whereintheworldisTeri

Chelsea Flower Show

2011-05-29T16:57:00.004+01:00

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a garden show held each year on five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London. It is the most famous such show in the United Kingdom and part of London's summer social season.

The first Royal Horticultural Society Great Spring Show was held in 1862, at the RHS garden in Kensington. Before this date the RHS had held flower shows from 1833 in their garden in Chiswick [GoogleMaps is your friend if you want to know where these places are!]

The Great Spring Show was held at Kensington for twenty-six years, but in 1888 the RHS decided to move the show to the heart of London. The site chosen was the Temple Gardens, situated between the Embankment and Fleet Street, which had a recorded history dating back to 1307 and which were said to date from the time of the Knights Templar [fun fact: Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades.]

In 1912, the Temple Show was cancelled to make way for the Royal International Horticultural Exhibition. Sir Harry Veitch the great nurseryman, secured the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, for this one-off event. It proved such a good site for an exhibition that the Great Spring Show was moved there in 1913, where it has taken place almost every year since.

The Chelsea Flower Show receives a lot of publicity. It is attended by 157,000 visitors each year (limited by the capacity of the 11-acre ground), and all tickets must be purchased in advance. In 2005, the show increased from four days to five, with the first two days only open to RHS members. The show is extensively covered on TV and several members of the British Royal Family attend a preview of the show.

One last thing. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army. There were a few roaming the grounds during the show and they let me take their photo. Very cute!

My friend, Pam, and I went on Friday evening to the show and it was PACKED! This is my first time. It kind of reminded of going to a HUGE craft festival, but here, everything is themed to flowers and gardening. Best way I know of how to give you a glimpse of it is to show off my photos, so here you go:

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London Zoo

2011-05-26T08:19:00.011+01:00

So, what to do on a nice spring day whilest 'under-employed' in London? Go to the 2010 favourite attraction, the London Zoo.

The London Zoo boasts being the 'oldest scientific zoo', founded over 180 years ago and is the heart of London, in Regents Park. It was opened on 27 April 1828,and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It opened to the public in 1847. Located in the middle of the city, it has plenty of animals to see including lions, camels, giraffes, penguins, tigers, monkeys, sheep [yes, sheep] and meerkats. But no elephants!

Read more: http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/

Pam and I went, and I think we saw the entire zoo ... except the aquarium. Apparently, fish are boring. We went into the reptile house [I have brothers and she has boys] and we watched a bug demonstration with a hissing beetle that Pam wanted to pet [why?], but no fish.

This week on Friday the new penguin beach opens.

So, about the meerkats. Have you ever stopped and thought about why they are so popular? They are essentially prairie dogs and although there are prairie dogs in all of the US zoos that I have been to, there are not big lines of people waiting to see them pop out of their tunnels. There are some, but they are not the 'rock star' status that the meerkat enjoys.

I have a theory: Disney released a little movie in 1994 called 'The Lion King'. In it, Timon made all of us aware of meerkats. In fact, the next year, 1995, I went on safari when in both Kenya and South Africa, and the college students I was traveling with always asked the drivers if we could see meerkats. They were like, 'huh?' Lions, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and hippos, yes! Warthogs, maybe. Meerkats?

Anyway, here in the UK they are HUGELY popular as a car insurance company has created a meerkat colony as their sponsor for their commercial advertising. They even opened their own store in London ... not to buy insurance, but to buy meerkat 'stuff' and so that 'Aleksander' could launch his autobiography.

Lastly, at the height of our employment, we had about 80 staff members, 60 of which were based on London. Our office was FULL! And when one of my staff who worked from home, mostly, was in the office, she noticed a lot of ... energy that came from the many 20-somethings whom seemed to be in crisis a LOT. She used to refer to the group as 'the meerkats'. This, of course, quickly caught on and I think she was flooded with meerkat gifts, especially around Christmas, and especially because you can find them EVERYWHERE here in London. Even I managed to score a few!

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

2011-05-24T11:36:00.002+01:00

Blenheim Palace

2011-04-27T15:52:00.018+01:00

[Not sure why spacing is messed up in my posts and can't get it to align correctly, so guess I'll just live with it!]

On Saturday, Allie and I met my friend, Pam and dogs at Blenheim Palace (pronounced "Blen-im"). And btw, I brought my camera, and left it in the car, so limited pictures from me on this entry! Duh!

Blenheim Palace is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. It's the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724.

Its construction was originally intended to be a gift to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough from a grateful nation in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill family for the following 300 years, and various members of the family have in that period wrought various changes, in the interiors, park and gardens. The palace today remains the home of the Dukes of Marlborough — the present incumbent of the title being John George Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough.

Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. It is unique in its combined usage as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

Lady Randolph Churchill (January 9, 1854 – June 9, 1921), born Jeanette Jerome, was the American-born wife of Lord Randolph Churchill and the mother of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Btw, what's up w/this free-standing gate?

Long considered one of the most beautiful women of the time, she was married for the first time on 15 April 1874, at the British Embassy in Paris, to Lord Randolph Churchill. By this marriage, she was properly known as Lady Randolph Churchill and would have been referred to in conversation as Lady Randolph.

The Churchills had two sons: Winston (1874–1965) born less than eight months after the marriage, and John (1880–1947). Jennie's sisters believed the latter's biological father was Evelyn "Star" Boscawen. Lady Randolph had numerous lovers during her marriage, including Karl Kinsky and King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

The estate given by the nation to Marlborough for the new palace was the manor of Woodstock, sometimes called the Palace of Woodstock, which had been a royal demesne, in reality little more than a deer park. Legend has obscured the manor's origins. King Henry I enclosed the park to contain the deer. Henry II housed his mistress Rosamund Clifford (sometimes known as "Fair Rosamund") there in a "bower and labyrinth"; a spring where she is said to have bathed remains, named after her. It seems the un-ostentatious hunting lodge was rebuilt many times, and had an uneventful history until Elizabeth I, before her succession, was imprisoned there by her sister Queen Mary between 1554 and 1555. Her imprisonment at Woodstock was short, and the manor remained in obscurity until bombarded and ruined by Oliver Cromwell's troops during the Civil War. When the park was being re-landscaped as a setting for the palace the 1st Duchess wanted the historic ruins demolished, while Vanbrugh, an early conservationist, wanted them restored and made into a landscape feature. The Duchess, as so often in her disputes with her architect, won the day and the remains of the manor were swept away.

A great avenue of elms leading to the palace were planted in the positions of Marlborough's troops at the Battle of Blenheim.

Weekend in Devon & Cornwall

2011-04-20T18:34:00.024+01:00

A couple of weekends ago, I made a trip to the Southwest to have a walking weekend with Dianne. I have been to Devon a few times [all appropriately blogged ... actually, I think I still have to blog about Carleen coming down last summer. Note to self].

On Saturday, after I arrived in a newly washed convertible with the top down [yes, I'm bragging! It's still snowing in Minnesota and I have had my 'tin top' down on my car already this year!].

We jumped into Dianne's convertible [still bragging] and headed into Dartmoor National Park for Chagford.

