il Giardino Romantico

The Elementary Particles of Narrative

大家最熟悉的Philip Pullman作品可能就是最近被好萊塢翻拍成電影的『黃金羅盤』。『黃金羅盤』是『黑暗元素』三部曲中的第一部曲。而原文'His Dark Materials'出自於John Milton[米爾頓]的Paradise Lost[失樂園]第二章中的一段詞。除了小說類作品之外，Philip Pullman也編輯過John Milton的Paradise Lost。本人很得意的說，我有他編輯的版本！

本場演講，Philip Pullman探討的是小說類書籍對於孩子成長的重要性。一開場以不久前在電視上看到Richard Dawkins的訪談中提到對於科幻以及奇幻類小說對於孩子成長過程的必要性。Dawkins的態度是不太贊成孩子接觸此類書籍。理由是他認為魔法、咒 語、巫師等故事內容有損孩子對於科學的認知。

幸福是什麼？幸福是能夠活在夢想當中。每天早上起床都告訴自己：You've made it! You're living your dream! 幸福是被分配到全宿舍裡最大的房間，讓自己有足夠的空間能夠練瑜珈。幸福是能夠住在離圖書館不遠的宿舍。幸福是能夠交到各式各樣有趣的新朋友。幸福是能夠走在英國的街道上，呼吸著英國的空氣、追著鴿子跑、滿街都看得見Torres的影子。

幸福、是一杯咖啡以及一本又厚又重的Oxford Shakespeare。

【小提醒：本篇文章設有自動播放音樂】

左盼、右盼。終於盼到Torres破萬啦！

Abercromby Square - 現在已經不是這個模樣了....

各位親愛的格友們：

Okay...不知道為什麼我等到現在才開始寫這篇。但事實證明，這個時機實在是太妙了！The Cambridge位於校內。是學生們在課後談天說地小酌一兩杯的好地方。裡頭沒有吵鬧的音樂。也沒有吵雜的電視聲。只有朋友、朋友、朋友、跟酒。不過平時安分的pub到了周日晚上就會變得很不一樣。因為：PUB QUIZ。

I don't know why I waited until now to write this entry, but somehow the timing works out perfectly.  The Cambridge is one of the pubs on campus.  This is the place where students socialise with a glass of wine or a pint of beer.  There is no loud music.  There are no noisy telly programs to distract you from socialising with your friends.  However, this quiet pub transforms itself every Sunday night because of PUB QUIZ.

剛到利物浦沒多久就聽說要上演李爾王。只是一直沒有試著去買票。因為：一、我不知道Everyman在哪裡/是什麼；二、我不覺得當時還買的到票。

本篇文章又是故意要『閃』的。其實本來想要等到Boxing Day再來大敗家...可是昨天我辛辛苦苦海運過來的靴子竟然發生了以下的狀況：

除了週一到週五24小時開放、隨時想念書都找的到位子這兩點就足以讓我超愛Sydney Jones圖書館之外，我又找到一項讓我更愛他的原因了！有看到我的介紹就會發現，圖書館的角落有這麼一間café。不過我一直都不敢進去。以為會很貴。直到我同學告訴我他再這點了一份土司跟一杯茶只要£1.30，我才鼓起勇氣進去瞧瞧、一探究竟。

Other than the fact that the library opens 24hrs on weekdays, and the fact that you can ALWAYS find a seat if you wanted to study, I've just found another reason to love the library even more - the Library Café!!  I knew about this café before, but didn't have enough courage to come in and try.  One day, my MA mate told me about how she got a piece of toast and a cup of tea here for only £1.30, I finally took the courage and come here and see what it's all about.

上個星期，跟朋友說好星期天要來大家強力推薦的Egg Café吃英式早餐。因為是我提議的。原本要在星期天之前找到這間餐廳。可是萬萬想不到他竟然這麼隱密。還好利用Google找到了這間的位置。當天早上跟兩位住同棟的flatmate出發還是順利的找到了。

Last week, I suggested that we come to Egg Café for breakfast, as it was highly recommended by the locals.  Since I was the one who recommended it, I figured I should figure out where it was located.  However, I had no idea how hidden it was.  Fortunately, I found its location using Google Map, and found it with little difficulty on the day.

How long has it been since I was in the wild?
Let me be forever grateful for the loving pair,