Rugby, Rugby and More Rugby

Well the rugby match we watched in the village hall was amazing. Wales was playing France and the first half was an utter embarrassment for the Welsh team. France dominated and it seemed as though Wales had no defense at all. Then came the half, and apparently the coach had given Wales a good talking to because they scored twice within the first 10 minutes of the second half. It was anybody's game right through to the 2 minutes of overtime they went, to finish the last play. Happily, Wales won and the hall went wild!

Since I'm still a bit jetlagged (for lack of a good nap on the first day), we stayed in after dinner, and watched the Jimmy Stewart classic "Harvey," in honor of Harold (a staunch Jimmy Stewart fan) who could not be with us. After the movie was over, Vince got online and found Harold was on Instant Messenger.

I ended up chatting with Harold via IM until about 1:30 in the morning. We got updates on each other and further discussed where our adoption plans stand at the moment (which isn't really anywhere), and discussed a book he's currently reading.

This morning, I was awakened around 9:30 to go to church with Vince and Kathy, and today it was much much easier to get out of bed. I felt very well-rested.

Church was good, and it was about Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, and the fact that God doesn't call us to be "respectable." In Jesus' day, it would not have been very respectable for a Jew to talk with a Samaritan, or a rabbi to talk to a woman in public or anyone to talk to an immoral woman. Jesus' life was about breaking down the barriers in order to reach more people. A good message, to be sure.

Afterwards, we went into the church hall to have tea and biscuits and chat with other parishioners. Later, we went to The Lion Hotel, their local pub/restaurant/inn to have a wonderful lunch of prawn salad, roast beef and yorkshire pudding (with yummy profiteroles for dessert), followed by a shift into the pub to watch the next game of the 6 Nations series, of Vince's team Ireland, playing England. Vince didn't leave the pub disappointed, as England played pretty badly.

I'm now beginning to feel a little tired, so I will take a little nap before going to an evening worship service with Kathy. Should be good.

On the television, it was announced that next Saturday, there will be a special rugby match in Twickenham (that's in London) to benefit the tsunami victims. I actually think I'll go to that match.

This is a little unusual for me to see so much rugby in one trip (usually I see 1 match and that's it), but since I actually haven't physically been AT a game this trip, next weekend will be the 1 match I really see.

Tomorrow, I head back to London, from here about 2 hours to Birmingham and 2 more hours to London. I have nothing else planned for tomorrow except to check into the hotel, and probably work on my laptop, contact my friend Michael about seeing a show on Wednesday, and procuring a ticket to the Twickenham rugby match.

Well, that's all for now.

D.

Low-key Saturday

Off to a rip roaring start to my trip--- I slept till 12:30pm, got up, showered, ate lunch, and got on the Internet to post this.

Now you all can see why I come to England! I'm a mad woman! :>

Usually, when I come to the UK (on the trips I've made when I was over 35 years old), I take a 4-hour nap on the first day, and then I'm ready to go (in the old days, I'd just hit the ground running). Since I didn't get that opportunity yesterday, that means today, I'm really tired. This will gradually dissipate over time, but, always the morning after my first day in the UK is the roughest for jetlag. And it's important that I don't overdo or else I could get a cold... We don't want that!

Lunch consisted of a loaf of garlic bread that we hadn't eaten at Bella Italia last night, and an assortment of pates (the mediterranean pate was particularly fabulous), fruit and nuts.

We discussed death and dealing with death for the most part of our meal (Sounds like a fun time, eh?) .

I've been invited to Kent next Friday to see Kathy's Mom and Dad, who's turning 70 next weekend. Sounds like fun. Paul and Gillie are lovely people.

In about an hour, we're going down to Vince and Kathy's local village hall to watch France and Wales play in the 6 Nations rugby tournament. It's on television, and we could watch it from home, but going to the village hall with other Welsh fans should prove a unique experience. I'm looking forward to seeing the game through the eyes of the local fan base, but I'm not looking forward to smelling like an ashtray. Unfortunately, smoking is allowed in the village hall.

