Polt-Erratic

Cruise in the Caribbean; June 2010

2010-09-09T11:36:00.014+01:00

To celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents, our whole immediate family went on a week-long cruise in the Caribbean. We met my brother's family, my parents, and my parent's closest friends Jim & Liz in Florida and sailed to St Maarten, St Thomas, and the Bahamas. We had an exceptionally wonderful time, made all the better by seeing how happy Mom & Dad were all week long. Their marriage sets an outstanding example for everyone they know, and we are so very very fortunate for that! For this post, I'm not going to narrate -- I'm just going to showcase some of the photos of the trip and you can see for yourself that a grand time was had by all!

Berlin; June 2010

2010-09-09T09:04:00.013+01:00

Waaaay back in June, we travelled to Berlin for an international aviation conference. While we had never been to Berlin before, we had travelled quite a bit in Germany and we'd been in other former Eastern Bloc cities. We thought we knew what to expect. We were wrong. We found Berlin to be unique and unexpectedly modern, green, and vibrant, yet also full of historical significance. What a great combination. Before the conference began, we had some time to tour the city. We made it to the Brandenburg Gate, the city's most famous landmark. The gate was part of the Berlin Wall, and also marks the start of the main historic boulevard in town, filled with museums, restaurants and embassies. We visited "Checkpoint Charlie", a symbol of the Cold War and another element of the Berlin Wall. There are still intact pieces of the Berlin Wall around town. At this site... ...we walked along the wall and also toured a museum devoted to it. Our hotel was near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which dates from the late 1800's but was heavily damaged during the bombing of World War II. They've left the church tower with it's collapsed steeple in it's post-war condition as a reminder of the devastation of war, but have added a new church building for worship. This combination of war-torn and modern is one that we saw repeated all over the city. Right after WWII, the city brought in famous architects from around the world to design new and innovative buildings to take the place of those destroyed by bombing. They've continued to have famous architects design their public buildings and monuments, and the results are stunning. Another modern addition to the city is the Holocaust Memorial -- a large city block filled with gray slabs set out in a grid, beneath which is a museum devoted to the Holocaust. We walked amongst the slabs; it was very moving. We toured the German parliament building, called the Reichstag -- an old historic building with a modern twist -- the post-war addition of a modern glass dome with both external views of the city and internal views down into the building. We walked up the ramp to the top of the dome and from there you could look back down through a glass canopy and directly into the main chamber of German Parliament. Very cool. We spent time strolling through the city's vast gardens; within the city there are more than 2500 public green spaces.All over town we found trees shedding a very cottony substance; it often looked as if it were snowing despite the abundant sunshine during our visit. D could not help himself; just like a kid stepping in puddles, he managed to walk through every patch he could find! Speaking of walking, the walk/don't walk signs in Berlin are iconic and I loved them. Doesn't the green walk guy look very industrious? And of course, we found time to eat lots of great German food and sample Germany's finest beers. We went out of our way to go to this lovely restaurant... ...but just stumbled upon this beer garden on a walk the next day. What a find! The trip was also a professional success for D, with some important contacts made. And the conference gave us both the opportunity to speak to a true American hero -- D and I each had opportunities to say hello to first-man-on-the-moon, Neil Armstrong! He attended the conference and was presented with a lifetime achievement award. He is a very quiet and humble man, and we were thrilled that he was there and that we got to say hello. A friend of ours was also presented with a prestigious award at the conference, and we were so happy to celebrate that with him, too. The conference was capped off with an evening event held on the grounds of the old Berlin Templehof airport, the site of the famous WWII Berlin airlift. D loves WWII history and was so happy to see this! We had drinks beneath the wings of one of the actual Berlin airlift Candy Bombers planes: and dinner inside the (now closed) airport terminal, designed as a monument to Nazi power by Hitler. It was amazing to be there. We loved this trip and would recommend Berlin as a European destination.

So...It's About Time I Update This Thing, Huh?

2010-09-09T08:48:00.003+01:00

I cannot believe that I haven't updated this blog since June 26. Well, actually, I CAN believe that. It was a very busy summer with lots and lots of distractions and obstacles to blogging. First and foremost of the distractions/obstacles was that we moved -- away from Horsham and to the charming English town of Ascot -- on the July 2. We were without home internet for the entire month of July, and blogging was shoved aside for unpacking, settling in, and exploring our new surroundings. Now that we have a routine again and are back in the land of internet connectivity, I have no excuses. So, just like an elementary school student, I'll be sharing "What I did this summer" and preparing for an action packed autumn. Stay tuned!

Monte Carlo

2010-06-26T20:28:00.004+01:00

During the first week of June, D had a conference in Monte Carlo and I tagged along. Tough duty, but somebody's got to do it! We flew into Nice, where we parked next to Lance Armstrong's plane:He was in Nice to train for the upcoming Tour de France. We knew Lance would be flying out that day so we looked for him at the airport. Alas, we only saw his plane. We then rented a car and drove the short distance from Nice to Monaco. We were stopped along the way to allow French President Sarkosy's motorcade to pass -- he was in Nice for a summit with African nation presidents. (So...does it count as celebrity spotting when you see their means of transport, but not them? No?) Monte Carlo is gorgeous. While D worked, I hung out a the pool... visited the beach... and toured. The Prince's Palace of Monaco, atop a hill, was lovely and gave me an opportunity to watch their changing of the guard. But it wasn't all work for D! When we visited Monte Carlo last year, we only saw the exterior of it's famous casino (think James Bond in GoldenEye and Casino Royale). Ths time, since the conference hotel was located adjacent to the casino, we went in. We gambled a little (neither of us inherited the gambling gene from our parents) and actually came out 11 Euros ahead. Woo Hoo! But the really fun part was watching the high-stakes people gamble. One guy, who happened to be American, was betting $10,000 per HAND in blackjack. For hours. Judging from his massive, diamond-encrusted Rolex, he must win a lot. Well, we may not be lucky in gambling, but we're lucky in love!

Just Got Home...

2010-06-21T17:08:00.004+01:00

...from a week-long celebration of my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary! That trip was the last of three straight weeks of travel for us. Lots to catch up on here -- will post more soon!

Chelsea Flower Show

2010-06-10T00:42:00.007+01:00

The Chelsea Flower Show is an enormous outdoor garden event held in London every year, for a week, in late May. It's huge and very popular with the gardening set here in the UK. (And the English do love their gardens!) I've always wanted to go. This year I finally got tickets and ~~dragged~~ invited D to join me. Being the good sport that he is, he went along with a smile. (I bought him a big pork sarnie, which helped!) The show is made up of show gardens planted in advance by professionals, booths for vendors of every type of garden & patio product known to man, and a huge tent filled with plant and flower varieties for sale. We had a beautiful day to visit, and despite the crowds that made seeing the show gardens difficult, we enjoyed the visual spectacle. And now that I've ticked that box, D doesn't ever have to go again, for which he is undoubtedly grateful.

There's No Place Like Home...

2010-05-30T12:12:00.008+01:00

We had a wonderful trip back to Maryland. D had lots of work to do, but even he managed to squeeze in some fun! We celebrated a bunch of birthdays, applauded achievements, and spent quality time with family, friends, and former neighbors -- fantastic. And my doctor will be happy to know that I got lots of Vitamin D, spending time outside in the glorious sunshine!
Oh, I do miss Annapolis... D and I were sitting on the Naval Academy rock wall in the center of this picture, looking out at the Chesapeake Bay, when he proposed to me 24 years ago. Aww... We went out to dinner with Bob, Marie, and Randy. Bob made some new friends outside the restaurant... ...but ditched them to enjoy dinner with us! We saw a special Cub Scout ceremony... ...and celebrated a 9th birthday too.I think he liked his gift from his grandparents! We celebrated D's birthday too. Any excuse for cake and ice cream!

Uncle Bill's Surprise Birthday Party

2010-05-27T10:08:00.007+01:00

I was back in the US last week and was able to make my way to West Virginia for the celebration of my Uncle Bill's 80th birthday. My uncle was surprised and so delighted to see 85 friends and family members gathered to celebrate with him! All of his children, most of his grandchildren & great-grandchildren, and lots of other family members were there. It was the first time I'd seen many of my relatives in years, and we had a blast catching up with one another. Here I am with my uncle and assorted cousins: Mom & Dad with Uncle Bill:My uncle with his children:My cousin Rachel compiled a slideshow of 100 photos from Uncle Bill's life, including some from when he and my mother and their siblings were kids. The slideshow ran continuously on a big screen throughout the party. It was so much fun to see the photos. This one shows my grandfather holding my Mom as a baby, with Mom's siblings Bob, Betty, Jim, Bill, and Joe in front:And here are Bill, Mom, and Joe today:And I love this one of the family in their teens and twenties with my grandparents......that's my Mom on the right! And how great is this photo of my Aunt Betty, Aunt Jean, and Mom (in plaid) circa 1970?!? Finally, a photo of my Uncle Bill and Aunt Jean when they were teenagers -- don't they look like the quintessential 1950's cool couple? Happy Birthday Uncle Bill!

The Black Eyed Peas

2010-05-07T08:11:00.009+01:00

We went to see The Black Eyed Peas at the O2 Arena on Wednesday night. It was one of the highest energy shows we've seen -- the arena was rocking! So much fun. Cheryl Cole opened for them -- I wonder whether those of you in the US know who she is yet? If not, you will.We drove to the O2 Arena, rather than take the train. With the train, there would have been 2 transfers (from the train to the Tube, then from the Tube to the light rail) and a mob scene at the Arena station after the concert. While parking fees were ridiculous, I must say that the lot was as easy to drive into and -- more importantly -- out of as any arena/stadium lot I've ever been in. You know that D is the master of manuevering out of crowded, chaotic parking lots; I think he was actually disappointed not to have an opportunity to use his superpowers...

What Is This?

2010-05-07T08:10:00.006+01:00

We saw this bird in front of the house when we woke up this morning. What is it? I need my bird-watching Mom's expert opinion! It looks a bit like a pheasant, but the coloring is different. Love the bright yellow head. We hope it manages to stay away from the neighborhood fox and cats. And cars. (Umm, yeah, I've managed to run over two pheasants since we've lived in England. D has only gotten one. I win!)