Chagford is a cute little village that has some shops and pubs with gardens to visit before / after your walks. We stopped in the most amazing hardware shop [I'm not sure what else to call it, really] called Bowden & Sons. It has everything. We searched the whole shop, top to bottom. There is a section for stationary, another for toys, a garden section, tools, kitchen, pets, a museum, etc. It just keeps going on and on. Dianne bought a squirrel-proof thistle feeder and I bought at axe [yes, an axe for some garden work I'm doing. I couldn't find one in Wimbledon. Imagine that?]

We stoped for a pint in a pub [Buller's Arms, I think] and then took off for a 4 mile walk around the Moors [after dropping off the axe in the boot of the car]. It was really nice out. And in the beginning of the walk, really steep up hill. While stopping to take some pictures [and catch my breath], we saw a pony come out of a natural corral at the top of the hill and make his/her way down to the river at the bottom of the hill. While standing there, two more ponies eventually came out, one-by-one and made their way down the hill. Judging by their size and discomfort, I'd say these were mares that were ready to have colts.

Our walk took us through fields and forest and along a small river. And the water was amazingly clear and stained brown from the peat. And then we went back to the pub for another pint, of course.

Later that night we met Mike [Dianne's man] at the pub for dinner. It was a really nice day full of fresh air and good food. I sacked out easily.

On Sunday we decided to head to the North coast into Cornwall. I've never been to Cornwall before. The first village we stopped was Tintagel. It is a cute little village that obviously sees a lot of tourists when the weather is warm. There wasn't a cloud anywhere in the sky. The street was lined to coffee shops that served scones and clotted cream teas and ice cream. We had a drink and then took a walk through the village.

We stopped in a little shop in the village that had stationary and jewelry, crystals, cards, etc. It was being managed that day by a cute little old couple from Yorkshire. Their daughter and son-in-law or son and daughter-in-law own it, or something like that. Anyway, while we were talking with them [Dianne and I the only two in the store], Dianne decided she needed to go back and pay for more parking, so she turned to them and said, 'I'll be right back. Watch her, will you?' And they did. They wouldn't let me leave! I was stood in the store for 20 minutes bemused by how they would each start a story and the other would trump the next point or finish the other's sentence. Hysterical.

In the village, there is the post office, which is a major attraction. Take a look at the roof line!

We walked up the hill and towards the coast from the village to the church that was on top of the hill. As it was sunny and warm out, I was busy looking at the little island that was just off of the coast and taking pictures and nearly stepped on an adder sunning itself on the path. There is one poisonous snake in the UK and I managed to find one. On the path, we came across three that had stopped to talk about the two they had just seen. Great.

At the top of the hill, the very old church had a beautiful church yard, a well worn baptismal, and stained glass windows. The floor [can you see in the picture] is vertically laid slate in a square pattern.

After our walk and just before lunch, we headed down the coast to Boscastle. The interesting thing about Boscastle is that in 2004 is was nearly wiped off of the map due to some heavy rain storms and flooding. 75 cars, 5 caravans, 6 buildings and several boats were washed into the sea; approximately 100 homes and businesses were destroyed; trees were uprooted and debris were scattered over a large area. In an operation lasting from mid-afternoon until 2:30 AM, a fleet of 7 helicopters rescued about 150 people clinging to trees and the roofs of buildings and cars. No major injuries or loss of life were reported. Amazing.

Before starting our journey, we stopped at the visitor's center to get an update on the flood. And I stopped at a pasty shop to have my lunch. Couldn't go to Cornwall and not get a Cornish Pasty!

So we walked down from the village on the right side of the river bank. There was a truck that was driving down the boat ramp out to his boat to transfer lobster traps and a dingy. The tide was out. We walked out to the point. I was looking for seals. I didn't see any.

We came back into the village and then walked down the left hand side of the river and up the hill to the Coastal Watch station. Most of the rock there is slate which explains the slate roofs in that part of the country. This village really reminded me of being in Gallway Ireland.

We headed down the coast around a point and through a field and towards an old church in the middle of the field. Another very old church flying the Cornwall flag and a marker in the church that dated it back to 200 AD. I lit some candles for my friends and we headed into the village for a pint. The church sat on the top of the hill on the edge of the village, where the village was protected from the Atlantic winds that come off of the sea. The trees are all blown to grow in the direction of the wind.

The houses had slate roofs, lots of painted stone, and interesting ... very skinny doors. These doors are side-by-side houses, one opening into the left vestibule and one the right. We stopped at a pub and sat in the garden, which was out the door, down the alley, and off to the left of the pub and had a pint and a snack.

It was a great weekend.

Paris in the Spring

2011-04-07T14:00:00.022+01:00

Last weekend, I had the chance to meet my friend, Marvel, and her daughter, Sopahn, whom were visiting Paris for spring break. They were there for about 10 days. I joined them for the last four.

Of course, the city was beautiful, as it would be this time of year. And it wasn't too crowded with tourists yet.

I arrived on Thursday and met Marvel at the hotel. She was out gathering items for lunch with her friend, Yvette. Yvette is French, now living in Paris, but has a man in her life from Los Alamos, NM [thus the Marvel connection]. Marvel and Yvette play tennis together and I suspect it is quite competitive!

We rescued Sopahn from having a lie-in, had some lunch, and then went exploring some shops and streets. You can find a little bit of everything in Paris, high-end and low-end. We headed West from Nation [the East side of Paris] towards Saint Germain des-Pres. Yvette's brother and sister-in-law own a boutique garden shop and we stopped in for a visit and a look around. We also went to the park across the from the shop [Jardin du Luxembourg] and walked around. The grounds keepers were busy getting the flower beds ready for planting.

The park is the second largest in Paris [about 55 acres] and originally owned by the duke of Luxemburg [hence the name]. The domain was purchased in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, mother of Louis XIII.The gardens were laid out in Italian style on request of Marie de' Medici. She was of Italian descent. In the 19th century when the private park opened to the public, it was redesigned in a more French style but the original layout has been preserved.

At the center of the park is an octagonal pond, known as the Grand Bassin. Here, children can rent small boats. There are many other attractions for children such as the puppet theater, pony rides and a merry-go-round. Around the pond are nice lawns and alleys, all laid out in a geometrical patterns.

There was a pavilion at one end near the arboretum where they house the portable trees and plants during the winter with dozens of chess players gathered, playing.

After going through the park, we headed over to Judy's, an American friend of Yvette's. Judy is the international marketing director for a medical equipment company; originally she's from Seattle. It was really nice to meet her and see her flat. She travels through Europe like I used to travel in the States, supporting sales and marketing.

After a quick dinner with Yvette of good cheeses, sausage, and wine, I was nearly toast, having been up since 4:00 am, so we headed back to the hotel to crash.

On Friday, Marvel and I got breakfast in the morning and caught up. We were going to meet Yvette later [5-ish]. Sopahn had found a shoe shop that she had tried to visit three times before, always seeming to find it closed. The shop advertised Adidas, but was filled with 'runway' shoes, made especially for a show worn at least once. There were some pretty creative designs to try!

We were meeting Yvette at the Ralph Lauren store on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The shop used to be a hotel, so it is large and absolutely beautiful. We wondered through all of the floors. Definitely out of my price range!

We stopped for a bite to eat ... too early for dinner, too late for lunch, but hungry just the same.