I wish the Welsh team good luck... Thankfully, rugby fans are not as insane as British Football (soccer) fans, so even if they don't win, at least there won't be a riot. :>

Pip pip!
D.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Well, I made it. I'm currently sitting at Vince and Kathy's computer in Powys, Wales after a VERY long journey. Thankfully, the weather only provided minimal damage-- Virginia Beach was only rainy, but DC had snow showers which made de-icing necessary... which meant we had to get not only in line for takeoff, but in another line prior to de-ice... Which added 2 1/2 hours to our takeoff time.

I sat in a row of 5 seats, but only 2 other people occupied the row-- an Irish clean-freak who felt it necessary to keep things off the floor and fold her blanket over and over and over, and rearrange our extra pillows in the empty seat between her and me. On my other side, I had a great conversation with a self-employed South African agrarian businessman/scientist who is 1 year away from becoming an American citizen (and he can hardly wait). A terrific conversationalist who made waiting the extra 2 1/2 hours a little easier to take.

The in-flight entertainment had an audio channel featuring Jefferson Airplane and 60's psychedelic music, which was obviously put together by someone who knew their stuff! They even featured the 13 Floor Elevators and the Blues Magoos. Well done!

Unfortunately, when we approached Heathrow, we had to fly around in circles to find a slot to land, adding about another 1/2 hour to the journey.

Got my stuff, got on the tube, and traveled up to Euston station and took a train up to Birmingham where I met Vince and Kathy (after further delays on the train). I should have arrived around 1pm, and it was closer to 5. Oh well, I'm on vacation; I wasn't bothered. I was just glad to be here.

We went to dinner in Birmingham's town center at Bella Italia, which I had one of the most scrumptuous pizzas I've ever had in my life: duck pizza in a plum base sauce! Yummy! It was wonderful! This with a small glass of Primitivo something or other red wine tasted wonderful after not having eaten since the small snack they give you for breakfast on the plane around 8am.

Got in the car and drove 2 hours to Vince and Kathy's house, with a much-needed kip (nap) in the back seat. Back home, and I'm on my 2nd cup of tea. I've definitely been trained to crave the stuff on these shores. It's a little colder over here, so tea really warms the heart.

Vince had received an Instant Message from an old mutual friend (John) who sent me his greetings.

Ah yes. I'm feeling quite at home.

By the way, the reason the header is called "That's what I'm talking about" is because it seemed that whenever I passed by someone on a cell phone in Dulles Airport, the person holding the phone would say that just as I passed. A strange phenomenon to notice!

TTFN
D.

So far, so good.

The temperature is cooperating here in Southeast Virginia, so I'll at least be able to fly out on my first leg with only rain to contend with. It's currently snowing in the DC area, but it should taper off by 9-ish, when my flight to the UK takes off.

Friends have been notified... My preparations are 60% done as of this writing, but I'll be leaving work early to finish off my errand list.

It's going to be COLD in Wales.

Well, it IS February...

D.

2005 Trip is almost here!

All set to leave the US on Thursday... That is, if the snow doesn't cancel my flight!

This is my first entry to chronicle the sort of things I do when I go to England, which is something I've been doing since 1983. Some people wonder why I usually go to the UK for my vacation. "Don't you ever want to go somewhere else?!" they say.

Well, my answer to that is, "As soon as I have nothing to do over there, I'll stop." So far, I've never been at a loss to find things to do and see and great people to hang out with. The British are great people, and extremely hospitable. In fact, as aggravating as many Americans may be to the English (face it, we can be aggravating!), when you show the proper amount of kindness and respect they're due, it's wonderful to experience the warmth they offer.

On each trip, I meet new people, but I still have friends that go back to my first couple of trips in the early 80's.

This year, I'm traveling alone, but staying with friends in Wales for the first 4 days, then moving onto London for the duration of the trip which will end on March 7.

Join me, won't you? It's always a blast!

D.