First of the Grassroots

Sprawling fields

Something we don't get to see in Singapore... Power lines

Finally I have had my first Grassroots service session in Cardiff. This Wednesday, we headed into Cardiff, marking the start of the Grassroots Service sessions for this term. There are about 10 of us in the service, and we are going to be at the Centre every Wednesday. We were actually supposed to help run a theatre course for the teenagers and young adults who frequented the centre. Sadly, since they didn't receive the necessary response this year to carry out the course, they have not been able to start such a class.

At the crossroads, well half a cross really

Cardiff... HERE I COME

Nevertheless, we are still going down every Wednesday to help out with any of the activities they hope to carry out. This week, when we got into the centre, we headed for the main chillin' area. It was basically a large room with  couches and chairs all around and a platform on one side. On the platform there was a drum set, and numerous amplifiers connected to microphones, two guitars and a bass. There was an extremely relaxed, laid back atmosphere. If anybody wanted to play the instruments, they were more than welcome to pick them up and start jamming with all the other players. 

I spy a clear blue sky

Church on the corner of a street

Cardiff Millennium Centre to the left... Out of the pic ):

We started off with 'House of the Rising Sun' played by fellow firsties on guitar and keyboards. The rest of us picked up percussion instruments and beat along. One of the teenagers provided the vocals and off we went! Midway through, someone else provided a rap to the melody and boy was it good. 

After that, a couple other firsties, including me, took a turn. We did a couple more songs and were joined by more of the other teenagers from the centre. I was so into it that I didn't realise how fast time had gone by. Before I knew it, we were getting back on the bus and heading back to campus. Indeed, time flies when you're having fun! 

Love this building. Has such a West End vibe

Though we might not have been able to carry out the theatre program, I think we are still doing what we go there to do - help the teens and young adults at the centre in whatever way we can! (:

More architecture

"There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun. It's been a ruin of many a poor boy, and God I know I'm one." - House of the Rising Sun, Animals

RED & GREY

Going Global

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned I was in the Global faculty. Since then, I have had 2 training sessions to equip me with the skills for helping others. For us in the Global Faculty, all of the first years have training together every Monday from 2.15 - 4.15 in the glass room of the St. Donat's Arts Centre. The last 2 courses have been held by an ex AC student.


In the Global faculty, we have many different activities we can take as our service sessions. There is Primary and Secondary schools, Worldview, Grassroots and Themed Team. I hope I haven't left out any of the activities! I am in the Grassroots session, where we go to a Grassroots centre (hence the name) in Cardiff and teach the members there. Sadly, due to some technical difficulties, we have had to change the program a bit, but I will save that for the next post! 

So far, I think that the training program has been beneficial. I must admit that it can be a tough paying close attention at the training sessions after a whole day of codes, but other than fighting against sleepy periods, it's been good so far! I've had training sessions with similar objectives in the past. Yet, they have always been about what to do or how to behave when doing so and so service. In our training, we have been focusing on getting rid of our own 'baggage' before moving on to help others get rid of theirs. It focuses a lot on the need to take care of ourselves and manage our own well-being. The AC student in charge of it shared how she suffered and was no use at all to the people around her, when she embarked on a service project without first making sure she was well enough both physically and mentally to pull it off.

So far we have done a lot of activities that make us reflect on our own lives; some about the present, some about the past and some for the future. We did one on writing a timeline on our lives so far and then continuing to aim for something for every 5 years till reaching the age of 50 years. It sounded deceivingly simple, but in reality, I realised I had no idea what I seriously wanted to achieve by the age of thirty onwards. Yet, I was sure to keep it real, with me suffering a midlife crisis at the age of 50, seems pretty likely to me. If anything, I might have one even earlier! 

Well, that's what we will be doing for the first term for one of our Global sessions, and I am sure that by the end of the training sessions, I'll have learnt more skills for doing service work, but more about myself as well! 

" Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people" - Albert Einstein

Foodbank and why I want to go back to Cowbridge

Along the main street in Cowbridge

 

Last Saturday, I went into the little town of Cowbridge to help an organisation known as the Foodbank. More specifically the Bridgend Foodbank (Bridgend is a nearby town too). Cowbridge is one of the most affluent towns (a senior told me it was the wealthiest town in the whole of South Wales), while Bridgend is one of the poorest. This might seem slightly unusual since they are about 10 minutes away from each other, but then again, where there are people with plenty, there must be people with little. 

