July was another busy month at work, but counterbalanced with a week's holiday with my family, and a long weekend away with James's family. Before all of that though, during the weekend of the fourth James and I went down to his parents's house in Dorset for another family birthday celebration - this time for his sister's 27th. Since it also happened to be American independence day, his mum did his best to make me feel at home by cooking a BBQ of hamburgers and sausages, and even went to the trouble of making little American flags out of internet print-outs and toothpicks and hanging them all over the house. It was very sweet and made me feel so special. James's sister brought her new boyfriend down for the weekend (the first time she's ever brought someone to meet the family since I've been dating James), but she's since broken up with him. I thought he was pretty nice but she thought he tried a bit too hard. Which he did, but hey. That weekend we went to the restaurant of a famous TV chef called River Cottage Canteen (the restaurant, not the chef), in the country near his parents's place. There is a farm attached to the restaurant and everything served in the restaurant comes straight from the farm, so it's very fresh. It was very delicious food and we all left very stuffed.
The following weekend I flew to Zurich to meet my family, who had flown over for two weeks from the States! Not everyone had come, but mom, dad, Meg, Tim, Tim's girlfriend Elisha, and grandma were all there. The itinerary was Switzerland, Austria, Hannover, Paris, then London for the last few days. In Switzerland we went from Zurich to Interlaken, the small town that I had visited on my backpacking trip in 2005. The train ride there was gorgeous - it wound all the way around a mountain lake so made for some amazing views. Interlaken was just as stunning and charming as I remembered it to be - gorgeous views of the Jungfrau and everything in walking distance. It was unseasonably hot though, around 90 degrees the entire time! I felt bad for my family b/c they had come from that weather in Ohio and were looking forward to getting some relief in the mountains, but no such luck. I didn't mind since it never gets that hot in London, and enjoyed not being cold for once.
We stayed in Interlaken only one day, and spent the entire next day traveling to Austria via Munich on one of the busiest trains I have ever been on – I felt like I was on one of the cattle car type carriages you see in India in the movies. Coupled with 90 degree heat and no air conditioning, it was quickly turning ugly. Fortunately my mom suddenly realised she had booked our rail cards in first class, so we all made a mad dash for the front carriages. Not much cooler, but much more peaceful. Our original plans were to stay in Munich for four days, but a few days before we left we were invited by the family of the exchange student who had lived with my family for the last year, Clemens, to stay in their mountain house in Austria. We couldn't really say no, since we all wanted to meet his family, plus it was free and they also had a car for us to use while we were there! My family had grown quite close to Clemens during the year that he lived with them, so my mom was already missing him even though he had only been back in Austria for a month. The first night his family came up to have dinner and get us settled into the house - they are lovely people and it was so nice to spend the evening with them. Their mountain house was fantastic and it ended up being the most relaxing part of the trip. The scenery in the mountains was absolutely breathtaking - every morning I'd walk onto the back deck and be blown away by the view. It was exactly like the opening scene in the Sound of Music!
During the four days that we were in Austria we made a day trip to Salzburg, and another day trip to two famous castles (the Cinderella castle!) in the Bavarian region of Germany. Salzburg was lovely but it was so hot that day that I was worn out very quickly. We did a walking tour from our guide book through the old town, which was lovely but quite German, if you know what I mean. Not as beautiful as Paris, let's just say. Still worth a visit though. After the walking tour most of the family went on a Sound of Music bike tour, but grandma and I decided to forego the bikes and sit in a pub for a few hours and drink coffees and beers - we were tired.
A couple of days later we took a very long but very scenic drive through the mountains to the site of two very touristy castles in Bavaria - Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is the castle that inspired Walt Disney in the creation of the Cinderella castle, which is probably why it's so popular, at least with Americans. They are beautiful castles though, and we did the tour of them both. The builder of the newer of the two - Neuschwantein - was Mad King Ludwig who was obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas. He had nearly every room decorated in the theme of a different opera - one was even a cave complete with stalactites and stalagmites! It was weird to walk through that one after endless rooms of 19th century opulence. On the way back to the car we got a bit lost and ended up going on a bit of a nature hike, but made it in the end and I think it ended up being a bit of a short cut. That day was another scorcher, so by the end of the day we were all sticky and so tired - it was a long day but well worth it.
