W.”

I shall begin by saying that I am an absolute sucker for period pieces, so I clicked on the link to watch it on the double. Of course, this was right when I noticed the word “scandalous.” Oh dear, I thought. There’s going to be some sex in this, I bet.

Well, I wasn’t wrong. There was a lot of sex. Lady W did take a lot of lovers, after all.

After a notice explaining that the film was based on a true story, the film begins with a flashback of the Lord Richard Worsley (Shaun Evans) sending his wife, the titular Lady Seymour Worsley (Natalie Dormer) into exile against her will. “Why do you complain so?” he asks her.

“I have lost everything,” she replies in tears.

The film then speeds into the present, where Lady Worsley is fleeing a manor at nighttime, hand-in-hand with an unknown man, who as the sun rises on their carriage escape is revealed to be her lover, Captain George Bisset (Aneurin Barnard). As the morning dawns, Lord Worsley, realizing his wife isn’t in bed with him, storms angrily into the next room, where their infant daughter, Jane, has been left alone with a maid.

An elopement has taken place, leaving Lord Worsley’s name in scandal. In anger, and determined to get the woman he believes he rightfully owns back where she belongs, he vows to take her and Captain Bisset to court, suing them for twenty thousand pounds, which would leaving them in bankruptcy.

However, he had underestimated the cunning and determination of his woman scorned, Lady Seymour Worsley, who, even though she is but a woman in a world of man, is determined to show the world the who the man she married truly is, putting all that she has on stake in one of the most famous trials in eighteenth-century England. Unfortunately, this forces her to reveal the secrets behind her lovers, her life at home, and the kind of woman she is to the world, and this comes at a great cost indeed.

Director Sheree Folkson’s adaption of the book by Hallie Rubenhold was a marvel to watch. I was instantly drawn to the spunk of Lady Worsley, as right from the start, she wanted to marry for love, even if it marrying below her rank. I grew to admire her as she dealt with the wishes that her husband forced upon her, and her bravery to speak out in court. The acting was excellent, the dialogue wasn’t too shabby, and I absolutely adored the setting.

A couple of objections, though. My major one was the sex. Just because Lady Worsley had 27 lovers doesn’t mean that the film needed to show all of them. It was also easy to see Lady Worsley’s discomfort during each of those awkward scenes as well. The other glaring flaw was how quickly the scenes jumped from flashback to present and back again. I was often confused what part of the story’s timeline that particular event had taken place. It was a little easier to keep involved with the tale once I got used to it, but those dastardly quick jumps drove me crazy at first.

But all in all, I enjoyed my experience. And the best part of the whole thing was the note at the end. When Lady Worsley married her final husband, she didn’t take his name. He took hers. 

Would you watch this film? For those who love a good historical flick, I definitely recommend this one. 

Maggie Goes to the Doctor!

In the weeks leading up to London, with an extension of the past few days, life has been pretty rough. Between a mountain of stress, medicine problems, getting used to a new time zone and culture, having to go into surgery when I get back, and, starting today, getting a cold, I feel like all the forces out there are trying to break me down.

And, oh yes, I had to go to the doctor.

I feel like my life is turning into one of The Series of Unfortunate Events books. Like, if Count Olaf appeared at my door at 1:04 a.m. (that's what time it is now, by the way), and was all, "Oh hey. I'm your guardian now. Surprise!" I wouldn't even be shocked.

The Count, as portrayed by Jim Carrey 

But yes. The doctor. Here in London, to be perscribed with certain kinds of medicine, you have to go to a doctor to get a note. Interestingly enough, in the British hospital that I visited, my doctor was French.

Also unfortunately, because she was French, English wasn't her first language.

We got along all right, though. The visit was rather unsuccessful, however, because she sent me to a specialist rather than prescribe the medicine I needed right then.

I was feeling a little disheartened after the visit, but two of my amazing flatmates, who had accompanied me that morning, went out to lunch with me, which was a wonderful comfort.

FIRST FISH AND CHIPS YEAH.

With a cuppa tea, of course. 

Even with the stress of the doctor visit still looming, my flatmate Amy and I had a excellent, genius idea. Make fondue, but with garlic butter!

Welcome to the Honesty Flat, where we win all of the things.

Needless to say, the fondue was wildly successful in our flat. I also got to make duck for the first time! On the same, fowl, subject (pun shamelessly intended), I've noticed how duck is so cheap here, and yet turkey is so expensive, when in the US, it's the other way around. The cultural differences go down to event the meat.

It was a bit of a silver lining to an otherwise cruddy day, but it's been a bit of a hard, hard week. At this point in time,  my only words are, "Life...COME AT ME BRO."

For the sake of brightening up this sad post, I should mention a notable exception. A trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum with my flatmate Kalli, this past Sunday, while not exactly what the doctor ordered, was exactly what the patient needed. We could only visit one part without getting museum'd out, 'cause the place is just too darn big.

Trying on traditional hoop skirts, which just made our butts look big. Marie Antoinette, how did you do it? 

The cravat is back. 

But with no class tomorrow, I'm going out into London. There's still so much I haven't seen, and it's there, waiting for me to explore it. Just that thought itself cheers me up just a little bit.

Here's to brighter days to come! Cheers!

In Which Amy and I Quest for Tex-Mex

'Twas a grand journey, fraught with peril and cold, as we trudged through the night to our final destination, eager to soothe our rumbling bellies. We faced untold evil, lonely paths, and dying cell phone batteries. But triumph! Those obstacles in our way could not stop the determination that comes with the craving for Mexican food. The quest ended, at last, with delicious.

Okay, so me pretending to be a bard aside, I really enjoyed myself. But let's rewind to the beginning of this little story.