Cars waiting to be filled with groceries

What the Foodbank does is hand out food to people who are unable to supply themselves and their families with the bare necessities. They run a shop in Bridgend where the locals come in to ask for things like cereal, chopped tomatoes, biscuits, etc. In order to supply their Foodbank, they need to receive donations (either monetary or the food itself) and that is where the 6 volunteers from Atlantic College come in). What we were to do for Foodbank was to stand at the entrance to Waitrose and distribute shopping lists to incoming grocery shoppers. The shopping list had the items that the Foodbank was asking for donations of, and encouraged shoppers to get one or two of the items while shopping. On their way out, they would pass it to the Foodbank booth, collecting these items. They would be brought back to Bridgend and put in the shop for collection by those in need.

WAITROSE!!!

I enjoyed myself immensely. It was not always easy to convince people that it would be in their interest to donate to the Foodbank. Let alone, get them to take the shopping list. However, there were definitely more people willing to donate and eager to find out more about the Foodbank than those on the flipside. In fact, we saw a great number of very generous donations that day. It was extremely satisfying and I really like the idea of a Foodbank. I think that by preparing the list of food the organisation requires and handing them out at supermarkets, more people will contribute. The buying of tinned food for example does not cost too much, and it also has a greater immediate effect on the people it goes to. 

Gals 'n' trolleys!

Such collections usually take place once a month and I can't wait for the next one. I am considering volunteering on a weekly basis as well at the Bridgend foodbank distribution centre because I feel very moved by the mission and work of this organisation. I will attach the link to their website below and please do take a look at the good work they do! Even if you're out of the UK, I think you can still benefit from the awareness it spreads (:

A beautiful day for a cuppa

However, other than volunteer on Saturday, I also managed to explore the town of Cowbridge. We had about an hour before our shift and so I decided to see what this town was all about. My first stop was Cafe Nero, which is sort of like the Starbucks of the UK. I had wanted to look for the pastry made by the Bad boys' Bakery, a project of Gordon Ramsay's. It would take a while to explain the story behind the bakery so again I will attach the link to the website, but basically the pastries are made by prisoners in Brixton. Cafe Nero is one of the chains that has agreed to sell the products made by the prisoners and they currently sell their lemon treacle slice.

As my sister would say,
"FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!!!"

Sadly, after talking to the two lovely baristas on shift, I found out that only the Cafe Nero stores in London and Brixton stock the slices. Therefore, I had to contend with the other pastries on sale. I ended up ordering a cappuccino, and three different sweet treats. Namely, a lemon ricotta cheesecake, millionaire shortbread and a gluten free carrot cake. THEY WERE ALL AMAZING. I really enjoyed my tea and had a good chat with the baristas and some of the other customers.

The cozy Cafe Nero

After my tea break, I headed off for the main street of Cowbridge. Since I had spent quite a while in Cafe Nero, I didn't have much time to spend roaming the streets. I ended up only going into two shops, the first was WHSmith (the equivalent of Singapore's Popular), where I got a bar of Cadbury for James, a fellow Powysian, because it was his 17th birthday. 

The other side of the main street

Afterwards I went to a charity shop, and boy do they have good deals. I got the book One Day for only a pound fifty (equal to 3 SGD) while it would have cost me at least 15 pounds in a regular bookshop. I was glowing after my little shopping spree, and all the way back to Waitrose for the start of my shift. 

COWBRIDGE

All in all as you can probably tell, I really enjoyed my time in Cowbridge. I got the opportunity to meet many new people, volunteer for a great cause, have an awesome tea break and do a little shopping. That is what you call a satisfying Saturday! 

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." - Auguste Rodin



Link for the Bridgend Foodbank: http://bridgend.foodbank.org.uk/ 

Link for the Bad Boys' Bakery: http://www.badboysbakery.org/index.html

Creativity with Karissa

At AC, we are very lucky to be provided with many opportunities. Everyday, there are so many different activities we can participate in. This is really part of the school's emphasis and belief in experiential learning. On all weekday afternoons there are a range of activities for us as students to choose from, most of them are student initiated. In fact, I might have mentioned this before, but for all students, it is compulsory to take part in at least 2 activities. Other than that though, we can take part in as many as we want as long as they don't clash with our two official activities.