After that, we headed to Bonpoint, boutique for children, where Michelle Obama visited when she was in Paris. Stores are closed in Paris on Sundays. For Michelle, not only did they open, but they blocked off the entire street and sharp shooters on the rooftops, as you would for the First Lady. Take a look at the website: http://www.bonpoint.com/#/home/

We walked North to Notre Dame right as the sun was beginning set low and reflect off of the church. On the way, we noticed bridges with link fencing that were covered in padlocks with messages enscribed on the locks. Paris is known as the 'City of Love' and people leave their declarations on the bridges. And of course, the one I looked closely at has this enscribed: 'FOR LYING'. The cynic in me loved that!

Lots of flowers. Lots of people [as always]. It was really pretty.

We had an early night Friday as we had walked our tails off!

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day [25C/80F]. Marvel and I set out for a power walk in the morning, and then came across an outside market on Cours de Vincennes [that slowed us down!]. We had brunch at Yvette's and then headed out to pick up a tank top for Sopahn [the 95 Euro ones in Ralph Loren were a bit steeper than we wanted!].

In the afternoon, I booked two Citroen cars to tour Paris. Pam had recommended doing this. The cars are from the 1950's and the guys that drive were little flat caps to complete the look. It was a beautiful day, so the soft tops on the cars were rolled back for a little sunshine! It was a LOT of fun.

After some more time in shops picking up some new outfits for Marvel, we took a break and I tried to locate a restaurant for dinner that served crab. Sopahn and I saw several on Friday when we were walking through St. Germain and we decided that's what we would have for a 'birthday' dinner [mine]. Let's just say that the American visitor [me] trying to lead the 4 of us through the streets of Paris using Google maps on my Blackberry could not compete with our local 'host' that did not know where we could get crab, but wherever it was that I was trying to lead them, it was wrong. We never found the first restaurant. The second one was full [I only located 2]. In the end, we made a big circle and located the first restaurant [same name, different local than on the Web] ... and I had crab. We also had escargot and oysters. All very good!

Sunday morning, Marvel and Sopahn left early to get to the airport and begin their journey home. I had a day to myself. As was now cold and raining again, my first thought was to visit the Louvre. I have been around it, but never in it. Apparently, every other tourist in Paris had the same idea. There were at least 3,000 [I'm not exaggerating] people waiting in line to get in! As the shops are closed on Sunday in Paris, probably isn't a lot for folks to do to stay out of the rain. Although the hours that you would be standing in line, I would think you'd be pretty wet before getting in! Note to self: next time visit on a week day.

I walked around, took some more photos, had a warm, dry lunch, and then walked to the train station. It was a good visit. A little bit of everything!

Newham 10K

2011-03-30T10:34:00.002+01:00

Okay, the other thing I did this last weekend, was run in my first 10K of the season. It wasn't my fastest time, 57:55, but I finished under an hour, which is always good! I averaged about 9 minute miles / 5.5 min kilometres.

This race is know as the Newham 10K. It's run in Stratford, which is Northeast London. I live in Southwest London; it takes me longer to get there than it does to run the race! Nearly two hours. The reason for participating in this race is because it is the sight of the 2012 Olympic Park. We ran through the Olympic Village, around the outside of Olympic Stadium ... which by the way, had the last of the turf laid yesterday, and past a few of the smaller arenas where they will play hockey, basketball, handball, etc.

I ran this last year, too, so it was nice to see the progress, and hopefully, next year, attend a few events as a spectator!

650th Anniversary of the Magistracy

2011-03-29T04:46:00.004+01:00

So, on Saturday night, I was invited by a member of my staff to participate in a black tie dinner to celebrate the 650th anniversary of The Magistracy, the Middlesex Branch. As an American, I really have no concept of an organisation that has been around for 650 years!

A magistrates' court is the lowest level of court in England and Wales. A magistrates' court is presided over by a tribunal consisting of two or more (most commonly three) justices of the peace [Steve is a justice of the peace] and dispenses summary justice [a ruling without a jury]. The tribunal that presides over the Court is commonly referred to simply as the Bench.

Magistrates' courts deal with minor offenses (generally, fines of up to £5,000 and imprisonment of up to 6 months). For certain specified offenses, maximum fines may be higher (for example, for fly tipping ... dumping trash ... up to £50,000).

The Magistrates courts are often considered to be the 'workhorses' of the criminal justice system and handle over 95 percent of the criminal cases in that jurisdiction.

A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer elected or appointed [Steve is appointed] by to keep the peace. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have a formal legal education in order to qualify for the office.

So, how has it been 650 years?

In 1195 [that's 816 years ago...], Richard I ("the Lionheart") commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were responsible to the king for ensuring that the law was upheld, and preserved the 'king's peace', and were known as "keepers of the peace".

An act of 1327 [that's 684 years ago ...] had referred to "good and lawful men" to be appointed in every county in the land to "guard the peace"; such individuals were first referred to as conservators or wardens of the peace. The title "justice of the peace" derives from 1361 [ah! 650 years!], in the reign of King Eward III. The "peace" to be guarded is the "king's peace" that justices of the peace use the power conferred to bind over unruly persons "to be of good behaviour." The bind over is not a punishment, but a preventive measure, intended to ensure that people thought likely to offend will not do so. The justices' alternative title of ''magistrate' dates from the sixteenth century.

And there you have it. So there was a champagne reception, a sit down dinner, and several speeches to celebrate the Middlesex bench which has about 150 members, I am told.

Sights Around London

2011-03-23T10:27:00.025Z

A couple of weeks ago, there were some colleagues in from the States visiting the office and I had the opportunity to do a little sight-seeing while I was hosting our guests. There are lots of sights around London that I either don't frequent or haven't thought of in a while that I get to see with a fresh pair of 'tourists' eyes when someone comes to visit and says, 'Hey, can you take me to ... ?' So here are some highlights.

Buckingham Palace

You might have heard that we have a little thing coming up in 37 days [yes, there is a daily count down here] known as 'The Royal Wedding'. Prince William will marry Kate Middleton on 29th of April. To help celebrate, we get an extra bank holiday [yay!]. There will be plenty of reasons to blog about this in the coming month, so I'll just say that I escorted my colleague over to the Palace early one afternoon. It was too late [and the wrong day] for the changing of the guard, but we did get to see a dignitary being escorted from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to some place towards Downing Street [where the Prime Minister lives] in a horse and carriage.

The guards are all wearing their winter wool grays [as opposed to their summer wool reds] and without being able to see their buttons, there would be no way to tell which guard was standing watch at the gate. The Royal Standard was flying, however, and four guards were posted at the Palace, so the Queen was in residence.

The statues out front of Buckingham Palace are all under scaffolding and tarps; I am assuming getting a good scrub in preparation for the wedding.

After watching the horse and carriage leave the a Palace, we walked the same route down The Mall, along St. James Park toward the Horse Guards. In case you are interested, the Horse Guards Parade will be the sight of the Beach Volleyball in the 2012 Olympics. As luck would have it, we arrived at the same time the Royal Horse Guards were changing the horse and guards standing at the gate. This is a much smaller venue and there is very little crowd control as people wandered around and tried to catch photos of the guards, both on foot and on the horses. My pics aren't that great, but you get the gist of it.

Harrod's

Harrods is a high-end department store located Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The store occupies a 5-acre and has over one million square feet of selling space in over 330 departments. We made our way to the level below ground to the gift shop. No sense in cruising the other 329 departments when you are just looking for things that say 'Harrods', eh?

