School on a Saturday

Finn and Owen went to school today. St. Edward's Junior is having an Open Morning (open house) and they ask kids to come in and do activities. So, my children opted to put their uniforms on for another day. Finn is playing chess for a few hours and singing in the boys' choir while Owen will be in the pottery workshop for a couple of hours.
Craig is getting a haircut and I am doing nothing.

London

We arrived in London on Sunday afternoon. We settled into the hotel and went to Hyde Park for some leg stretching after our three hour bus trip. We had a good dinner and hit the sack.

Our first tourist stop was the British Museum. It is just amazing as you enter this atrium called the Great Court (above photo). It was actually built out from the original building in 2000 so that you can see the old entrance inside this area. The space is wonderful and surrounds the round Reading Room. The words around the top of the Reading Room say "Celebrating the New Millennium".

These are tiles from a roof of a small temple in the Northern Chinese Shanxi province from the 15th-16th century. Dragons are associated with good fortune and with rain and water so these images symbolically protected against fire.

The next thing we stumbled upon was the Rosetta Stone. There was a huge crowd around it so I pulled this photo from Wikipedia and I also nicked this next bit. The Rosetta Stone "was created in 196 BC and discovered by the French in 1799 at Rosetta. It is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing. The carved text is made up of three translations of a single passage: two in Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and Demotic) and one in classical Greek. The text on the stone is a decree from Ptolemy V, describing the repealing of various taxes and instructions to erect statues in temples."

Owen monkeying, or should I say "babooning" around

I am going to have to ask Craig about these. Completely drawing a blank. I do recognize the children as my own though. After consulting Mr. Trivia, it is now known that they are Assyrian - the statues, not the kids.

An ancient Egyptian portrait of Craig and I preserved for all time - we had to sit for so long, we turned to stone!

Thoth

A depiction of the Tree of Life

This is one of the mosaics from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. From Wikipedia: "The Mausoleum of Halikarnassos is a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halikarnassos (present Bodrum, Turkey). The word mausoleum has since come to be used generically for any grand tomb, though 'Mausol – eion' originally meant '[building] dedicated to Mausolus'.'

Diablada dance mask - I think it looks like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.

A ceremonial mask thingie from Sri Lanka, I believe, but don't quote me. Each mask warded off spirits from a different malady - from stuttering to somach ailments.

Interesting glazed dragon

One of the figures from the famous Lewis Chessmen. The British Museum has 82 pieces and 11 are in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. There are enough pieces to make four chess sets. They were probably made in Norway, about AD 1150-1200 and are important because they demonstrate the trade relationship between Scandinavia and the Western Isles. At the time they were buried, the Western Isles were part of the Kingdom of Norway, not Scotland. It seems likely they were buried for safe keeping en route to be traded in Ireland. They were unearthed in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis.

Finn hanging out in Covent Gardens which is a large open air market with a lot of street vendors and street entertainers.

The kids are fascinated by a guy walking on a balanced ladder; Craig not so much. I think fire was involved.

Cleopatra's Needle - there are four of these obelisks in the world - in London, Paris, New York City and Egypt. I plan on seeing them all just because I can.

The next day started on the River Thames with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the background.

Big Ben is actually the name of one of the bells inside the tower. The name of the tower is St. Stephen's.

The London Eye

Westminster Cathedral

A carriage leaving Buckingham Palace. Dignitaries use these carriages to announce their arrival to the place. We went to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard.
Note to self and others: Never go to see the Changing of the Guard on a school holiday.
It was a fair amount af pomp and circumstance, but we saw nothing really mainly because we did not arrive three hours earlier (or more) to get an up close and personal view but is was an experience nonetheless. And of course, we'll come back another day.

After this, we headed over to the Natural History Museum. I just want to say that we have never, ever seen a queue as long as the one that came out of the doors of the museum, writhed around the courtyard of the museum and spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of and around the museum. We almost left, but we had timed tickets to enter a Darwin 200 exhibition that we had paid for and Craig really wanted to see. Luckily, the queue moved quickly because it was noon and we were getting hungry. The museum was worth the wait, but it was so packed, it was actually claustrophobic. We opted for the less popular exhibits and plan to return on a hookie day from school.

Riding the escalator into a giant globe

The next morning, Craig took Finn and Owen to Hyde Park to play on a really cool pirate ship playground. Evan chillaxed and I packed. We had a good lunch and headed to the train station.

The ceiling of Paddington Station - we rode the train home and enjoyed that trip a lot.

London notes on the Tube for families:
1. Off-peak day tickets (after 9:30 am) are much cheaper. You really can't get into the Tube until 9:30 if you buy one of these, really.
2. Children 11 and younger ride free with a paying adult.
3. If you have a child with you, enter the Tube through the handicapped turnstile or an attendant will scan his card and admit you both.
4. Kids under 16 can ride the Tube for one pound during off-peak hours (after 9:30 am) for an entire day. Buy tickets from the actual Tube ticket counter - not the automated ticket booth.
5. Zones 1&2 will get you to almost everything you want to sightsee.