I have been going for many extra activities, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays (the days that most activities are held). For this post, I am going to focus on the Creative Writing Course I have started attending, held by the lovely and dedicated Karissa, an intern at AC from the US. Since coming to AC, she has decided to start her own little course on Creative Writing. 

I like to do the occasional scribble, so I thought it'd be a good idea to sign up for the course. Since then I have attended 2 lessons and had a one-to-one and think I definitely made the right choice! Karissa gives us complete freedom in the style of writing we want to use. Unlike past courses I have been for which focus on one particular style (e.g. essay writing, poetry, short stories) Karissa accepts any format.

So far, I have done quite a few pieces for the class. All poems for some reason...

The first one I did was on the sentence she gave us; She felt very sad. 


She felt very sad - by Claire Seah
Looking but not really seeing,
Forlorn gaze out of a frosty window,
A road, a walk down memory lane,
A journey of tales,
A journey forgotten.

She sits immobile,
Gazing blindly,
Hand carelessly touching the glass pane,
Fingertips grazing the surface of another time.

Her face is impassive,
Brow slightly creased,
As though in a state of confusion,
Her eyes are cloudy,
Reveal her daze.

But behind her, 
Her daughter sits,
Heart heavy,

Face aweary,
She, she watches intently,
Melancholy as her companion,
As she watches the life in her mother slip away.

That's an example of what we do. We are given some form of stimulus and then encouraged to write whatever we want! Another thing I really like about the class, is the variety of pieces we have. Because we all like to write in different styles and interpret the stimulus differently, all the pieces are so diverse. It's like looking through one kaleidescope and seeing many different patterns. I truly enjoy this course and am going to make full use of the last few lessons I have!

Since this a post on writing, I'll end with some Hemingway.

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." - Ernest Hemingway

SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY!

There are some great houses in the Welsh countryside

This Saturday (7th Sept) was quite a lazy day. I woke up too late for breakfast which was just as well, because after five days of food from the same dining hall, everybody needs some change! I ended up going into Llantwit for some food (ice cream and gluten free almond cake... yummy...) and groceries with my house mate Yuko, from Japan. 

A lovely summer morning

The first stop was the local pharmacy, Boots. I needed to get a couple of pharmaceutical products (saline solution, etc.) and Yuko had a couple of items she needed to knock off her shopping list as well. I also signed up for my Boots card and am awaiting the thrill of receiving it by post! Cheap thrill, I know, but it's fun to look out for and actually receive post in the 'mailboxes' we have. 

The 'long' walk to Llantwit

Anyways, back to a detailed recount of my shopping trip, we then headed to 'the co-operative' or more simply 'co-op' which is a grocery store. We got a couple of things each, I had already done my shopping the night before (you'll have to read my last post (; ) and so I was helping one of my roommates get a couple of things. We didn't spend a long time there because we didn't need much, and the next stop was more interesting anyways... MARIO'S! 

A mini farm in Llantwit, comes complete with chickens and sheep!

 
But I am not going to talk about Mario's here, it deserves a post of its own, so does The Cornerhouse Tearooms which has the most amazing gluten-free cakes and good coffee! So you'll see posts about those two places as soon as I can go into Llantwit and get good pictures of the shops. 

Where we wait for the hourly bus

After that, we went back to the campus. Before I knew it, it was time for the Buddy Hunt. Now what is a Buddy Hunt, you might be wondering. Basically, it's an opportunity for first and second years to get to know each other better. How is this done? Well, each second year is paired with a first year, put into a group and given a list of clues. We are then supposed to find the locations the clues are intended for and collect points upon figuring out the location. There was a lot of pressure riding on this hunt. A time limit of 45 minutes, the campus is huge, and the stakes were so high... a WHOLE CHOCOLATE CAKE... 

A natural tunnel, if only more underpasses were made of trees...

That was the most exercise I have done since coming to AC! I was so exhausted by the end of it! Though we did not leave victoriously 'chocolatey', I had so much fun and got to know a couple of second years better! If you thought my day was going to end there; that I was going to take a leisurely stroll back to my house, take a long, soothing shower and then hop into bed... Well, you're far off tangent! 