The last night in Austria we went down the mountain to have dinner with Clemens in his hometown of Kufstein, about a 30 minute drive from the mountain house. We ate at a restaurant that had a pond in the back, and the fish on the menu were caught fresh every day. My mom, dad, and grandma ordered the fish, and it came out as a whole fish - head and eyes and all! I was so glad I hadn't ordered it, although they did say it was delicious. I had some traditional Austrian spinach dumplings, which were good but very filling. That night when leaving Clemen's driveway my dad backed into their gate and knocked the side mirror loose on the car his family had lent us - oopsie.
We left Austria after four relatively peaceful days bound for Hannover, Germany by train, and arrived midday. We spent the day sightseeing around the town, which didn't take long as it's a fairly industrial city and there isn't much to see. The Germans had even conveniently painted a “red thread” on the ground to guide you through all of the sites in the city – gotta love their efficiency. We made it to most of the places on the thread, including the city hall which offered good sites of the city from the tower which you reached by a curved elevator, and most impressively (or so I thought), inside the hall were four large models of the city from different eras – 1600s, 1930s before the war, 1945, and modern day. The 1945 model was shocking – per the history books over 90% of Hannover was destroyed in the war (makes sense seeing as how it was a major industrial site), and the depiction of the devastation was very arresting. I couldn't see how anyone could have lived in the rubble, b/c that was all that was left.
We ended the day in Hannover on a fairly negative note when my grandma and I got into a bit of a tiff – mostly just family drama brought to a head by the stress of traveling. Fortunately it ended well, although I think she's still getting over it. We left at about 10 or 11 that evening on an overnight train bound for Paris. None of us had ever been on a night train before, so were excited to see what it would be like. Especially since we had first class tickets – we wanted to see how posh it was! Not hugely, as it turns out, although we didn't see the standard class cabins. The cabins slept three each, and since there were seven of us one person had to sleep with a couple of strangers – my dad volunteered. There was hardly room to turn around in these cabins, but somehow they had managed to squeeze in three bunk beds and a small wash basin. The toilet and shower were shared by the car and ours happened to reek of urine, which meant we all went without showers that night. Except my dad, who really isn't picky.
We arrived in Paris on Saturday morning, and made our way to Nord station where we were to meet James who was arriving on the Eurostar from London for the weekend. After collecting everyone, we made our way to the cutest little hotel in Paris – called Hotel Relais Bousquet, near the Eiffel Tower. Anyone going to Paris should stay here – I know I will when I go back! It isn't too expensive, the staff are friendly and fluent in English, and the rooms are really lovely. After a few showers we had baguette sandwiches at a little outdoor cafe down the street (and felt so Parisian!), then went to the catacombs – miles of underground tunnels where they moved thousands of skeletons from city cemeteries when diseases started to spread from them. It was pretty creepy but the boys loved it. The next day we took a cruise down the Seine, hopping off to stroll through Notre Dame, then the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. That evening James and I went back to London, and work the next day. The rest of the family stayed in Paris for a few days and then came to London for the last few days, where I managed to squeeze everyone into my flat! I took off the two days they were here and we went to Windsor where we toured the castle and met James's parents for lunch, and the next day did the aquarium, London Eye (although only Tim and Elisha had a ride), and took a long walk through St. James's Park and past Buckingham Palace. It was very sad to see them off the next morning but also a bit of a relief. The trip was fun but fairly stressful with all of those people, and as I was the most experienced traveler in Europe at times I felt like a bit of a tour guide. I think everyone else was worn out as well b/c they said that next time we will only do one or two places, and just stay for a few days! I missed them so much though when I returned to my empty, quiet flat.