The London Marathon

2010-04-26T13:34:00.006+01:00

Sunday was the first cloudy (and occasionally rainy) day here in weeks -- probably perfect weather for the runners in the London Marathon. We "participated" by standing at mile marker 23 and cheering on friends -- and everyone else running! There were more than 37,000 runners. We only spotted one of the people we knew who were racing, but we did see elite athletes: regular athletes: runners in "fancy dress"/costumes: famous people (below on the left is a smiling Princess Beatrice, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson): and famous people in fancy dress/costumes (this is Sir Richard Branson, founder & CEO of Virgin, and a very famous person here in the UK): Not only was Princess Beatrice the first royal to ever complete the London Marathon, she and her friends set a new world record for the largest number of people to complete a marathon while tied together (there were 34 of them connected for the entire race by bungee cords.) This event is said to be the largest single fund-raising event in the world -- the non-elite athletes all run in support of charities. Last year the runners raised more than $75M. Well done by all!

Brewery Tour

2010-04-26T13:27:00.003+01:00

We spent a sunny Saturday with friends, starting with a tour & outdoor tasting at the Hogs Back Brewery and ending sitting outdoors over a meal in the garden of a great nearby pub. So many laughs - great fun!

Meeting My Parents in Belgium

2010-04-24T17:55:00.010+01:00

My Mom & Dad have just taken a river cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium to see the spring flowers -- the Dutch tulips, in particular. They loved the cruise, and were blessed with great weather from start to finish. Their last day, yesterday, was a free day in Antwerp, Belgium. D and I hopped on a train to Brussels on Thursday night, spent the night at Don & Cathy's, then the 4 of us did the short train trip yesterday morning to Antwerp to see my parents. We met them at their cruise boat: where we had a cocktail in the boat's sunny lounge before heading to a fantastic local restaurant for lunch. The boat's lounge is also where I finally got my well-earned $10 from Dad -- his share of my winnings from our 7-player NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool! Don & Cathy picked a wonderful lunch place -- excellent food, lovely decor, and friendly owners who bent over backwards to make us comfortable. From there we walked to an Antwerp institution -- the Kulminator beer bar. Don did a great job selecting Belgian beers according to everyone's preferences. It was a wonderful day. Mom & Dad headed back to their boat to pack, while Don, Cathy, D and I caught a train back to Brussels. Now...what do you suppose it was that made these two busy professionals on the train: completely lose their concentration, forget all about their work, and ditch their Blackberries for a few moments? The train voyage between Brussels and Antwerp takes you right through Brussels' red light district. So they were checking out this: Wow! Call girls in every ground-floor window for several blocks. It's no wonder they were distracted! When we got back to Brussels, we took a quick walk. Did you know that Brussels was the home of the surrealist artist Rene Magritte? I took this photo of the reflection of a Brussels church in a mirror shaped like Magritte's famous "Son of Man" profile:D and I then soon caught a return train to London. Mom & Dad are now on their way back to the US, and Don and Cathy are undoubtedly recovering from the whirlwind that is our family. But what a great day it was!

What Volcanic Ash Cloud?

2010-04-21T10:58:00.004+01:00

This morning, we saw the first airplanes in the sky above us. It had been 6 days since any flights had taken off or landed in London, due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. We have friends who are stuck in far away places who want to be here and friends who are here and are desperate to be somewhere else. We're hopeful that with the resumption of flights, some of them will get to where they want or need to be soon. Ironically, we've had 6 days of crystal clear skies and perfect Spring weather; you would never know from being here that there was an ash cloud overhead. We were in Windsor on Saturday; Windsor is only 5 miles from Heathrow and directly under the flight path for planes to/from one of the busiest international airports in the world. Usually the low flying planes overhead are a distraction. Here is a photo we took looking from Windsor Great Park directly towards Heathrow Airport (you might even be able to see the airport Control Tower in the center): No planes. No contrails. No noise. Peaceful -- if you're not stuck in airport chaos hell. And D's business is entirely aviation-based. No planes = no services = no revenue. That's a big hit. Needless to say, he was very relieved this morning to see that planes are once again flying. Happy trails, indeed.

Rottingdean -- Rudyard Kipling's Sussex

2010-04-20T18:04:00.006+01:00

As an adult, Rudyard Kipling, the British poet & author perhaps best known for "The Jungle Book", lived in our English county of Sussex, in the little nearby town of Rottingdean near Brighton. He fell in love with the town and the area, and wrote a poem called "Sussex" about it. The final stanza is well-known to those of us who live here,

God gives all men all earth to love,
But since man’s heart is small,
Ordains for each one spot shall prove
Beloved over all.
Each to his choice, and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground—in a fair ground—
Yea, Sussex by the sea!

The town of Rottingdean is an absolute favorite of mine, and I particularly love it on a bright and sunny day like the one we had recently when D and I spent an afternoon in Rottingdean. I made D take a long walk in a stiff breeze up to the top of a cliff to see this particular stone, called Hangman's Rock. There is a cool legend about it, which apparently I am MUCH more interested in than he...let's just say that D's reaction was slightly less than enthusiastic to seeing it...and it went something like, "Umm, that's IT?" Oh well. At least the climb gave us a clear view back across town to the old windmill on the hill.D was much happier to be off the cliff and down on the beach... ...where we would have been careful to stay off the "groynes"... ...if we could have figured out what they were? Back in town, we strolled the gardens at Kipling's house... and admired the use of the readily available flint (from the chalk cliffs) as a building material all over town. Such a pretty little place!"Little", get it? (I crack myself up.)

Easter Road Trip, Stop 2: Wales

2010-04-06T09:25:00.000+01:00

From Bath, we took the M4 motorway across the Severn River Bridge (at 2 miles, a little bigger than the one with the same name in Annapolis!) to get to Wales. We stayed outside the city of Newport at the Celtic Manor Resort & Golf Club. For you golf fans, this will be the location of the 2010 Ryder Cup golf tournament; the courses looked amazing, although we didn't play them. We used the hotel as our base for two days of exploring southern Wales. First stop was Raglan Castle. Raglan was built in the 1430s in a style more typical of French castles, with massive windows and polygonal, not round, towers. The castle is mostly in ruins today... ...but you can still climb up the Keep. From there, we drove to the Brecon Beacons National Park with it's (snow-covered!) sandstone peaks, pretty green valleys, and scenic canals. D loves trains, so we checked out the Brecon Mountain Steam Railway depot, too.We ended Saturday in the nation's capital, Cardiff. We saw the most important sites -- the Castle: and the stadium! Did a lot of fun people-watching over dinner at a restaurant in Cardiff, too. On Sunday we had Easter Brunch at the hotel before taking off for the town of Caerphilly, the site of the largest castle in Wales. Caerphilly Castle is surrounded by a series of moats and has huge drawbridges to limit access by bad guys.I guess they thought we looked OK, because they let us in... ...and D even made some new friends! It's a good thing, too, because these same lads later stormed the castle -- glad we were on their side! Despite being utterly unable to decipher their language... (hey, buy a vowel!), we loved Wales!

Easter Road Trip, Stop 1: Bath

2010-04-05T20:49:00.001+01:00

For the long Easter weekend, we thought a road trip was in order. Stop one, on Friday, was the town of Bath in Southwest England. I had been there before, when Maria visited in 2007. But D had never been. The city was first established as a spa resort by the Romans in 43 AD. They built baths and a temple around the only naturally occurring hot springs in the UK. The baths have been well preserved. In the late 1700's, Bath became popular as a spa resort. During that time, the town's many pretty Georgian buildings were constructed from creamy white Bath limestone. We walked around town: and toured the baths. Here's D, oblivious to the "Do Not Touch The Water" signs......but no worries; he didn't fall in!

The Who

2010-03-31T13:21:00.003+01:00

We've had unbelievable opportunities to see some of our favorite actors, performers, and bands while we've lived in England. Adding another classic to the list, D was invited to see The Who live in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London (which only holds 5500 people) at the end of March. For this charity concert, they performed Quadrophenia in its entirely. Zach Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, and Tom Meighan from Kasabian performed with the band. Wow.

Randy & Lisa Here for Househunting!

2010-03-26T21:39:00.001Z

We are SO excited that our great friends Randy and Lisa (and their kids!) are moving from Singapore to London this summer. It will be fantastic to have them in the 'hood! Many shared adventures ahead -- no doubt -- to add to the long list of adventures we've had together over the last 20 years or so. Woo hoo! We joined them for some of their house hunting; they selected a gorgeous home in Ascot, conveniently near to both the American School and the location of the new company office, with a gorgeous garden and a kitchen & master bedroom suite to die for. They'll love it. Once the househunting business was complete, we kicked up our heels. Had some long meals, drank some nice wine, and took a side trip up to Wimbledon for a tour. At the museum, they have an interactive game meant to test your agility for tennis; here are D and Randy playing against one another. You can hear D at the end complaining that his counter stopped working...and you can also hear how sympathetic Lisa was to his plight...as only good friends can be! Can't wait to have these guys around all the time!

How Many Engineers Does it Take to Pick Up a Few Things at the Market?

2010-03-24T22:33:00.000Z

Four. Three to push the cart, and one to take the photos. :-)

Brussels and Ghent with Don & Cathy

2010-03-23T12:19:00.003Z

In late March, D had a conference in Brussels, which gave us an excellent excuse to once again visit our travel buddies, Don & Cathy, at their Belgian home. We spent a long weekend before the start of the conference hanging out in Brussels and travelling to the nearby beautiful canal town of Ghent. Ghent was a great place to wander. Back in Brussels we window shopped, visited a new museum, relaxed at home, saw some gorgeous stained glass windows, noticed some murals we hadn't seen before, and bought groceries at the local outdoor markets which Don & Cathy then turned into feasts we could enjoy before (and while!) watching NCAA basketball tournament games. Serious fun! Cathy wrote about our visit on her blog too; you can read that particular post here.

Florida for Mom & Dad's Birthdays

2010-03-16T11:41:00.001Z

In early March I travelled to Vero Beach to join my parents in celebrating milestone birthdays. (They have birthdays 9 days apart.) After a couple of days of pouring rain (during which we spent a lot of time at the local cinema and watching college basketball conference tournaments on TV), the skies cleared. We spent most of the rest of the week outdoors enjoying the mild temps and sunny skies. I had a chance to enjoy Dad's newest toy, his golf cart. But it only seats 2, so for the three of us to ride to the mini-golf course I rode on the back. Very redneck! I'm sure I made a fantastic impression on their new neighbors. Speaking of their new neighbors, this was my first visit since they've moved into their new home. It's gorgeous, very comfortable, and they are incredibly happy there. The entire back of their house looks out on a lake, and we saw ducks, cormorants, herons, pelicans, huge turtles, and even an armadillo hanging out nearby. And Mom is enjoying having a garden and a screened-in porch again. My parents bought tickets for a Gordon Lightfoot concert in town while I was there. He played all of his classic hits (Carefree Highway and The Edmund Fitzgerald among them) and some songs we didn't know. Although his voice isn't as strong as it once was (the guy is 72 years old!) we enjoyed the event. It was a great week.

