Note: Professor Keith Clarke has been on sabbatical at the Department of Information Science, City University of London since last September. In March, he moves to Trieste in Italy. He will return to UCSB mid-June of this year.
When I first thought of a sabbatical in London, I had images of long afternoons sipping tea in my office, pondering the great next thing in Geography, and warmly anticipating a pie and a pint for dinner while the sun set at 3:45pm. I had been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Distinguished Fellowship award for my stay and knew, of course, that I would have to give a few lectures. I did not know “a few” would turn into six so far, with more to come. Add to that four meetings abroad, two conferences, three formal dinners, and hosting three guests (including my students Brent Hecht and Kirk Goldsberry). Nevertheless, my stay so far in London has been amazing, if also amazingly busy, and I have been able to play London and UK tourist to a degree like never before, including the three years when I was a student here.
The London I left in 1977 has changed immeasurably. Whole districts where I would not have gone in the daytime are now yuppified zones with million-dollar apartments. The wealth here is astounding, and I have at least found a place that makes Santa Barbara housing look like a bargain. Islington, where City University lies, is packed every night with hoards of well-dressed (and some not so well-dressed) wage-earners, eagerly converting their disposable income into beer, wine, and Chicken Tikka Masala, voted the new British national dish, even over the more traditional “Cod and Chips” (see: http://www.sonzyskitchen.com/chickentikka.htm). Wealthy Brits, especially those with lucrative jobs in the square mile of the “City” of London, the old financial center, now are exploiting the price-war-lowered airlines to buy second homes in Dubai, Spain, France, Cyprus, and Bulgaria! Members of the Department here commute from cities hundreds of miles away by super high-speed trains. Public transportation is a delight (if expensive and crowded). On a trip to Edinburgh last week, trains in both directions left and arrived on the second they were expected to. Compare that with Amtrak in California!
On arrival, following a week in France at the ACRI conference, Margot and I found that Jonathan Raper (whose house I am renting) was still not yet a father for the second time! As a result, rather than turn Jonathan out of his house (he is now on sabbatical also, in Switzerland), we accepted Dr. David Rhind’s generous offer to stay at 20 Myddelton Square, in the heart of Finsbury and within walking distance of City U, UCL, the British Museum, and much more. Margot and I suffered an overdose of London museums, art galleries, West End shows, and much more excitement. Some tips if you are visiting London: many museums are costly, but some are now free, so look carefully at the small print. Unexpected amazing visits were to the Wallace Collection (www.wallacecollection.org/newsite/public), the Dulwich Picture Gallery (www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk), and Sir John Soanes house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields (www.soane.org). Also much enjoyed were the Museum of Time at the Greenwich Observatory, skating in front of the Natural History Museum at Christmas, the Tower of London, and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
In November we moved into our house in Herne Hill, and, while it now feels suburban to be 12 minutes from Victoria Station, we have kept up the pace of visits. Margot discovered the “Bargain Hunters Guide to London” and has now visited almost every entry. I’ve been to Nottingham, Queens University (Belfast), the University of Leicester, University of Nottingham, City University (for the major Leverhulme lecture) and at University College London I’ve spoken in both Geomatics and at CASA (Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis), where I’ve been attending weekly seminars and having some good discussions with Paul Longley and Mike Batty. I’ve very much enjoyed the travel, seeing different cities, riding those fabulous trains, and meeting some first rate British Geographers. In December, I got to visit Tel Aviv in Israel to give a keynote lecture at the Israeli National Geography Society, hosted by Itzhak Benenson who visited UCSB last year.
In January, Margot and I were fortunate enough to visit Egypt with National Geographic’s Committee on Research and Exploration. For nine days, we were whisked from dawn to dusk (and sometimes beyond) from Cairo to Aswan, to Luxor and Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo, and to the Western desert. Not only did we get to visit extraordinary Archeological excavations in progress, but we also were permitted to go to places not normally accessible, such as under the great stepped pyramid at Sakharra and into the tombs of Seti I and Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. We also went snorkeling on the coral reefs at Sharm el Sheikh, toured the Sinai desert at the Colored Canyon, and visited the amazing site where ancient whale skeletons are being excavated at Wadi Al Hitan. In all, a trip of a lifetime, and I have 500 photographs to prove it!
There is much we miss about Santa Barbara, but this sabbatical so far has been a fantastic experience. Whether it’s seeing foxes in the backyard, unexpected snowfall (and one tornado), or the thrill of discovering historical gems among the back streets, it’s hard to think that our time here is now running short. Soon we are off on the “orient express” to Trieste, and part II. I promise a “Letter from Trieste,” some time in the Spring.
Best to all – Keith and Margot Clarke
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