One Year

June 1st marked our one-year anniversary in the UK and June 6th my one year at work. We didn’t really do anything big to celebrate, you know, unless you count the entire country throwing a party from June 2 – 5, but they might think that was for the Jubilee & not us. I guess 60 years as sovereign of a nation is slightly more important.

All the same, we thought we’d throw out some randomness from our first year that we may or may not have shared before.

-- Cheese and chocolate are way better in the UK than in the US
--  We’ve put 9,370 miles on our car since living here which includes a 900 mile road trip to the Netherlands
--  I’m on my third blow-dryer; but giving Boots credit, they keep replacing them for free
--  The girls love the colder weather – to the point that Ginger sometimes runs in the park
--  We’ve seen 3 University of Kansas basketball games and 1 Texas Rangers baseball game since we’ve lived here – but Adam does tell me the score of each game first thing every morning so we are still up to date on the standings
--  We put milk in our hot tea now
--  I didn’t realize how much I would miss family events, but I’m so thankful for digital cameras & Skype that make me feel closer
--  We had three sets of visitors now & I can almost recited the Bath city walking tour
--  Clotted cream makes the world a better place
--  Men with thinning hair are said to have a sunroof on top (guess which one of us this was told to!)
--  Our next door neighbors have never traveled further than 4 hours from Bristol; something not all that uncommon for people here
--  British television is hilarious – they have a sense of self-deprivation that leaves us in stitches most nights
--  Driving on the left isn’t as difficult as remembering to drive on the right when you go home
--  Castles are cool, we should build some in Texas
--  I miss having a cleaning service; scrubbing the shower is no fun
--  When people call you ‘love’ in a professional setting, they’re not hitting on you, they’re just being nice
--  Wales is to England as Oklahoma is to Texas, it’s there & it’s close, but we don’t have to like it
--  The letter ‘u’ is way over used, while ‘z’ gets no love, ie honour & realise
--  5 o’clock Friday’s don’t happen, but working until 6 any day of the week is considered staying late
--  Charity is a big deal; and they have large, national campaigns to raise money for causes
--  Doughnuts are for desert, not breakfast
--  I might be obsessed with teapots
--  Don’t joke about health & safety unless you want to sit through a 3 hour lecture on how important it is
--  We no longer hear a British accent, but when meeting new people they still comment that we’re not from here, so ours must still be American
--  We couldn’t have done this without amazing friends & family supporting us on both sides of the ocean. We love you all!

Jubilympics

There is a television show over here called Twenty-Twelve.  It’s a comedic, spoof on-location documentary (or mockumentary as they’ve dubbed it) about the team planning the 2012 Olympics.  Over the series, the Olympic Deliverance Commission (ODC) have to overcome logistical difficulties, production errors, infrastructure problems and troublesome contributors.  Each character’s persona is developed to the extreme.  For instance, the marketing person only speaks in marketing clichés and never actually says anything of substance.  Amanda thinks it’s hilarious.  It’s a bit too much for me & I rarely make it through an entire episode.  If you think you’d like it, BBC America is starting to air it on June 28th.

In one episode of the show, the ODC are trying to figure out how to combine the build up to the Olympics with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  The ever present marketing lady comes up with the word ‘Jubilympics’.  Probably a more literal combination than the organizers had in mind.

However, Jubilmpics is a perfect way to describe our latest weekend in London.  We traveled in to experience the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in their full intensity and also were able to tour a bit of the Olympic Park prior to the Opening Ceremonies. We started off early Monday making our way to London with our most recent guests Ginny and Richard. Upon arriving at Paddington station we tubed towards the Olympic park for a walking tour of the surrounding area. The two hour tour wasn’t quite what we expected with the primary focus revolving around the “legacy” the upcoming games will leave on the city. We knew going into the tour that we wouldn’t be able to get onto the grounds but I think we all thought the general focus we on the different venues were the games are to take place and not on the improved infrastructure that now exists because of the games.

None of that is to say that it was a disappointing tour because it was actually quite interesting and we managed to take more than a few photos of the Olympic park once we got to that part of the tour. It just wasn’t what we were expecting.

Anyway after the tour we had a long tube ride back towards central London and Hyde Park for the Queens Diamond Jubilee concert. The concert was staged in front of Buckingham Palace and only a few thousand tickets had been made available to the general public for the stands that were constructed around the stage. We were not one of the lucky few to get seats at Buckingham but fortunately there were several massive Jumbotrons constructed around Hyde Park for our viewing pleasure. There were also numerous vendors selling everything from tea and coffee to fish and chips. There were even a few burger stands interspersed amongst the more traditional dining fair, although I chose to stick with what the English do best.

The concert was great fun, despite the rain – we’ve just gotten used to being wet,  and featured mostly British artists, past and present, including Kylie Minogue, Sir Elton John, Robbie Williams, Jessie Jay and Sir Paul McCartney. Oddly enough Will.i.am. even made an appearance and it seems as if he has overrun the country showing up on shows such as The Voice UK and as a torch bearer as it made its way through western England. The concert closed with a fireworks display over the Palace and Prince Charles honoring his mum with brief expression of thanks for her 60 years of service on behalf of the nation.

