From Russia With Love Homepage
Dear Friends and Family:
There's a lot to tell about March. After all, it is one of the longest months
of the year (to say nothing of the fact that I am one of the longest-winded
people you've ever met, but never mind that!). So this month, I'm sending the
news in two parts. Here we go with the first one!
Many of you know already that I lived in the U.K. (first
London and then Reading) from 2004 to 2006).
With a return visit long overdue, I spent the first week in March visiting some
friends in "Old Blightie" (a time-honored affectionate term for England). My
friend Sefton met me at
Heathrow Airport and then brought me the
house in Wargrave (a village near Reading) that he shares with his his wife
Sharon. (Sefton and I worked at the same school during my second year in
England.)
After I got settled in, Sefton and I repaired to one of his favorite (though he
will not approve of my spelling!) pubs for a pint, as was our wont on a number
of occasions at the end of a school day. Sefton and I always needled each
other, and we enjoyed continuing this occupation in the midst of our quaffing.
Actually, it started up again the moment he picked me up. (Of course, Sefton
would insist that he, "collected me", not "picked me up".) And for those who
might be concerned with the extent of my consumption ... it was one pint of
Strongbow. I very seldom drink more than that. I very seldom drink alcohol in
any case!
Sefton was born in
Ireland,
so he was minded to treat me to an, "Ulster
fry" for breakfast the following morning. He
is semi-retired and usually chooses the days on which he works. On this
morning, he was called in, so Sharon made the breakfast instead. Although it
wasn't the full menu Sefton had in mind, it was very tasty nonetheless. A few
days later, we did have the "actual" Ulster fry, so I'll explain it in a further
paragraph.
On my first full day in England, I went to visit Gillotts, the school where
Sefton and I had been colleagues five years ago.. I wasn't sure how many of my
then-colleagues were still there, because I had lost touch with most of them.
All of the students I had taught were already finished with secondary school, so
I didn't go there to see any of them. The trip there proved well worth the
effort, as I got to see (and re-establish contact with) about ten of my former
Gillotts colleagues.
After enjoying a second night of Sefton's and Sharon's hospitality, I took a
train to London to meet Jed, with who was my direct supervisor at Crossways
Academy during my first year in the U.K. It was still the middle of the day, so
I went to the school. After all, I wanted to see my colleagues from here as
well. Unlike the case with the other school, I had better success in
maintaining contact with this group after leaving. I had to wait in the lobby
until someone who knew me well could meet me. (At least they let me have lunch
in the cafe adjacent to the lobb y!) Eventually, I got to see most everyone I
hoped to see.
I took a whirlwind side trip by to Goring-by-Sea (in
West Sussex, about an hour and one-half away
from London by train) to meet Mike and Pat, a retired couple I met through a
mutual friend in Texas some years ago, when the idea my living in the U.K was
little more than a pipe dream! As is the case with Sefton, Mike and I enjoy
needling each other. We had a go at each other a few times during the visit.
After all, we had only the afternoon! Like most of my British friends, Mike
insists on inserting those unneeded, "u"'s in words like favor and color (i.e. "favour"
and "colour"). And I won't even get started on that preposterous notion that
the last letter of the alphabet should be pronounced, "zed"! ;-)
Mike and Pat treated me to a delicious lunch at a restaurant that they had
recently discovered in a nearby town. A typical restaurant lunch in England is
often a meat and potatoes affair, the potatoes being either fried or mashed. Of
course, in England, they call fried potatoes, "chips". as in the famous, "fish
and chips". Mashed potatoes are called, "mash". Mike and Pat both had chips
with their meal. I had mash. Funny that I can remember this. I don't remember
what meat any of us had. Over our potatoes and ?? lunch, we enjoyed having our
usual topic of conversation ... politics (mostly of the U.K., but also of the
U.S.)!
After lunch, we went back to Mike's and Pat's home for a cup of tea in their
conservatory. As the ceiling and walls of the conservatory are glass, we
enjoyed a splendid view of the sky and garden on this cool, sun-splashed day.
"Garden" is what Britons call their back yard, but speaking more circumspectly
for just a moment, many dedicate considerable time to building and tending their
gardens. Mike and Pat have a very lovely one, appointed with a variety of
trees, shrubs and stones.