Pancake Day

2010-02-16T15:27:00.004Z

Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, which is known in England as "Pancake Day". Here, it has long been customary to eat pancakes on the day before Lent begins, as eggs, milk & sugar are among the rich foods that are often given up for Lent. On Pancake Day there are Pancake Races held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife here was so busy making pancakes that she lost track of time until she heard the church bells ringing for the pre-Lenten service...and she raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake! Today, pancake racers in fancy dress (costumes) run a course while carrying -- and simultaneously flipping -- a pancake in a frying pan. At today's race here in Horsham, racers also had to stop mid-course to sprinkle powdered sugar and lemon juice on their pancakes. It's all done to raise money for charity, and it's good fun to watch. Of course, it is all a wee bit less fun when it is POURING RAIN, as it is today. (Makes me miss the snow in Maryland -- and the sunshine in Dubai!) Tonight, for dinner, we're having breakfast. Pancakes, anyone?

Wrapping Up Our Snow Adventure

2010-02-16T14:16:00.004Z

We got out of Maryland in-between the two massive snowstorms last week -- we pushed travel plans ahead and managed to get on the very last flight out of Baltimore to London for 3 days! We returned to the news that another 20" of snow had fallen in Baltimore. Wow -- what a winter. It was a great trip to Maryland; productive from a work perspective for D, and it gave us an opportunity to catch-up with some old friends and to spend more fun time in the snow with Steve, Maria, and the boys. Steve is like a big kid in the snow:We thought it was fantastic that the kids missed three days of school due to snow while we were visiting in December -- the fact that we got even more goof-off days with them this month was a real bonus!

The Snow Goes Where We Go!

2010-02-06T16:59:00.005Z

We're in Baltimore -- once again, at the epicenter of a major Mid-Atlantic snowstorm. Two feet on the ground so far, and it's still snowing. Wee!

Dubai

2010-02-02T21:24:00.000Z

Both D and Don had meetings in Dubai last week. Cathy and I joined them, which gave the four of us a great opportunity to tour yet another exotic locale together. And soak up some sunshine! As you can see, we went to the world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower. It is 160 stories tall -- nearly half a mile in height -- and it just opened in early January. D and I had hoped to ride the elevators to the observation platform on the 126th floor, but the sightseeing tickets were sold out on our free day. That will have to wait for a future visit. But the building and it's surroundings were beautiful; we enjoyed experiencing it from the outside. We're always intrigued by the stark contrasts encountered in Dubai. On the one hand, there is glitz, ultra-modern architecture and the latest innovations. For instance, there is the famous white sail-shaped hotel rising from a man-made island in the Persian Gulf: but from my seat on the airplane I could see the even more amazing man-made palm tree-shaped island next to it. On the other hand, the city center is home to the most basic and archaic markets selling colorful goods from old wooden bins... and an unbelievably quaint but antiquated river transport system: We took a ride on the river aboard one of these abra boats: What a fantastic way to get an up-close view of the city's archaic supply chain system. This: is how most goods are transported into the city. There are literally hundreds of boats just like this all along the river. They looked like pirate ships...or garbage barges. But they carry appliances, food, fabrics, furniture...anything you can think of. And the goods are simply offloaded right along the waterfront on the main street of Old Dubai, where vans then come along to collect them. This city of contrasts provided us with interesting opportunities for meals. We're all adventurous eaters...and we adventured! One night, while D was at a business dinner, I went with Cathy, Don, and Don's colleague Carey to the spice market, where we ate shawarma wraps of shaved chicken cooked on outdoor spit at this fancy spot...The next day for lunch we took a look at this menu and saw "camel steak"... ...but became very afraid when we actually saw this camel tied up out back. (Maybe it's like a seafood restaurant where you get to pick your own lobster??) Needless to say, we skipped that restaurant. Next we went to the ancient fabric market......where we drank cardamon tea, and where Don found this tiny tiny restaurant. It's 4 tables were filled with local workers and the food smelled great; we decided to give it a shot.Once a table was available, we sat down and looked around. Wow! And as the only westerners in the place, all eyes were on us. The owner brought out steaming plates of rice and spicy curried chicken; while everyone else in the place ate their food with their fingers, we used our serving spoons...which had the locals giggling. The food was good, and the experience was authentic and very memorable! And the entire tab for lunch, including three bottles of water and a soft drink, came to $10! By the time we'd finished lunch, we were beginning to feel like locals. And the local shopkeepers must have agreed. They were certainly eager for us to try on their wares. I think that this was a good look for Don, don't you?He almost resembles this Arabic bobblehead. And every pashmina looked cute on Cathy!On our final evening in Dubai, we gathered at our hotel's pool to watch the sun set behind the Burj Khalifa tower:Pretty...and a great way to end a fun 4-day stay!

An Odd Brush with "Fame"?

2010-01-25T10:01:00.003Z

So, isn't it bizarre that D and I have met the latest of Tiger Woods' alleged mistresses? True. We got to know her here in the UK in 2006 and even bought some of her things (tables, a vacuum cleaner, a TV, etc.) when she moved from the UK to Florida. Very strange to see her picture in the newspapers here today.

Tottenham

2010-01-21T16:26:00.001Z

There is a scene in the movie "In Bruges" when the older hitman (Ken) is talking to the younger one (Ray) and the conversation goes like this:

Ken: [looking at a surreal Bosch painting] It's Judgment Day, you know?
Ray: No. What's that then?
Ken: Well, it's, you know, the final day on Earth, when mankind will be judged for the crimes they've committed and that.
Ray: Oh. And see who gets into heaven and who gets into hell and all that.
Ken: Yeah.
Ray: And what's the other place?
Ken: Purgatory.
Ray: Purgatory... what's that?
Ken: Purgatory's kind of like the in-betweeny one. You weren't really s**t, but you weren't all that great either. Like Tottenham.

This scene got a huge laugh in the theatres from people here in England because that description of Purgatory does sound a lot like the reputation of the Tottenham Hot Spurs football (soccer) club. But despite that reputation, Tottenham is one of D's favorite teams; he enjoys following them and cheering them on. You might remember that I took this photo of him with two of the Tottenham starting players at Heathrow Airport last year:Even D's cousin Jason is a fan. He bought the Spurs hat he's wearing in this photo while he and Jackie were here visiting, and he has been a Tottenham fan ever since: So you can imagine how happy D was when he finally had the opportunity to see Tottenham play live on Saturday. His friend Martin has been a lifelong Spurs fan; the two of them went to North London together to see the match against Hull. Great seats, eh? D says they were fantastic, and he had a great time.

Chunky Monkey and Skinny Minnie: A Cat Update

2010-01-13T20:20:00.008Z

Tessa

I haven't posted a cat update lately. But this week is the one-year anniversary of Emma & Tessa's addition to the Polt-erratic household, which also means it has been one-year since their last visit to the vet. I took them both in for their annual check-ups and "jabs" (shots) today.

Emma

We've noticed lately that Emma is somewhat ~~fatter~~ ~~larger~~ bigger-boned than her sister. But since they are both considerably smaller than our two previous (male) cats, we weren't sure whether Tessa was undersized or Emma was oversized. The vet's assessment? Emma is oversized. By about 20%. Fat cats are at risk for diabetes. Our last cat, White Cat, was heavy and became diabetic, requiring us to give him twice-daily insulin shots for the last 5 years of his life. Clearly we don't want to go through THAT again. So we're having to completely revise what and how we feed the cats, ie. no more grazing. Measured feedings three times a day, with the cats eating separately so that Tessa gets enough and Emma not so much. And apparently Emma needs more exercise. Perhaps it's time for the kitty treadmill?

Oh, that video makes me laugh every time. I know, I know...dangerously close to "crazy cat lady" territory...

Catching Up: Christmas 2009

2010-01-07T09:52:00.017Z

After D's brief stint as Father Christmas at the office gift exchange: we left the UK for our holiday in America. On the day we left, Saturday before Christmas, the Baltimore/Washington area was expecting up to 24 inches of snow. We were truly shocked when the flight to Baltimore departed on-time from Heathrow; perhaps the flight dispatchers knew something about the weather forecast at our destination that we didn't? As we were enroute across the Atlantic, we learned that the Baltimore/Washington area had indeed been hit with a massive storm and all of the airports there were closed. As a result, our flight was diverted -- to Boston! While we were happy to get a hotel room (thanks British Airways!) and a bowl of authentic Boston clam chowder: we were pretty concerned about our prospects for getting all the way to Maryland the next day, as the storm was headed up the East Coast -- directly towards us. But by the next morning the airline had arranged for buses: to drive us (and 200 others from our flight) 9.5 hours through a snow storm from Boston to Baltimore. Along the way, through snow and salt-splashed bus windows, we saw Fenway Park: and the Manhattan skyline: and enjoyed fine dining at a roadside McDonalds in Connecticut. We were VERY happy to make it to Maryland safely, and only 24 hours later than expected. The long journey was worth it -- it was a cozy and wonderful holiday with our families. It was lovely at Steve & Maria's house -- both inside: and out: Christmas was great. Everyone loved their gifts. Our youngest nephew was especially excited about the very special rock collection case that D's father built for him, with a glass top to allow the best rocks to be displayed. He got to work immediately, making decisions about the best way to sort and display his treasures: He was also pretty excited about the plasma ball light we gave him: (Hey, we're electrical engineers. It's geeky, but cool, right?) And both boys liked their electronics from Santa: After the kids opened their gifts from Santa, D and I headed east to downtown Baltimore to spend Christmas day with my parents.That night, D's family joined us at my parent's house for our annual Christmas dinner together. My Dad the storyteller: had my in-laws as a captive but enthusiastic audience: much as has been the case for the last 25 years. The party and the meal were exquisite -- thanks Mom! We stayed at my parent's house for a few days, hanging out and watching Ravens football: Also during our stay, we managed to take care of some errands and see lots of friends. One of my favorite gatherings was over lunch with former colleagues in Northern Virginia. My friend Alice (next to me below) surprised me by gathering together this group of people: all of whom have worked together extensively but some of whom have retired or have left for different jobs since I've been gone. Everyone had a great time catching up over bento boxes of Japanese food -- yum! A few days of moderate weather caused the 2 feet of snow in the Baltimore area to melt: and the roads to fully clear...until the NEXT snow! It was just a few inches this time... ...just enough to make a decent snowman! Great job, guys! Thanks to everyone who went out of their way to make our trip back to the US, and our holidays, special -- especially our families. Happy New Year everyone!