Evan saves the Day

I know everyone has "one of THOSE days" periodically and we are not the exception. This morning, Owen was adamant about sitting in the car to do his daily reading for homework and I was all for it since it's one less body in the house (& in the way) as we are trying to get out of the door. So he gets the keys and settles in wonderfully. Finn is the next one out. He gets into the car and immediately starts honking the horn. I walk outside and have him sit on the front steps until we are ready to leave. Evan is still inside getting his things together because on Tuesday, he has Games and trumpet, both requiring gear and he also needed to pack his lunch since he is in the habit of leaving his lunchbox upstairs in his backpack until the next day and I have nowhere to place his food until he comes down in the morning. I quickly scribble a note to the boiler man (who is coming sometime this morning to service the boiler) that I will be home shortly and leave my mobile number. I tape the note to the door and we are all out of the house. I get into the car, ask Owen for the car keys which he hands to me and there is a problem. He handed me the set of keys which are car keys ONLY, no house key on the ring. A string of epithets runs through my brain, but Owen didn't realize there was a car keys only ring, so it's forgivable. But remember, there is a boiler man coming. LUCKILY, I programmed the boiler company into my mobile (smart me) and called them on the way explaining the situation. No problem. Then, I call Craig and leave a message that he needs to call me because I will have to meet him to get a house key. While I am making phone calls, Evan has left two voice mails. I listen to the first one and he says: "Mom, you know, I have house keys in my backpack." A chorus of hallelujahs ring through my head, mainly because Evan has saved the morning, but also because his brain was switched on and he solved the dilemma. He can not get out of the house quickly, but he is (almost) always thinking. Hallelujah!!! Although, the boiler man has not shown up yet...

Snowdrops and Stepping Back in Time

Spring has sprung - or at least a teaser of spring. True to their name, snowdrops are everywhere in our front yard and bloomed right after all of the snow left. They are very pretty scattered in the nooks and crannies of everyone's gardens.

Craig took Owen on a hike yesterday since it was such beautiful weather. They went to a village called Shipton Oliffe and both he and Owen said it was like stepping back into time. Before I let him tell the story, I am going to note that there are a lot of photos of Owen next to water. We can't seem to keep him away from it!

Hi, this is Craig now. Kris just doesn't understand that being near water was the whole point of the route we chose to walk! We only pick dry routes when she's with us. Owen and I both agree that we should see lots of frogs if we hike a similar route later in the spring. We'll be listening for peepers in the coming weeks. We started our walk at a place called the Frogmill Hotel. It's an ancient mill up near the headwaters of the river Coln outside of Andoversford. The sign says it's been a mill since the 11th century. There is a large complex of buildings, maybe 15, and an old water wheel. It was converted into a hotel, restaraunt/pub, and cottages a few years ago. Unfortunately, the whole place was trashed in the great flood of 2007 and has been closed ever since. It looks like refurbishment is going on and there were lots of signs saying no trespassing, so we didn't explore. Hope it reopens because we'll definitely check it out.

The Gloucestershire Way walking trail runs right through the Frogmill. We were originally going to walk an abondoned railroad along the river down to the village of Withington, but it wasn't obvious how to get on it, so we went the other direction on the Glos Way. The footpath runs through typical Cotswold countryside and farms. The first place of interest was a huge garden complex with multiple ponds along a little brook (see picture above). Very nice.

The trail then runs down the main, and I think only, street of Shipton Oliffe. The parish church is shown above. In the background behind the church are the grounds of Shipton Oliffe Manor. This was our first back in time moment. I don't know what it was, but there was something about the village that didn't appear to have changed since Edward sat on the throne. Next we were standing in front of the church and three girls came riding down the street on horseback completely kitted out in their riding apparel. Keep in mind we've now seen three more horses on the street than cars. However, a few minutes later a car came along, but wouldn't you know it was some sort of 1936 roadster job that was probably driven by the squire of Shipton Oliffe Manor! Owen and I just looked at each other and agreed that we must have gone through a time portal.

The next back in time moment was the picture above. This is the only cross street we saw in the village and instead of a bridge it's got a ford over the brook. I saw the word "ford" marked on my map, but figured it was some outdated marking from 1936, but no, it's still there!

We set back out across the countryside from there and down through a little wood to the river Coln. Owen brought along a stick, string, safety pin, and worms to try the fishing. I think he's been checking out his copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys.

The picture above is the only bridge over the river Coln that we saw around. Yes, it really is just a few old poles with decaying pallets thrown on top. No, Kris would never have let us cross this bridge! The river is beautifully clear over a limestone bed. I can see why the Romans built a temple and several villas in this area. From there we got on the old railroad line and took an easy stroll back to the Frogmill. Nice walk. I'm sure we'll explore more of the Coln and the Glos Way in the coming months. There's a working mill wheel in Lower Slaughter that I've got my eye on. Plus we need to find an open pub for lemonades and pints after our walk! Craig

I will post something soon about our long weekend to London, but the kids need to go back to school before I can think straight. Kris

Aidan in Wonderland

It seems as if the acting bug has bitten our 11 year old. (Aidan) Finn was the Mouse in the Year 6 production of Alice, the Musical.

He received third billing in the program!
It was an excellent production except for the overall sound quality and I think it rivaled and perhaps bested the Junior Drama Department's production of Toad of Toad Hall at the senior school last term.
(Okay, I know that sounded complicated but in a nutshell at St. Ed's Sr., there are junior and senior drama departments which are based on year - school year 7-9 is jr., 10-13 is sr.)
The entire student body of Year 6 participated and all 60 kids did a great job. I had to scour the thrift shops along our mini High St. which was sort of fun and came up with the required items of a waistcoat and bow tie. He looked spot on as the photo shows. He also had to wear a headpiece but I did not get a photo of him in it mainly because I don't think it was comfortable and once the house lights were down, it was hard to get good photos and video was pretty much impossible. They did have professional videographers and we bought a copy so maybe I can copy some of that for the blog once it arrives.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's something to add a little love to your heart:

Burns Night

On Friday night, Craig and I attended a Burns Night celebration at the Senior School. It was a very culturally enlightening evening and one we won't soon forget. The purpose of Burns Night is to celebrate the birthday of the Scottish poet, Robert "Rabbie" Burns, who is probably most famous for the poem Auld Lang Syne. This year was particularly special because Burns was born 250 years ago on January 25, 1759. The night followed this schedule:

Entrance of the Haggis

Everyone stands as the main course is brought in. This is always a haggis on a large dish. It was brought in by the cook and a whiskey bearer, while a piper "chieftain" played bagpipes and led the way to the host's table, where the haggis was laid down. Everyone was standing as the haggis was paraded around and clapping in time to the music. The chieftain then recited the Address To a Haggis which was a Scottish poem that we couldn't really understand, but he recited it very well. And then the cook, the whiskey bearer and the chieftain all drank a dram of whiskey.

Supper

At the end of the poem, we all proposed a whiskey toast to the haggis and everyone sat down. The main course was, of course, haggis and was served with mashed potatoes (tatties) and mashed neeps (known in England as swede but in Scotland as turnip, or in North America as rutabaga and turnip). A dessert course and cheese course followed. We had cranachan (a mixture of whipped cream, whiskey, honey and fresh raspberries topped with toasted oatmeal) and a lemon trifle and REALLY stinky cheese. The haggis was very good and tasted a lot like scrapple with barley mixed in, kind of like corned beef hash.

Ceilidh Band

After dinner, we danced to a Ceilidh (pronounced "Kayleigh", just like my neice's name!) band who played Celtic music and included a dance teacher who instructed us in the fine art of Scottish country dancing. She organized us for every dance and led us step-by-step. It was exactly like learning how to square dance in seventh grade gym class with Mr. Ross at OLPH.

British Humour

Yesterday, Craig and I were talking at the kitchen table and he picked up a Trident gum package and looked at it. It's packaged by Cadbury here and looks like a mini suitcase and on the inside, messages are printed where the gum is. We thought two were funny: "For best results, insert in mouth" and "Who thought pleasure could be so soft?" Then I started reading the outside of the package and found some even funnier things. After the typical listing of ingredients, it says, "This stuff is bonkers, but it makes great gum" and after the quality statement where it says you can return the gum to the Trident Customer Service Team if dissatisfied it says, "They get bored and lonely because no one ever contacts them." If you ever buy Trident gum, look at the package and let me know if the US version is as goofy.

A 'Proper' Snow

This morning we awoke to what would be called a 'proper' snow as opposed to the 'rubbish' snow over the past few days. Since we will probably not experience this again, I have declared a personal snow day and the kids are outside playing as I type. They can't believe their good fortune and Owen actually said thank you!

The traffic has lessened considerably today and is actually non-existent. I think people just decided to stay home and also, a few of the larger secondary schools are closed.

It's also started snowing again.

Take That - The Greatest Day

Here is the video of the song I quoted on Barack Obama's inauguration day. This is one of the mega popular songs right now. And for all of my female viewers - some British hotties - you know who you are... Enjoy.

