History's Mysteries

~ Stonehenge, 2005

What puzzles me about sites like these is how they can get away with putting up a fence around it and charge for entrance, when you can see the site from miles away... I guess they have to do it to protect the site and keep it maintained. It's a shame though; the ugly fence takes away some of it's original mysterious air, and turns it into another hyped-up tourist attraction...

To Much To Little

Behind some blue screens in Black Park a short railway has appeared. Could this be a railway station or/and a movie set for a new Harry Potter movie?

Friday I made a wrong judgement call and walked to school. The rain from a passing hurricane almost hosed me of the streets, while some kind drivers gave me a washing in passing as well. You would think a country like Britain would be able to handle this much rain, but I guess this was to much in to little time, and the drains were barely coping.

Armored with umbrella I walked soaking wet up the schools drive way where water ran down in a white-water-river kind of way. The lower level of the school got slowly but surely flooded, and I thought "Goodbye Indian Summer".

Just as sudden as the rain came, just as quickly it stopped, and it was back to blue skies. We enjoyed some more sun, did some outside cleaning and took a picnic to Black Park.

It's back to grey skies today, but I'm not complaining. At least, not yet...

Something is blooming

When we left England for a vacation to America at the end of June, our patch of grass was yellow. Of course there was the 'drought'(still can't get over that one), and therefor a ban on using a waterhose.
Coming back from America, the flowers were all expired as well.
I went straight on with my vacation spree and visited Holland for a couple of weeks, where there was hardly a dry day in August. By the time September started our grass is green again, and I'm happy to see that a couple of brave flowers are appearing.
This week a headline in a paper caught my attention. Something about an "Indian Summer"...
Really not sure what to make of that, but let it come anyway!

Cooked What???

~Bath, 2006

Teaching the Young

In shock I watched a clip on BBC News today. The little report showed some scenes from what appears to be no ordinary Bible camp.
I hope the documentary Jesus Camp will be available for us in the UK soon, and I also hope it turns out that what seems to be indoctrination will in fact be not that bad.... I can only hope...

The term is "Excuse Me"

Getting your groceries in the UK just isn't the same as in the USA. I have not quite figured out why the grocery stores are so crowded most of the times. It's like shopping at Costco's on a Sunday in America; You do it once because you have to, but you'll learn quick.

First you have to drive longer than you wanted to, then there is the stress of finding a parking spot, hence me utilizing the Smart when I can, and then there are the people...

Skillfully avoiding any eye contact, customers navigate their shopping carts through the isles and around employees refilling products (can't this really not be done after hours?). Occasionally customers or employees (!) bump into you after they appeared not to have seen you while cutting you off. There is no polite "Excuse me" to inform you kindly you are in their way. If you're lucky you'll get a quick "Sorry" when there is a collision, no eye contact though.

No bagpackers at the 'till' either, although help is offered. When everything is said is done you're an hour and a half further.

The thing that bothers me most though, is not even the amount of time it takes to shop, but it is the effect the shopping experience has on me. The British "stiff upper lip" is starting to rub off on me...I find myself avoiding eye contact, and the corners of my mouth start to droop when entering a Tesco's. Please let this not be a permanent condition. Please stop me when you see me with an upside down smile, and just tell me to keep smiling!

Ah, next time, I'll order my groceries online again and save myself some aggrevation.

A Nice September Day

We visited Black Park today, the home of Pinewood Studios, and film location of scenes for the "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's / Sorcerer's Stone" movie.

I didn't even know of the park untill some weeks ago when I picked up some brochures for things to do in this area. It's only a 10 min drive from our home. I'm always pleasantly surprised to find these large green spaces in an area which is so populated.

There are still green spots on the map that we have to check out. Hopefully the weather will be on our side for just a little longer.

- A Scene from a Medieval Play in the Park

"To Blog or not to Blog"...

- Photo: Italy 2005

"Some observers have suggested that blogging is nothing more than the next step in a burgeoning culture of narcissism and exhibitionism spurred by reality TV and other elements of the modern media environment." ~ Senior Research Specialist Amanda Lenhart & Associate Director Susannah Fox.

Saturday Morning Tennis

"Only the Good Die Young"...

Freddie Mercury would have turned 60 earlier this month.
A couple of weeks ago we went to see the "We will Rock You" musical. If you are a fan of the Queen music like we are, this is the next best thing you can attend now Freddie is gone.

My daughter and I were watching a little biography on Freddie yesterday.
It's amazing to see what a great performer he was. I would have loved to have seen him live at Wembley stadium. But this was before our time.

I did find out he spend his school years in India and attended a boys school there. The piano he used to play at the boarding school is still there, but is totally finished. A school friend said he was both happy and sad, sad that the piano can't be played anymore, but happy he could still touch it... And no we can't see Freddie live on stage anymore, but we can still be touched by his music and the images that have been kept alive for 15 years now.

I guess, that at the end of my life, if I could sing "The bad things in life were so few", that would be good...