England, like much of the American East Coast and Midwest, is currently enduring some very cold temperatures. Almost all parts of the country including London have experienced freezing temperatures this week as well as snow and ice in many places. In London, we ventured out after one of the coldest nights in decades to see the frozen fountain at Trafalgar Square. Those poor mermaids! Stay warm, everyone!
Tower Bridge
During my trip to London this week, I got an up close and personal look at the iconic Tower Bridge on a foggy and rather moody night. Built over 120 years ago, it is an engineering marvel and I never get tired of seeing it, especially with the new lighting system installed for the 2012 Olympic Games. Across the water is the Tower of London, the famous prison (residents included Anne Boleyn and Guy Fawkes) and site of numerous executions by hanging, beheading, and being burned at the stake. On a less gruesome note, visitors to the bridge can experience spectacular panoramic views as well as take a look inside the Victorian engine rooms to see the steam engines that once powered the bridge lifts. The City of London is required to raise the bridge to “provide access to and egress from the Upper Pool of London for registered vessels with a mast or superstructure of 30 feet or more.” This service is free of charge and available with twenty-four hours notice any time, day or night, 365 days per year. Which is good to know. Just in case I find myself on the Thames with a thirty-foot superstructure. Which, come to think of it, might be a good way to spend Thanksgiving. But however you celebrate, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and long weekend!
Wind Sculpture (SG) I
Wind Sculpture (SG) I, by the British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, attempts to capture the invisible (in this case, the wind) in a moment of time. The fiberglass sculpture depicts a piece of fabric caught in a gust of wind, part of his “second generation” (SG) of artworks that explore the theme of making known the invisible. Resembling a painted West African fabric, the artwork "evokes a sense of freedom and possibility, which for the artist represents the originality of the hybrid." Shonibare, who split his childhood between England and Nigeria, regards himself as "a cultural hybrid, a product of complex and layered relationships forged by centuries of global trade, migration, politics, and cultural exchange." Through his artwork he invites us to "look beyond appearances and assumptions about identity." The beautiful piece is on view at Doris C. Freedman Plaza (in the southeast corner of Central Park) through October 14, 2018.
The World Cup at DLG
Gaby anxiously watching the first half of the Colombia vs. England game.
This week's Colombia vs. England game led to some tense moments for the firm. Gaby, who is from Colombia, watched nervously here in New York as the two teams battled it out. Protima, traveling in England, held her breath as the game went into penalty shootouts. When England won the shootout 4-3, the office consoled Gaby, and Protima joined the massive celebrations in England where everyone was relieved that they had finally won their first World Cup penalty shootout. England will play Sweden this weekend. Good luck to both teams (okay, maybe a little more luck to England)!
Happy Thanksgiving from England!
I celebrated Thanksgiving in England this year with a trip to the Palm House at Kew Gardens where I visited with a lovely peacock. Designed by Decimus Burton and engineered by Richard Turner (who borrowed techniques from the shipbuilding industry), the Palm House is "one of the most important surviving Victorian iron and glass structures in the world." It features 16,000 panes of glass and was built to house exotic palms and plants. Heated by gas now, the interior atmosphere is designed to capture the wonder of a tropical rainforest. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, beautiful peacock (and everyone else)!
Slate: “Why Immigration Pushed Britons to Brexit”
Last week voters in England and Wales choose to leave the European Union in a nationwide referendum commonly referred to as the “Brexit” vote, with many voters claiming immigration fears as a top decider for them. The aftershocks of this referendum have been far reaching. In response, Prime Minister David Cameron, who opposed Brexit, offered his resignation, the Labour party is in turmoil, Britain’s credit rating has been downgraded, the British pound fell to a thirty-one year low against the dollar, the euro fell, and global stock prices have plummeted.
Many are offering their views on what exactly caused so many voters to want out of the European Union when many economists and financial leaders warned that it would not be a prudent move. Slate examines former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s role in opening up Britain’s borders to immigrants beginning in the late 1990s. Britain soon received roughly twice as many immigrants in the United Kingdom as had arrived in the previous half-century. Britain additionally become a highly sought-after destination for less-skilled European immigrants, due to the structure of the UK’s economy and its public policies, as well as the free movement of peoples, one of the core principles of the European Union. This, combined with loss of economic opportunity in many areas of the United Kingdom and the availability of public benefits for many recent immigrants, fueled an anti-immigrant backlash.
Many Leave campaigners, including Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, claimed that the EU was preventing the UK from enacting immigration controls. In the run-up to the vote, however, London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, who was for the Remain campaign, objected to the scapegoating of immigrants and said of his Leave opponents that it wasn’t so much “project fear, it’s been project hate as far as immigration is concerned.”
Tony Blair weighed in post-Brexit vote, acknowledging the role that high immigration numbers played, but framed it slightly differently:
The strains within Britain that led to this referendum result are universal, at least in the West. Insurgent movements of left and right, posing as standard-bearers of a popular revolt against the political establishment, can spread and grow at scale and speed. Today’s polarized and fragmented news coverage only encourages such insurgencies — an effect magnified many times by the social media revolution.
While the Leave campaigners promised to swiftly reduce the number of immigrants coming to Britain from other parts of Europe, with claims that a vote to leave would “bring down the numbers” by 2020, afterwards, however, the Leave campaigners adjusted their remarks: “Frankly, if people watching think that they have voted and there is now going to be zero immigration from the E.U., they are going to be disappointed,” Daniel Hannan, a prominent Leave advocate and member of the European Parliament, admits now.
The Brexit vote has already given rise to an increase in xenophobia and reports of abuse against immigrants. Meanwhile, many eligible UK nationals, unsure of what lies ahead for the United Kingdom, are busy applying for duel citizenship.