It is hard to believe that I am already half-way through my time here in London.
I have just returned to the flat after a weekend at Cumberland Lodge, an English country house located in Windsor Great Park. From Friday evening until this afternoon, I observed several legal education workshops for barristers-in-training (students in the midst of completing the Bar Vocational Course).
I was looking forward to the weekend, among other reasons, because I have been unable to play piano since my arrival here and I guessed that the lodge would have a piano I could use. As expected, just after check-in, I found a grand piano in the 'tapestry room' of the lodge and promptly unpacked my music. I had a good few minutes of playing without much company, but as time went on people came into the tapestry room to read newspapers and hang out, so I became a bit anxious about missing notes.
After I finished playing, I figured out which of the many unlocked rooms in the main lodge was assigned to me. I found Rebecca and walked over with her to a neighboring building where we would sit and listen to a lecture on sports law, the area of law featured that weekend, delivered by a member of Blackstone Chambers, Michael Beloff, Q.C. Mr. Beloff's speech was peppered with jokes and political humor, and made sports law sound more interesting than I expected.
Saturday morning I took a long walk on the grounds and discovered the nearby polo club. I returned to the lodge and practiced piano on a better grand I discovered in the drawing room. In the comfort of the empty drawing room, I was asked whether I wanted to participate in the evening's 'entertainments,' and thought it would be a good idea to take up the offer and play and sing something for the group.
For the remainder of the day, while doing other things, I fretted about the decision to play and sing something. I had told the organizer I would sing a rather ambitious song, and felt committed to going through with it. I reminded myself that other students were offering to sing karaoke in front of the group, so I shouldn't feel so self-conscious.
There is, as I discovered, a real difference between karaoke 'Summer Nights' sung by a group of four or five moderately tipsy law students and assisted by the audience and sitting down to play a sing a musical number from Dreamgirls, as I had chosen.* For one thing, when you miss a note singing a verse in karaoke, it's obviously just a silly thing, so it's funny. When you can't find the right keys at the right time while singing full voice like a motown diva, the feeling is more uncomfortable, like, gosh, look at that . . . effort.
It was not, however, such a disaster. As expected, the audience rewarded me for having considered the 'entertainments' a quasi-serious exercise, and for being brave enough to sing and play in front of them without entirely falling on my face. On top of that, I've lived long enough to know that people tend to largely forget exactly what you sounded like even five minutes after the performance, and instead remember just a couple things about it.** On the reasoning that at least one of those things was most likely positive, I stopped obsessing about my performance.
My contribution aside, the entertainment was great fun, as the law students told jokes, sung karaoke Jon Bon Jovi (moderately bizarre considering the English accents of the singers), recited poetry, and play acted in funny sketches. Also, one Q.C. sung a song that started off about a hippopotamus, and to my amazement, the entire audience joined in the chorus, which was about 'glorious mud.'
On Saturday night I spoke with a number of law students and senior barristers who were assisting with the weekend's substantive activities. I found that the law students I spoke with frequently referenced events in history, philosophical ideas and politics generally. Rebecca also found that dinner conversation at the lodge was more intellectual (but also more 'combative' -- we were among barristers!) than the average dinner conversation back home.
I also observed that the senior barristers I met at the lodge were very kind, approachable people. Although this was certainly a self-selected group of bar leaders interested in training new barristers, I got the feeling that the new barristers were in the hands of a great cadre of mentors. As with other experiences I have had in the past three weeks, I felt honored and inspired to be a lawyer among such professional and collegal barristers as I met over the weekend.
I have just returned to the flat after a weekend at Cumberland Lodge, an English country house located in Windsor Great Park. From Friday evening until this afternoon, I observed several legal education workshops for barristers-in-training (students in the midst of completing the Bar Vocational Course).
I was looking forward to the weekend, among other reasons, because I have been unable to play piano since my arrival here and I guessed that the lodge would have a piano I could use. As expected, just after check-in, I found a grand piano in the 'tapestry room' of the lodge and promptly unpacked my music. I had a good few minutes of playing without much company, but as time went on people came into the tapestry room to read newspapers and hang out, so I became a bit anxious about missing notes.