First Snow of the New Year

2010-01-07T09:18:00.005Z

We're having a very cold spell here in the UK -- much like the one happening in the US now. The temperatures haven't gotten above freezing since we returned here on Sunday morning; it's not expected to get above 28 degrees F today. On Tuesday/Wednesday, we got about 7" of fresh snow. It's gorgeous. The roads, however, are treacherous and trains sporadic, so D worked from home yesterday. We took a late afternoon walk through town: and out to the local cricket grounds. The local sledding (called, and pronounced, "sledging" here) hill is just behind the cricket grounds, and we laughed when we saw the ragtag assortment of sledges being used there. Because there isn't often much snow, the kids here don't necessarily grow up with sledges in their garages. We saw lots & lots of plastic cafeteria trays, some pilfered road signs, even a makeshift wooden pallet sledge! I'm happy to report that there were a handful of proper plastic toboggans, and even one old-fashioned Radio Flyer. We hope you are keeping warm and cozy during this cold weather!

Seeing the Aurora Borealis from Within the Arctic Circle

2009-12-16T22:34:00.011Z

I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights -- and this weekend, I finally did! In early September, D and I were sipping cups of coffee at a local cafe, sharing the Saturday London newspaper, when we read an article in the travel section about Tromso, Norway -- a town located on the northern coast of Norway, 230 miles inside of the Arctic Circle and only 1200 miles from the North Pole. Tromso is called "The Gateway to the Arctic" and is known for being a great spot to see the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights. Before we'd gotten up from the table, we decided that we would plan a trip there in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the lights. We returned on Tuesday night from our 3-day stay. And what a stay it was! We got more than a "glimpse" of the lights -- we got a full-on show. We went out with a guide, who drove us about 15 miles outside of the city to a point where the skies were clear and there was little ambient light. The first thing we noticed were all of the stars -- I don't know that I've ever been able to see so many! Then we noticed the many shooting stars -- we were there during a period of meteor shower activity, so there were stars skittering across the night sky all evening long. And before long, we saw the Northern Lights. They started as a single line across the sky -- one which you could almost mistake for a line of clouds -- but they grew and changed into moving bands and swirls of light.(My point-and-shoot camera was rubbish for capturing images from the lights; these photos were taken by our guide.) While the lights appear vividly green in the photos, to the naked eye they are less colorful, a mint green, almost gray. We stood outside for about 5 hours, just watching the lights as they danced across the sky. It was an incredible, unforgettable experience. Here is a 3-minute time-lapse photography video from YouTube that does a good job of showing what it was like to watch.

The Aurora Borealis is caused by an electrical discharge in the sky, similar to lightning, but happening 100km up. High energy electrons generated by the discharge hit atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, which give off light. (There is a good FAQs website here if you are looking for more information.)To get to Tromso, you fly 4 hours nearly due north from London. Upon arriving, we discovered a picturesque small port & fishing town: with lots of wooden houses: and Lutheran churches, including this wooden church :and a striking, and far more modern, triangular-shaped cathedral located at the end of the bridge across the water from our hotel. The town has a Polar Museum with exhibits about life in the Arctic and historic attempts to reach the North Pole. We spent a fair amount of time at the museum, as D has read a lot about the polar expeditions and was particularly interested in the artifacts. At this time of year, the sun never rises above the horizon in Tromso. It gets "bright" at about 10:00am, just like it does anywhere at dawn, and stays that way until about 1:30pm, when this photo was taken:By 2:00pm, it's pitch black dark again. But that's OK -- there were plenty of cozy pubs: and restaurants to enjoy by candlelight! (That's a local Tromso beer, by the way, from Mack, the world's northernmost brewery. There's a lot of "the world's northernmost ___" in Tromso...) (And if Santa doesn't make it all the way to your town this year, it might be because D was eating reindeer steak in that photo. Blitzen, perhaps?) To see the sun, you have to gain elevation, which we did on a day-long snowmobile trek. We didn't make it to sunlight, but riding into the mountains got us close enough to see sunlight on the tops of the peaks. The snowmobiling was great fun -- it was just us (sharing a snowmobile) and a French couple (each on their own machine), led by a guide. (But after all those years of snowmobiling in Bedford, it didn't seem quite right not to have Tom, Jamie, Bart, Lauri, and Mom & Dad there too!) We rode through trees on private land: before reaching the mountainous public area. On the open flats you could really get the snowmobiles going; D says we were going about 65 kph at this point:

Woohoo! The temperature was around 15 degrees F, but we were dressed warmly in the thermal suits provided by the trek company so we never got cold. The scenery was gorgeous, and we never saw another person until we encountered this dogsledder upon our return to the camp: where we were given coffee and a steaming bowl of stew fresh off of the fire inside of a teepee: Merry Christmas everyone!

The Holiday Party

2009-12-09T18:21:00.005Z

This year's office holiday party theme was "The Last Eight Decades", in celebration of the 80th anniversary of D's company. You could wear regular Christmas party attire, or you could opt for "Fancy Dress" (what the British call costumes). For last year's theme party, D didn't wear a costume -- and he took a lot of ribbing from his team. So here was the dilemma: the company CEO was in town from the US for the party, and he wasn't interested in being in Fancy Dress. Neither was his wife. But they are both good sports and have a sense of humor. Do we wear costumes or not? Hmmm. We decided to compromise: D wore his costume, and I went in regular Christmas party attire. (For the record, I WAS dressed in clothes appropriate for one of the last 8 decades...it just happens to be THIS one!) I'm sure that if you've seen my Thanksgiving post with photos of our trip to the Fancy Dress place, you're wondering which costume D chose for the evening. And the winner? Dressed in classic 60's British style, I present to you D, dressed as Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery: YEAH, BABY -- that's him with the CEO and his colleague, Disco Andy. Awesome. Here are some more photos from the party -- and can I just say that it was one of the BEST Christmas parties I've ever attended? Theme Christmas parties rock.

First Don & Cathy, Then John & Cathy

2009-12-09T17:19:00.003Z

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, I dropped Don & Cathy at the train station and then headed straight to the hotel around the corner to pick up another Cathy -- this one married to John. John is D's boss, the CEO of the company, and he was in town for meetings with D, his team, and some customers. Cathy accompanied him, and since we've known each other for 10 years she and I set aside the week to "play". This Cathy is a shopper, and a collector, so I laid out a plan at the beginning of the week that maximized Cathy's exposure to stores selling things she loves -- with some other fun activities thrown in. We spent Monday in the little town of Arundel (named after the Arundel family, as is the Maryland county we live in), where we found lots of antique stores filled with fun pieces. On Tuesday we went to Winchester, where Cathy saw the Cathedral for the first time and then we enjoyed the Christmas market and the High Street stores. On Wednesday we took the train into London, where we had a fabulous fancy lunch (and I got to practice my Italian on the entirely Italian wait staff!) and then saw a West End production of "Breakfast at Tiffany's". We had 2nd row seats -- which gave us a great view of the full frontal nudity (both female and male) --woo! THAT was a surprise! On Thursday we went to Brighton, where we walked the seaside in a brisk wind, dodging raindrops, before heading into Brighton's fantastic old shopping district, known as The Lanes. And on Friday we visited Guildford, where we went to department stores and specialty shops and had coffee in a tiny cafe. Friday night was the office Christmas party (I'll be posting separately about that soon!) -- this shot was taken at the end of a long night of dancing and merriment -- we're all looking a little worse for wear. But a good time was had by all!

Thanksgiving Weekend with Don & Cathy

2009-12-09T14:27:00.011Z

When you are far from home and family for a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's wonderful to have good friends nearby** with whom to celebrate. (**"Nearby" being a relative term, of course. Belgium is "only" just across the English Channel!) Don and Cathy arrived here on Thanksgiving morning, carrying groceries that I can't find in England (pumpkin!!) and LOTS of other goodies. D picked them up at the train station, and they arrived at the house when I was literally elbow-deep in turkey preparation. They rolled up their culinary sleeves and joined right in on the dinner prep, helping out with cooking AND creating a marvelous-looking table arrangement. (Thanks Cathy!) And what a Thanksgiving dinner it was! YUM. Turkey and all the fixin's. Sky Sports TV showed the American football games, which meant we could watch the NFL while digesting our turkey, just like our families in the US. And speaking of our families, we checked in with everyone on the holiday and they were all happily enjoying their own feasts & get-togethers. It was a great day all around. On Friday, we took Don & Cathy to Winchester, to visit the cathedral and to shop at the Winchester Christmas Market. We were impressed with the market -- it had a nice array of locally produced gifts, crafts, and artwork. Cathy and I hit every booth, and Don and D patiently waited...while eating their mince pies!Saturday was our day to "prepare" for D's annual Christmas party, held the following weekend. "Prepare?", you ask? Yes. The European office does their holiday party with a theme every year, and attendees have the option to come in outfits related to that theme (here, called "Fancy Dress", not "costumes"). If you recall, last year there was a Gangsters/1920's theme: and his co-workers gave D a hard time for not getting dressed in theme. So this year, we had to prepare! D's company is celebrating it's 80th year in business, so the theme was to be "The Last Eight Decades". People were being encouraged to dress from one decades...1950's poodle skirts, 1980's punk rock leather, etc. Knowing that Don and Cathy are always game for some fun, we thought that they'd be the perfect people to accompany us on our journey for "fancy dress". And were we ever right!! Forget the Tower of London -- we've decided that this store: just may be the best English attraction we've ever taken guests to visit! Let's just say that we all fully embraced the spirit of the store! I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time. Our whole weekend was full of laughs and good times -- we're thankful for all of our many friends, and particularly thankful that we could spend this holiday weekend with Don & Cathy: Happy Holidays everyone!

Debbie's Return from Afghanistan

2009-12-09T14:01:00.007Z

As you might remember, Debbie was here in August on her way to Afghanistan for her work in support of the United States Agency for International Development, the government agency providing US economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. Her 6-week trip to Afghanistan stretched into a 3-month trip. She came back in November and stayed with us upon her return, which gave us the opportunity to complete our visit to Windsor Castle (we only made it through the grounds and the chapel during her visit in September) and gave Debbie some time to decompress after a stressful three months in a war zone. In addition to visiting Windsor, we also saw Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace, toured through some nearby small villages, and spent rainy days enjoying things even closer to home. From here, Debbie bravely rented a car and went on her own for a week to visit Oxfordshire (home of Oxford University and Warwick Castle) and Devon (known for it's pleasant seaside towns and inland hikes). She's now back in the US, undoubtedly safer and sounder than she's been in months.

