A Walk Around Eton Campus

It's winter weather at home but in England it's suddenly Spring.  I went out for my walk the other day and barely made it around the block before I wanted to go home and get rid of my sweater.  I also wanted to grab my camera because I had strolled behind the buildings at Eton and wanted to get a few shots.  Here are the pictures from my walk behind Eton campus.

Today's weather forecast included these statements (with very little location specifics):  heavy rain, gales gusts, patches of sun and mild temperatures.  That actually covers the whole spectrum doesn't it?  Rain, sun, wind, mild...all in one day.  It must be pretty easy to be a weather forecaster here because no matter what you say, it's probably happening.

And since I'm watching the morning news I'll add this little British-ism:  There is a ring road around London and traffic is reported Clockwise and Anti-Clockwise.  You'll be interested to know that the clockwise traffic is slow right now.

I know you've all seen this shot a million times but it concludes my (anti-clockwise?) morning loop around Eton.  Every time I walk across the Brocas I stop and enjoy the view. 

The Buildings of Bath

Bill and I spent Sunday afternoon in Bath.  I'd like to say it was to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride & Prejudice but we weren't that thoughtful about it.    I did break out the new coat for the occasion though.

We got there just in time for lunch.  Unfortunately we didn't know that off season, many of the shops are closed on Sunday.  But frankly, I just love walking around and looking at all the buildings.  My pictures can barely do it justice.

Can't you picture Jane scampering down this alley on her way to get more ink and a ribbon for her hat?

 Beware the shadow dog.

Sunday Curry

Neither Bill nor I are big on Indian food but of course, after the Sunday Roast, Indian is practically the official fare of Britain so we needed a crash course.  Louise and Marion took us under their wings for a curry night out.  I don't really know what we ate other than poppadoms and chicken tikka but I liked it all.  

For once the food is a bright color than Bill's outfit.  We were a bit afraid we'd be doing the Battle of the Loos that night but all was well.  I doubt this prepares Bill for his trip to Bangalore in February.  Is Indian food here like Chinese food - made palatable for the westerners?    Do they eat Chicken Tikka in India or is that the equivalent of Sweet & Sour Chicken?

Busy Saturday with Pam Part 2

We last left our shoppers on Portobello Road.  They'd had lunch and a few drinks and were ready to spend.   What does Jen need less than anything?  A new coat!  But this one was impossible to resist.  Plaid will with great details and a colorful lining. Who could resist?

 "The only difference between us and the animals is our ability to accessorize"  - Steel Magnolias.
Bill found a new leather computer bag.  

Pam is becoming a scarf person starting riiiiiigtht.....now!  

 Bubbles.  I think this separates us from animals as well.  Are there any animals blowing bubbles in the jungle?

The market was bustling even in January.

After a busy day of shopping - Tea!

The weather was so mild that we decided to walk from Notting Hill to Mayfair for our evening event - an outside movie and dinner!  Bill found this little treat on line and booked us the best table front and center for Monty Pythons's The Meaning of Life.  They had mulled wine and gourmet popcorn (we samples goat cheese & black pepper and salted caramel) followed by dinner.  Bill was even able to smoke his cigar.  The large canvas umbrella's kept us dry when it started to rain and they even provided hooded fleece blankets for all it's movie viewers.  An excellent finish to the day!

Another busy Saturday part 1 - V&A

We've ducked into the Victoria and Albert museum once before but didn't get farther than the shop and the beautiful art deco cafe.  It's wonderful that this huge museum is free - that means you can view it in tiny bite sized chunks.  So we agreed to meet Pam in the lobby to start our day.  You don't even need to go far to see something amazing - In the lobby is this gorgeous Chihuly glass chandelier.

 We decided to go check out the photography room but on our way were these statues and sarcophagi and carved stone columns....everywhere you turned was something interesting that you probably didn't know you were interested in.

 The photography collection (that we saw) was fairly small with a wide variety of subjects.  My favorites were the shot of the Elephant and Castle tube station being used as a bomb shelter in the blitz and another one of women laying out hundreds of saris to dry in the sand.  (see what I mean by variety?)  I think Bill's self portrait below deserves a spot in the museum as well.

The day was surprisingly beautiful - sunny and mild.  The snow is already melted and we saw a garden of bulbs starting to shoot up through the dirt - crocus, snowdrops, and daffs all fighting for the sun.  We walked to Portobello Road since Pam has never been there.  A little lunch and a glass of wine will make a shopper out of anyone.

Yes  - this piece of food did make it from the plate to my mouth.  I'm not very good with chop sticks but I managed to get through the meal without a fork.