That weekend was a nice distraction from missing my family as I spent it with James's family! The 26th was his parents's 30th wedding anniversary, and they had rented a very peaceful and posh lakeside “eco cabin” outside a tiny village in Yorkshire. James and I and his sister took off the Monday to have a long weekend of relaxing lie-ins, afternoons of watching the swans and funny little ducks in the lakes, and lots of good food. It was a nice respite from the hectic traveling from the previous two weeks. The cabin was nice too – a new build so everything was very modern and slick, except the “eco” thing meant there was limited hot water – only about 5 minute showers! Let's just say I didn't shave my legs that weekend. :) On the Saturday we all went to visit the ruins of Richmond castle, and on Sunday we visited a beautiful arboretum that also had a falconry. We went for one of the flying shows and it was so cool! They have to fly the birds for exercise so have made a little show of it for the public. They flew a kestrel, an owl, and a peregrine falcon. The falcon was definitely the best b/c it was the fastest and flew the highest. SJ and I even got to have the kestrel perch on our hands! After the flying show we had a better look around the falconry, which also happened to have numerous other animals about, including a family of meerkats who had a tiny little baby amongst them! It was the most adorable thing to watch it scamper after its parents (or brothers or sisters – whoever they were). After the arboretum we met James's aunt and uncle for afternoon tea. These were some of the only family members that I hadn't yet met, so they gave me the traditional 20 questions. It was lovely to finally meet them though, now the only ones I haven't met are the ones in New Zealand – will have to make an excuse to visit! On the Monday James's parents exchanged anniversary gifts (his mum got loads of lovely pearls for the pearl anniversary), and then we sadly had to say goodbye.
And I'm afraid I'm going to have to say goodbye as well, it is late and I have an early train to catch to a client!
Cheerio and lots of love,
Heather xoxo
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
June 2010 - Soccer and headstands
June was a fairly quiet month socially, because it was the month from hell at work. I picked up a new audit (taking into account that I haven't really been doing audits for the past 1.5 years, but more consulting type work) that I got involved in b/c it had a US GAAP element, and the CFO of the company was very demanding and a bit of a bully. Just reminded me of how much I don't want to do audit and made me appreciate the work I've been doing instead. Oh well, it's over now. Until next year that is...meh.
I did get a couple of days out in June to go to the corporate training facility for a three day “development centre”. I felt privileged to go as you have to be nominated to go, but I had heard some stories that it was pretty intense. It was, but not terrible. Basically you just do a load of roleplays, a report and a presentation, and there are some senior managers and HR people that tell you what you need to improve upon to get promoted to manager. It was nice b/c I'd never taken that much time to consider things like what motivates me or how I learn and how I can translate those into the work I do to make it more meaningful. Granted I don't think anything would every make audit more meaningful but hey. It was a good few days overall, and I met some cool people from other offices, which is always nice.
The world cup was on during June, which was pretty exciting to be a part of in Europe. It's such a non-event in the US – someone here just couldn't believe how complacent the Americans are about it and asked me, “Even in '94 when you guys hosted it?” I just blinked at him – I didn't even know that we had hosted it at all! Anyway it is a BIG event here. For some reason they let England, Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland compete as separate nations even though they are the same country, but England is usually the only one to make it to the final, as it happened this year as well. All of the English were very excited about this, but typical of the English self-defeatist mentality, most people openly admitted that they didn't expect England to win. Can you imagine an American saying that they didn't expect their team to win? I mean at something we're actually good at (b/c the English are pretty good) – it would be like admitting that our basketball team competing in the Olympics isn't very good and probably won't win. I guess this is the main thing I miss about sports in Britain vs sports in America – the passion! There is so much more passion in American sports fans, and yes, it may look a little bit mental at times, but it's so much more fun! I admit, the English had their football hooligans a few years back, and I reckon some of them still exist, but that really is mental, not fun. I went to a big pub for one of the England games with James and his friends, and found it all incredibly boring how everyone celebrated for a goal – a quick little hoorah and then back to relative silence. Maybe it's just me but I love going absolutely crazy when my team scores, and keeping the crazy going for at least a few minutes following the goal. I think this is just another example of the small cultural divide between the Yanks and the Brits – we're just louder. And I love it.