Along the way, we stopped at the bottom of the Egyptian staircase to see the Diana and Dodi memorial statue. It contains the ring that Dodi bought for Dianna and the last glass that Diana had a drink from.

We also went to the food hall [which is unbelievable]. It is room after room of full-on counters and markets, by specialty. If you wander over 'The Bakery', you will find the Krispy Kreme counter!

Hamleys

Hamleys is one of the world's oldest toy shops. Its flagship store is in Regent Street, London and is considered one of London's major tourist attractions, receiving about five million visitors a year. Hamleys is named after William Hamley, who founded a toy shop called "Noah's Ark" at 231 High Holborn in London in 1760 [the Holborn branch was destroyed by fire in 1901]. The branch at 200 Regent Street was opened in 1881 and is the largest toy shop in the world.

Burough Market

I have written about Burough Market a couple of times, so I'll focus on something new: The Globe pub. Bridget Jones's singleton flat is above the pub in the 2001 movie blockbuster 'Bridget Jones's Diary'. It is typically packed with standing room only.

Royal Wimbledon Golf Club

2011-03-06T07:44:00.016Z

Yesterday, I was invited to join one of my staff members, Margaret, to have 'a cuppa' [tea] and tour the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. We met a friend of Margaret's, Norman Smith, whom is the current sitting club Secretary. This is one of two courses around the corner from me, literally. Here's a little history.

Golf had been played informally on Wimbledon Common from the beginning of the 19th Century and in 1864 a few members of the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers, posted nearby, formed the London Scottish Golf Club, playing from Mrs Doggett’s Cottage beside the Windmill. The course was limited to seven holes (three rounds being played to approximate to the 18 hole standard). Civilians were admitted to membership in 1869 and by 1874 numbered 250 against the Corps’ 50. Allegedly, the RWGC is the third oldest in England.

In 1871 the course was extended to eighteen holes before the newly formed Common Conservators ... set up to manage the Common and protect it from commercial exploitation ... could interfere. It is described as ‘one of the finest courses in this country, equal in extent and superior in the number and variety of hazards to the far famed links of St Andrews’.

The military maintained control over the Club’s affairs and in the winter of 1880, the civilians’ resentment. The civilians' subscription was 4 guineas and a Corp's Member was 1/2 guinea, AND no democratic rights attached.

Which begs the question, 'what is a guinea'? It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally worth one English Pound Sterling, but as the price of gold fluctuated, the Guinea was abandoned for the gold standard.

Anyway, the two parties went their separate ways. The military retained the "London Scottish" title; the breakaways, who had found premises nearer the town, claimed "Wimbledon Golf Club" and a year later their Patron, the Prince of Wales, agreed to the addition of the "Royal" prefix. So, on 6th June 1882, in calmer waters after the storm of secession, the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club was born.

The London Scottish Golfers are required to wear a pillar box red upper garment when playing golf; including Waterproofs when needed. This begs the question, what is 'pillar box red'? Funny you should ask. A pillar box is a free-standing post box and they are red! Norman said this is because it is a 'free course'.

Initially, the two Clubs shared the same Wimbledon Common course designed by Tom Dunn. In 1907, the RWGC began construction of a new course on the present site, designed by Willie Park Jr. It was radically redesigned in 1924 by a member, the renowned Harry Colt (Rye, Swinley Forest, Wentworth and St Germain, Paris). Essentially this is the course played today.

After having a bit of wine [new definition of 'having tea'], Norman took us for a ride in a golf cart around the course. It is beautiful. Really, really nice. And as we were in a golf cart built for two, we were a 'sight' on the course because not only were there three of us, apparently golf carts are not how a 'proper golfer' plays the game. Though I did learn that the course is acquiring six carts this year ... 'for the old guys'.

After the tour, we actually did have that 'cuppa'. Very cool.

British Pound Sterling

2011-02-25T15:54:00.025Z

Back in November, my brother, Mike, and his girlfriend, Stephanie, came across the pond for a visit. It was a very fun visit [different post], if for no other reason because it is 'refreshing' to 'see' the UK through another's eyes ... especially if he's my brother because I kind of get how he thinks. Even so, I didn't see this coming.

So Mike was busy trying to learn and manage the currency. First thing he noticed:it's freaking expensive here, so you don't hold onto the currency for very long and make frequent trips to the Cash Point [ATM] for a 'top up' [more money].

Second thing he noticed: we have a lot of coins here. And we use them. So although Americans have been unwilling to adopt a dollar coin, here in the UK we have a 1£ coin and a £2 coin.

Third thing he noticed, as with many things in the UK. It's all very 'logical', so you can catch on to the currency quite quickly. Well, almost anyway. So here's the story [I took pictures to illustrate]. Here we have the £2 coin and the 1£ coin and you can see they have the same shape.

And here you can see the £2 coin and the 1£ coin and the 1£ coin is roughly half the size of the £2 coin.

Now we'll take a look at the 2-pence and 1-pence coins.

You can the same logic applies. They are the same shape, the lesser value coin is roughly one-half the size of the other.

And the same applies to the 10-pence and 5-pence coins. They are the same shape, the lesser value coin is roughly one-half the size of the other.

Which brings us to the final presentation [it's a lot more entertaining when Mike does it 'live']. We have just two coins left. They are the same shape, the lesser value coin is roughly one-half the size of the other.

And so it makes perfect sense that the value of the coins is 50-pence and 20-pence !!! If you're an American, right now you are asking 'where is the Quarter'?

I've been here three-and-a-half years, I never noticed this.

Shocking Sight

2011-02-20T14:52:00.012Z

Apparently, I still have a lot to learn about British culture. I certainly appreciate parts of it!

Last week, I 'nipped' out of the office with Dianne to pick up some lunch and then come back to the office. As we were returning, we saw a couple [man and a woman] crossing the road and walking towards us. The woman was quite a site and we had to muster all of our poker face skills ... look past and catch some details ... without getting caught ... like stopping dead in your tracks, drop your mouth open, and gasp!

The couple was in their mid-60s. I didn't pay to much attention to what the man was wearing, but woman had looonnnnnggggg dark black hair that hung in loose curls half-way down her front. She also had a long white scarf wrapped around her neck several times. I failed to notice that under the scarf and hair was a black leather top [Dianne caught that one]. She was wearing thick black eye liner that a raccoon would envy. She had black tights, black tight short-shorts, and ……

six inch heels, black base covered in roses!!!

'Shock' is the only word I can come up with. When I returned to the office, I shared our experience with some of my staff, and then Dianne suggested that the woman could be 'Petunia' from the public service adds about 30 years ago about Coast Guard safety. Google is my friend ...

Watch this:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1964to1979/filmpage_coastguard.htm

Pam then remembered her favourite which was 'meet Dave ... learn to swim, you man!' Look at the woman in the add, ‘Come on Dave! Let’s swim’ … and she’s magically suspended in the air …

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1964to1979/filmpage_swim.htm

As Caroline is 'only 27', she couldn't remember any of them. The only thing I could come up with compares [and shared with my staff] is School House Rock.
Watch this & enjoy!
http://dai.ly/emrL0H
BFN!

Six Nations Rugby

2011-02-06T19:49:00.006Z

Last year at this time, I took a train w/my friend, Dianne, to Edinburgh, Scotland to watch England play Scotland in a Six Nations Rugby game.

Edinburgh is a great city to visit. It was my second time there. It is an odd mix of tourism and tradition.

For rugby however, I can only draw a similarity for my girlfriends that will be watching [or may be going] to the Super Bowl today in Dallas. Imagine a stadium with 80,000+ attendees. In the case of Six Nations, 75% of the attendees were men in kilts. [Can you imagine that in Dallas?]

And here is an image for you ... so if you're a guy at the game and you go to the concession stand and you come back to your seat with two beers, you now have to sit down with your kilt [skirt] on ... but your hands are full. So, imagine that you're a big guy with a kilt on and you hold one beer in one hand and one beer in your teeth as you tuck your kilt under as you sit down on the cold seat! Role reversal at its best!

By the way, according to this guy [pictured], a true Scottsman does now wear nickers under his kilt. And he shared that with the entire stadium.

Went to Paris for a day ...

2011-02-05T16:29:00.010Z

... because you can from London!

Last Sunday, my friends,Erik & Ramu, and I took the Eurorail to Paris for the day. We took the first train out and the last train back ... in Business Elite class, of course!

It continues to be cold and gray here in the UK, and after just 40 or so minutes on the train, the sky was blue and we saw the sun for the first time in weeks! What a treat!

So, what do you do when you go to Paris for day? Eat! That was the theme of our trip. Eat and some alcohol ...

On the train, we asked the train manager if she could make us some Bloody Mary's. She said she'd have to check and see if there was any tomato juice on the train. She came back with a small shot glass full of some watery-like juice that looked more like cranberry juice than tomato juice. Usually, the ratio is 4 parts of juice to 1 part of vodka. We had the reverse. Add a little pepper from a paper packet and voila'! Bloody Mary.

We arrived in Paris and started walking. We headed towards the River Seine. Once was had our bearings, we recognized that we needed to stop and have some lunch! So we had lunch in a little bar and started our food tour. We had escargot and tartare de boeuf. Very, very good! And some wine.

After lunch, we continued walking along the River Seine and then decided to take a taxi to Notre Dame. I had not been in the Cathedral before. You'll be happy to know I lit two candles: one for Mom and one for the UK staff! The Cathedral is beautiful, but then, I wouldn't be the first one to say that.

From there, wewalked to the Louvre. Have I mentioned yet that it was FREEZING cold. We took some pictures and sent them to Suzanne [office manager] to torture her ... can you guess where we are? We proceeded to walk West on the Terrasse du Bord de l'Eau [park], we stopped at the Jardindes Tuileres [fountain] and had a cigar.

From here, we had to stop and have a rest and some wine alongside the River Seine.

After our snack,we took a taxi to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur [Basilica of Sacred Heart] at the top of a huge hill that overlooked a very ... cloudy Paris. It was beautiful. And there was a funicular! I sent a picture to my friend, Denise.

We didn't go in to the Basilique, but rather, decided we needed to find a place for dinner [you're following the theme, right]. We stopped at a bistro' and had frog legs and mussels! After some more wine and a great dinner, we took a taxi to the train station and began our journey home.

The trip was fabulous!!!

[Computer continues to die ... so alas, first no ability to post photos. Now can't control the layout. I give up]

Meaningful dialogue as I struggle to say 'good-bye' ...

2011-01-29T17:33:00.003Z

[Closing scene from 'Criminal Minds'; this dialogue struck a nerve for me]

'I'm thankful for my years spent with this family, for everything we shared, every chance we had to grow. I'll take the best of them with me and lead by their example wherever I go. A friend told me to be honest with you, so here it goes:

This isn't what I want, but I'll take the high road. Maybe it's because I look at everything as a lesson, or because I don't want to walk around angry, or maybe it's because I finally understand. There are things we don't want to happen, but have to accept. Things we don't want to know, but have to learn. And people we can't live without, but have to let go.'

I'm Back!

2011-01-29T09:47:00.002Z

Well, it's been nearly a year since my last post and I decided to pick this up again as I see my life taking on another transition. I have used this space to post my rant and learnings for my 'immersion' into the UK culture. Now I will use it as my space for my repatriation into the US.

So, my company [whom shall remain nameless] has decided that the UK market is not one that we intend to continue to invest. As such, we are in a 'wind-down' mode of our operations where we transfer our contracts, release our staff, and send the remaining two expats home. All if this will likely require me to be in the UK until the summer [as you would expect, the most frequently asked question is, 'When will you be home?' I've only got one answer: I don't have the foggiest idea.].

I have been here for 3 years and 2 months. Much of my experience is documented in this blog and then also on FB [where you get immediate responses]. I have used this blog as my diary, of sorts. In the last year, I have been consumed with one major client, and therefore, had less time for adventures ... and when I did manage to squeeze them in, less time to document them. Perhaps I'll post them now [I had some really fun times in 2010, despite the obnoxiously long hours and insane client; I'll make a note].

So my thoughts now about living here in London have turned to: I'm leaving soon ... what haven't I done?

Last weekend, I went to the [movie] theatre to see 'The King's Speech" w/Colin Firth. What a fantastic movie! If I would have posted my accolades last weekend, I would have looked 'smart' as the Oscar nominations hadn't come out yet. Nonetheless, make time to see this movie! Anyway, I had never been to a movie in the UK. I am good at watching DVDs, my Sky channels, and something on-line, but I hadn't gone to the theatre. It is a very different experience.

First of all, you are not talking about a locations that is in the middles of acres of land with flashing lights and huge parking lot. There are two theatres in Wimbledon [that I have recognized]. The entrances are on the ground floor of the high street, so you can't see the expanse of the theatres as they are upstairs [on the first floor]. Secondly, there is just a lighted board about 1 metre by 1 metre that lists all of the shows and their times for the week. Hello-? It's a poster. You have to go INTO the theatre to find the posters. So not a whole lot of fan-fare going on outside. AND you have an assigned seat, like you would be going to see a play or ballet or the opera.

Tomorrow: taking the Euro rail to Paris for the day.

Borough Market

2010-02-14T08:49:00.016Z

Yesterday, I went with Ramu and Heather. We have Heather on loan from Louisville for 10 days. Borough Market is London's oldest food market. It was established on the south bank of the Thames when the Romans built the first London Bridge. It has occupied its present site for 250 years.

Borough has a long and distinguished history as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market. The wholesale market operates on all weekday mornings from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m., but the retail market operates only on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market, which has focused historically on fruits and vegetables, has, in recent years, added stalls dealing with the fine food retail market.

Since the beginning of 2000, some of the market's most famous traders include Artisan Bakers DeGustibus, Furness Fish & Game Supplies, Peter Gott and Sillfield Farm, and the Spanish company Brindisa. This guy on the left was selling French cheese; Baby Blue is the one on his cutting board. I bought some, of course.

At a stand across from here, I got some Chorizo sausage.

The present market was first mentioned in 1276. During the 19th century it became one of London's most important food markets due to its strategic position near the riverside wharves of the Pool of London.

We went to the Market hungry. Ramu and Heather had an oyster from this stand. It was too early in the morning for me.

The present buildings were designed in 1851, with additions in the 1860s and an entrance designed in the Art Deco style added on Southwark Street in 1932. A refurbishment began in 2001. Work to date includes the re-erection in 2004 of the South Portico from the Floral Hall.

Stallholders come to trade at the market from different parts of the UK and traditional European products are also shipped over and sold. Amongst the produce on sale are fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, meat, game and freshly-baked bread and pastries. There is also a wide variety of cooked and snack food on sale for the many tourists who flock to the market.

This stand on the left is chocolates, displayed in bowls made of hollowed out tree stumps.

We stopped for breakfast at Fish. I had poached salmon and poached egg on bubbles and squeak [potatoes and cabbage]. It was REALLY good.

After that we had a bit of mulled wine while we finished cruising through the Market and then we headed to the Whiskey Shoppe. I got some double distilled Oban. There is one time a year that they move a batch of whiskey to sherry casks to give it a unique colour [reddish] and taste, apparently. I haven't opened it.

Borough Market has become a fashionable place to buy food. It has been promoted by British television chefs and has been used as a film set. Notable films with scenes filmed in the streets around the market include: the Globe Pub was in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).

This line in the picture on the right is the line for people waiting to get a coffee. It is apparently "the" place for coffee at the Market. We didn't do that.

Come walk with us

2010-01-17T21:15:00.002Z

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's snowing in the UK

2010-01-07T11:09:00.005Z

Last year in January, there was one big snowfall ... and it was big. Wimbledon received 12 inches [30 cm] of snow in one falling. Of course, everything was shut down.

This year, we have been getting snow nearly every day since the week before Christmas, though until this week, it was only a dusting here or there [less than an inch].

The big snow and Artic snap [it's -8c or 14F] began in Scotland over the weekend and has been making it's way Southward. On Tuesday, this is what it looked like in
Chesire outside of Manchester where one of my staff members was holed up in her house. They had 7 inches [17-18 cm] and it was still falling.

And this is what it looked like in Barnsley in North Yorkshire and Humber where another of my staff members was stuck in a hotel.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up to 3 inches [7-8 cm] of snow sitting on my car, but the Tube was working, so I headed off to work in Barking. I live in Wimbledon, and if you get on the District Line, 33 stops later, you'll be in Barking. Barking only had a dusting. By 3 o'clock though, the snow had returned and folks were scattering out of the office.

On Thursday morning, I woke up to at least 7 inches of snow sitting on my car and it was -4c [24F], so it was icy to boot. Tube still running, so off to Barking again.

This is supposed to last for the month!

2009 Year in Review

2010-01-03T21:49:00.001Z

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was a busy year!

My Back Yard

2010-01-02T14:15:00.022Z

Okay, I have been home resting for the last two weeks, for the most part, and I have been highly entertained by the feedings going on in my back yard.

I bought a bird feeder that is "squirrel proof". Basically, what makes the first feeder squirrel proof is that it's made of wire mesh. I had one of these before. They are heavy duty, however, the persistent squirrels chewed through the wire mesh. The feed that's put in the feeders by the way, is peanuts. So as you might imagine, whatever gets to the peanuts can put on a lot a weight!

Since I moved closer to the Wimbledon Commons, I have noticed a distinct pecking order in whom has access to the peanuts. It's like the West Side Story unfolding in my back yard.

There are Magpies that are brightly coloured blue, black and white.

There are pigeons the size of chickens.

There are squirrels the size of Chihuahuas that lie in wait for me or Allie to leave the back yard having just interrupted their lunch.

There are Gt Spotted Woodpeckers with red rings on their necks and red butts. They have striking black and white plumage with large white shoulder patches. Red on back of head and under tail. Its presence is often announced by its loud 'kik kik' call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display.

There are parakeets [or parrots, depending on who you ask]. These are birds that were set free or escaped from domestic cages. The weather suits them and they are thriving, living in Wimbledon Commons and Richmond Park.

The Rose-ringed Parakeet, also known as the Ring-necked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical parakeet species that is popular as a pet. This non-migrating species is one of few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in 'disturbed habitats', and in that way withstood the onslaught of urbanisation and deforestation. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.

Okay, the birds I am really trying to feed are smaller song-birds. So I had to buy them a new bird feeder that is also squirrel proof! Except for the part where the squirrel can just push the top off and reach down into the feeder to eat! Hello-? I have now fixed the top of the feeder with two paper clips!

This one is a robin. It likes to follow people around, like when you are walking or hiking, and then grab the bugs that you stir up.

Okay Allie is pacing, waiting for a walk. Time to get our walking boots on and head for the trees!

Christmas in the Village

2009-12-13T10:45:00.012Z

This Christmas I decided to stay in the UK so that I could rest! It's been a long year with a lot of lost weekends to work, so being able to sleep in everyday for a week was very appealing. And I wanted to see how Christmas is done on this side of the pond.

How do you like this outfit? It's a Scottish tweed coat [very warm] and Irish Gor-tex walking boots. I look like I belong on the Commons!

Since the Brits don't have American Thanksgiving to tell them when to kick-off the holiday season, it was interesting to see how the momentum was built. It was around the week before Thanksgiving when the radio station that I listen to in the morning started to talk about playing Christmas songs. Mostly because one of the DJs' wanted it to be Christmas soon. There was one played, and then I didn't really hear any Christmas songs until around the 15th of December. On Christmas Eve all day, every third song was a non-Christmas song played. On Christmas Day, every 5th song played WAS a Christmas song. I guess they wore the records out the day before!

In the Village, the shop owners all declared the first Sunday in December [6th] as the shopping kick-off. They offered discounts and extra hours for that Sunday only.

Father Christmas [aka Santa] arrived in the Village the same day ... on horseback! He was having a hard time holding the horse steady as he waved and yelled, "Happy Christmas".

That's another interesting thing, the expression is "Happy Christmas", not Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. In fact, I was at an open house on Christmas Eve and when one of the guests was leaving, I got a kiss on two cheeks and as I responded to the Happy Christmas with a "Happy Holidays" ... I got, "Yeah, that's right. You are an American." I have not seen any evidence of Hanukkah. I didn't hear any dreidel songs, and haven't spotted a menorah anywhere. I saw on Facebook that Kwanza began yesterday in the States in the South. That's not here either.

So for Christmas Eve, I went to a friend's open house; and then came home, let a fire and fell asleep watching a Christmas movie [there is going to be a theme here].

On Christmas Day, I got up and made a pumpkin pie, and then opened presents! I got a box from my parents, a box from Heidi, and a box from Judy and Joanna in Austin. I had a few things from work. And then I ordered some stuff on-line. I saved it all until Christmas morning. Allie and I took a walk on the Commons and then we drove to Ramu's house for Christmas dinner. Natalie and Reise and their two kids, Jewel and Jess joined us. We had a great time. Jewel made friends with Allie by sharing her bag of cheese puffs with her. I came home, lit a fire and fell asleep watching a Christmas movie.

On Boxing Day, it was sunny out, so I decided it was time to figure out how to get to Richmond Park. It butts up against Wimbledon Park and it's twice the size, but you have to cross the A4 to get there. It was always too far for Misty to travel, and it never occurred to me to drive there, of course!

It is a gorgeous park! And very different from Wimbledon. Wimbledon is more wooded and you can get lost in the trees. Richmond is massive and you can get lost in the size!

There were herds of red and fallow deer roam freely within much of the park.

Richmond Park supports a large population of what are believed to be Ring-necked or Rose-ringed Parakeets. These bred from birds that escaped or were freed from captivity. They frequent my back yard!

During King Edward's (1272-1307) reign the area was known as the Manor of Sheen. The name was changed to Richmond during Henry VII's reign. In 1625 Charles I brought his court to Richmond Palace to escape the plague in London and turned it into a park for red and fallow deer. His decision, in 1637, to enclose the land was not popular with the local residents, but he did allow pedestrians the right of way. Richmond remains the smallest National Park in the UK. Almost three times as large as New York City's Central Park, it is Britain's largest urban walled park, and the largest of the Royal Parks in London

In 1847 Pembroke Lodge became the home of the then Prime Minister, Lord John Russel. It is now a popular restaurant with glorious views across the Thames Valley. Who knew?

At the end of Boxing Day, I was invited to visit my neighbors, two doors over, for a drink. Yvonne and Stuart have two dogs who wanted equal time on my lap. It was nice to share a single malt and learn a little about my neighbors and land lord. Stuart hunts birds and brought me a pheasant a couple of weekends ago. I had to learn how to clean the bird! Last night I learned the Stuart worked for Humana when it was a hospital company! Small world!

Benidorm, Spain Half Marathon

2009-12-09T04:44:00.012Z

On Friday, 27 November, I flew to Alicante, Spain and then made my way to Benidorm for the weekend to participate in my second half-marathon this fall.

Benidorm is on the South Eastern coast of Spain ... and it is not very Spanish, from what I understand. It's actually, very British. It is a favourite spot for pensioners [retirees] to either spend the winter or move to after retirement. About every 10 feet there is a British pub serving a full English breakfast or beers! It's kind of like I imagine Destin, FL which is where it seems nearly everyone from Louisville goes, or so it seems.

It's only a two-hour flight and it's on the Mediterranean Sea so it is easy to see why it's a favourite place for Brits to escape.

I flew in on Friday, early, with my friend / co-worker, Ramu, and we spent the day exploring Benidorm. There is very little architecture that looks Spanish, or at least how I envisioned it. There are a lot of apartment-like high rises.

We sought out some non-British food ... grilled lobster, paella [chorizo, pancetta, rice, clams, prawns and squid], pancetta and cheese, and of course, Spanish wine. We had the red wine Rioja, which if you are Spanish is pronounced something like "ree-OH-ha" with a sort of hard "ha" ... like you have a fur ball. But if you're British, it's just "ree-AK-ka". When I first moved to London, it took me forever to figure what kind of red wine we were drinking when I was out with colleagues. I thought they were ordering a particular vineyard, not a region of Spain!

In the afternoon, the rains came in, so we found a pub ... it was Irish, not British ... with some live music and spent the afternoon shouting out requests for the Grateful Dead, Counting Crows, and Pink Floyd. The two guitarists would just say, "Hey English! What do you want to hear?"

Anyway, needless to say, there was a bit too much Rioja on Friday so Saturday morning I had a lie in [I slept in]. Another fellow Humana worker, Mercer, joined us on Saturday. The longest distance he had run in preparation for our race was a 10k [6.2 miles]. We were going to run a 21k [13.1] miles. We found the Town Hall and picked up our registration packets. The race seemed to be well organised and a "big deal" as they were setting up for it.

We had a great [filling] breakfast at a Belgium restaurant. Omlets! Then off to explore the village and beach and look for a new set of I-Pod head phones for Mercer. We never did find the head phones. We did criss-cross the Village and explore the full length of the beach.

Okay, and check this out. This place is called the American Bar. It's on the beach. There is a guy in there playing the electric guitar and singing. He's British. And there are as many mobility carts parked out front as Harley's!

Benidorm recognises siesta ... a short nap after the midday meal when the weather is warm. The weather wasn't that warm, about 22C [70F] degrees. Needless to say by 2 o'clock, most shops were closed ... even on a Saturday. We went where every other Brit was, to the pub! We went back to the shops after 4 o'clock, which is when the shops would normally re-open. Nope. They never came back!

We did find a pub called the Cafe Kentucky Rock. It stole the Harley logo, more or less. Had a live "band" [one guy singing with an electric guitar and synthesiser]. They didn't serve wine. You could smoke [holy cow!]. And there was rock paraphernalia around like if you were at a Hard Rock Cafe'. Most interesting "translation" of Elvis Presley's song, "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". "Can't" doesn't translate. It's "cannot", so there was an extra syllable in every line which had to go somewhere. It was amusing!

Sunday morning was the run. It started at 10:30. As none of us were fluent in Spanish, we really had no idea what the announcers were talking about and basically had to follow the crowd to line up for the start. We figured out that we were supposed to line up by our race number, more-or-less, and that there couldn't have been more than 3,000 participants, which is a nice size.

The start was a bit odd in that we were lined up in gated areas. All I could think of was that it wouldn't pass the Fire Marshall's test in the States. When the gun went off to start the race, we took off under a banner and over the chip-reader [we wear chips on our shoes to keep our time and a few times during the race, you have to run over a mat that reads your chip] and down a red carpet. As we passed, lots of supporters were shouting and there were fireworks and confetti being blown into the air. It was pretty cool!

All-in-all, the race was flat [yay]! We basically ran up and down the sea-coast, going up into the Village to turn directions and go back the other way. Two things struck me as we ran:

Firstly, I was running along the Mediterranean Sea [!] and that the average age of this race had to be about 45!

Secondly, we were running on the roadway. The boardwalk between the road and the beach was occupied by some supporters, but mostly pensioners that lived there and it occurred to me ... everyone running with me was hoping not to be one of them in the near future.

The town turned out in big style to show support. I was amazed at how many people lined the streets, but then everything was closed, so I guess you either watch the race or TV, but it was too early for football [soccer] to be on.

I ended up finishing with a time of 1:53:08. Ramu was just behind me. This was five minutes faster than our Dublin time. I lost him by a few strides at the last turn as we were approaching the red carpet to the finish line. And just as we got on the carpet, the guy running next to me tripped and did a face-plant on the carpet! I totally dodged to the left to avoid being knocked down with him. Ramu said it looked pretty funny! Anyway, I was 21st in my age rank and 92nd in my gender finish. And I'm not sure how, but Mercer finished 5 minutes ahead of me. I lost him at the start. Had I known he was ahead of me ...

So, it was a good run. Ramu and Mercer are busy looking for the next one. I told them I was out until the daylight returns. We are nearing the shortest day / winter solstice, and days are too short for training. I hate running in the dark. And the rain. I'll start again in April.

Allie-dog in a single dog home

2009-11-09T11:39:00.008Z

Thought I would give you some updates on Allie and her new world of managing a one-dog household.

After Misty was gone, Allie sort of crashed-and-burned. She would to to the couch where Misty would lie, place her head on the cushion and whimper. And every time we either entered or left the yard, she did a quick search and smell to see if she could find Misty lurking around the corner. As this has been the only time that I have ever had two dogs at once, I have never been through the grieving process with a dog left behind.

Allie stopped eating, except for treats, but she continued to drink water, so I knew it was a matter of time. She lost about 10 pounds [1/6 her weight].

She barks now. She rarely barked before. She was the kinder, gentler greeter at the door. Misty intimidated. So now Allie barks, but then her tail is wagging, so it's tough to know if she is serious, or not. And she has taken over every piece of furniture.

The first thing I did was try to establish new routines. Misty was our routine-driver ... time to get up, time to eat, time to go for walk, time for a snack, and so on. Allie seemed lost. And I am training for another half-marathon, so picking up the training schedule helped. Allie and I run first thing in the morning at least 4 times a week.

The next thing I did was find a dog-walker. Allie needed friends. I found a great place just around the corner called K9 Capers. The woman that owns the service left a high-stress job to do something she loves and has six employees [she's doing something right!]. They pick Allie up every day and take her for at least a one-hour walk with a maximum of two other dogs out on the Commons. Allie is enjoying it very much and has started to "smile" when they show up [it is goofy looking].

This last weekend, I was finalising a big bid, so I had to be in the office both Saturday and Sunday. I knew the days were going to be long, so I decided to take Allie to central London with me. This was a big adventure. We would walk through the Village to the train station. She figured out the turn-styles [actually, more like automatic gates] okay. Stairs were fine. Trains going past were a little intimidating. She "minded the gap" and got on board. She was very interested in the noise as other trains passed and doors clamored.

We went to Waterloo [London's busiest station] to catch the Tube. Back through the gates, through the crowd and down the escalator ... this was a problem. Technically, I'm supposed to pick her up, but she's not light or small. Her whole motivation to get on was because I was getting further away. She was all sprawled out across three steps and very happy when the ride was over. Then through the tunnels, on the Tube, back at the station, up the stairs and outside in the busiest shopping in Europe! No sweat.

She's fine in the office. We have a square to take a walk. I brought her blanket, food, water and treats. She may have shared some pizza with me, and she did find an abandoned ice cream cone on one of our walks. She was very happy. As we were there very late, we took a taxi back both nights/mornings. She is my urban dog. Running with cows last year in Portishead, mastering mass transportation in London this year!

Looney's in London

2009-10-30T15:03:00.031Z

Mom & Dad came in September to visit for a couple of weeks. Mother Nature co-operated this time and it didn't rain everyday, all day. They arrived on the 15th Sept and I went to North Yorkshire for a meeting on a contract. And I took advantage of having somebody home and a guy showed up to drop off new dish washer. Once I got home, we went around the corner to the pub for dinner. There's a great place called the Hand-in-Hand that is an authentic English village pub ... that Wimbledon has just grown up around. They have fantastic pies [these are dinner pies, not dessert pies].

The next day, Mom and Dad slept in and visited the Village; I went to Barnsley to facilitate a partner meeting. And I am still settling into my house, a guy showed up to install the new dish washer. Wimbledon Village is a great place to get lost in, stop and have a tea or a glass of wine, so I guess Mom & Dad okay for the day on their own.

On Thursday, I worked from home in the morning and waited for the guy to show up and install the satellite. I figured Mom & Dad meeting work men three days in a row might be too much to ask. Good news! I got ESPN-America and the the St. Louis Cardinals were going to be on TV Sunday night / Monday morning at Midnight. We could record it and watch it at our leisure during normal hours.

After the Satellite was in, we headed into London. I had a meeting to be at in the office, and we had tickets to see Wicked later on. None of us had seen it, and it was really good. I had no idea what to expect, really. Fun story.

On Friday, we went to Buckingham Palace to participate in the summer open house and take some tours. We first went to the Queen's Gallery. It's a "timed" entry, so we started there and then could go at our leisure to the rest. It's basically a museum, filled primarily with paintings & tapestries and some sculptures. After that we went into the Palace and we visited the State Rooms, which was my favourite. We walked in the same entries and down the same stairs that the Queen would receive visitors for official functions. All very cool.

After that, we visited the mews where they keep the official state cars and carriages ... and horses. Most of the horses were somewhere else, but we did get to see four before we left. The glass carriage is the one that Princess Diana rode in on her wedding day.

After touring for four hours, we headed over to my office for a happy hour. No reason, it was just time for us to gather and have a glass of wine. We had a few nibbles and drinks and then headed back to Wimbledon for a rest.

On Saturday, we laid low. I was going to walk into the Village to get some groceries. Mom & Dad decided to come along and we stopped at Wagamama for lunch. We down to the Broadway [bottom of the hill] to go to the grocery at Morrison's, rode the bus back up the hill and then everyone had to carry a bag back across the Commons.

I ran Sunday morning in preparation for my upcoming run in Dublin and I was trying to spend time at home with the Misty-girl. We drove over to Kew Gardens, a huge botanical gardens park. I think we only saw about 1/3 of the park and that took us most of the afternoon.

I left Mom & Dad on their own on Monday and headed into the office. Monday was the day that I was to find out if we won the big account we had been pursuing for the last six months. Unfortunately, we did not. I was devastated. Worked my butt off for that one and really thought we had it ...

On Tuesday, I had a meeting, but then had to take Misty in to have the 25 staples she had removed. I decided to do a work from home day on Wednesday [23rd].

I went into work on Thursday and got a call from Mom in the early afternoon that Misty was down, and I rushed home. You know the rest.

Friday, we headed to Dublin with my friend Ramu, in order to participate in the Dublin Half Marathon on Saturday. We had time on Friday to do tour the Guinness Storehouse. Guinness just happened to turn 300 years old on the 24th [day before], so there was a lot going on in and around the factory. It was by far my favourite distillery / winery / brewery tour I have every been on. The place was amazing! It's seven stories and it's set up as a sensory tour ... things to watch, things to try, you walk, you ride, you touch, and so on. Afterwards we went to O'Neill's for a drink.

On Saturday morning, Ramu and I headed into Phoenix Park to participate in the Dublin half-marathon. The park is HUGE. The Ireland president lives there. The American Ambassador. We saw at least 400 deer. There is a massive cross where Pope John Paul II held mass 30 years before. I think we walked at least 2.5 miles to get to the starting point for the race. There were 8,000 runners in all. We finished in 1:58:38 ... 21 seconds longer than the Nashville Half-Marathon I ran 4 years previous ... and I was 77th in my age group. It was a good run. I had lots of energy to burn after my week. The only bad part was after running 10 miles ... they were bailing hay! Do you have any idea what that does to my already tired lungs?

We finished the run and headed back to the hotel to take ice bags and look for some lunch. We went to Stag's Head ... as we continued to tour the top pubs in Dublin. There was an upstairs / outside garden. After lunch, we headed to the garden where Ramu, Dad and I smoked a Cuban cigar in celebration of the run being completed!

On Sunday, we headed into Dublin for some more touring. We tried to stop at The Covered Market, but was closed for Sunday, so we walked through Temple Bar which runs along the Leffey River and has a bunch of shops. There wasn't much going on for a Sunday.

We did stop at the Ha' Penny Bridge for a photo, named that because it used to cost a half penny to cross over. We took a walk down O'Connell Street. It's a wide street with shops, statues, restaurants, and The Monument of Light, a stainless steal spire that's 394 feet tall.

On Monday, I worked from the kitchen for the morning and then Pam, joined us for lunch. I was back in full bid-writing mode, so Mom and Dad kept busy getting ready for their journey back to the States. We took a car early on Tuesday morning to Heathrow and then I headed into London.