The streets of Llantwit!

Powys was having our house bonding that night. I was glad that we ended up having it in our dayroom instead of the usual fields (which are named after countries, e.g. Cambodia) because I might have passed out on the walk to the field from extreme energy depletion. But I am so glad I didn't pass out because house bonding was so enjoyable. Just sitting on the couches and lounging on the floor playing card games or just talking to people.

It's the UK, I have to have a shot of a pub!

It was after house bonding that I finally got to close my tired eyes. Saturday had been a long day, but Sunday, I had a gut feeling that Sunday might just be able to beat it!

Shrouded in nature

'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, get a little action in. I get about as oiled as a diesel train, gonna set this dance alight.' - Saturday Night's Alright, Elton John

Do I see cows???

Who's Afraid?

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a talk on Sustainability at the Royal Welsh College in Cardiff. I and about ten other students, left the college at 1700 to make it in time for the 1830 show. Many of the students who went were members of the environmental faculty or the sustainability council. However, it was open to all students, which is why though I am not part of either of those two groups, I went along. I must admit that I was a little hesitant about going, because I found out that my house was having a house BBQ on the same day! However, by then there was no turning back, having paid for my ticket. 

I returned from the show, extremely satisfied and I definitely think it was on par with having gone for the house BBQ, which was apparently awesome as well! I had thought it was going to be a stand-up show, perhaps some cynical Welsh man ranting about the prevention of global warming, which I would have enjoyed as well. But instead, it was really more like a one-man show. 

Defining what I saw is going to be extremely difficult. This was truly a unique and thought provoking presentation. Some sections were hilarious, some dead serious. He kept us on the edge of our seats by constantly changing the format of presentation. One minute it could be a speech, then it would be a poem, followed by a video presentation before an anecdote. It was 50 full minutes of 'non-stop action'. 

I left with a very tired mind, not being able to fully grasp all I had seen. I felt like I really needed some sugar afterwards, there had been so much information that had to be contemplated. He truly had a remarkable skill for simplifying and conveying little seeds that grew in the light of all his knowledge in a short period of time.

Though I did not agree with everything he said, I definitely realised that my understanding of sustainability was not an understanding at all. It was merely the first layer of gift wrapper of a 'pass-the-parcel'. There is so much more to sustainability and how it is linked to our lives. 

The idea of sustainability is not just about recycling and making things last. It's more about the need to ensure that we understand the fragility of the situation we have put ourselves in. That the earth is not indestructible and that saving it does more than just make sure future generations can see live polar bears. The earth is the very thing that links us to our past, our present and our future. It is the paper we constantly scribble our history down on. With each footstep, a new word is added to this amazing encyclopedia.

After going for the talk I realised that global warming, forest preservation, communal showers, they're just the leaf on a huge maple tree. The idea of sustainability is so much bigger than that, so much more important than that, so much more powerful than that. 

So that was my little paragraph about the epiphany I had due to that talk. As they say, it's so much easier to say something than to do it. Well, I'm only human, and so I found myself on a shopping spree at ASDA (another grocery store... I LOVE THEM), a MNC right after that talk. Oh well, they had great bargains; waste not, want not!

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” - Mahatma Ghandi

FIRST DAY... OF CODESSS!!!

A shot of the castle through the archway

Today (30th August, 2013) was a special day for all students. For some it was ‘good’ special, others ‘bad’ special. Today was the start of the official academic curriculum, also known as the official start of codes (AC lingo for classes). I woke up this morning albeit rather reluctantly, lured solely out of a warm bed by the promise of a concoction of sugar puffs, cornflakes and milk. This hesitance felt by me was not so much the prospect of the start of the academic side of Atlantic College, but rather just due to sheer exhaustion suffered from the time I have spent at Atlantic College.

Relaxing on the field... We don't get many of these sort of moments sadly ):

It’s been a tiring week and five days, yet I would not have wanted to pass that time any other way. It really is my fault that I now feel like I might fall flat on my face at my houseparent’s barbecue tonight – all late night activities I undertook have been a conscious, personal choice on my part. From the three day camp we had, to house games, to ‘showerings’ (a special something for student’s on their birthdays), to hanging out in the dayroom, shower parties or just very, very, very late night girl chat with my dorm mates, there are just so many interesting things to do that sleep was no where on my priority list; until now. I have just completed my whole day of curriculum and I am knackered. This is even after spending my free code (slot with no lesson) sleeping. 