Ed & Lorna's Quick Stop in Horsham

2009-12-09T13:31:00.004Z

Ed & Lorna came through here in the middle of November after a nearly 3-week vacation tour of France & Southwestern England (Devon & Cornwall). D was back in America for a board meeting so he missed them, but the cats and I enjoyed their company immensely! (This was the first time they had met Emma & Tessa -- the cats LOVED having cat-people in the house. Extra laps = GOOD.) I managed to let Ed & Lorna get away without taking a single photo -- unbelieveable, I know -- so I've posted a favorite one from our trip to the Norwegian fjords from a few years ago. The two of them had lots of stories from their travels, particularly their visit to the hometown of Lorna's Great-(times ten)-Grandfather. They even had a pint in the town pub that's been there since his day. Probably sitting on the same bar stools he sat on! I know that they were happy to get back to Canada after a long trip, but it was great to have them here.

OK, So...What's Up With the Lack of Updates?

2009-12-09T13:23:00.003Z

Hi Everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates lately -- it's not for lack of stuff to blog about. It has everything to do with being really busy. I've got some catching up to do! In the meantime, my last blog post showing the umbrella-themed holiday lights in London was strangely prescient -- it has rained nearly every day since then. And the sun sets before 4pm here now. Gloomy! Sing it with me... "Oh the weather outside is frightful..." More posts coming here soon.

Only in London...

2009-11-11T13:08:00.005Z

...would the Christmas lights have an umbrella theme!! "I'm dreaming of a Wet Christmas, just like the ones I used to know..." But, to be fair, there are "prezzies" (better known as "presents" to those of you in the US)... ...and lovely doves, too.

"A Smashing Bonfire"

2009-11-08T11:39:00.007Z

We finally made it to a traditional Guy Fawkes Day torch parade and bonfire. Here in the UK, the 5th of November is a celebration of the thwarting of a plot by bad-dude Guy Fawkes to blow up the English Parliament building (with King James inside) in 1605. To celebrate, an effigy of Guy Fawkes (called, appropriately, "The Guy") is marched through town in a parade and then burned atop an enormous bonfire, followed by a fireworks display. We went to the nearby village of Cranleigh (best known as the home of Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton!) for their celebration. We carried torches in the mile-long parade to the bonfire: Once there, the thousands of participants surrounded the bonfire and the local vicar climbed to the top and read aloud the poem known to all British schoolchildren:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
The parade marshall then placed "The Guy" atop the huge bonfire. In Cranleigh, there was a Guy-making competition -- the winning Guy was placed atop the bonfire and the others were placed all along the steps to the top. (If you look closely at the picture of the two of us holding torches at the top, you can see the unlit bonfire with the "Guys" on it's steps behind us.) At last, everyone's torches were thrown onto the bonfire to set it ablaze. The fire was enormous! The man standing next to us declared it "a smashing bonfire". We agreed! After about 15 minutes, the fireworks display began. It was so much fun to watch fireworks while standing alongside a roaring bonfire!The Cranleigh bonfire website linked to this video (by an American film company) depicting last year's parade and bonfire. I think it is a good summary of the evening. Enjoy!

Tropical Storm Charlotte

2009-11-01T14:09:00.012Z

When our friend Doug heard that Charlotte was going to be making a 3-day stop here near the end of her 6-month tour of Europe, he said that he couldn't wait to get a report on the effects of "Hurricane Charlotte" on London. I can report that her visit was more like a Tropical Storm -- lots of energy and enthusiasm, but no serious damage left behind! Charlotte has spent the last 5+ months traveling in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria. She's found inspiration for her work (she is a professional artist) and a renewed confidence in her abilities. Along the way, she's also found the world's best chocolate cake and a gorgeous leather bag from Morocco that I tried very hard to steal while she was here! She told us that she wanted to see "what makes England 'England'", so she and I spent one day exploring the coast and the rural Downs, one long day exploring the city, and one day in our little market town of Horsham. She ate fish & chips with mushy peas, drank English ale, and embraced the full English experience. We even managed to stumble across an enormous film crew shooting at Beachy Head -- and we just missed seeing the Oscar award-winning actress Helen Mirren! (The film is a remake of the 1940's film "Brighton Rocks", and we were told that there is a pivotal scene at the chalk cliffs. We had to laugh when we passed an actor walking along the beach covered in gory makeup and wearing trousers with one leg torn off, followed by this prop guy: carrying a realistic looking severed leg!) The day in London was a blast -- we walked for miles, overloading on the myriad sights and sounds of the city. My favorite part of the visit was touring the Tate Modern art museum with Charlotte. It had been more than 15 years since I'd been in an art museum with her, and I'd forgotten how very cool it is to see modern art with someone who knows it, understands it, has historical context for it, and loves to share knowledge with others. I walked away with a new appreciation. Charlotte left this morning -- next stop, Belgium!

NFL in the UK 2009

2009-10-26T10:09:00.015Z

Once again, the NFL was kind enough to bring a game to the UK this year so that D and I could get our fix of American football while living overseas. Yesterday's game was Tom Brady and the New England Patriots taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at London's Wembley Stadium. We made a full weekend out of it, starting with an NFL and Oktoberfest-themed party at Pete & Lisa's house on Saturday. Since Lisa is a life-long Patriots fan from New England, and Pete grew up a Bucs fan in Tampa Bay, the choice of teams couldn't have been any better for them. In the spirit of Oktoberfest, Pete and Lisa cooked up a German feast, and I made the decorated gingerbread cookies that were sold everywhere during Oktoberfest in Munich last year. In Munich last year: In England on Saturday: Dawn and Greg flew over from Virginia for the weekend; Dawn worked with me at Northrop Grumman, and grew up with Lisa in Massachusetts. On Sunday, we all met early at the NFL Tailgate party outside of Wembley Stadium. In Munich last year:

Clockwise from top: D, Lisa, Carla, Steve, Dawn, Pete, and Greg

The same crowd at Wembley yesterday!

Clockwise from top: Dawn, Pete, Lisa, Carla, D, Steve, and Greg

Even Steve & Carla (the Brits) got into the spirit, wearing borrowed Patriots gear from head-to-toe. The tailgate featured food & drink, music, an NFL Hall of Fame pavillion with historical highlights: and the Super Bowl Trophy, exhibits for every NFL team, (That's D with Ray, and me with T-Sizzle!)Pats and Bucs cheerleaders: the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and lots and lots of fans. We saw jerseys from every NFL team (and lots of NFL Europe and college teams too!) and met lots of people with ties to Baltimore. All, day, everywhere we went in our Ravens gear we'd hear, "Hey Ravens!" and we'd turn to find someone else wearing a Ray Lewis or Ed Reed jersey. Many were American, but some were also Brits who've become NFL fans through TV. So festive! The game itself was a lot of fun, although the outcome was never in doubt. Tom Brady and the Patriots won, 35-7. Pete was just happy that it wasn't a shutout of his Bucs! Dawn's parents flew over from the US with a large group of fellow Patriots season ticket holders and were with us on Saturday and Sunday too. Here are Lisa and Dawn with Dawn's dad, Len.A good time was had by all!

My Former Future Boyfriend

2009-10-26T08:37:00.004Z

When I was 8 years old, I thought that the Welsh singer Tom Jones would be my future boyfriend. He had a popular TV show in America, where he'd sing hits like "It's Not Unusual" and "She's A Lady". I thought he was hot. My crush eventually faded, as did his career, but recently he's experienced a career resurgence. He has performed with the likes of Wyclef Jean, the Stereophonics, Van Morrison, and The Edge from U2. In fact, Bono wrote the song "Sugar Daddy" specifically for him last year. Tom Jones is touring the US, UK, and Europe this year, and we went to see him on Friday night in Brighton. D dramatically rolled his eyes when he heard I'd gotten tickets to see some faded pop singer, but he'd admit to you now that the show was fun and retro-cool -- Tom's voice is still huge and he's a great performer. Here's a bite-sized piece of a classic Tom Jones number:

My inner-8-year-old was ready to rush the stage...

Capri -- Not Just the Pants Anymore

2009-10-21T20:55:00.023+01:00

We spent last weekend on the Italian island of Capri, located in the Mediterranean Sea near Naples and the Amalfi Coast, at the "ankle" of Italy's boot. Don & Cathy joined us for this get-away, and we stayed busy, taking in the best of Capri's many attractions. The San Michele church: featured an unusual and beautiful floor made of hand-painted majolica tiles depicting Adam & Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The island of Capri became imperial property during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus, who launched intense building there. As a result, there are Roman ruins remaining across the island. There were also plenty of natural wonders. We walked to this natural limestone arch... and then back down to the town of Capri and it's lovely sea views......admiring all of the beautiful colors across the island as we strolled. We took a pretty coastal pathway: to get to the opening of the Blue Grotto, Capri's famous sea cave, where sunlight through the small opening creates a glowing blue reflection inside. Unfortunately, the seas were too rough to allow the small boats to take people inside the grotto, so we'll have to save that for another visit. Later that same day, we took a long chairlift ride... to the top of Mount Solara, giving us fantastic views of the town of Anacapri and the gorgeous Caprese coast. It was the ideal spot for a glass of wine... and a nap! Lemons are everywhere on Capri. There was a citrus grove on the property where we stayed......whose lemons were some of the largest we'd ever seen. With breakfast each morning, we were served a delicious homemade lemon jam -- different from the lemon curd we get here in England, and more like preserves. So good. Speaking of food... Of course when we're together with Don & Cathy, we know we're going to enjoy great food, wine, and ice cream. (Is there such a thing as bad food, wine, and ice cream in Italy?? No.) Our food adventures on this trip were a combination of outstanding restaurant meals: takeaway sandwiches and snacks: and food cooked in the kitchen of our rented apartment. Don's Linguine alla Vongole was out-of-this-world good! And with Cathy along, you KNOW we found the best gelati on Capri! Here's a toast to time with good friends: Ciao!

Spending Quality Time with Bob & Marie

2009-10-11T19:02:00.007+01:00

When I graduated from college 25 years ago, I took a job with a relatively small company in Annapolis because I liked the people and thought the work sounded interesting. In retrospect, I cannot believe what a great and life-changing decision that was. I spent ten happy years there, and now D, who joined the company several years later, has been working there for almost 20 years himself. Some of our favorite people in the world are people we've met while working there. Among our most favorite are Bob & Marie, who've come here to spend a few days with us. We couldn't be happier! We've been friends for nearly 20 years, and have shared many fantastic personal and professional experiences -- around the world. We've enjoyed sharing our little piece of Southern England with them this week, from Winchester's fantastic medieval cathedral: to the windswept white chalk cliffs at Beachy Head: and, after Jeff rejoined us, a play and dinner in London: We thought that this very happy visit was the perfect occasion to break out the special bottle of ice wine we'd gotten from Ed & Lorna -- Cheers!