Other than the festivities for the world cup I did manage to get to a birthday/housewarming party of a friend from work, and my grandma's friend from home came to Europe with her daughter and stopped at my flat for a few days. It was good to be around some fellow Americans, and it was her daughter's first trip to Europe so was good to see her first impressions. We went to see Legally Blonde the musical, which was actually better than I was expecting – they really capitalised on the whole dumb blonde sorority girl thing and made it funny. The main song had a chorus of “Oh my God, oh my God you guys” - awesome! It was with these two friends that I was walking when I stumbled across something spectacular – Chipotle!! It was late in the evening so it had already closed, but I made a pilgrimage back that weekend and felt like I heard the angels singing when I walked through the door – it really was Chipotle! I asked the man behind the counter if it was the only one in London, and he said it was the only one in Europe! [I just realised that I've ended the last four sentences with an exclamation point, but I was seriously excited] And it had something even better – they gave you the choice of brown or white rice, which I've never seen in an American Chipotle. I savoured that massive burrito for as long as I could make it last, mmmmm.
Also during June I made a big accomplishment in yoga – I did my first full headstand! I was very proud b/c it's one of those things that when I started doing yoga I thought I would never be able to do and watched enviously as the more experienced ones in my classes would do them. But now I can do it! I can't hold it for very long, but hey – that's why they call it a practice, right?
That's about it for June. I'm on a roll this weekend – May and June done, now just need to squeeze July in and I'll be caught up! And then it will be another three months until I write the August entry. :)
Love to all, miss you guys,
Heather xoxo
I did get a couple of days out in June to go to the corporate training facility for a three day “development centre”. I felt privileged to go as you have to be nominated to go, but I had heard some stories that it was pretty intense. It was, but not terrible. Basically you just do a load of roleplays, a report and a presentation, and there are some senior managers and HR people that tell you what you need to improve upon to get promoted to manager. It was nice b/c I'd never taken that much time to consider things like what motivates me or how I learn and how I can translate those into the work I do to make it more meaningful. Granted I don't think anything would every make audit more meaningful but hey. It was a good few days overall, and I met some cool people from other offices, which is always nice.
The world cup was on during June, which was pretty exciting to be a part of in Europe. It's such a non-event in the US – someone here just couldn't believe how complacent the Americans are about it and asked me, “Even in '94 when you guys hosted it?” I just blinked at him – I didn't even know that we had hosted it at all! Anyway it is a BIG event here. For some reason they let England, Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland compete as separate nations even though they are the same country, but England is usually the only one to make it to the final, as it happened this year as well. All of the English were very excited about this, but typical of the English self-defeatist mentality, most people openly admitted that they didn't expect England to win. Can you imagine an American saying that they didn't expect their team to win? I mean at something we're actually good at (b/c the English are pretty good) – it would be like admitting that our basketball team competing in the Olympics isn't very good and probably won't win. I guess this is the main thing I miss about sports in Britain vs sports in America – the passion! There is so much more passion in American sports fans, and yes, it may look a little bit mental at times, but it's so much more fun! I admit, the English had their football hooligans a few years back, and I reckon some of them still exist, but that really is mental, not fun. I went to a big pub for one of the England games with James and his friends, and found it all incredibly boring how everyone celebrated for a goal – a quick little hoorah and then back to relative silence. Maybe it's just me but I love going absolutely crazy when my team scores, and keeping the crazy going for at least a few minutes following the goal. I think this is just another example of the small cultural divide between the Yanks and the Brits – we're just louder. And I love it.
Other than the festivities for the world cup I did manage to get to a birthday/housewarming party of a friend from work, and my grandma's friend from home came to Europe with her daughter and stopped at my flat for a few days. It was good to be around some fellow Americans, and it was her daughter's first trip to Europe so was good to see her first impressions. We went to see Legally Blonde the musical, which was actually better than I was expecting – they really capitalised on the whole dumb blonde sorority girl thing and made it funny. The main song had a chorus of “Oh my God, oh my God you guys” - awesome! It was with these two friends that I was walking when I stumbled across something spectacular – Chipotle!! It was late in the evening so it had already closed, but I made a pilgrimage back that weekend and felt like I heard the angels singing when I walked through the door – it really was Chipotle! I asked the man behind the counter if it was the only one in London, and he said it was the only one in Europe! [I just realised that I've ended the last four sentences with an exclamation point, but I was seriously excited] And it had something even better – they gave you the choice of brown or white rice, which I've never seen in an American Chipotle. I savoured that massive burrito for as long as I could make it last, mmmmm.
Also during June I made a big accomplishment in yoga – I did my first full headstand! I was very proud b/c it's one of those things that when I started doing yoga I thought I would never be able to do and watched enviously as the more experienced ones in my classes would do them. But now I can do it! I can't hold it for very long, but hey – that's why they call it a practice, right?
That's about it for June. I'm on a roll this weekend – May and June done, now just need to squeeze July in and I'll be caught up! And then it will be another three months until I write the August entry. :)
Love to all, miss you guys,
Heather xoxo
Friday, August 27, 2010
May 2010 - Stockholm, concerts, and sunshine
Wow. The summer has been busy I guess, considering my silence for the last three months. Well May started out in Stockholm, where James and I went for the first bank holiday weekend to visit Lina, Mattias, and their girls. We took off the Friday (and had the Monday off for the holiday), so it was a lovely long weekend. As it turned out a few girls from work and one of their sisters planned a trip to Stockholm on the same weekend, so it was a fun group trip – they even stayed in our same hotel! Friday evening we had dinner at Lina and Mattias's, and I met their youngest Svea for the first time. She is adorable and looks more like Lina than Astrid does. It was amazing too how much Astrid had grown up in the year and a half since I had seen her last. They were both a barrel of fun – just before they went to bed Astrid started shouting “disco dancing!” and they put music on and everyone danced around the flat for a few minutes! It was hilarious, apparently they do this every night as one last hurrah (or maybe to tire the girls out before bed :). Saturday we took a boat ride out into the archipelago to Mattias's family's country house. It was so cold on the sea! But Lina and Mattias brought us ski jackets and pants – we laughed at first but were so glad to have them in the end! It was beautiful scenery though, a very nice little trip. At one point we hit an underwater rock with the motor and then it wouldn't start for a bit – I was kind of nervous that we would be stuck there! It was fine in the end though, just a few minutes delay. I think Mattias might hear it from his dad though, as it was his boat. Sunday and Monday James and I spent walking around Stockholm seeing the sights, it is a beautiful city and James loved it (he had never been before). Saturday night we had a big fancy dinner with the girls from work and Lina and Mattias at a posh restaurant – apparently there was a famous Swedish footballer at the next table but only Lina and Mattias recognised him. It was sad to leave Stockholm but I can't wait to go back.
Early in May was also the big election in Britain, when the ruling Labour party lost to a coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. I have heard it said that the most conservative politician in Britain is still not as conservative as the most liberal politician in the States, and I think it's got some truth behind it. This is a fairly socialist country after all. But I was pleased to see the Conservatives take power, at least they may be able to get the national budget under some sort of control. Everyone here was very excited about the election – didn't seem to have quite the hype of the American presidential election, but close. Especially when the conservative party didn't make a clean sweep with the votes and had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, everyone seemed to be on pins and needles to see what would happen. Lots of people in the office that day were following it live on the internet. I couldn't vote as I'm not a citizen, but it was fun to observe. Now that it's about 100 days after the election that I'm writing, it doesn't seem like the new government has done a great deal but hey. How much can you really expect? Politicians are the same the world over.
That weekend I went on a pub crawl with a bunch of people from work. It was a Monopoly pub crawl, so you try to hit every place on a monopoly board. I didn't realise it before then but there is a different board in Britain than the States. Most of the places are in London, so it's feasible to do in one day (if you start at 9 am like the rest of them did – James and I met up later). It would be difficult to do the American monopoly pub crawl, seeing as how most of the places are states. It would get expensive with the flights. Anyway I think there are 24 places on the board and we made it to about 20, drinking a half pint in each pub. It was fun but some of the people were on a mission and made it more about getting to all of the places than hanging out and seeing friends. I didn't think it was as fun as it could have been but hey. Was still good to see everyone.
In the middle of May James and I made our way down to his parents' house in Dorset to celebrate his dad's birthday. As it always is in the tiny village that they live in, it was a super relaxing, quiet weekend. Lots of delicious food and sleep. His dad got a bike just before his birthday, so most of the presents were cycling-themed – helmet, light reflecting gear, etc. After he opened them all he modeled everything for us – hilarious!
The Monday following our return to London from Dorset James and I went to a concert of a Canadian band called Wintersleep. It was in the upstairs bit of a pub near King's Cross, so a very small, intimate venue. The opening band was a bit weird but Wintersleep was amazing. They sing this song called Weighty Ghost – my favourite. I danced around like a hippy to that one – I stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the reserved Britons, who keep all signs of exuberance to calmly swaying back and forth or maybe bopping their heads.
That week also saw the last of my fashion classes, it was sad to end but a good experience. I'm not sure how much I really learned about fashion buying/retailing/merchandising, but it gave me a taste of something other than accounting, which is what I was after. I'd love to do a job in the field someday, even though it seems like a pretty competitive industry.
The weekend after my last class I went to the wedding of a friend from work. The wedding was held at Leeds Castle, this beautiful castle surrounded by a moat – very medieval. It's a fair way from London so the bride and groom had arranged for a coach to take all of their friends from London down to the wedding. Seems simple enough but our driver was such an idiot. When we finally made it to the castle he nearly smashed into the security guard's car, and ran over a few construction cones. Other than the special driver the evening was fantastic – we had only been invited to the “evening reception” (pretty much the C list of friends – we arrived after the wedding and the meal), but managed to dance the night away and it was kind of her to invite us at all seeing as how we're only work colleagues. When the sun had set, mist started to rise off the moat, and the castle looked like a fairy tale with the way the light shone through the mist. Of course every castle in Britain looks like a fairy tale to an American.
Later that week I tried Bikram yoga for the first time. This is the yoga where they heat the room to about 90 degrees, to aid in flexibility and the release of toxins from the body, or some such malarky. Even though I've been practicing yoga for years I had never tried this before, as I had the impression that people who practice Bikram are more competitive and arrogant that other yogis. I didn't notice any of this when I went, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience compared to other types of yoga, at least to me. The classroom was massive and very crowded – probably about 60 people in the room, no music, and hot (obviously) – there were huge fans on either side of the room that noisily blew hot air over everyone. The instructor wore a microphone – bc the room was so massive and the fans so noisy you would never hear them otherwise, and the routine that they led us through was regimented and we weren't given the chance to take the poses into more advanced variations, and from what the friends that I went with tell me, it's the exact same routine every time. Basically it felt like I was doing yoga in hell, bc of the heat, no music, and the instructor barking instructions at us. I haven't been back but am glad that I at least gave it a go. I'm much happier with my small classes at normal temperatures, even if they don't always play music.
That weekend James and I went to Blackpool to visit his best friend from school Russ and his wife Emma. Russ has been in prison for a few months due to a car accident that he was in in which the other driver died. He is in a low security prison and is allowed home leave and town visits on some weekends – this one happened to be one when we could visit. Blackpool is a seaside town that used to be the big place to holiday in the 50s or so but is a very has-been town nowadays. There are still carnivals rides and cheesy attractions, but it all feels very seedy. It didn't help that the day we were there it rained almost continually, shocking for Britain I know. It was really good to see Russ and Emma though, they seem to be doing well in spite of the situation. As I write this in August, he doesn't have long until he gets out – next month I think.
In spite of the rain in Blackpool, one of the best parts of May was all the sunshine! The British spring is very rainy and gloomy, so the sunshine in May was such a welcome change. It sounds daft, but it really does make my spirits soar when the weather is nice. And in Britain you know you have to take advantage when it is nice – there are precious few days in the year that it is warm at all, compared to the sweltering heat and humidity that I am used to in the Midwestern American summers.
The very last day in May I went to another concert with James, this time an older American band called Sunny Day Real Estate was playing. They are an early 90s band who are sometimes credited with starting the emo genre of music, but they sound nothing like today's emo bands. They split up ages ago but got back together for this limited tour, and this was the first time they had played in Britain. I wasn't that fussed by them but James loves them so I went along. The show had been delayed by the flight disruption caused by the erupting volcano, so the original opening band wasn't able to play. All that was mentioned was a “special guest” would be playing in their place. The venue was the same place that we had gone for the Idlewild concert, so once again James and I got there fairly early since we were coming from work. We were in the back having a few sips of beer when the opening band came on, and we didn't really pay much attention. Then they started playing, and I realised it was Biffy Clyro, one of my favourite bands! They are apparently big fans of Sunny Day Real Estate, and had agreed to open this show as a favour. They didn't have their full band, but just played some acoustic versions of a few of their songs. It was amazing – Biffy Clyro are quite famous in Britain, it would be like having Coldplay open for a pretty no-name band. It was such a good surprise and the best part of the show for me, as well as a fantastic end to the month of May.
Heather xoxo
Early in May was also the big election in Britain, when the ruling Labour party lost to a coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. I have heard it said that the most conservative politician in Britain is still not as conservative as the most liberal politician in the States, and I think it's got some truth behind it. This is a fairly socialist country after all. But I was pleased to see the Conservatives take power, at least they may be able to get the national budget under some sort of control. Everyone here was very excited about the election – didn't seem to have quite the hype of the American presidential election, but close. Especially when the conservative party didn't make a clean sweep with the votes and had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, everyone seemed to be on pins and needles to see what would happen. Lots of people in the office that day were following it live on the internet. I couldn't vote as I'm not a citizen, but it was fun to observe. Now that it's about 100 days after the election that I'm writing, it doesn't seem like the new government has done a great deal but hey. How much can you really expect? Politicians are the same the world over.
That weekend I went on a pub crawl with a bunch of people from work. It was a Monopoly pub crawl, so you try to hit every place on a monopoly board. I didn't realise it before then but there is a different board in Britain than the States. Most of the places are in London, so it's feasible to do in one day (if you start at 9 am like the rest of them did – James and I met up later). It would be difficult to do the American monopoly pub crawl, seeing as how most of the places are states. It would get expensive with the flights. Anyway I think there are 24 places on the board and we made it to about 20, drinking a half pint in each pub. It was fun but some of the people were on a mission and made it more about getting to all of the places than hanging out and seeing friends. I didn't think it was as fun as it could have been but hey. Was still good to see everyone.
In the middle of May James and I made our way down to his parents' house in Dorset to celebrate his dad's birthday. As it always is in the tiny village that they live in, it was a super relaxing, quiet weekend. Lots of delicious food and sleep. His dad got a bike just before his birthday, so most of the presents were cycling-themed – helmet, light reflecting gear, etc. After he opened them all he modeled everything for us – hilarious!
The Monday following our return to London from Dorset James and I went to a concert of a Canadian band called Wintersleep. It was in the upstairs bit of a pub near King's Cross, so a very small, intimate venue. The opening band was a bit weird but Wintersleep was amazing. They sing this song called Weighty Ghost – my favourite. I danced around like a hippy to that one – I stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the reserved Britons, who keep all signs of exuberance to calmly swaying back and forth or maybe bopping their heads.
That week also saw the last of my fashion classes, it was sad to end but a good experience. I'm not sure how much I really learned about fashion buying/retailing/merchandising, but it gave me a taste of something other than accounting, which is what I was after. I'd love to do a job in the field someday, even though it seems like a pretty competitive industry.
The weekend after my last class I went to the wedding of a friend from work. The wedding was held at Leeds Castle, this beautiful castle surrounded by a moat – very medieval. It's a fair way from London so the bride and groom had arranged for a coach to take all of their friends from London down to the wedding. Seems simple enough but our driver was such an idiot. When we finally made it to the castle he nearly smashed into the security guard's car, and ran over a few construction cones. Other than the special driver the evening was fantastic – we had only been invited to the “evening reception” (pretty much the C list of friends – we arrived after the wedding and the meal), but managed to dance the night away and it was kind of her to invite us at all seeing as how we're only work colleagues. When the sun had set, mist started to rise off the moat, and the castle looked like a fairy tale with the way the light shone through the mist. Of course every castle in Britain looks like a fairy tale to an American.
Later that week I tried Bikram yoga for the first time. This is the yoga where they heat the room to about 90 degrees, to aid in flexibility and the release of toxins from the body, or some such malarky. Even though I've been practicing yoga for years I had never tried this before, as I had the impression that people who practice Bikram are more competitive and arrogant that other yogis. I didn't notice any of this when I went, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience compared to other types of yoga, at least to me. The classroom was massive and very crowded – probably about 60 people in the room, no music, and hot (obviously) – there were huge fans on either side of the room that noisily blew hot air over everyone. The instructor wore a microphone – bc the room was so massive and the fans so noisy you would never hear them otherwise, and the routine that they led us through was regimented and we weren't given the chance to take the poses into more advanced variations, and from what the friends that I went with tell me, it's the exact same routine every time. Basically it felt like I was doing yoga in hell, bc of the heat, no music, and the instructor barking instructions at us. I haven't been back but am glad that I at least gave it a go. I'm much happier with my small classes at normal temperatures, even if they don't always play music.
That weekend James and I went to Blackpool to visit his best friend from school Russ and his wife Emma. Russ has been in prison for a few months due to a car accident that he was in in which the other driver died. He is in a low security prison and is allowed home leave and town visits on some weekends – this one happened to be one when we could visit. Blackpool is a seaside town that used to be the big place to holiday in the 50s or so but is a very has-been town nowadays. There are still carnivals rides and cheesy attractions, but it all feels very seedy. It didn't help that the day we were there it rained almost continually, shocking for Britain I know. It was really good to see Russ and Emma though, they seem to be doing well in spite of the situation. As I write this in August, he doesn't have long until he gets out – next month I think.
In spite of the rain in Blackpool, one of the best parts of May was all the sunshine! The British spring is very rainy and gloomy, so the sunshine in May was such a welcome change. It sounds daft, but it really does make my spirits soar when the weather is nice. And in Britain you know you have to take advantage when it is nice – there are precious few days in the year that it is warm at all, compared to the sweltering heat and humidity that I am used to in the Midwestern American summers.
The very last day in May I went to another concert with James, this time an older American band called Sunny Day Real Estate was playing. They are an early 90s band who are sometimes credited with starting the emo genre of music, but they sound nothing like today's emo bands. They split up ages ago but got back together for this limited tour, and this was the first time they had played in Britain. I wasn't that fussed by them but James loves them so I went along. The show had been delayed by the flight disruption caused by the erupting volcano, so the original opening band wasn't able to play. All that was mentioned was a “special guest” would be playing in their place. The venue was the same place that we had gone for the Idlewild concert, so once again James and I got there fairly early since we were coming from work. We were in the back having a few sips of beer when the opening band came on, and we didn't really pay much attention. Then they started playing, and I realised it was Biffy Clyro, one of my favourite bands! They are apparently big fans of Sunny Day Real Estate, and had agreed to open this show as a favour. They didn't have their full band, but just played some acoustic versions of a few of their songs. It was amazing – Biffy Clyro are quite famous in Britain, it would be like having Coldplay open for a pretty no-name band. It was such a good surprise and the best part of the show for me, as well as a fantastic end to the month of May.
Heather xoxo
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