Sorry folks - looks like the video was removed from embedding via YouTube. However, you can copy and padte this link and watch the video straight from YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHzMLGH1Rfs

Amazed and Confused

I have recently returned from dropping off the kids at school. My round trip generally takes 10-15 minutes if I get through the busiest traffic light quickly. However, today the round trip was approximately ONE HOUR! Our fair town has been blanketed in perhaps four inches (yes FOUR) of snow and slush in the past two days and the roads were at a standstill this morning. I actually parked the car on the side of the road in true British fashion and we walked some distance to school because everyone was sliding into the road. I will admit that the snow had been compacted over the last two days and was a sheet of bumpy ice in many places, but I was completely amazed at the town's inability to function in snow. Craig says that the way I feel about the roadways here is the exact way he felt about Maryland roadways when he moved from Illinois but I still say that at least in MD they understand the process of clearing the roads even if they tend to overdo it at times. They don't seem to clear roads here. I am not sure that they even have the equipment although in areas there might be a sprinkling of "grit" on a road or a sidewalk. (Every so often, there is a "grit box" on the corner of a street which contains sand, pebbly stuff and maybe ice melting crystals.)
Now I do want to say that I heard on the telly that this is the coldest winter in England for the last 13 years (lucky us) and that it rarely even snows according to our 10-year-old neighbor who has never experienced snow in England. Also, we are located up against almost like a bowl of hills which may exacerbate the problem (colder, shadier here and snow gets trapped on this side of the hills) and Craig said that the roads were definitely worse on this side of town as he was cycling to work. We thought it never snowed in England and didn't even pack a snow shovel in our menagerie.
Lastly, I am going to admit that I played the part of the ugly American in my big four wheel drive and just took my right of way whenever possible because I didn't want to have to stop in fear of sliding and I know I made some people angry but I just don't care today. I used up all my nice driverness bank account on this day, but I did allow a driver to use my mobile as I was walking back from the kids' school because she was stuck and needed to call her husband. Besides we ALL know that the law of gross tonnage clearly states that you need to yield to the heaviest vehicle...

Happy Groundhog Day

What say thee, Punxsutawney Phil, our rotund (bordering upon obese) member of the marmot family? Will there be six weeks more of winter or six weeks until spring? And what exactly IS the difference between the two predictions???? It is too early in England to discover your decision, yet with bated breath, I sit here awaiting your weather forecast for Gobbler's Knob and the entire northern hemisphere. Our future is in your hands, err paws, Phil.

Editor's note: After some research on the official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (www.groundhog.org), I have discovered that "according to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring." How early is early is my first thought...

Also, "the celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest(German)settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, 'For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May...'" I hate to be a myth buster, but six weeks after Candlemas Day (February 2nd) is actually mid-March, not May...

And yes, because I have nothing else to do on this snowy cold day while catering to a sick child, I also learned from Wikipedia that the groundhog may also be called a woodchuck, land beaver or whistlepig and is included in the family of rodents. Although I really like the name whistlepig, it just doesn't work in the "How much wood can a whistlepig chuck..." tongue twister.

4:00 PM Gloucestershire time, 11:00 AM EST
This just in to the Fox News desk (YES, Fox News! I CAN be tolerant of that daft slanderous bunch):

Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow; winter to continue

Oh, well six more weeks to ski.
Also, I added a few more of Owen's creations to the post below.
Enjoy your home made art gallery experience.

Sickest Day of the Year

I have just learned on Yahoo! that today is officially the "sickest day of the year". I do not dispute this in the least as Finn is STILL sitting on the couch not feeling well, I am still feeling tired from my bad cold and my good friend, Melissa, is also feeling very unwell. We were supposed to go into London today on a sightseeing whirlwind, but she can't even walk. On top of all that, there is a whirlwind of snow falling outside so all in all, it is good we are home. Although, Finn and I will be venturing out to the local surgery to have him assessed. I'll let you know what our experience entails.
To all of you "sickies" out there - feel better!
Oh, and Go Steelers! Actually, I guess they already went.

Note: It is still Monday and Finn has been sick since Friday. I finally took him to the surgery and he has a double ear infection that is bad enough to actually rate a prescription for antibiotics. Apparently, British doctors are very hesitant to prescribe antibiotics, but Finn "passed" the criteria of severity I guess. Our surgery is very nice and everyone is pleasant and they seem to tolerate my idiotic questions.

Owen's Creative Juices

Owen is almost always a flurry of activity. This is definitely true in terms of his creativity. There is a room at the top of the house that has a built-in desk. Owen has adopted it as his own and it's pretty much always overflowing with stuff but it keeps him occupied and that's all I can ask. I was sorting through the menagerie this morning so I could recycle the paper bits and I found this creation in the pile. He cut lots of parts from magazines and put them all back together to create a boy/man doing yoga. I love it, especially the Elvis hair.

Here is another interesting one

and here is his study of felines.
You can double click on the photo and it will become larger if you want to see the detail and then just click on the back button on your browser to return to the blog.

I have been very lax on posting. We have all been sick with bad colds, one after the other, for the past two weeks. Finn is the last man down and he is well on the mend today.