Jeff in England

2009-10-07T11:50:00.007+01:00

D's brother Jeff has business meetings in the UK and Italy this week -- his first trip to Europe! He spent this past weekend with us, arriving Friday night and departing on the train for southwestern England on Monday morning. (He'll be back here at the end of the week after a short trip to Bologna, too...bonus!) On Saturday, Jeff's first full day in England, we stayed relatively close to home, walking through Horsham: visiting the nearby Arundel Castle: and driving along the coast to the white chalk cliffs at Beachy Head. By the time we arrived at Beachy Head the sun was setting (we're losing daylight FAST here now!) but Jeff was still able to appreciate the scenery. And it was very, very windy....hence the cautious approach to the cliff's edge! On Sunday we went into London for some sightseeing: We spent quite a bit of time at the Tower of London -- Jeff really enjoyed the history and the exhibits in the White Tower. We'll go back into the city on Saturday when Jeff returns; we're hoping to give him a taste of what he might experience when he comes back to visit with his wife and their daughters next year!

Randy's Visit

2009-10-02T09:04:00.003+01:00

It's been fantastic having Randy here this week. We jokingly call Randy "the mayor of Singapore" because he seems to know everyone there when we visit. Soon, he'll be the mayor of Horsham. Last night, D and I had a class from 7:00 until 8:30 so we dropped Randy off at the Black Jug pub and then met up with him there after class. Randy had already met everyone in the place! As we left, this is what we heard: "Hey Randy, see you next time!" "Hey mate, thanks for the drink!" "Randy, thanks for the birthday wishes!" Seems we won't be the only people who will miss him as he heads back to Singapore tonight!

Another Place We Won't Soon Be Moving To...

2009-10-02T08:40:00.000+01:00

I go to this little town for my Italian class every week. It may not actually BE the World's End; it just feels that way.

England's Lake District

2009-09-23T12:10:00.002+01:00

We've just returned from a week-long holiday in northern England's Lake District. What a beautiful region, filled with unspoiled lakes and mountains -- hands down the prettiest area we've seen in this country. We were unbelievably lucky to have had fantastic weather for the whole week -- not a drop of rain in 8 days! (The weather is so notoriously unpredictable there that we packed everything from t-shirts and shorts to long johns, gloves, and knit hats. We never needed anything heavier than windbreakers -- or as our English friends call them -- "windcheaters".) We hiked every day but one, and on that day we took a long drive over an incredible mountain pass to the shore of the Irish Sea. We took a LOT of photos throughout the week -- around every bend there was an "Oooh, look!" view. Here is a taste of our trip to the Lake District. We stayed in the upstairs left-most apartment in this recently converted lakefront manor house. It was spacious and comfortable and gave us a great view across Lake Windermere. On our first night in town, we went to the annual Torchlight parade in the nearby town of Kendal. It was a typical small-town parade; this one had lots of floats, bands, horses, old farm equipment, stilt-walkers and these cool large puppets. Our first hike on the abundant public footpaths in the area was from the quaint town of Hawkshead to the Tarn Hows lakes. We also stopped at Coniston Water lake. Our second hike was one of the most rigorous -- from the Derwent Water lake up the Cat Bells peaks. The steep climb was so worth it -- the views from the top were amazing. The following day we did a long hike from the town of Keswick on the Derwent Water lake up into the forest. From there we traversed along a ridge to the Castlerigg Stone Circle, which is considered to be one of the most impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain and is believed to be older than Stonehenge. The stones at Castlerigg were smaller than at Stonehenge, but we had it nearly all to ourselves and could walk right up to the stones -- something you can't do at Stonehenge. The following day we set out to do a hike in the western lakes region, but we became so excited about the mountain pass drive that we abandoned our hike plans and just drove around instead. (My leg muscles thanked me later.) Our drive included the Hard Knott Pass, which was essentially a winding 12-mile single-lane road with two-way traffic -- thank goodness for the occasional pull-off to let people pass! Here's the view from the passenger seat: The road had inclines of up to 30%. (We took a photo of this 20% grade sign, but I was too busy white-knuckling the arm rests to photograph the 30% sign!) The views along the way were breathtaking. You can see the narrow road winding back down the mountain in this photo: At the top of the pass, you could look down to the west and see the sea -- that's it beyond the hills in the upper left of this photo: so we decided to go there too. Along the way we saw a helicopter mountain rescue: we explored an ancient Roman fort founded under Hadrian's rule in the 2nd Century:and we stopped at another lake, called Wast Water. This one had a more ominous feel, as the shore was dark rock and the far side of the lake was a 2000' sheer cliff of rock scree: We finally made it to the Irish sea. It was such a contrast to go from that mountain pass to the sea in just a few miles. The beach was mostly sandy (not just rocky like in Southern England) and remarkably wide. Those are people at the waterline in the distance:The next day we hiked a loop from the town of Grasmere (known for being the home of the poet Wordsworth, and for it's gingerbread -- and we indulged!) to Rydal and back, around two lakes. Our final hike of the trip was through the Grizedale Forest. Grizedale's trails are well known because the Forestry Commission has embedded sculptures along the way. It was fun to "discover" them as we walked. Another feature of the hike was the portion of the trail that goes beneath a public ropes course. As we walked, there were people on zip lines: and on rope bridges: right over our heads. Wow! Because our apartment had a great kitchen, we cooked our own meals. But we did go out for one special dinner at Sharrow Bay restaurant on Ullswater Lake, where this was our view from the cocktail lounge. Nice! It was a fantastic trip, and a vacation location I'd recommend to anyone. If you are interested, the full album of our photos from the trip is located here -- just click on the photo below to open.

Lake District; September 2009

Liverpool

2009-09-21T11:28:00.007+01:00

On our way back from the Lake District, we stopped and spent one night in Liverpool. Neither of us had ever been there before, and we thought it would be a fun stopping point on the long drive home. It was! Liverpool reminded me of Baltimore -- port cities that thrived in the 18th & 19th Centuries, fell on hard times in the early 20th Century, then made a big investment to revitalize and reinvent themselves in the late 20th Century. The two cities embarked on similar efforts to bring business and commerce back to their harbour areas; in fact, Liverpool's Albert Dock reminded us very much of Baltimore's Inner Harbor/Harborplace.While we were in Liverpool we visited several museums, including the Maritime Museum with it's exhibitions on the Lusitania and Titantic; the International Slavery Museum, where we learned about Britain's role in funding the slave trade in the 1700's; and the Beatles Museum, which we found disappointing but we had to do it when in Liverpool, right?We also took a fun tour of Liverpool's famous Anfield football stadium. Here's D, imitating legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly's pose:As you might imagine, D was thrilled to be at the club. We got to go out onto the pitch... and into the players' very spartan changing room, where we posed with the kits of our favorite Liverpool players. We haven't changed our team allegiances to Liverpool, but we might cheer for them a little in the future!

So, How DID He Predict the Lottery?

2009-09-21T11:03:00.005+01:00

A few days after correctly predicting the lottery, Derren Brown did a prime time TV show explaining how it was done. Well, sort of. It was a longer show, but I think this 7 minute clip I found on YouTube will give you the idea. By way of background, the earlier part of the show demonstrated how he brought together a group of 24 strangers to try to predict the lottery numbers by having each person study the last year's worth of numbers, then try to correctly predict the next six. They then averaged everyone's numbers to arrive at a group calculation. They did this for several consecutive lottery drawings, getting several correct each time. He then had everyone do it "unconsciously", by letting their pencils move on the paper while their eyes were shut. Someone from the group interpreted the scribbles, calculated the averages, and they had even more correct. The final attempt was the night of the show...
(If the video starts and stops on you, hit the pause button underneath, visible when playing and looking like two vertical lines (II), and let the video load up for a minute, then hit the triangular "play" button again.)

Or, maybe he did it another way...!

Predicting the Lottery

2009-09-10T08:40:00.003+01:00

We've written several times about our favorite performer, Derren Brown. You can read those previous posts here (from 2008) and here (when D was on stage with him this summer). Last night, on live TV here in the UK, Derren Brown correctly predicted the results of the National Lottery draw. Fascinating!

On Friday night, he'll be revealing HOW he did it. Can't wait to see that!

Seaside Lunch

2009-09-05T21:46:00.009+01:00

We drove to the nearby seaside town of Littlehampton for lunch today. We wanted to check out a restaurant we'd read about, and we're very glad that we did. The unusual architecture was attractive and intriguing, and the setting right on the boardwalk made it a perfect place to enjoy lunch and people-watch on a bright day. The seafood was fantastic, too! After lunch we walked along the seafront to the Arun River inlet, then followed the riverwalk into town. Seeing all of the boats gave us a taste of home -- this is as close to Annapolis as we've found around here.

A Sunny Late-Summer Day

2009-09-05T20:55:00.004+01:00

Last Monday was a holiday here in the UK, and we spent a relaxing day outside enjoying the sunshine. We went to a local U-Pick farm and picked raspberries, sunflowers, and plums. The plums were so ripe that they were falling off of the trees. As you can see, they were landing on the "floor", as people here refer to the ground. While at the farm, we saw this old car next to an old barn and knew that Steve & the boys would've enjoyed poking around the place! Afterwards, we walked to the local cricket field and watched the Horsham club play in a 20Twenty match. The more we watch, the more we enjoy the game.

Notting Hill Carnival

2009-08-31T22:49:00.002+01:00

On Sunday, D and I spent the day at London's Notting Hill Carnival -- the largest street festival in Europe. Over a million people were expected over the two-day duration of the festival (Sunday and Monday -- today was a holiday in the UK). It's a full-on Caribbean carnival over a several square-mile area of the city that's been totally shut down to cars. It was complete with dozens of steel bands: hundreds of food stands selling Jerk Chicken, roasted corn, and Red Stripe and ginger beers (which we, and our Rasta friends, thoroughly enjoyed!):a gigantic miles-long parade with floats and dancers and massive trucks with sound systems blaring reggae music:
colorfully costumed revellers: and people as far as the eye could see: It was SO festive and SO fun -- we LOVED it! Here are some more of the sights (and sounds!) of the Carnival: This video will give you an idea of the ENERGY behind the event. (And no, the guy dancing in front of me at the end of the video isn't D!) Enjoy!

