England 40 Years Ago — August 18, 1980

From now on, please presume we have company if the letter is delayed. Not too many weeks ago someone was sure half of us were in hospital when the letter didn’t arrive on time. I had planned to write last night, but during dinner, John C. got this funny look, pushed back from the table, said he was afraid he was going to be sick and to please excuse him while he took a nap. So, instead of calmly writing here, I cleaned up the kitchen, entertained Gerhard (college friend), and got the children to bed. John felt much better when I woke him to change into pajamas. Must have been a quick virus. Now back to the beginning of the previous week.

Last week was Holiday Club at St. Mary’s. It’s similar to Bible School in the mornings, but includes the whole parish for that plus games in the afternoons and two special evenings. Kate (8) determined she would go, thinking neighbor Mary Anne might go with her. Mary Anne didn’t go, but Kate went right ahead! I went with her to find her group the first morning, and she did fine! The morning sessions were from 10:15 to 12. Lisa disdained to go. She’s determined not to enjoy anything here.

Monday afternoon we went to Priory Park for the afternoon games. Lisa and Kate joined in, and I went window shopping in town. They played all sorts of games, and I rather think Lisa didn’t like it because it was all strange to her and she couldn’t beat everyone else. That lasted each afternoon from 2:30 to 4. Tuesday afternoon we went down to watch Hunt the Hairy. What fun most of the children had! They filled squeeze bottles with water and hunted for the specially dressed young leaders to chase and squirt. The Hairys were drenched from head to toe before a halt was called. It was like watching something in a movie to see all these children – must have been 100 – 200 there – swirling over the green lawns like waves on the beach as they chased the Hairys. Lisa and Kate didn’t join in, but we had a good time watching. Afterwards there was something at the church itself called Sizzle the Sausage, which I think was a cook-out. Kate didn’t want to go by herself and I had to fix dinner for the rest of us. One other afternoon we went to watch the goings on, this time a team game of youngsters against leaders.

It seemed so odd for a church group to use public land until it dawned on me that they don’t have separation of church and state here. I don’t know where the funds came for the Holiday Club, but all youngsters in the parish were invited – meaning all residents in this town, I guess. Kate came home with a few pictures she’d drawn, but they don’t have elaborate things to do as with Concordia publications.

Kate went every morning, which was the time they acted out Bible stories and sang songs – the more Christian part of the week. We had meant to take her to the park Saturday afternoon but forgot about it. Sunday, yesterday, they had a family service at church, and she enjoyed that because they had a sword drill right in church and sang songs she’d become familiar with during the week. I was so proud of her for over-coming her shyness and entering into things. As you can imagine, our week was hectic getting her there and running errands in the allotted time. It’s nice not to have such restrictions today.

One morning Lise and I went to the freezer center and stocked up on a freezer full of meat. I bought a quart jar of mayonnaise there. You’ll never guess the cheapest brand I’ve seen here – Hellmann’s!!! I am trying to get as much food in the house as possible to save trips the rest of the week. Went to Co-op four times and the freezer center twice.

Thursday Clewes began cleaning out the pool at the bottom of the garden. The children asked him to, and he finally did it. What an awful job! He cut down a big bush or so, cut back stinging nettles, and dragged broken glass and the bottom of a bird bath from the murky depths. Yuck! The girls were interested in helping and really pitched in Friday. They scrubbed the sides which were slimy green and the bottom which was slate gray. The whole thing was beige when they got through! They hauled bucket after bucket of water down there. John asked about gold fish, but the man said not to get any until the middle of this week while the chemicals settled out of the water.

Friday Lisa began working on the pool before Clewes came. She caught three frogs and a newt, put them in a bucket, and left them on the front stoop. At my protest, her reply was, “They’re my GUARD FROGS!” With a daughter’s imagination like that, what chance does a mother have?

Saturday John was out shopping with the girls, and I knew I must wash my hair before Gerhard arrived. The problem was what to do with John $. Finally I hit on a good solution. I put him in his room with toys, closed all the doors except those allowing a path from his room to the shower room at the other end of the house. I could tell from the shower where he was by the sound of the toys. He was closer when I heard a truck thump and racing down the hall when I could hear a musical push toy. Then I could hear his talking sounds and spoke to him. In a minute he got so quiet I couldn’t imagine where he was. When a boy gets quiet, it’s time to be suspicious. I shut off the water, turned and looked down, and there just visible below the shower curtain were two little hands happily splashing in the water at my feet.

Gerhard arrived at least an hour before we expected him. He called from the railroad station, so we had time to change clothes quickly before John drove to get him. Luckily it was a beautiful day and I had gotten all my laundry dry for a change before we did a load for him. He and John hung it out while I cooked dinner. We sat up quite late and had a nice visit.

Yesterday we went to St. Mary’s, had sandwiches for lunch, and set out for the vicinity of Tunbridge Wells. We walked through the ruins of Scotney Castle and all about the lovely gardens. The Castle was very old; when the Hussey family inherited it in the 18^th century, they decided they’d rather look at a castle than live in one. They built a huge stone home on the hilltop, and for the romantic effect, demolished much of the castle to make it into an instant ruin! In those days ruins were considered romantic, more so than an old building well preserved.

