{"id":116,"date":"2007-07-24T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-24T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html"},"modified":"2007-07-24T10:14:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-24T10:14:00","slug":"more-from-kensington-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html","title":{"rendered":"More from Kensington Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 8 of series: European Reflections 2006 <\/em>
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post I talked a bit about Peter Pan, who was “created” in Kensington Gardens, Londan, through the creativity of J. M. Barie. Today I thought I’d share a few more fun pictures from this lovely park.
\nThere are lots of signs throughout Kensington Gardens, which is especially helpful for tourists. But my favorite part of the signs was the detail attached to those indicating where the toilets were. We’d say “restrooms,” of course. If you look closely at the picture to the right, you’ll see that the sign specifies the precise distance to a given toilet. In one direction you’ve got a walk of 300 meters. It’s 400 in the other direction. How helpful! Especially if, as you’re looking at the sign, you’re feeling particularly desperate to find the nearest toilet. Those British are so thoughtful.
\nAs my wife and I walked around London, I saw a greater variety of people than I have seen anyplace else, I think. There were beautiful people, immaculately dressed, and homeless folk in virtual rags. There were lots of young, atheletic folk jogging through the parks and along the Thames, and there were dowdy, older folk who looked as if they were the poster children for the stereotypical British middle class. No doubt they boiled their vegetables and had tea every afternoon. There were many people walking alone in Kensington Park, enjoying the sylvan beauty and the quiet. And there were also many couples strolling along romantically, or, as you can see in the photo to the right, snogging in public, seemingly oblivious to all who were walking by. (“Snogging” is a British word made popular by J.K. Rowling. From the picture you can guess the meaning.)
\nI was especially impressed by the ethnic diversity throughout London, including Kensington Gardens. I wonder if London is the most international, multi-cultural city on Earth. Though I saw plenty of Anglos, I was amazed by the number of Indians, Africans, Middle-Easterners, and Asians. Among the Muslim women, some wore simple scarves, while others were dressed in complete burkas, with only their eyes showing. In the photo to the right, the woman is not wearing a full burka, since her face is visible. In days gone by, the world was ruled out of London. Today, the world has come to Longdon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 8 of series: European Reflections 2006 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I talked a bit about Peter Pan, who was “created” in Kensington Gardens, Londan, through the creativity of J. M. Barie. Today I thought I’d share a few more fun pictures from this lovely park.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-european-reflections"],"yoast_head":"\nMore from Kensington Gardens - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More from Kensington Gardens - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: European Reflections 2006 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I talked a bit about Peter Pan, who was “created” in Kensington Gardens, Londan, through the creativity of J. M. Barie. Today I thought I’d share a few more fun pictures from this lovely park.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-24T10:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More from Kensington Gardens - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More from Kensington Gardens - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"Part 8 of series: European Reflections 2006 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I talked a bit about Peter Pan, who was “created” in Kensington Gardens, Londan, through the creativity of J. M. Barie. Today I thought I’d share a few more fun pictures from this lovely park.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2007-07-24T10:14:00+00:00","author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html","name":"More from Kensington Gardens - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-07-24T10:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2007-07-24T10:14:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/more-from-kensington-gardens.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More from Kensington Gardens"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}