English-to-English Translation: Reccy

2009-08-31T22:35:00.002+01:00

Today's British English-to-American English translation word is reccy. Reccy (pronounced "wreck-ie") is short for reconnaissance mission, and means to survey one's surroundings to gain information. Where Americans might use the term "scouting trip", Brits say "reccy". Usage in a sentence: "I'm headed to Brighton to do a reccy for locations for Daphne's hen-do." (Next translation word: Hen-do!).
Oft-heard similar words: Choccy (pronounced "chalky", short for chocolate), Biccy (pronounced "bik-key", short for "biscuit" -- meaning cookie), and Sarnie (short for sandwich).
Want a biccy or some choccy with your ham sarnie?

Debbie's Visit

2009-08-31T11:16:00.001+01:00

Debbie was the first visitor we ever had here in England, way back in the Spring of 2007. (See here; you can click on the photo there for the album of photos we took during that visit.) She stayed with us then while enroute to a 6-month stay in Afghanistan in support of the US State Department. She was back here last week, again enroute to Afghanistan, but this time (fingers crossed!) she'll only be there for 6-weeks. We filled the short duration of her visit with activity, including a brief visit with Laura (and A) during the overlap in their stays with us, a walk around Horsham's town centre and it's many parks and gardens, snacks of local wines and cheeses, a fish-and-chips dinner at our local pub, and a quick (almost thwarted!) trip to Windsor Castle. Despite our late morning start and my wrong turn which put us at Windsor in time for gridlocked traffic associated with it's daily changing of the guard ceremony, we managed to give Debbie an overview of the place with a promise to return for a more in-depth tour. She loved the architectural details of the Castle, especially the reliefs and gargoyles. Maybe some ideas for the upcoming addition on her house in DC?!? Safe travels Debbie -- we look forward to seeing you again on your return visit.

Chris, Laura, and A's Visit

2009-08-31T10:10:00.001+01:00

We've missed Chris and Laura and their son A since they returned to the US last autumn from their 5-year assignment here. Chris had business in the UK last week, so Laura and A joined him for a visit to Horsham and London. They spent the first few days of their stay with us. We enjoyed catching up over Indian food on Sunday night, but during the week while Chris and D were hard at work, I got to spend fun time with Laura and her son. They became reacquainted with Horsham... ...including it's outdoor cafes. Little A particularly enjoyed eating the M&M's off of the top of this dessert bar... ...reacquainting himself with the local playgrounds.... ...and seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. He's a chocolate-eating, active, fun-loving kid who enjoys British history and pageantry -- my kind of guy!

Not Planning to Move HERE Any Time Soon...!

2009-08-30T23:53:00.001+01:00

Houses of Parliament

2009-08-30T22:55:00.003+01:00

We recently toured the Houses of Parliament, open for public visits during the summer months. It was my first time in the chambers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons; D had been there once before for a business event. We enjoyed seeing the site of so much British history and learning more about the Parliamentary system of Government. And the architecture and decor are quite over the top, which was fun to see. We could only take photographs in the entry hall of Westminster, the original portion of the building not destroyed by fires and bombing and the site of many historical events itself. After the tour, we made our way over to Whole Foods Market, a little taste of home in the middle of London. D was amused to see me rolling this cart, provided by the store...
...as I've thus far resisted his urgings to buy myself a European roll-behind shopping cart. (In our town, only the elderly use the roll-behind carts. Ummm, no. I'll stick to canvas bags.) We bought white corn-on-the-cob, roasted almonds from a bulk bin, American-style sausages for the grill, and cornbread -- all things that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere here -- and had an "American dinner" when we got home. Yum!

D's Imaginary Friend, Bob

2009-08-21T10:18:00.009+01:00

D, Ben, and Bob; 20 August 2009

Many years ago, when D first started working in aviation, he would come home from work with these unbelievable tales -- all involving Bob. "You'll never believe what Bob did today!" was a frequent dinnertime conversation starter. Bob is the master of the practical joke, and D's outrageous stories about Bob would often have us laughing so hard we were crying. There was the time that Bob used a syringe to inject a ton of water into the seat cushion of a colleague's desk chair, so that the chair looked dry, but when the poor guy sat down, he was virtually sitting in a puddle. Or the time he moved a guy's car in the office parking lot and then invited the entire department to his window to watch as the guy wandered through the lot confused. Who can forget the time when Bob was on a business trip and stealthily took a colleague's boarding pass out of his briefcase at the airport gate, then boarded the plane himself, leaving the guy to have to plead with the ticket collector to let him onboard with no boarding pass...until Bob casually walked back up the jetway with it in his hand. And there are SO MANY MORE. And D would also come home with "recommendations" from Bob. "Bob says we should install the new hardwood floors ourselves, rather than paying someone to do it." (Really bad idea -- we're not DIY-ers.) There were a lot of "Bob says" bad ideas. Yet for the first year that they worked together, I hadn't met Bob. As the Bob stories got crazier and his ideas more hair-brained, I started calling Bob, "D's imaginary friend". I was hard-pressed to believe that any one guy could truly be responsible for so many stories.
I finally met Bob at a cocktail party -- and discovered that everyone at the party had at least one "Bob story" that they couldn't wait to tell. Yes, he's just that funny. Over the years, we've had a lot of fun with Bob and his saint of a wife, Paula. Some of you might remember Bob as the guy who took over behind the bar at D's 40th birthday party, after the bartender had left for the night, making unique and unusual mixed beverages. (Actually, those of you still there at the time WON'T remember it, since the drinks were lethal!)
Bob has been in town for a few days of meetings with D and Ben, and we all got together for dinner at our place last night. Needless to say, we laughed our way through dinner. Can you tell? (Ben looks pretty good with those rabbit ears, eh?) And we think we got off without any jokes being played on us. But one can't always be sure...time will tell. Did I tell you about the time Bob went to a friend's house for dinner and while there hid the poor guy's large suitcase behind a hot water heater...so well hidden that the guy (after blaming the missing suitcase on his wife, then his kids) went out and bought a brand new one?

Weekend at Don & Cathy's in Belgium

2009-08-17T21:44:00.005+01:00

On Friday morning, we jumped on the Eurostar train to Brussels to spend the weekend at Don & Cathy's. We had a fun- and food-filled stay! We began the festivities (and the caloric intake) on Friday with a drinks stop at the Poechenellekelder cafe. Cheers! We each ordered a different type of beer, which in Belgium means that we each got a different type of glass -- with the glass shape and size designed to best suit the particular beer. From our table there we could see the famous Brussels landmark Manneken Pis -- the odd little statue of the boy urinating. We walked back to Don & Cathy's flat, where our most "foodie" friends served us a fantastic meal, beginning with homemade mushroom soup. The evening was topped off by a fashion show, with Don showing off his Bosnia card-playing "championship belt"...and D proudly modeling the ¾-length "capri pants" given to him by Don & Cathy, who knew that D had been wanting some since seeing so many British blokes wearing them. (It was an added bonus for everyone that I HATE men's capri pants! Hate. And you'll notice that D happily wore them the entire rest of the weekend....it just takes a little extra effort to really set me off!)Saturday dawned with blue skies and warm temperatures -- yea! We walked the short distance to the Royal Palace of Brussels. It is open to the public in the summer, and we took advantage of the opportunity for a tour. It's a beautiful building inside and out. Most of it is quite traditional, but the palace's one unusual feature is a room whose ceiling & chandelier are covered with the irridescent green wing cases of 1.4 million beetles. (There is a photo of the room here. Oddly beautiful.) The Brussels Summer Music Festival was underway while we were in town; we enjoyed the music and were amused by the enormous inflatable version of Manneken Pis on display as well! We stopped at a Friterie for some of the best fries on the planet. In Belgium, they are served with mayonnaise, not ketchup. (Believe me, it tastes far better than it sounds!) But that was just a snack on our way to get lunch -- chicken Doner Kebabs! Yum. Thank goodness we got chicken -- and not these! We made a stop at one of the many beer stores in town. D had thousands of beers to choose from...for the beer tasting back at Don & Cathy's later that afternoon. We enjoyed a stroll through the cathedral and past the main town square: before we went to dinner here: where freshly prepared tapas came around on a conveyor belt. Fun!On Sunday, we went to the Brussels "beach", a canal-front area where tons of clean white sand has been brought in and dozens of food stalls have been set up for the summer. And because we were with Cathy, of course we made it to the home of the best ice cream in Brussels. The owner is quite...temperamental. (Remember the soup guy from Seinfeld?) I very nearly got us all banned from the ice cream parlor for life by taking a photograph while in the shop. (Oh, would I have been in the doghouse with Cathy had a ban been imposed!) I was so busy trying to compose a shot to include both the list of flavors and Don & Cathy that I missed completely that the owner was admonishing me not to take the photo...so I took it. The "stop fingers" and the looks on the faces of my friends make me laugh every time I look at this: Can you tell that they were worried that their ice cream supply might be cut off? But lucky for me (and them!), ice cream guy forgave me and we lived to eat another cone. The flavor selection was so unusual (for example, Wasabi, which Don tried, and Toasted Sesame, which I tried) and oh so delicious! Depite my close call at the ice cream place, we hope to be invited back to Brussels again for further fun and gastronomy. Thanks for a great stay, guys!

English-to-English Translation: Kit

2009-08-13T16:37:00.003+01:00

I was in America several times this summer, and I spoke with quite a few people that I hadn't spoken with in years. And one of the things I heard a lot from them was, "Oh, you don't have ANY British accent!" And I sense their bitter disappointment, as I'd undoubtedly be more sophisticated and worldly and interesting if I did. (Or at least I'd sound that way!) But, alas, no. I can't even fake the accent well. However, I have developed an entirely new vocabulary during my stay here in the UK. And it is high time that I begin to share it with all of you. This is the first in what will become an occasional series of "English-to-English Translation" posts, offering the British English version of American English words and phrases. Today's word: Kit.

Kit refers to the standard equipment and attire worn by athletes. Here in the UK, one doesn't wear a uniform, one wears a kit. In this photo, John Terry is wearing the blue Chelsea kit, while Christiano Ronaldo is wearing the red Manchester United kit: Proper usage in a sentence: "Harry has outgrown his football kit and I'm not sure what size he'll need, so I'll be doing a reccy trip to KitLocker tomorrow." (Next translation word? Reccy.)