Morning view of the walk from the main driveway 

However, more sleep will have to wait. Tonight, I have a house barbecue and the first ‘sosh’ (quoting a teacher; it’s the school’s disco), which means a long night and one spent spending a copious amount of energy. Though it is definitely not the remedy for tiredness, weekends are! So I plan to sleep in tomorrow and wake up just in time to have lunch in the nearby town, Llantwit Major, and do some basic grocery shopping. But back to the importance of today, it’s a Friday today and we all started the official curriculum.Friday’s are the longest days for everyone. Codes, which normally end just before lunch, can last till 15.45 on Fridays. On Fridays I also have classes for every single subject I take for the IB, including my double code (2 blocks of lessons at a time) for English Literature, which is (thank goodness) probably my favourite subject. For the IB course I have opted to take English Literature, European History and Economics at Higher Level and Math, Physics and Mandarin at Standard Level. I am really quite keen on attending on all my classes because I had the freedom to choose what I wanted to study, which meant I obviously chose subjects I liked. I come from a slightly more rigid education system back in Singapore, and am keen to see how I do (hopefully I cope) in a very different system of learning.

View of the trees from the Math Department

View from the side of languages block

Students milling around before classes

The IB makes up half of the Atlantic Diploma, the other half, in my opinion is the more interesting half. That is the service work aspect of the college. At Atlantic College, a great emphasis is placed on doing activities that benefit the community and go in tangent with the UWC Mission: The UWC movement makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. This mission is kept relevant by the four faculties at Atlantic College, namely, the Global, Outdoor, Social Justice and Environmental Faculties. In fact, I was more worried about getting into the faculty of my choice (GO GLOBAL!!!) than getting my subjects!  

Side of the castle. The entrance to the right is where the laundry room is.

I am now pleased to be able to tell you that I have gotten both into the Global Faculty and the activity within it of my choice, the grassroots program which entails conducting theatre classes at a centre for adolescents in need of help in Cardiff. Monday marks the start of my first service training for the Global Faculty and I cannot wait to get started!  

Entrance to the Arts Centre where I have faculty training sessions

 
They say that life is filled with ups and downs, and I know my time at Atlantic College will have its fair share of good and bad times, but for now, the horizon looks bright and clear (figuratively, we have had rather typical wet ‘Welsh’ weather today). And if that’s the case, I am personally not going to let it go to waste.  

What it looks like on most days... Don't go SUNSHINE!!!

"Oh I feel overjoyed When you listen to my words" - Overjoyed, Bastille. Thank you to everyone who reads my blog (:

Cool Cardiff.

Sometime last week, I was able to take a day trip (an afternoon trip, really...) to the lovely city of Cardiff. It was the first time I had left the campus since I had come back and I was really looking forward to seeing what the closest major city to me (Cardiff is after all, the capital of Wales) had to offer. Since it was most of the first years in Powys, first time there, we were taken by two of our second years. The girls were taken by Harshnee and the boys by Ricky. 

Having the foresight of a girl, Harshnee booked a cab to take us into Llantwit for a pound each. Though Llantwit was a nearby town, walking by foot would still take at least thirty minutes, or else, you could take the bus, though that doesn't come very frequently. So while the boys tried to figure out how they were going to get to Cardiff (they eventually got the same cab to come back for them again) we girls set off for the train station in Llantwit. 

One of the roads that lead to Llantwit Major

Like the bus service, the train only comes every hour, so having included some buffer time for the bus ride (better to be safe than sorry) we spent some time waiting for the train to arrive. Not long after, we were joined by the boys who had managed to get there in time to take the same train. It didn't take long for the train to arrive, or at least it didn't seems that way. Before I knew it, I was on the train enjoying the Welsh countryside.

Not the best photo of the Welsh Countryside... It was raining

When we got into Cardiff we headed for the Red Hot World Buffet in Cardiff, and boy does it have a good deal. You basically pay ten pounds for what you get; a world buffet. It was pretty awesome and that was the most I had eaten since arriving in England. I had three rounds of food and dessert, after which I was duly stuffed. 

