|
One adventure after another! Well, I have started on my two research projects for the term, and I found out that the libraries in York did not have everything I needed. But the University of Leeds' Library did have what I needed. Leeds is a short train ride (or bus) southwest of York. It is a 'big' city. I told one of the locals here in York that I was going to Leeds, and the guy said- "Bloody-hell that's a terrible place to visit! The rubbishbin of England it is." Asking around I seemed to get similar responses from other locals. While usually the locals reserve those kinds of harsh comments for the 'south' (i.e. London area), now that I have visited Leeds I understand what the locals are talking about. It was a huge contrast that is for sure, and 'rubbishbin' is a good way of summing up Leeds. So I took the train this morning- it was a half-hour scoot, no problem. I did not have a map with me, but I had memorized the streets I would need to take once I got there. So it takes me about 20 minutes to walk up to the campus. Then I hit the library. I had already looked up the book I needed online, and I knew it was there. I was going to photocopy and run- I should be on the bus out of there in less than an hour. So I go into the library, and I start looking for West Level 2. Well, of course it is not that easy right, or there wouldn't be much to my Leeds story at all. So I find West Level 2, and I am searching everywhere for the Scandanavian section. I cannot find an entire SECTION of books. I found Icelandic- which is pretty damn close, but I couldn't find the book I was looking for. So I walk up to one of the staff that is stocking the shelves. She says- Yeah, it should be here. So we look all over for about fifteen minutes, looking at maps, etc- nothing. She laughs, and says she is not surprised she cannot find it either because she just started working there. So I realize I needed someone elses help. So I wander around until I see this cute girl stocking the shelves, and I go up to her. She pretty much goes down the same shelves, looks at the same maps, but she doesn't have a ready excuse why she cannot find it. She says laughing- "I have been going to this school for three years now and the library still confuses me sometimes." She says something to the effect that she usually works at the desk, but they are low on shelf stockers so she was doing this temporarily. She refers me to the 'Help Desk'. So I pretty much have to walk all the way back up two floors to where I started. By this time, I have wasted a good hour, and I am about to pull my hair out. I go to the 'Help Desk', and I explain that I don't go to the school, that I am a grad student from York, and I have asked two workers and they cannot refer me to this SECTION. She asked me if I had gone to West Level 2. Yes, yes, yes! Then she asked me if I checked the "Annex". The what?! Annex?! What the hell is this, you got a whole country in this damn place? She then pulls out a "new" map (not like the ones on the wall), and she points out where the Annex is. No one in there right mind could find this place. It is literally behind rolling shelves. I was right next to it the entire time, but you need to roll the shelves out of the way like a secret passage. So I go down there, the cute girl is working on the stupid shelf I need to roll out of the way, I roll it and BEHOLD a door is back there! Un-freaken-believable! So I go through the door, and it is like a giant freaken dungeon or torture chamber for old books. You know that old Santa movie with the scene where broken and ignored toys go?- well, I found the place where old, unwanted books go- the Annex. The lights in this cavernous underground cellar barely worked, and I literally had to grab one book at a time and hold it up so I can read the spine. I am not kidding you. So I am looking for this book that is in a series, the number I need is 95. I literally start at 30 and work my way up- grabbing the tenth book or so to make sure they are in order- of course they are not. I get to the 90's and I grab each one 91...92...93...94...96!- it is not there!...97...98...99! I just about shit. I laughed out loud at the absurdity of the whole situation, and I decided to pick up every single volume of 120+ volumes to hold each one individually up to the light to make sure it just wasn't misplaced in the half-light or overlooked by me. I spend a good twenty to thirty minutes doing this- nothing. What the heck am I going to do now- I NEED this book. It is probably the most relevant book for one of my projects- I HAVE to have it! So I go through EVERY book one more time JUST to make sure I didn't miss it- then I rearrange the books in order just because I felt sorry for them being clearly neglected in the Annex (i.e. torture chamber/ dungeon). So I start to walk out, and I see this cart pushed off to this shadowy corner that is full of books- AH! This must be for the stocker to restock the shelves. I run over and quickly finger