After I finished playing, I figured out which of the many unlocked rooms in the main lodge was assigned to me. I found Rebecca and walked over with her to a neighboring building where we would sit and listen to a lecture on sports law, the area of law featured that weekend, delivered by a member of Blackstone Chambers, Michael Beloff, Q.C. Mr. Beloff's speech was peppered with jokes and political humor, and made sports law sound more interesting than I expected.
Saturday morning I took a long walk on the grounds and discovered the nearby polo club. I returned to the lodge and practiced piano on a better grand I discovered in the drawing room. In the comfort of the empty drawing room, I was asked whether I wanted to participate in the evening's 'entertainments,' and thought it would be a good idea to take up the offer and play and sing something for the group.
For the remainder of the day, while doing other things, I fretted about the decision to play and sing something. I had told the organizer I would sing a rather ambitious song, and felt committed to going through with it. I reminded myself that other students were offering to sing karaoke in front of the group, so I shouldn't feel so self-conscious.
There is, as I discovered, a real difference between karaoke 'Summer Nights' sung by a group of four or five moderately tipsy law students and assisted by the audience and sitting down to play a sing a musical number from Dreamgirls, as I had chosen.* For one thing, when you miss a note singing a verse in karaoke, it's obviously just a silly thing, so it's funny. When you can't find the right keys at the right time while singing full voice like a motown diva, the feeling is more uncomfortable, like, gosh, look at that . . . effort.
It was not, however, such a disaster. As expected, the audience rewarded me for having considered the 'entertainments' a quasi-serious exercise, and for being brave enough to sing and play in front of them without entirely falling on my face. On top of that, I've lived long enough to know that people tend to largely forget exactly what you sounded like even five minutes after the performance, and instead remember just a couple things about it.** On the reasoning that at least one of those things was most likely positive, I stopped obsessing about my performance.
My contribution aside, the entertainment was great fun, as the law students told jokes, sung karaoke Jon Bon Jovi (moderately bizarre considering the English accents of the singers), recited poetry, and play acted in funny sketches. Also, one Q.C. sung a song that started off about a hippopotamus, and to my amazement, the entire audience joined in the chorus, which was about 'glorious mud.'
On Saturday night I spoke with a number of law students and senior barristers who were assisting with the weekend's substantive activities. I found that the law students I spoke with frequently referenced events in history, philosophical ideas and politics generally. Rebecca also found that dinner conversation at the lodge was more intellectual (but also more 'combative' -- we were among barristers!) than the average dinner conversation back home.
I also observed that the senior barristers I met at the lodge were very kind, approachable people. Although this was certainly a self-selected group of bar leaders interested in training new barristers, I got the feeling that the new barristers were in the hands of a great cadre of mentors. As with other experiences I have had in the past three weeks, I felt honored and inspired to be a lawyer among such professional and collegal barristers as I met over the weekend.
A sitting room at the lodge
* Note: If the song you feel like singing in public is sung in a movie by Beyonce, and you are not, in fact, Beyonce (or Whitney Houston), pick another song.
** And, as I learned when I sung a few bars in a freshman undergraduate lecture (on the professor's invitation), when you sing in front of people, they tend to remember your existence, if only as 'The Singer.'
* Note: If the song you feel like singing in public is sung in a movie by Beyonce, and you are not, in fact, Beyonce (or Whitney Houston), pick another song.
** And, as I learned when I sung a few bars in a freshman undergraduate lecture (on the professor's invitation), when you sing in front of people, they tend to remember your existence, if only as 'The Singer.'
1 comment:
Lisa: I read with interest your blog about the Cumberland Lodge Weekend. Sounds like you are having a great trip. Heather McMahon emailed Rudy and I over the weekend and wanted to know how to get in touch with you. Pls email her that information at HM_McMahon@yahoo.co.uk. She's taking some time off from work to be with her Mom (similar situation to your sister).
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