The next day, I went to the church (St. Peter's, Brockley) where I worshiped
regularly during my year living in London. Since I would not have to
opportunity to attend Sunday services during this visit, I wanted to at least
find out from the vicar (Corinne) how my friends at the church were doing. She
was not at the vicarage when I arrived, but her house guests allowed me to wait
inside on this blustery day. When Corinne arrived, she invited me to have lunch
with them. I was very grateful for their hospitality and for the "catch-up".
although not all the news was good. There was both a divorce and a death that
happened some time ago that I had not heard about. A bittersweet visit, to be
sure!
Later that evening, I caught up with Anthony, a fellow American who has lived in
England for many years. He worked at Crossways in a special capacity while I
taught there and now runs an academy for troubled young men. Good call for him,
because he has a passion for it and he's good at it. Anthony was held up
getting to our agreed-upon meeting place (the, "Ritzy", a cinema that also has a
restaurant). While waiting in the lobby, I enjoyed the piped-in music, a was a
collection of
Beach
Boys tunes! Well, if I had to wait for
someone, I might as well have enjoyable music to keep me company!
Anthony and his fiancee Rebecca walked in just as the Beach Boys rota ended, so
good timing on their part! But by the time they arrived, the kitchen had
closed. We then went to a nearby Oriental fast food place to eat. While we
were talking, we heard some yelling. It was from a young woman who tried to
leave without paying for her food. She screamed, "Harassment!" and begged
customers to be witnesses in her behalf. No one in the place seemed to buy her
story. Neither did the police when they got there.
My final day in London (before returning to Wargrave) was a Saturday, so Jed and
I spent it tending his front garden. Most houses have only a back garden, but
Jed's has both. It was a cloudy and windy day, perfect for yardwork! We took
down excess vines and shredded them in Jed's new shredding implement. We bagged
up most of the mulch and put some of it onto his compost pile. Then we cleaned
up the front walk and lawn. After saying, "Goodbye" to Jed, I took two buses
back to Paddington Station (in
west
London), where I would then catch a train
back to Wargrave.
There's is not much need for me to do any sightseeing in London any longer,
unless it's to show someone else around. I've been familiar with the city for
years! But I wanted to have a brief glimpse of my favorite London landmarks, so
I planned my trip accordingly. After passing by the
Houses of Parliament, Whitehall,
Downing Street, and
Trafalgar Square the first bus came to its
last stop, and there I waited there for the second one. This bus stop was
situated across from, "The Texas Embassy", one of my favorite London
restaurants! I was not there to eat, but it always does my heart such good to
see the Texas flag flying right there in the heart of London!
Once back in Wargrave, I had the Ulster fry to look forward to the next
morning. As Sefton and Sharon like to say, this is a meal best enjoyed only on
occasion! Absolutely right, considering that an Ulster fry consists of eggs,
bacon, sausage, soda bread and
potato
bread. If that weren't enough bread, it also
comes with toast and spreads, including orange marmalade, of course! Other
items such as baked beans, mushrooms, or tomatoes can be served along with it,
but they are not "necessary" staples of the Ulster fry.
After breakfast, I went into Reading to attend the church (St. Mary's Castle
Street) where I worshiped regularly while I lived in this city. My visit was
well timed, as I was there to enjoy a delicious church lunch after services and
to celebrate the 16th birthday of Rebekah and Alice, the twin daughters of my
friends Edward and Katrina. Edward serves as the minister of this church. For
this reason, I brought gifts for the occasion, including jewelry boxes (with
pictures of St. Basil's Cathedral on the lids) for the birthday girls!
I had hoped and even planned to spend more time with Malcolms, but I made the
decision (and not an easy one at that!) to go back over to London, because my
friend Marcia (whom I had given up hope of seeing) finally reached me to say
that she was in town. I first met Marcia (who is originally from Brazil) when
she worked at a Ben and Jerry's near Trafalgar Square six years ago. She came
to Paddington to meet me. We went to one of the many coffee shops in the
station and visited for the afternoon. When I got back to Wargrave once again,
Sefton, Sharon and I went to eat at their favorite curry restaurant. This was
three very filling meals in one day. I'm still recovering! ;-)
Yes, I had quite a busy week in England, and I got to see most of the people I
had hoped to see. The rest of the month back in
Russia
was interesting in its own right, if for different reasons. I'll get that one
out to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I hope that all is well
with you and yours.
Love and best,
Ben