The next morning, Amanda and I made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral where the Royal Family was scheduled to arrive for a special Jubilee service for the Queen. We arrived about an hour and a half before the queen’s caravan and had a decent spot to take pictures. Unfortunately, the row of people directly in front of us contained a line of amateur/professional/paparazzi photographers who were perched on stools and ladders effectively blocking the view of everyone from the third row back. Even with this set back we were able to get a few shots of the Queen as she scaled the steps in front of the Cathedral as well as a pretty good shot of all the family leaving after the ceremony.

Her Majesty arriving

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge leaving the ceremony

Prince Edward & family leaving

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with Prince Andrew

The Queen being escorted to her car

As we approached lunch time, we made our way to Amanda’s favorite Moroccan restaurant in London, Leon, to meet up with Ginny and Richard before our tour of the National Portrait Gallery. The gallery had on display a Queens Jubilee exhibit celebrating 60 years of the Queen in an artistic collage of paintings and photos. On our way to lunch we unintentionally managed to intercept the Queen on her way to Trafalgar Square and got a few more photos as her cavalcade drove past.

The National Portrait Gallery is one of Amanda’s favorites (I prefer the National Gallery) and the Queen’s exhibit was very well done and had art spanning her sixty year reign that gave a since of all that had transpired during her time on the throne. It really is remarkable how effectively an individual’s life story can be portrayed through art and the exhibit certainly does not disappoint.  (It’s on display through mid-October if you’re going to be here before then, we’ll gladly go again!)

Once the tour was finished we ended our time with Ginny and Richard enjoying a traditional English Cream Tea before making our way back to Paddington and the train home. In all it was a very Jubilmpic trip and delivered some wonderful memories that will stay with us forever.

Bunting

The British love their bunting.  So with the Diamond Jubilee weekend approaching, the shops have been full of various types, colors, and styles of Union Jack clad bunting.  To embrace the full spirit of our new land, we’ve joined in.  I bought the weatherproof outdoor flags.  As they are plastic and slick, you end up getting a bunted mess when you open the packages…but the girls had fun ‘helping’ me unwrap everything.

But we did eventually get it all hung in nice, orderly, proper bunting style. I even convinced Adam to coordinate the thumbtacks we were using to hang it to the color that he was tacking into. (He tried to use a green tack & there was much discussion about how inappropriate this was – what if the Queen saw!)

We put ours up the Thursday evening before the weekend.  Friday as I was walking home from the bus stop, the neighbor was outside hanging his up.  When he saw me walking by, he jumped off the ladder and walked over to chat.  "You got me in trouble yesterday," he started.  I was a bit nervous – I had no idea what we’d done this time.  "All I heard last night was ‘the American’s have their bunting out and our house is still bare.  The American’s have bunting and we don’t…’"  Luckily, at this point we both could laugh.  So, apparently we started the trend for our street.

More from our Jubilee celebrations to come!

Weekend trips with friends

Oh my.  Where to even start with this weekend.  Well, I can tell you where I did start – with a nap.

We have started the season that I have most been looking forward to since we moved.  The time when all our friends and family get to come visit.  Don’t get me wrong, Adam & I love our time together and we’ve found all our trips exciting, every time we return from somewhere, I think I declare it my favourite place yet.  But we are eager to share it with all of you.  This summer (and into the fall), we’re running what I’ve dubbed ‘the Powell Bed & Breakfast – where sometimes breakfast is actually served.’

First to test the amenities were Richard & Ginny.  They volunteered to work out some of the kinks in the service – caffeine addicts, you’ll be glad to know, we now own a coffee machine thingy which I’m sure I could read the instruction book to figure out how to turn it on if you wanted some of that black liquid stuff.  They also have created the ultimate list of how to see the UK in three weeks (if you don’t mind not sleeping for that time) – believe me, it’s not possible, they’re going to have to come visit again...November’s looking empty, guys. 

So this weekend, we did the Bath / Stonehenge / Salisbury tour.  I think we’re about to perfect this one.  It really is one of our favourites.  We again did the Bath walking tour so we could see all the architecture.  Our tour guide this time was more into literature, often quoting writers from Bath or giving us insight into colloquial phrases which originated from activities occurring in Bath history.  And just because you haven’t seen Bath pictures from this trip with our new camera, here’s a couple to enjoy.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  We’re in the middle of a heat wave.  Well, it’s probably the end now.  It’s been upper 70’s – mid 80’s for the last week & a half.  And I’ve only gotten rained on twice in that time.  I’m thinking about making Richard & Ginny move in with us. This is the best weather we’ve seen since we’ve lived here.  Needless to say, the British faithful flock to every park, beach, outdoor sun loving area they can find in weather like this, so in most of these photos you’re going to see people in swimsuits laying on grass.  We know we’ve been here awhile, because this no longer seems strange to us.  In fact, I kinda wanted to join them.