through the books- I actually found one of the tan volumes to the series, snatch it up... 82. Shit! So I go put the 82 on the shelf in its proper place. I am thinking the Book Gods have to believe in reciprocity here- I am being kind to their unloved, abandoned children. Help me Book Gods! So I am feeling pretty damn dejected now- the absurdity has left me dry and pissed off. I like getting my way with things, who doesn't. So I walk out of the door- roll the shelves so I can get out of the Land of Exiled Books, and as I roll the shelves I see a single volume sitting on the top shelf awkwardly lying on its side like it is going to fall- like it wasn't supposed to be there. It is tan!... and I reach up and grab it!... and #95 baby! Thank you Book Gods! This book was completely out of place in the Modern History section. I bet whoever grabbed it didn't want to travel into the dungeon and just threw it up on the rolling shelf. So I stride confidently up two flights of stairs, revitalized and full of energy, the Book Gods having christened me with luck, and I made my photocopies with a satisfied ear-to-ear grin. And you know what I did next. I could have put the book on the shelf next to the photocopy machines like everyone else, I could have, but I walked all the way back down two stories to the Annex, rolled the shelves back again, and I walked all the way back into the corner of the dark cellar, and I put #95 in order between 94 and 96, gave a wink to the Book Gods, tipped my hat, and I was on my way. If this is not a good sign that this paper is going to rock, I don't know what is.
So I decided since I came all the way to Leeds, I might as well take the bus an hour north and check out the Cathedral at Ripon. The Ripon Cathedral has Anglo-Saxon roots and was started by Wilfrid, who is an Anglo-Saxon Saint. Wilfrid was a cantankerous sort of fellow. He was one of these bishops very much involved with the world and politics of the time, and caused a lot of trouble, got himself exiled by a king, so he went to the neighboring kingdom and converted the kingdom to Christianity. I like him as a character in history, you can see by the things he did that he did things his way, which caused problems a lot of times, but he always seemed to make do and adjusted magnificently to new challenges (turning lemons to lemonade). So I go down to the Leeds bus station, and I order my ticket. I took the bus once in the States (Greyhound), and I felt like I was seated among convicts. Here in England I felt like the convicts were running the show and driving the bus. These guys were rough and ready fellows with tattoos, bald heads, scars all over, and big silver chains and bracelets. I think the English Mafia runs the National Bus gig here in England- I swear. But these guys don't mess around, we were freaken flying through the Yorkshire Dales. I couldn't believe how fast we were going on these little roads. It was crazy. So about an hour later, we pull up in Ripon, and you can see the Cathedral a mile away. HUGE contrast between Leeds and Ripon. Ripon this quaint, little sleepy town, while Leeds is this dirty monster of a city with all the crap and hustle-and-bustle that comes with it. So I head to the Cathedral in Ripon, and when I get there I walk in and they have a whole choir and symphony in there playing! I was totally shocked! Acoustics in these big buildings are just awesome! So I sat down and just listened for about a half-hour. It was really wonderful. Then I got up and looked around after they took a break. I ran into this lady that is a member of the church there, and we start talking. She gives me the pimped-out tour of the whole place. She had all kinds of cool info to give. Turns out the guy who wrote Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) went to the church and was inspired to write the story by this wood carving in the choirstalls. Go figure? She also showed me a coat of arms from which the American flag got its idea to have stars and stripes. Pretty cool. Then she takes me down into the Anglo-Saxon crypt- ah yeah! So I went around after spending about an hour with the lady, and I snapped a bunch of pictures. Turns out for Easter they cover the alter and statues up, so I couldn't get any shots of that. The symphony and choir were putting on a show latter that night and the next, so they continued practicing while I looked around. It was awesome to listen to the music booming while I was looking around. After that, I took off to the bus station, got on the regular bus this time and not the National, and I had an hour ride back home to York. Being in Leeds really makes one appreciate a place like York- it really is a special kind of town. Leeds reminded me of so many of the big cities in the US- packed full of people, sprawling, dirty, and everybody is just racing around, doing their job, and don't want to be bothered. I'll take the small-city atmosphere of York any day of the week. Enjoy the pictures of the Cathedral! |
|