 Saturday Part 2 tomorrow - - what did Jen and Bill buy?

Walking and Stalking

Bill likes to keep an eye on me to document my every move.  When I was coming home from my walk in the paths behind out house I felt the sensation of a camera focusing on me. (if you were born for the camera, like I was, you can sense these things.) 

I can assure you I have my "picture face" on, you just can't see it.  

Just look at Sausage in the English country side.  She fits so well here.  I think I'm going to have a hard time bringing her back to the States.  She keeps mentioning how great it would be if all of you (even Fletch) could move to England.

Special Guest!

This is Bill at work.  He wonders why no one takes him seriously when he has so much professional advice to offer.  Fashion advice too.  And he has deep thoughts on tropical fruits.  When will people realize there is a genius in their midst?

For our evening event we had a special visitor - Pam, an old friend from our last company who also works for my current employer who shall not be named.  She has been working at an office in our area for a while but forgot that we were here until Jeff reminded her.  So she took a cab to our house after work for a night out in Windsor.  Pub food (meat pies all around), live music, potential cross dressers, an eye patch - we had a full night!  So full that we didn't even realize it was after midnight when we finally made it home for her to get a cab to London.    You may be seeing more of Pam this weekend....

Ask Sausage

Pauline Friedman Phillips died recently.  You'll know her as Abigail Van Buren or "Dear Abby".

She was known to have a bit more zest in her responses than her twin sister, who became "Ask Ann"'s Ann Landers.
The world needs someone who can answer stupid questions with zest and sarcasm.  Therefore we will add a regularly series called "Ask Sausage".  Jennie will give her practical advise to everyday problems.  If you have any problems - send 'em in so we can put them on the web and ridicule...I mean solve them.




Like the rest of the Northern Hemisphere it's been cold and snowy but somehow it just seems nicer with a castle in the background.  This was my view the other morning on my way to the market.

And my view coming home from a walk in the paths behind our house.  Our house is just out of the picture a little further down on the left.  I think everyone needs a little castle in their lives, don't you?

Christmas in January

It didn't make sense for us to bring Christmas presents to the states and then back again so we decided to wait and have our own UK Christmas in January.  My plan was to bring everything to the Gunton Arms for our fabulous weekend in the country but when that plan got snowed out we had an impromptu Christmas over lunch on Friday afternoon before we headed into London.  It was probably the last time that Bill would willingly let me play Charlie Brown's Christmas album until November.

Bill was very happy with his presents but the ones he gave me seemed more photo-worthy.  Like these glasses with different colored changeable lenses. (Bill is in a new hat.)  Or this little doll. Bill somehow didn't notice that IT LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!!!  It even has mustard colored pants on. I thought he might have had it commissioned it's such a good likeness.  Some store somewhere in the UK is selling Bill dolls!!

But my absolute favorite (yes, even more than a little stuffed version of my husband) was my mounted ferret head.  Despite the fact that it confirms something I've long suspected (I'm becoming my mother) it's just so darn cute and yet bizarre!  This was definitely the "Christmas of Taxidermy"which probably is not a statement you hear every day.  

It was the best of times...

Our busy Saturday in London included a visit to the Charles Dickens House.  Well, it included it for me.  Bill went to the Costa Coffee around the corner for a cigar and a cuppa at the outside tables.

 Dickens lived in this house on Doughty Street for only 2 years but wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby here.  Pretty good for two years effort, huh?  Maybe years from now our Eton cottage will be a museum and they will say "Jen and Bill lived here for 2 years and wrote 700 blog posts. 698 of them complete rubbish."

The rooms were generally smaller than I expected but then again, this was early in his career and his first children were being born so I guess he would have moved up from here.  While it was interesting to imagine him writing at his desk or having a dinner party in the blue dining room, the room that really entertained was the last on the tour.

 Photographs of objects from Dicken's world were hung around the room.  Visitors were invited to write little notes on tags as if they were Charles' neighbor asking for the return of these borrowed objects.  There were multiple notes for each object and I was amazed at the time and effort people put into some of these (see below).  I didn't see any tags or pens out in the room to write my own and Bill was probably about to light cigar #2 so I didn't take the time to add one to the collection.  It's probably just as well since I would have wanted to use the word 'poo'.  What was the Victorian word for poo?  As a side note I've noticed that the BBC has no problem with the word "shat" as in "I shat myself".  This has been said in two different prime time shows recently (not Downton Abbey although I would dearly love to hear the Dowager Countess announce that she shat herself.)  Ok, I've gone way off track here.  See why I didn't write a tag for the museum???