Showing posts with label b. Show all posts
Showing posts with label b. Show all posts

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

B... is for British Literature

Right at the onset, I would like to say that I'm quite overwhelmed by the lovely comments I got on my post yesterday. It is a beautiful feeling to read them. I'm having a busy day today (my cousin is coming and I'll see him after two years!) but I'll read more blogs tomorrow.
So, like I said, my first year modules for school are all about British literature. And while I've never been one to think of a person's nationality while I read his/her works, I was quite surprised. I have read many of the poets, playwrights, and novelists on my course without thinking that they were British, but they were! So many of them! While it is natural that this should all be happening in the country that gave the world the language itself, but it is still wonderful that they can read, write, and enjoy in their mother tongue.
I've always expressed myself best in English. A rigorous secondary school education coupled with an inherent love for the language ensured that English became my first language. So I would never know what it is like to enjoy studying in a language that is fairly alien, but friends tell me that it is a chore. Anyway, point being that I'm glad the British gave us this wealth of Literature and that I finally got around to studying it. Another happy coincidence is that the course creators have included Sylvia Plath, who was married to an Englishman. I do like her works.
In case, you're wondering, for second year, we were given optional modules to choose from Indian, Canadian, Australian, and American Literature. I chose American (Hemingway, Twain, Fitzgerald, Capote sigh) and Australian (because I have NO idea what it contains!).
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This is the second post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

B... is for Berwick!

Berwick, or North Berwick, is a tiny little town about an hour's drive northwards from Edinburgh. I've been here twice. Both long and lovely stories. Take 1, V's friend lived in Edinburgh a couple of years ago and came up to spend a week in winter 2012 from Birmingham. His ex-landlady, who must be between 75 and 80, drove the three of us upto Tantallon Castle on 31st December. On the way back, we stopped in Berwick at her friends'. A group of 5 - 6 people who fed us cakes, biscuits, cheeses, and lots of tea just sat around in a warm room on a cold night and talked, about various things. It was the last evening of 2012 and it was so random, yet so beautiful.


 Take two: Su's parents, 5 days later, drove us to a beach nearby... and obviously, we headed to Berwick again after a day of picnic and hiking. This time, it was a ball! We went to Daffodil Cafe, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is owned and run by a slightly eccentric Greek and he makes the most delicious blueberry scones, when he has fresh berries and he feels like making them! They are usually announced by the clanging of plates, and it's a small and packed cafe, so that's pretty darn noisy. And I'm sure they are what heaven must smell like!

Anyway, my memories of North Berwick, unlike Harold Fry's, are far from depressing. It is a quaint town with some lovely beaches and you all should visit!
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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, A.