Punks and Rocks

A large rock in Avebury, kept company by some local lambs.
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Wednesday night around 6 pm, Chris and I left for the Fall Out Boy show. We caught the tube and got off at the end of the Victoria line in Brixton. At first we were worried we not be able to find the venue, The Carling Academy of Brixton, but we soon realized we were surrounded by fellow concert goers on the tube and we were easily able to follow the crowds. The queue to get in was huge. Luckily we had ordered our tickets online and after picking them up at the "credit card redemption" (I got a blank stare when I asked for will call), they let us right in.  The interior of the Carling Academy was like an old performance theater, with grand staircases, rich carpet and ornate details. Our tickets only allowed us on the balcony but because we arrived so early, we were able to get good seats near the front and center. The bands went on starting with The Hush Sound, with female lead vocals and a piano. Next was The Academy Is. The lead singer was incredibly dramatic and, even if we hadn't enjoyed the music, his enthusiastic dancing would have kept our attention. Throughout our show, our gaze would wander to a young boy sitting in the row below us. While we were watching him, he had downed two cups of beer and he was definately feeling them. When the rap music was blasted during intermission, he began waving his arms and flashing gang signs. It was cute, and underage drunk English boy doing his best impression of an American gangster. After a long wait, Fall Out Boy finally came on the stage to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". Oddly enough, a majority of the crowd seemed to know the words. Christina had predicted the band would open with the first song on their newest album, and that they did. Throughout the performance, they played all but one of Chris's favorite songs and even a few I knew the words to. It was a good show. The oddest part was how they kept referring to the crowd as London and Brixton-if it hadn't been for the constant reminder of where we were, and the fact you could smoke indoors, we could have been at a concert in Hollywood or L.A. When the show was over we walked to the Underground with hundreds of other kids. When we got to our train, it was already packed. We waited for the next train, and when it arrived it too was packed within seconds. We waited 15 minutes in a train filled with hot, sweaty kids. A girl sitting nearby summed it up well, when she stated loudly in her English accent, "What a scorcher!"

Stonehenge from afar.
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We arrived back our hotel after midnight and tried to get some sleep. We wanted to be up by 9 the next morning. We didn't end up awake by 9-but close enough, 9:30, and still in time for breakfast, which like the last place we stayed, was included with our room. Breakfast wasn't as buffet-like as we had become used to, but still quite nice. We were welcomed with crossaints, fruit, and cereals. There was also a great selection of juices, coffee and teas.

After breakfast we got ready and left for the tube. We had a bus to catch for our special access tour of Stonehenge. We made it with plenty of time. After about 10 minutes, our 16 passenger van pulled up. We loaded it up and were introduced to our tour guide for the day, Andy. Stonehenge is quite aways out in the country, so Andy warned us that we has a bit of a drive ahead of us. We started out through London's city center, which was quite congested. Andy explained that in order to ease the traffic in London the government actually charges commuters £8 to drive in the city. Whenever he goes into London, Andy texts the people in charge of billing commuters and his account is debited. There are many cameras throughout the streets constantly recording registration numbers in order to make sure drivers are paying their dues. We continued driving through London and then through the countryside with Andy occasionally pointing out various sites. Our first stop-over was in the small town of Avebury. The town was built inside a circle of stones similiar to Stonehenge. We walked around, took some photos, and spent much energy trying not to step in sheep shit. In addition to stones, the town was also surrounded by herds of sheep and they apparently didn't feel the need to clean up after themselves. While we were here we experimented with dousing rods. We're not quite sure what exactly they were used for, but there are energy fields spread out over the land where the stones are. If you take these rods, one in each hand, and hold them out straight in front of you while walking over one of the energy fields (in our case, we walked between 2 of the many stones that were here), the 2 rods will come together. It worked for both of us, but not for everyone in the group. Andy said that you had to believe in this in order for it to work for you. Our next stop was West Kennet Long Barrow. We walked about a quarter mile through a green meadow peppered with wild dandelions and mustard flowers. At the top of a hill was a huge stone burial mound. We stayed just long enough to go inside the mound. It was damp and creepy, and you could see the different rooms where bodies had been buried prior to its excavation.

Chris peaking out from behind an ancient stone.
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Then it was off to Stonehenge. But since we were doing so well on time, we made an unscheduled to stop to Woodhenge. Woodhenge was an arrangement of wood posts similiar to Stonehenge in their placement but different because they were, well, wood. The wooden posts have been destroyed, but cement posts have been put in their place. In the center was a pile of wood and sticks. It was there that the body of a young girl was found with an axe through her head, believed to be a sacrafice.

This was one of the few sacrafices ever found in these altar like arrangement, yet it has plagued the negative theories of what Stonehenge was possibly used for.

The Carling Academy of Brixton presents Fall Out Boy.
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After seeing Woodhenge, we went off to Stonehenge. The benefit of this "special access tour" is that we are allowed to go into Stonehenge. Normally there is a rope surrounding the monument you cannot go past. Also, during business hours, the place is full of tourists. We had to wait until the park was closed, but once it was, they led us to Stonehenge and let us take photos before our small group was released to go inside the structure. Once inside, it was pretty amazing. We were walking amongst stones that were thousands of years old and still a mystery. We spent about an hour there and between the 2 of us, Chris and I probably took about 50 pictures. We reluctantly left and started the journey back home. We were dropped off at Victoria Undergroung station and took the train to our apartment in Bayswater. We stopped to get some food on our way, and then headed in for the night.

We had a pretty amazing experience, we did.
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That brings us to today, Friday. We don't have much planned, but we're thinking of taking a Jack the Ripper tour. We hope it's as creepy as it sounds. We'll let ya'll know.

Hope everyone's doing good! Love ya!

Jess & Chris