My friend Amy and I were hungry. We had just finished dinner, but we were still wanting something to eat. Our original plan was to raid the fridge again, but a commercial came on TV for a website where you could order take away food. After browsing the list, a Tex-Mex place was found. But instead of ordering take away, we decided to go there ourselves.

It was about ten o'clock at night when we left the flat to head toward Tequila Tex-Mex. Little did we know, however, that the restaurant was miles away. Following a map on Amy's phone, we ambled down the quiet streets of South Kensington, our hunger growing by the minute.

What seemed like years later, Amy and I finally made it. The restaurant, it was more of a bar really, was quiet. We settled into our seats, pouring over the menu. Tequila Tex-Mex has over two hundred different shots, and their menu refers to tortillas as pancakes. After chuckling at the choices, we selected our substances.

Amy ordered fajitas and a strawberry margarita and I ordered some chips with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole with a mango daiquiri. We tucked in with relish. Everything was delicious, except the salsa. That was a little weird. The bartenders were really sweet, and even gave us a shot on the house.

I'm not sure what it was, but it was blue. I had never taken a shot before. I'm not much of a drinker. In fact, I had my first alcohol here in London. It burned my mouth like crazy. It would have been rude not to, but I'm staying away from the shots from now on. Alcohol, burns, kiddies. But since the drinking age here is eighteen, my curiosity has gotten the best of me, I'm afraid.

After paying for the edibles, we took a cab home. It was cold, and we were both sleepy. It was almost midnight after all, and we had to get up the next morning for a tour around London.

My belly full and my spirits lifted by good food and good company, sleep came easily that night.

'

A horrible picture of our feast. Such good stuff! 

But if you're in the area, Tequila Tex-Mex is a great place to hit up. The food and drinks are great and the service is friendly and quick. I would say that our little trip was well worth the walk we had to take to get there. However, I'm taking the bus next time.

OVERLOAD WARNING. SEND HELP.

Our FIE orientation is drawing to a close this Sunday evening. I've been a little busy to write, because there's just so much that's been stuffed into my head during the past couple of days. When I wasn't in meetings, I was exploring London by foot, by bus, and by tube.

London is a glorious city, and I think I'm already in love. Everyone here tells me that that's called the "Honeymoon" phase of culture shock, but I'm just glad to be able to see this area for myself. 

I've already found my favorite sushi chain (WASABI IS LIFE), and I've visited Salisbury's at least twice now. I know that the best packaged blueberry muffins come from Waitrose, and that there is a man who plays a traffic cone near Picadilly Circus, which isn't really a circus. Saville Row is a real place, as well as Fleet Street. I've been front row at a West End production of The 39 Steps, which is an absolutely smashing play. We even got to meet the attractive lead actor! I've been through the Parliament building, I've gone on midnight adventures for Tex-Mex (that deserves a post to itself, I think), and I've taken a cab twice. 

I feel like I'm on a dream of a vacation, but that'll have to come to an end, as school starts tomorrow, and I need to make sure I'm prepared.  

I don't even know where and how to process all I've seen and learned, but I guess I'll have to give it a try, one blog post at a time. :) 

Infinite Airplane Rides and First Impressions

The flat is quiet, even though I hear voices echoing from the halls and late night flights cruising overhead.

I am in London at last.

Today began with a rush out the door of my aunt and uncle's house to the airport. There, I hugged my parents for longer than necessary, except it really wasn't, given that I won't see them until Christmas.

The flight itself was, well, infinite. I watched a couple of movies, but I wasn't able to sleep. I sat there in the darkness, waiting in anticipation, waiting for the plane to just land already.

Gosh darn it, plane.

Today, having to go a full day without sleep, never seemed to end. Not that I really wanted it to. Oh wait. Yes I did. I wanted to sleep.

To an outsider, the teams of students shuffling up and down the streets to check in, go shopping for groceries, and go on tours probably looked like a G-rated episode of the Walking Dead.

Right now, as I'm typing, most of my eleven flatmates (you read correctly) are out to dinner. A few of us stayed to chill and head to bed early for orientation tomorrow. I'm actually munching on a Caesar salad and sipping some pineapple juice at the moment.

But how is London, you ask?

Here's the answer: I am already in love with the little I have already seen.

And here;s why:

1. The houses we saw on the way to our flat from Heathrow Airport are just the cutest. Winding narrow streets lined with small houses with miniature backyards and quaint chimney tops. It's perfect.

2. Sainsbury's is the equivalent of Walmart here. They seriously have everything ever. It may be a 15 minute walk from my flat, but I got an excellent deal on juice. I ain't even mad.

3. I live in a quad room. This is going to be killer for me as a mega introvert. But somehow I'll manage.

4. The lady who picked us up from the airport, Sarah, was so bright and cheery this morning that it was hard not to grin, no matter how tired we were.

5. I have the hugest booklet for my internship this fall. I'm not sure I'm capable of this.

6. MY TEXTBOOK ONLY COST EIGHT DOLLARS WHAT IS LIFE

7. I paid for that textbook with Scottish money, and the staff worker had to go check with her supervisor to see if they could take it. I didn't know what I did, but a few seconds later, a Scottish woman dashed into the room and wrapped me in a bear hug, almost knocking me to the ground. She was so happy that I had paid with Scottish money, because it was uncommon around FIE.

8. I've never been tackle hugged by a Scot before. I'd do it again, but maybe when I'm more well rested.

9. Shopping bags can be pretty heavy. Space out your trips well.

10. The Yemen embassy is down the street. Diplomats are our neighbors. We have a castle a few minutes away. What am I even doing here.

And a bonus one for you:

Traffic rules are more like guidelines. They like their high speed road adventures over here.

Last but not least, as I'm sure you are expecting with me being a photographer and all, here are some of my first glimpses of this amazing city.