The time seems to be flying by-I've been really busy lately trying to finish up papers and study for finals. One paper is done, two to go and I'm not too worried about the final (fortunately, I only have one). I finished up my internship last week. I really enjoyed it and the new Edward Burne-Jones gallery looked awesome. Birmingham Museum and Gallery are trying to improve their Pre-Raphaelite exhibits-they've been getting a lot of criticism because they have the largest collection, but not much is on display, so they are working on it. I'm glad I got to be a part of it.
Most of you know, I'm a hardcore Byron scholar (or geek, however you want to look at it) and on Tuesday I finally made it to Newstead Abbey. It's closed from November to April and I tried to go last Friday and it rained (the only day in weeks). Tuesday was a lovely day and I made it to the Abbey with no problems (using a variety of public transportation and lots of walking). To give you a little history, Newstead Abbey was originally an Augustinian priory founded in about 1170. It was a working priory until Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1539. However, Henry granted Newstead to the poet's ancestor, Sir John Byron, who converted the priory into a house. It was in the Byron family until Lord Byron sold it in 1818 and it was given to the Nottngham Council in 1931. It's a very well preserved abbey, unlike most in England that were gutted. The gardens are beautiful and there are two lakes and a few ponds.
I've included a few pictures of Josh's football game from last week. He plays on the Old Bridge Sunday league. They're pretty good and doing well in their league. There are many football leagues and I don't pretend to keep up on them very well, so I don't know how they rank "overall." He is number 8. This is their home pitch and it isnt't the best, it's not even and I think it floods often.
After living here, I've gained a fair amount of knowledge of football and enjoy watching it more. I've been keeping track of the Champion's League games and even watched the last two. The final is between Liverpool and Manchester United- Josh and Rich are cheering for Liverpool-I guess I will too.