POWYS GIRL POWERRR (Yuko, Yeabsira, Mex and Maria)

It was after lunch that we really split up into boys and girls. The girls did a further split. There were eight girls who had gone into Cardiff. Mex my roommate, having lived in Wales for all her life was pretty familiar with the place and acted as tour guide for five of us. However, her services were not really needed, considering we ended up spending most of our time in Boots, a pharmacy, and then in Marks and Spencers! Other than that, we just did more shopping before it was time to meet up. What can I say, we are GIRLS! 

The street outside WHSmith

I felt really satisfied having managed to get many items on discount! I now qualify for a Boots membership card and am going to get one first thing the next time I am in a Boots store! That was not the only highlight of our trip, we ran into (actually they approached us) some massively famous people, 1D. Okay fine, maybe they were just regular guys with 1D masks but it was still pretty entertaining! Plus they sang to us, so they might as well have been the boys themselves! It was also a great trick to pull on my friends; telling them we had met 1D. Their reactions were HILARIOUS! (;

Me and the boys from 1D (OMG)

All in all, I enjoyed Cardiff, though I am in no position to comment on anything but the few shops I went to. I hope to continue exploring Cardiff and to take more photos of what seems to be a very vibrant city; so you can bet there will be many more posts on it.

"We have al fresco dining in Cardiff now. Who's idea was that?! My soup's filling up quicker than I can eat it." - Rhod Gilbert (p.s. it's in reference to the wet Welsh weather which I have had the good fortune of not experiencing very frequently... yet)

Taming of the SHREW

A shot of the ticket that got me in!

The last time I posted, I mentioned that I was thinking of dedicating a post to the production I watched of 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Well, here it is! As I said the last time, I was lucky enough to be able to catch the play on my school lawn, literally. The play was done by the 'Shakespeare's Globe' company and if you are in Singapore, you can catch them (same cast as the one I saw) at Fort Canning from the 2nd-13th of October. 

Outside the school arts centre

The opposite side of the school arts centre (the building to the left)

I really recommend you catch the play. First, it is rare for the Globe to bring their productions to Singapore. Secondly, it's the SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE for goodness sakes. If you are not 'Bardnanas' like I am, you might not know the history behind the connection of the company and its deep roots to the genius himself. 'Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames.The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by the playing company Lord Chamberlain's Men, to which Shakespeare belonged.' Which means that though the building is not the same, you can't accuse me of over exaggeration when I say that Shakespeare himself graced the very ground that amazing theatre is built on. Thirdly, 'Taming of the Shrew' is not as done as often as some of the other productions (more in reference to Singapore). Fourthly, the cast was terrific, it's an all female cast and if you have read/ watched the play you would know that that adds so much more depth to the story. Fifthly, it has a very interesting plot which makes you question certain societal norms and typical gender roles.

The main stage, don't be fooled by it's small size, some big acting happens on it!

However, talking about the plot, you really don't have to feel worried if you don't know the storyline. I went for the play with no knowledge of what was going to happen, but I was fine. Most of the other AC students who went had never read/ watched the play before and we could all catch up. Anyways, it's Shakespeare, the man who could straddle all social classes, touch and entertain everyone. You'll be fine! 

The crowd (many people come from the area around my school)

I will not give away the plot because I personally hate spoilers. But if you think that by knowing the plot, you will then decide if it's for you or not, you can check out the Wikipedia page as it has a pretty good summary on the key ideas and plot of the play. The play was extremely thought provoking, it really made me think hard and more importantly feel hard. I always think that one way to tell if a play is good is if you were subjected to an emotional roller coaster while watching it. If you actually felt furious when the lead character did something, or if you felt depressed when someone got into a sticky situation, or if you rolled on the floor laughing when something comical happened, then you know it was a good play. This production was able to do that to me. I felt what the characters were feeling as though I was with them in those moments; in that scene with them and that was the reality.

Another shot of the stage which gives you a better perspective of the size of the stage and a the castle in the background (:

 
I don't think I can say much more without giving the story away, so I will end here. Please do consider going to see the production as I personally think it really is worth the time and money. And if you do, hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did! If you didn't... Well I never forced you to watch it! (;

A few of my fellow AC-ers who were at show as well!

“My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break.” - Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare