Seaside Special

Although it's a weekday, our friends wagged school so that we could all go to the beach together. Hooray!

We drove across to Lyme Regis. It was a perfect day for the seaside - blue skies, and not too hot, not too cold. The kids paddled and swam in wetsuits, we ate fish and chips on the beach, explored the bracing cobb, and just as we were about to leave the Girl picked an ammonite fossil out of the waves.

We moved on to Pecorama at Beer - top destination for the Boy and his train-enthusiast friend as it features multiple great model train layouts and a lengthy miniature train ride round some Pleasure Gardens.

Then back home for some trampoline bouncing (not me, obviously) before bedtime. It has been a very happy day, and right this minute the thought of returning to our American lives doesn't excite us as much as it probably should - but we'll get over it.

Last leg(s)

This morning we took the Girl and Boy for a breezy walk to the monument at Wellington, about twenty minutes from Taunton. The kids showed their usual enthusiam (ahem) for outdoor activity, but of course as soon as it was time to go back they were set to stay all day and climb gnarly trees. It's always the way.

The Man's parents joined us for lunch in Taunton, then late in the afternoon we were on the road again, this time heading Exmouth-way. We are visiting an ex-Lintonite and her family, good friends of us all and with the added attraction of a Hornby railway layout in the attic! What better way to round off our UK tour?

Check matey

We spent the morning vegging around. The Boy challenged his uncle to a game of chess (or was it checkers? The rules varied throughout the match).




Later we took ourselves into Taunton to test the local hotdogs (best ever bread roll, according to our expert) and for a picnic, play-parks and a spot of mini golf. Man, Girl and Boy all scored holes in one!

The rest of the day was also pleasantly lazy, and tonight we were treated to a delicious lentil feast - thank you to the Man's sister-in-law.

Westward ho!

We didn't get quite as far as that, but we did set out West as far as Wells to see my other brother and some of his immediate and extended family who happened to be about. That was fun.

From there onwards to Taunton where we are now staying with the Man's brother and his wife. We arrived late and the children went straight to bed and I shall soon be following them. It has been one of those classic English summer days: cloud followed by rain, then harder rain followed by a light but constant drizzle. My nephew and niece are at Glastonbury Festival this weekend, no doubt enjoying some mud.

London calling

The Man and I went into London today. The children decided to stay at home with their grandparents - they've done a lot of moving around lately and there's more to come, so fair enough.

At Watford Junction we ran into an old friend of mine, so we enjoyed the journey into Euston with her. Then we walked down to St.Pancras which has been impressively renovated. The Man was interviewed for a student documentary.

From there we took the tube to Leicester Square and found ourselves wandering into the National Portrait Gallery. The Tudor and Elizabethan portraits always impress me - somehow all those faces look so modern and familiar. I swear there's a lad who serves in Linton Co-op who is the spitting image of John Donne.

We also viewed the annual BP Portrait competition exhibition. After spending any amount of time looking at huge and minutely detailed portraits it's almost impossible not to examine every face you see as if it too were a work of art. Which is wonderful in a way, but you do find yourself staring hard at strangers and that's not entirely acceptable, is it?

Then we walked down to the South Bank and along the Thames as far as the Millenium Bridge. The day was warm and bright and we had a constantly changing soundtrack of buskers as we admired the various fun art installations along the way. And of course there was the beautiful bicycle wheel of the London Eye - what a lovely thing it is.

Relatively speaking

It's Wednesday so it must be Oxford... Another day-trip back to an old stamping ground. The Man and I lived in Oxford at various times in our lives, and the Girl was born there, but today we were there principally to visit my brother and his family who live two streets along from one of our own old addresses.

The children had fun with their twin cousins, the Girl rather revelling in being the senior child of the group. There was endless trooping up and down the garden, and as I write I'm guessing that my neices are sleeping well tonight. Meanwhile it was good to catch up with my brother and his wife whom we don't see very often.

We also called in on the Man's aunt up the road in Headington before we headed back to Watford once again.

If this entry is lacking a bit in sparkle that doesn't reflect on the day - this holidaying business is actually quite exhausting! Though having said that, the children are still full of beans - at 10:30pm.

Great Beckonscot!

Today we visited one of my favourite places in Britain - Beckonscot. It is the world's oldest model village, started in 1929. We have all visited before, some of us many times, and we love it.

There are endless little 1930s scenes, miniature shops with terrible punning names, a quiz sheet to fill out - and it's all linked together by a fantastic model train layout. In other words, something for everyone. An excellent day out, better (and cheaper) than Legoland. I should write it up some day for the Linton News 'Grand Day Out' column.

From there we went to visit Granny and Grandad (the Man's parents) near Reading, and had a nice tea with them. Now we're back in Watford with my parents, ready to set out on another little adventure tomorrow.

Moving on

So, farewell again Linton. Thank you to all the friends who in one way or another welcomed us back for our all-too-short (from our point of view!) visit. Special mention to Insanely Livid and family for putting us up, also for putting up with us as we endlessly faffed about their house looking for 'missing' items that were actually already in our car. We finally left early this afternoon.

Having accomplished a last few visits around the village we moved on to Saffron Walden - where we happened to run into a couple more friends who passed by the cafe we were sitting in. Bonus! We spent a moment in mourning for Harts, a lovely bookshop which has been taken over and criminally blandified by WHSmith. Then back to my parents in Watford for the next phase of our UK stay.

An every day story of country folk

Well, if we haven't seen you over the past three days that can only mean that you don't live in Linton or you've been away for the weekend.

It has been a bit of a whirlwind. A very enjoyable whirlwind, but rather exhausting - I haven't talked so much for, ooh, about ten months. But it's weird how you can be away from a place so long and just pick up where you left off. It's like tuning back into The Archers after a very long absence - it only ever takes one episode to get you up to speed again.

While the grown-ups have been chatting the children have also been happily slotting back in with their old pals - playing, climbing, Wii-ing, meeting chickens and trampolining. No wonder they are pooped tonight.

It has been strangely windy but warm and sunny, and the village - including our old back garden which we visited briefly - was looking particularly lovely today.

Tears before bedtime

It has been a lovely day of chatting and laughing and catching up with numerous friends. The Girl and Boy each had playdates with good buddies, and in the afternoon Insanely Livid (with whom we are staying) had kindly set up a bit of a party for us so we could see a whole crowd of people under one roof. We would have met down on the field only the weather looked iffy all day, though in the event it hardly rained. The wettest anyone got was from being water-bombed in the garden.

We are still not on the right clocks, but slowly trying to reset ourselves. It's been a struggle to drag ourselves out of bed before 10am and the kids have still been awake at midnight every night since we arrived - so good luck to the friends hosting the Girl for a sleepover tonight!

A tired Boy tonight, at the end of such a happy day, said weepily "I wish we could take Linton with us wherever we go." The rest of us know what he means.

Lintoniana

So here we are, back in li'l ol' Linton. It's like being squeezed through a time-warp and popping back into a world where nothing has changed. And strangely I find that all recollection of the past ten months has been wiped from my brain - ask me what we've been doing since we were last in the village and seriously I can't think of a thing. Good job I've been writing a blog.

Actually, some things have changed here - but the Infant School summer fair seemed to be surviving the controversial move from Saturday to Friday afternoon. Our kids were well pleased at winning their own weight in cuddly toys on the hoop-la, having eaten their own weight in sweets. Can't say fair-er than that.

It's good to be back, it's wonderful to be around old friends again. We're looking forward to the rest of the weekend here.

Tell me it's not true...

Our kind friend the Exile took us to Albany airport, and we were there in plenty of time. Only one problem: as we checked in we learnt that the flight was due to be delayed by up to three hours - we were almost certainly going to miss our overnight connection to the UK.

We debated getting a taxi home and driving down to Newark instead, but decided to take our chances. So we checked our bags and went airside. The Man set about working out alternatives if we were to miss the UK flight, and I tried to keep the children entertained in the cafe and the gift shop.

Now, if your bags are checked in and you are airside in good time, the plane doesn't leave without you. Well, does it?

Yes, it does! They reduced the delay, announced it only in the six-foot square area of the departure gate, and they **** well left without us.

"Oh, darn it to heck!" we said. Or maybe those weren't our exact words.

What to do now? Our flight to Heathrow was due to leave in three hours, about the length of time it would take to drive to Newark. But maybe there'd be a delay, maybe we could still make it if we just wished hard enough...

Enter a hero, in the form of the Exile. A less charitable soul would have heard our tale of woe and quite reasonably said, "Missed your flight? That's too bad, what are you going to do about that then". But our Exile is a friend indeed, and in deed.

He drove us to Newark. 166 miles. Two hours and fifty tense and untalkative minutes. Never have two and half less enjoyable hours passed so quickly as we desperately tried to hold back time.

And of course we still missed the flight.

Noble Exile. He hung around with us until it was certain that we'd be put on the next morning's flight. Then he drove 166 miles home again. We are forever in his debt.

But that left us at Newark Airport in the middle of the night, so our next job was to find a hotel. Everywhere seemed to be full - except the Econolodge! As cheap and cheerless as the name suggests. But that didn't bother us, we were only there for a matter of hours. We had to be up again at 4am in order to check in at five.

A word here for the Girl and Boy, who throughout this disastrous journey rose to the occasion and behaved with supernatural goodness. Even attempting to eat breakfast at 5:30am when they were feeling sick with tiredness (the Boy did actually throw up) they were uncomplaining. Well done, kids.

Happily, everything went smoothly after that. Tired as they were, the children weren't going to miss out on a full six hours of personal TV watching just to sleep, and they thoroughly enjoyed Alvin and the Chipmunks and other televisual delights of the Virgin flight. At Heathrow we caught a rambling Greenline bus to Watford, and soon we were comfortably snacking round my parents' kitchen table and it was as if none of it - not the crazy journey, not America at all in fact - had ever happened.

We're looking forward to the rest of our UK trip. As for the return journey, well it's bound to go horribly wrong so I guess we'll just deal with it as it happens.

The longest journey

I have a long travel tale to tell - but not tonight. I need to go to bed. I can at least reveal that the story involves a hero and has a happy ending, but you'll have to tune in again tomorrow for the nerve-jangling details.

Homeward bound

Counting down to departure. I thought I'd post this early so as not to miss a day's blog while we're in transit.

The children are off the walls with excitement now - so fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I'm pretty excited too, to be honest, though not about the red-eye flight.

So - what do we expect on our return? Will Britain seem radically different? Probably not. Will we seem different? Probably not either. We haven't been gone that long, after all, though sometimes it seems that way.

Here's our ride - we're off!

It never rains but...

...it absolutely buckets down. We were at a shopping plaza today when the heavens opened. Thunder, lightning, hail and monsoon-like rain. We'd been about to set off home, but had to shelter in a shop for nearly half an hour for fear of being washed away en route to the car. They certainly know how to do weather in this country.

We are nearly ready for our trip to England. The children are wildly excited and have spent much of the day discussing what to pack. Which leaves us adults feeling like such killjoys when we have to say No to the almost-lifesized cuddly leopard, and to the toy with multiple small parts 'for the aeroplane journey'. My packing focus is on suitable clothes for the British summer - I gather woolly jumpers may be in order.

The monkey bar kid

Today's main achievement was getting the Boy to the hairdressers. We had to promise we wouldn't tell him how lovely he looked afterwards, since he got fed up with all the compliments last time his hair was cut. He was very happy when we caught up with his father and sister in a cafe and the Man greeted him with a resounding "You look awful!"

We messed about at home most of the day, trying to get the house and garden ready to leave. In the evening we pedalled round to the local play-park, where the Boy demonstrated his mastery of the rings. If he has learnt nothing else at school this past year, he has certainly learnt how to swing like a monkey.

Picky eaters

It's always a bit of a challenge feeding my family as there are so few foods that everyone likes. But strawberries get the thumbs up from us all, so this morning we set out to Indian Ladder Farms to pick our own.

The setting was spectacular, with the Helderberg mountains as a backdrop. There was also a very good farm shop and baby animals to pet, so all in all we counted it an excellent outing.


We were home in time for a quick strawberry picnic, and then the rains came down, with added thunder, for the rest of the day. It has been very warm again, and the first rainfall caused steam to rise from the driveway.

Intensive farming

Having spent all of yesterday 'out', we didn't mind spending today 'in'. I had some jobs to get done, and the kids were happy enough to amuse themselves. Just in case they couldn't think of what to do, at breakfast I cunningly hinted that I was planning on throwing out all the farm toys since no-one has played with them for ages... That bought at least two quiet hours of dedicated farming make-believe.

The Man reports that he went to lunch at a popular chain restaurant. There was a new item on the menu: deep fried macaroni cheese. Instead he went for "cedar seared salmon caesar salad" (try ordering that with a lisp) which sounded healthier but...well, the USA produces 46 million tonnes of table salt a year, and half of it found its way on to this salad.

Swimming to the other side

So, while I was getting lightly stoned at the dentist yesterday, the children were having their last half-day at school. In the evening we all headed back there for Graduation - the big moment for the 8th Graders who are now moving up to high school.

Each of these fourteen year-olds had to stand up and make a speech in front of the massed gathering of teachers, parents, grandparents and schoolmates of all ages. I couldn't have done that at fourteen, in fact I'd struggle now. They all did really well. Several of them have been at the school since they were four years old. It'll be a big change for them to move on elsewhere, but they seem ready to embrace the challenge. They finished by singing this song.

Today a group of moms and kids met up at the local outdoor swimming complex and stayed there for hours enjoying the company and the fine weather (temperatures are now down to the much more comfortable low 80s) and that whole 'vacation starts here!' feeling.

Call me Your High-ness

When you’re wondering about going for a third baby, and top of your ‘Pros’ list is ‘Gas & air!’, you do have to stop and ask yourself whether that’s actually a good enough reason for bringing a new life into the world.

It was with some regret that, quite a while ago, I gave up the idea of ever enjoying laughing gas again. Until I realised – today - that I can get a fix at the dentist!

I had the works this morning – pointy instruments, squealy drills, vibrations in my skull, fillings a-plenty – and it was all terribly pleasant. I lay back, high as a kite, trying not to giggle. If I hadn’t had all those implements of torture in my mouth I would probably have regaled everyone with a comedy routine. Best trip to the dentist ever! Best trip all round, in fact.

Now I can’t wait to get back there for some more treatment. Lucky me, I’ve still got a whole mouthful of dodgy teeth to be worked on!

Though there is the small matter of the cost… I’ve used up my annual dental insurance allowance already. Luckily the dentist prescribed me those pre-treatment tranquillisers. I shall follow Insanely Livid’s advice and save them for when I get the next bill.

Perhaps I’d better slip one or two to the Man as well, come to think of it, given that he'll be paying.

By the way, the tornado never materialised.

Slight chance of a... WHAT?

The late afternoon weatherman rounded up his forecast with:

"And tonight, showers this evening with thunderstorms overnight." Then, with inappropriate enthusiasm, "Slight chance of a tornado!"

So if there's no blog from me tomorrow better assume it's because our house has blown down. And if you've seen the latest pictures from the midwest you'll know I'm not exactly joking. Blimey.

We're having a heatwave...

It's hardly surprising. The temperature's rising... The weatherman says that three consecutive days in the 90s constitutes a heatwave. So that's where we are. And it has felt more like the 100s today with high humidity and zero breeze.

With the end of the school year looming ever closer and a trip to the UK just a week away, I spent the morning running errands. The Girl meanwhile had a school trip on an Albany Aquaduck, an amphibious vehicle that tours the city before plunging into the Hudson River (much as the Sat Nav in our rental car thought I was doing once, now I come to think of it). I gather it was a good outing, though as ever the Girl has been a bit short on details.

Swedes: 1...

The treat for today was a trip to the New York State Theatre Institute in Troy. We had tickets booked for a show celebrating the work of Astrid Lindgren, creator of Pippi Longstocking.

It was quite a one-Swede tour de force, with an energetic performance by an actress dressed mainly as a Pippi lookalike. I have to say, I found the plot a little confusing (and, having slept badly last night, I dozed off a couple of times, which didn't help). But the kids seemed to enjoy it very much. We were only sorry that friends we were supposed to be meeting at the theatre didn't make it because they accidentally got caught up in some sort of parade around town.

It has been another hot day, and I find myself pining already for the winter snow I was so recently sick of. How soon we forget...

Too darned hot

Temperatures shot up to the 90s today, with high humidity - my hair has gone all curly. It hasn't been a particularly productive day, though we did manage to go out for an ice-cream.

Months ago I mentioned that my favourite radio channel was contributing subliminally to the economic downturn by playing 'Stormy Weather' during the stock market report. We realised that actually they have a selection of tunes, the two other choices being rather more upbeat: 'It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)' and the very optimistic 'We're in the Money!'

Crossing continents

Every year the Kinder- garten/1st Grade class gets to celebrate the end of the school year by turning their classroom into something related to their recent studies. The parents are invited in to admire their efforts. Here it is: the Sonoram Desert of Mexico.

Meanwhile the 2nd/3rd Grader class have been studying India, so their room was full of sub-continental projects, including this Taj Mahal built by the Girl and a couple of her classmates.

Gross!

I was back at the dentist today for a 'gross debridement' (that's American for having your teeth cleaned). It was just about as bad as the name suggests. The hygenist promised she would be gentle but 'thoro'. The thoroughness I can vouch for. As for gentle, well, how gentle is a person really going to be when her job is to jab at your gums with a sharp pointy instrument? But she did her best. It didn't hurt for too long.

Later, up to school for a Parent Council meeting. A contentious issue needed to be discussed, and it was not unlike gross debridement all over again to be honest. Then we moved on to the less controversial business of event planning. I suggested a couple of Linton fundraising favourites, which are now being considered for the next school year.

Raisin Box Challenge, anyone? Curry-oke?

Trip to the City

The Man writes...the train to New York City adopts a leisurely pace - 140 miles in 2.5 hours - but the views of the Hudson River (or strictly, fjord) are constantly diverting.




During the journey on Monday I persuaded The Visitor, a lead author on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), to take me over the talk he was to give at Princeton on Global Sea Level Rise. This was quite a privilege. The technology is awe-inspiring (did you know a satellite 1000 kilometres up can measure sea level to an accuracy of 3cm?), the science is complex and currently the uncertainties in the future levels are large, but the implications could hardly be more profond.

Later we had a fine lunch overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, further poignant reminders of how privileged we are.

Wall of Wow

The items I bought while shopping yesterday were a large sheet of insulation and an equally large piece of felt. I have tacked them up on a wall in my sewing room to make a design board, or W.o.W. (Wall of Wow) as we're calling it.

More sewing, and designing, today. Also some time acquainting myself with a metric/imperial conversion table as I've been editing a cookbook my Mum is writing.

I phoned the school receptionist this afternoon, that font of all school-related information, to ask what sort of end-of-year gift I should get for the kids' bus driver (I'm pretty sure she'd like a crate of beer, but thought that might not be deemed appropriate). We settled on a box of chocolates as fitting the bill, then the receptionist deadpanned, 'Or you could give her a jar of Marmite...'

For all America's manifold food crimes, her citizens stand proud in the knowledge that at least they are not responsible for inventing Marmite.

Going underground

We started the day with a mad dash to the station. The Man was accompanying the Visitor to New York City and they had seats booked on the 8:05 - would we make it through the rush hour traffic in time?

We did, but with only a couple of minutes to spare. Phew! Then a leisurely drive on to school. After that I called in at a couple of shops before heading home.

Although it has been a lovely summery day, I spent most of it underground. I have a sewing room (luxury!) in the basement. During the winter it was too cold to use (there are radiators down there, but after the first heating bill came in I could hardly ever bring myself to turn them up), but I imagine it'll be quite a cool haven once the hot weather really kicks in. Anyway, today I was once again cutting up fabric and rearranging it. I'm having a go at a 'One-block wonder', which is a lot of fun.

Back to the station in the evening to collect the Man. He'd had a few adventures underground himself, trying to negotiate the New York subway system. Maybe he'll tell you about his day in the city another time.

Rockhoppers

Our Visitor has asked me to say that he had a very nice day today (and yesterday, he adds) so I hope that is true.

Our favourite Indian Ladder Trail, last visited in October, is open again, so we took ourselves back there this morning and had a great time. We then followed a shallow stream for a long way, the kids choosing to hop from rock to rock in the stream itself singing 'We're going on an adventure!' It was inevitable that one of them would end up getting wet. It happened to be the Boy. No matter, as the Man was able to air-dry the trousers out of the car window while we drove onwards to Altamont.

A snack, then home again for an afternoon of quiet pursuits. The Man and Visitor later went out to Five Rivers and were surprised to see some enormous turtles in the lake.