I Didn't Think It Would Ever Happen...But We're Officially Cricket Fans Now

2009-08-09T19:38:00.007+01:00

Since D went to the Ashes cricket match last month, we've been spending time watching cricket on the telly and learning more about the rules of the game. (It's a lot like baseball, really, so perhaps it's not surprising that we enjoy it.) Our county team (the Sussex Sharks) played a one-day Pro40 League match in Horsham today. It was a beautiful day -- sunny and warm -- perfect for being outdoors watching cricket. And now we even understand a scoreboard like this one: The seating areas put you very close to the players in the "outfield", and we were surprised to see players happily signing autographs for kids in-between overs (at-bats).During the 20-minute "tea interval" (or the break between the two innings of the match, aka halftime) they let fans out onto the field. We walked out and watched them prepare the field for the second half... and watched the Glouchestershire bowlers (pitchers) warm up...The Sussex team played extremely well and won big -- Woo Hoo!
Of course, our newfound interest in cricket will be particularly funny for Tom & Jamie. At Tom's request, we went to a local club cricket match at the same field last year when they were visiting -- and nearly died of boredom. I think we stayed for about 30 minutes. We didn't understand the rules, and we just clapped when the other fans clapped. But we DID enjoy going to the Cricketers Arms pub afterwards! When Tom gets home from military duty in Afghanistan and they can plan their next visit here, maybe we'll treat them to another match -- AND another visit to the pub!

Great British Beer Festival

2009-08-08T22:26:00.008+01:00

We had an outstanding day today with friends at the Great British Beer Festival in London. There were over 450 beers on tap, so beer connoiseurs Tim & Pete were happy men. We even pulled out the beer goggles from Oktoberfest... so we fit right in with all of the other nutters at the festival!Cheers!

D's Mom's Birthday Celebration Weekend

2009-08-06T21:05:00.001+01:00

We spent a fantastic weekend celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. All three of Carol's sons and all five of the grandkids were there, which made for a very special and very fun celebration. We played games... swam... chatted, relaxed, and enjoyed one another's company. The children in our family don't get to watch much TV at home (especially cable TV). So it was a real treat for them to have cable television available, including an especially cool -- no pun intended! -- TV in the refrigerator door! They were mesmerized...We hiked through the woods... ...to a waterfall.Thanks to someone who had difficulty reading the trail map (who shall remain nameless -- but his name rhymes with Jeeve!), the leisurely hike we planned with Mom actually became a steep and challenging hike about halfway through. But Mom was a trooper and made it the whole way with many laughs and without complaint. Obviously, 70 is the new 40! Dave's dad couldn't join us on the hike, as he had broken his leg a few weeks ago. He did a great job getting around on his crutches all weekend, and got only a wee bit of coaching from our resident physical therapist, Maria. On Saturday night, we all got dressed up and went out for birthday dinner... then came back to the house for cake and ice cream -- and presents! In 40 years, this family...
has grown to this family:Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you!

I Spoke Too Soon -- MORE Celebrity Sightings!

2009-07-27T14:45:00.006+01:00

Just this morning I was writing here on the blog about how D always sees celebrities at the airport when I'm not with him. So 30 minutes ago, as we were going through Heathrow security, I said to him, "I must be distracting you when I'm with you here at the airport. I'll bet that there are celebrities all around us. Like, what about those men with the logo of a rooster standing on a basketball on their jackets?" Dave turns around and starts laughing. First, it wasn't a basketball, it was a soccer ball. And it turns out that behind us in line was the entire Tottenham Hot Spurs premiereship football team, including their handsome captain, Robby Keane. We got a photo of D with their goalie Heurelho Gomes (on the left above) and midfielder Wilson Palacios (on the right), who were super friendly and accomodating. (See, it isn't necessarily bad to be a celebrity stalker!) Tottenham is D's second-favorite team, so he was over the moon!

The Fastest Man in the World, and Another Celebrity Sighting for D

2009-07-27T08:00:00.009+01:00

Friday was the first day of the two-day annual London Grand Prix track & field meet, with some of the best athletes in the world participating. Although the weather forecast was ominous, the rain never came and the event went off flawlessly. This woman, DeeDee Trotter of the US, ran the 400m. Sadly, she didn't finish near the top -- but her makeup looked good! (And ladies, really, isn't that what it's all about?) The men's 5000m race was hotly contested, but was eventually won by Mo Farah from Great Britain. Obviously he was a crowd favorite here and he received a huge ovation as he ran his victory lap. I was seated right behind the coaches for the women's high jump. The athletes would come over to consult with their coaches after each attempt. Here is world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia, talking things over with her coach. Those high jumpers are TALL, man! Vlasic won the event with this leap: The big event of the day was the men's 100m race, with the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt of Jamaica: attempting to break his own world record time of 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Olympics last year. Also in the field was his fellow countryman, Asafa Powell (in yellow).They did well in their respective heats, but in the end, at the final race, it wasn't even close -- Usain Bolt really looked to be the fastest man in the world as he won easily: It wasn't a world record breaking time, but it was exciting nonetheless.D has been spending a lot of time on airplanes lately, which is a grind. He took this shot of our town on approach into London's Gatwick airport on Saturday -- I think he was homesick! But he was really excited to have had his own close encounter with a professional athlete on the plane. He was seated next to this guy: on his flight home from Dubai. No, I didn't know who he was either. But D did -- it's Theo Walcott, a star soccer player for Arsenal and for the English national football team. Unlike his stalker-esque wife, D didn't want to be taking photos of the poor guy on the airplane, so for my benefit he took this shot of Theo in baggage claim: That's his third celebrity sighting while flying: comedian & actor Ricky Gervais, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, and now footballer Theo Walcott. We never spot any celebs when I'm traveling with him -- what's up with that?!? :-)

Lee Ritenour at London's Jazz Cafe

2009-07-23T18:58:00.005+01:00

In between D's business trips to Barcelona and Dubai this week, we squeezed in an evening of dinner and jazz in London. One of my favorite American jazz guitarists, Lee Ritenour, was playing at the tiny Jazz Cafe in London. He was accompanied by some well-known and very accomplished musicians on drums, bass, and keyboard. We booked a mezzanine table for the evening, had a nice dinner and enjoyed some fantastic music. It was so fun to see Lee Ritenour in such an intimate setting! If you aren't familiar with him, you can get a taste of his music in this video from YouTube:

Party in the Park

2009-07-23T18:42:00.003+01:00

Last Sunday was our town's annual children's festival, held in the park across the street from our home. The activities and events and rides were kid-oriented, but the food and drinks and live music were definitely geared for adults. We had a great lunch on the grass, listening to fun music and watching all of the local children enjoy a day outdoors.

A Visit to Hever Castle

2009-07-23T17:51:00.005+01:00

Last Saturday, D and I finally made it to medieval Hever Castle. (We first tried to visit this nearby site way back in January 2007, but discovered the hard way that it is closed during the winter months.) Hever Castle dates back to 1270, was enlarged in 1460, and in the early 1500's was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. In the early 20th Century, the Astor family of America bought the castle and converted it to their private home, spending millions on restoring the building and constructing amazing and colorful gardens around it. It is no longer a private home and is now open to the public. We walked all around the property and toured the small castle.
Because this year marks the 500th Anniversary of King Henry VIII's reign, there were lots of special commemorative events going on, and lots of people in period costumes: It's not as grand as the more famous Hampton Court Palace, or as imposing as Arundel Castle, but we enjoyed the day very much -- and learned a lot about Henry VIII, too.

World-Class Cricket

2009-07-18T10:17:00.005+01:00

D was invited by a colleague to attend yesterday's play at The Ashes, a test cricket tournament played between the England and Australia national teams every other year. It is a highly celebrated tournament that dates back to 1877 -- so giving D a ticket is a bit like giving someone who has never watched baseball a ticket to the World Series -- might as well start at the top! Each match takes 5 days to complete, and they play 5 matches, so it takes a month to complete the tournament. D was fortunate to be invited on a day of huge performance for England -- and a day when the Queen and Prince Philip were also in attendance. Here is the Queen (in blue) meeting the players during the lunch break in play:The match was played at Lord's Cricket Ground, which is known as "the home of cricket" because cricket matches have been played there since 1814. It is also the home of the world's oldest sporting museum. Because his friend is a club member there, D was given a tour of the club and museum immediately following yesterday's play. The only other person being given a private tour at the same time? Russell Crowe, the actor. (Yes, yet another celebrity sighting for D!) At the museum, D saw the terracotta urn containing the "ashes", the symbolic trophy of the tournament. Legend has it that the urn contains the ashes of the cricket equipment from the tournament in 1882, when the Aussies unexpectedly beat the Brits. Looks kind of impressive until you pull back the shot and see the actual size of the trophy!D's been following cricket lately in preparation for yesterday, so he knew the basic rules of the game and he really enjoyed seeing it played. If you are curious about the game, you can take a close look at this poster explaining cricket to foreigners: Clear as a bell now, eh?

D's Turn on London's West End Stage!

2009-07-14T11:54:00.001+01:00

Some of you might remember that I fulfilled a big wish in May, 2008 when I went on-stage during a performance by my favorite performer, "psychological illusionist"/magician/hypnotist Derren Brown. (Click here for that blog post and some background.) Tom & Jamie were visiting and were with me at that show, but D was unfortunately out-of-town that night and wasn't able to go. Derren Brown has a new live show for 2009, and we went to London last night to attend. There were 2000 people in the audience. For some reason, Dave felt confident that he was going to be one of the twenty or so people that were brought up onto the stage to participate (just as I had last year). He couldn't have any way of knowing that he'd be selected -- you are chosen by random throws of a frisbee into the audience -- but sure enough, a frisbee came right to him, just as one had come to me last year. So Dave got up on-stage and had his own opportunity to participate with Derren Brown! Wow! D was onstage with two other people and Derren Brown for at least ten minutes, during which he participated in a complex series of acts involving words being mysteriously written on chalkboards. D didn't think he was under hypnosis while on-stage, but he absolutely cannot explain how a blank chalkboard that he was gripping tightly to his chest ended up with writing on it seconds later! One of the words that was written on the chalkboard was MY NAME. Oh my gosh. Unfortunately there is no photography allowed in the theatre, so we have no photos of the act or him on stage. But I would have loved for you all to see the look on his face as each trick he witnessed up there was performed -- it was a look of utter amazement. And he had so much fun! How does Derren Brown do it? We have NO idea. But it is SO COOL to see.

Michael Jackson

2009-07-11T15:28:00.004+01:00

Back in March, we bought tickets to the second of Michael Jackson's 50 sold-out concerts at the O2 Arena here in London. That concert would have been this week. Sadly, and obviously, that's been overcome by events. So we're playing his CDs here this weekend instead. Won't stop til we get enough!