From Bath, we went to Salisbury.  This time we kinda happened into a cathedral tour.  It had already started with several other tourists when we joined.  Hope they didn’t mind the extra tag-a-longs.  It was so informative.  Did you know that the main spire lean slightly – it’s about 2 feet off center at the top.  Our guide said not to worry, in 1400 when they first noticed it, some engineers went up tied some cloth from Virgin Mary’s robe around it and it’s only moved a couple of inches since (she also mentioned that in the 1970’s they took off the cloth and added a steel rod and seismic measuring devices- you decide which you think works better).   And, Greg, you’ll be happy to know that I now have a picture of the outside of the cathedral.  As it wasn’t 35* and raining, we took our time to get the perfect shot (read that to mean, your brother loves his new toy and thank you for helping me pick it out, but could you get him to learn how to take pictures a bit faster???).

And our last stop of the day.  Stonehenge.  Whoa! Crowds.  The bus tours were out in force that day.  We were a bit nervous when we drove up that we wouldn’t be able to get in as the line was as far back as we could see.  But, Adam & I are Royal Oak members they let all four of us through the members line which was WAY shorter than the group & general admission line.  We got in and they were out of English audio guides.  The options were Italian, Danish, Japanese, and Czech.  Since none of us spoke any of those languages, we were going to skip the audio guide, but then I noticed a cart to the side where people were returning guides on their way out.  A few minutes of rummaging later we found two guides.  Adam & I had already listened to it, and honestly, I just wanted to sit in the sun by this point, so we were good with letting Richard & Ginny listen while we wandered around.

Please excuse my hair...the wind was a gusting that day!

After all the walking and sightseeing, sleep came very easily Saturday night.  Sunday morning Adam made us breakfast tacos.  Which in hindsight probably isn’t the great treat for our Texan guests as it is for us.  They can go to a dozen restaurants back home which serve breakfast tacos.  I can only go to one...the Adam café (known for their hamburgers, breakfast tacos and pan grilled chicken).  We then hit the road again for Tintagel Castle.

For those not quite as up on their Arthurian legends as I (now) am, Tintagel is the rumoured birthplace of the noble King Arthur and was protected from evil by Merlin the magician who lived below the castle in a cave.  However, the more I read prior to the trip, the more people dispute the association of King Arthur with Tintagel.  How dare those sceptics think that the guy didn’t pull a sword out of a stone!  

Despite any disbelief in its history, Tintagel is well worth a visit as it has some of the most beautiful views of the Celtic Sea.  The castle is on a headland that is virtually an island, connected to the mainland by a slim finger of land – if you come visit, sturdy shoes are a must! Over the centuries much of Tintagel castle has fallen into the sea...okay, maybe a parachute is a must too.  Made me feel real safe as Adam & Richard just casually wandered to the edge of the cliffs...  The water immediately surrounding the castle is turquoise green, caused by the slate/sand around Tintagel which contains elements of copper. The rocks also contain various metal ores in small amounts: a few of these were mined in the Victorian period, but much more so in the mid-twenty century as it was realized how strong the rock was as a roof surface.

For lunch, we just had to eat Cornish pasties as we were in Cornwall.  People over here are particularly picky about their pasty and all that goes in one.  According to the European Commission, who awarded the Cornish Pasty Protected Geographical Indication status (doesn’t that sound official), diced or minced beef, onion, potato and swede (turnip) in rough chunks along with some "light peppery" seasoning is the only appropriate fillings.   The beef is generally skirt steak.  The use of carrot in a traditional Cornish pasty is frowned upon, though it does appear regularly in recipes I've seen.   All-in-all, they’re pretty tasty!

From there, we packed up again and heading to Land’s End.  It’s the most westerly point on mainland England.  It is a beautiful experience.  The Atlantic Ocean goes on for miles and the terrain is interesting for climbing.  We had a good chuckle at the stereotypical English on their beach vacation.  They was a group with their dog, sitting on the benches overlooking the sea drinking hot tea from a Thermos and eating ice cream, all while bundled in jackets & long pants.  Yep, British Summertime at its best!

Our final stop of the day was St. Michaels Mount.  The Mount, as the locals call it, is a tidal island about 400 yards off the shoreline. Meaning that when it’s high tide, it’s an island and when it’s low tide, you can walk to it.  My colleagues, upon me telling them what I was up to in the coming weekend, decided I was going to make the news as the crazy American who couldn’t read the tidal charts & I’d be stuck there all weekend.  I later found out that they do have a boat for just this purpose, but luckily, we did read the tidal schedule properly and made it to and from the island without incident.

On the island is a large castle turn church turn fortress turn family home.  The first stone church was completed on the island in 1135. The next 60-200 years, a different guy claiming to be king seized the island from each other until the church took it back in 1550ish, after the dissolution of the monasteries, as a safe haven for the persecuted – King Henry couldn’t read the tide schedule??  In 1588, the Mount beacons were lit to warn of the arrival of the Spanish Armada to the mainland.  The St Aubyn family came in 1647, when Colonel John St Aubyn was appointed Governor of the Mount following its surrender of the Mount to Parliamentarian forces. Twelve years later he purchased the island and properties and it became his private home. In 1954, Francis St Aubyn – father of the fourth baron – gave St Michael’s Mount to the National Trust, retaining a 999-year lease for the family to live in the castle.  I bet their rent goes up in 2953 when they have to renegotiate the contract.