Genius Hour- Ancient History- The British Museum and a Visit to the United Kingdom
Genius Hour: My Visit to London
England: A Familial Connection
This past year, my father passed away. It was a difficult journey. He
battled hard to fight cancer, and the treatments allowed us to spend more
invaluable time with him. I was able to learn more about his past while
chatting with him over the years. Our family had visited the United Kingdom on
many occasions in the past and we were able to see so many historical sites on
our visits, including where dad grew up and the schools he attended.
Dad was born in India and at the age of eleven came to the United
Kingdom in the 1960s. I remember him telling me stories of living in a joint
family and riding his bicycle through the streets of March and later
Peterborough. He told me about his educational journey as he wrote standardized
tests all the way through school, then attended Bradford University and
received his PhD in engineering. He eventually moved our family to Canada
before I was born to work for Bell Northern Research (later Nortel).
My grandfather and his family experienced the horrors of partition in
1947. His traumatic experiences were highlighted by having to move his entire
family from a small village in present-day Sialkot District, Pakistan, to the
refugee camps in Amritsar and finally into Haryana (Ambala-Cant). Just before
the partition of India, the Allied forces had won the Second World War, but the
rebuilding of the United Kingdom had started. Many soldiers who left
the United Kingdom during the war never returned; thus, as the UK was rebuilding,
it needed skilled help in the trades. He saw many of his relatives leave for
work in the United Kingdom, working in factories and as salespeople. In 1953,
he took the courageous step of leaving his young family, including my father,
to work in England. He was in search of a better life for his family, while contributing to the rebuilding of the United Kingdom and found himself working in
local factories and selling clothing at local markets.
He packed his clothing, some keepsakes to remember his family and
boarded a boat for the United Kingdom. He decided to build a better life for
his children, as a newly born India was trying to make its way in the new
world. He settled in East Anglia, a short distance from London. I will always
remember his home, as he managed an impeccable garden that produced plums,
apples, pears and vast amounts of vegetables grown in East Anglia's
nutrient-rich soil.
This is why I am often conflicted when asked the question "where do
you come from?", as my parents moved to the United Kingdom at a young
enough age to have experienced their youth. Yet, we have limited family who
still live in India and I was born in Canada. My sisters were born in the
United Kingdom and my parents were raised there. Thus, I try to explain that
while my ancestry is from India, I find myself to be truly Canadian.
During the summer of 2023, after nearly eleven years, I was able to
visit the United Kingdom for a relative's wedding. I would like to share some of
these memories with my students for a Genius Hour activity. I will describe
some of the places I visited on this trip. I also created a presentation using Canva
that I will share here as well:
London:
I had never truly seen London, and with my wife’s cousin getting
married, this was the opportune time after COVID to travel. We arrived at a
busy Heathrow airport, which is one of several in and around London. The
airport is quite large and features state-of-the-art technology, including a
connecting train into central London.
Our first day in London featured a trip from our cousin's house in
Shepperton via the Tube to Covent Garden.
(Left) Enjoying Fish and Chips at St.James Park
The "chips" or fries tasted amazing, and the fish tasted fresh and crispy. We truly earned our lunch as we walked over 20,000 steps that day. London is very walkable as a city and features many cafes and treat stops. It is important to mention that it is an expensive city as well, with each British pound being approximately two Canadian dollars. Thus, if a coffee costs two pounds in the United Kingdom, it would be four dollars Canadian.
|
|
|
One
of many tourist buses in London- Note it is far cheaper to use the
underground to travel from place to place (Yes, the bus says toot bus- small
chuckle). |
Nottingham:
The city of Nottingham is known for Robin Hood, the famous hero who challenged corruption during the Middle Ages. It also features an interesting history, including the textile industry, specifically lace, as well as many caves that were used by peasants and even armies to overthrow a ruler. We travelled to Nottingham to meet my childhood and best friend
and his wonderful partner. I had not seen my best friend since my marriage
nearly eleven years prior. We had a blast and were able to see many different
sites and sounds, including Nottingham Castle:
(Above) Nottingham Castle, Attenborough Reserve and
Robin Hood are three of many sites to see in Nottingham
We were able to experience some amazing food at locally owned and
operated eateries and walk downtown with great ease. Nottingham also features
the Attenborough Nature Reserve, named after Sir Richard Attenborough, who is
known for his "Planet Earth" series on Netflix and helps with
international conservation projects.
Milton Keynes:
It was hard leaving Nottingham after having so much fun and seeing my
best friend after nearly 10 years. From Nottingham, we boarded a National
Express bus and parted for Milton Keynes to visit my wife's childhood best
friend who we hadn’t seen in nearly eight years. It was such a lovely time spent
with her and her caring family.
Milton Keynes is a newer city that was built in the 1960s. It was built to serve as a commuter
city to an otherwise congested London. Since then, it has grown immensely and is known for its
modernized roads and architecture. Milton Keynes had a secret, which we found to
be quite interesting. During the Second World War, Britain's smartest code
breakers were dispatched to a small farm to break Nazi submarine codes. The
facility was named Bletchley Park and features many interactive exhibits and it was very amazing to visit. It featured the Turing machine, named after Alan
Turing, who helped break these codes. This story can be watched in the movie,
"The Imitation Game".
While in Milton Keynes, we were able to travel to Oxford. The city of Oxford
is home to one of the world's most renowned academic institutions, namely, Oxford
University. We were able to see many of the great buildings from each of the
colleges that make up the University.
Photos
Above: Oxford University Balliol College in the background and the library to
the right.
Oxford boasts a reputation for having educated 28 British prime ministers and is home to many authors and academics, including J.R.R. Tolkien, Oscar Wilde (The Oscar goes to...) and many Nobel Laureates such as Mala Yousefzai. It was also where some of the movie Harry Potter was filmed.
London 2.0
We travelled by train to Euston Station from Milton Keynes and then
explored London, including the British Library, before heading to Kew Gardens.
We were able to exceed 20,000 steps each day as the city is quite walkable and
the transit system is very user-friendly. The underground system known as the
"Tube" is quite affordable and easy to use. We were even able to
travel by boat and via the famous double-decker bus on many occasions.
Pictures (Left to Right): Greenwich (International Date Line), Kew
Gardens, Alexandria Palace
Aside from the beautiful wedding, one of the
biggest highlights of this trip was my visit to the British Museum. We were
able to see priceless relics from history through a beautiful timeline of
artifacts. From the wall of Sumer to the Rosetta Stone, my thirst of history
and archeology was satisfied. We were also able to visit Kew Gardens where Galapagos
Islands. He utilized some of this evidence to support the concept of natural selection and incorporated it into his groundbreaking book, “The Origin of Species”.
Finally, we visited Alexandra palace, one of the original broadcast sites of
the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which featured a lovely farmers
market nearby along with a lovely indoor ice-skating rink and lounge area.
I hope to one day return to England and be able
to see Peterborough, the place where my father grew up along with Yorkshire,
where my mother grew up, Scotland and Wales.
Note: All images were taken by
Gursevak Kasbia
Comments
Post a Comment