Gerhard, John, Lisa, Kate, John $ at Scotney Castle

We came home for dinner as described in the first paragraph, and Gerhard went in by train with John this morning. Today I’ve been trying to ready the house and ourselves for the arrival of my brother and his family tomorrow morning. Their plane is due in at Gatwick at 8 a.m.

Grandsons 20 Years Ago

I’ve been looking at my letters written in England 40 years ago and decided to see what was happening 20 years ago. I found one of my favorite photos of grandsons David and Nathaniel. In the year 2000, David was patiently holding the bottle for Nathaniel. These days, the roles would be reversed. Nate would be baking a cake for David.

A Day with Logan

We saw neighbor Logan (10) on his porch as we came back from our morning walk. John asked him to come over to get Sunday School activity sheets we had printed for him. He asked to stay, ran home to get permission from his parents, and thus began a whole day with our special friend. None of us knew at the time that it would last until evening.

After breakfast and David’s leaving for work, Logan went to town with us. The fellows ran an errand or so while I had my teeth cleaned. We headed for Walmart. Logan has been shopping with us before, and we let him pick out a small toy to take home. Understandably, Shawn and Bob did not want their son to be in the habit of ASKING for things. We cleared it via text that we could get him something. Shawn had said Logan was so good to her, fetching things when she had limited mobility after her hip replacement. He did whatever she asked without complaint. I felt a minor miracle like that from any child should be rewarded.

When we came home, Logan helped John in the garden, picking up leaves and limbs from John’s recent trimming job, while I prepared our main meal. We three sat down to eat, and it didn’t occur to me until then that Logan had not played with his new toy. He brought it out on the porch, and only after we ate did he ask if he could open it. I realized many children would have already opened and broken a toy in that time. What remarkable restraint and self-control! (Round of applause for Logan, please!!)

After lunch I took a photo of the fellows playing Go Fish. John said Logan had already trounced him in a game of checkers. I suspect we will win only games of chance with him from now on. For the record, I quit playing games of strategy with our grandsons many years ago.

When John excused himself to do paperwork, I set up soda-can targets for Logan to shoot. He hit six in a row, I think, but naturally that wasn’t when I was taking a video. I saved one short clip of the cool marksman hitting the target. Looking at it frame by frame, I could not see the bullet at all.

Logan and I played an unscramble word game until he tired of it. He picked up a shrunken balloon from another day’s play, and I remembered I had a bat for him. It was a cardboard tube that had been the center of a roll of wrapping paper. He used it to play baseball with the sorry balloon, not wishing to get a new one from the closet. John rejoined us, and we all laughed at the bat that was slowly uncurling. At the end, there was a whooshing sound as he swung at the “ball”. The impromptu rules were like baseball, but in a real ballgame, the batter wouldn’t be able to hit the ball twice in one play as Logan did. I don’t know what else we might have found to play with, but Bob came over to take Logan home. What a fun day it had been for us!

England 40 Years Ago — August 10, 1980

The week started out normally enough with Lisa going to her French lesson and Kate shopping with me. When we came home, we put John in the play pen and went back out to bring in the groceries. Kate didn’t realize I didn’t have my keys with me and shut the door. There we three were locked out and could hear 10-month-old John locked in! We walked around the house twice looking for a way to break in; should have tried 7 times and a ram’s horn. Then we noticed our neighbor’s painter up on a high ladder and went for help. He so willingly carried the ladder over, reached through a window we’d left open to open a larger one and just walked right through from the guest room upstairs to the front door. We don’t dare think what we’d have done had the upstairs window not been open!

John C. came home that day fussing about the ineptitude of British stores. There in the department where 150 different shower curtains were sold, the store had no shower rings to hang them with. He came out with one of his good exaggerations, “A store like that wouldn’t last more than 10 or 15 minutes in the U.S.!”

Things were hopping Tuesday as well. Gardener Clewes was here, and the neighbor children came to play tennis. John $ cried a lot that day until I wrote in the book that he cried tears in his ears! Perhaps he didn’t feel so well because Lisa talked about how his tummy was “extended.”

Clewes brought us some tomatoes he’d grown at some other house where he works. You did pronounce that correctly, didn’t you? Toe-mah-toes. That was Wednesday, the day the push chair lost a hind leg. The poor stroller had had a terrific workout with the girls constantly fighting over it and running at break neck speed over roots, up curbs, etc. We must count our blessings that it wasn’t John $ losing a hind leg.

I knew I was grounded until I bought a new stroller; that baby is heavier than a sack of potatoes and much squirmier. We took Lisa to her French lesson, and Kate stayed in the car with $ until I’d gotten a stroller. Luckily I’d seen them in Boots (a drug store chain) and knew just where to go. Returned to the car and immediately put the stroller to work by going to the freezer center. Have I mentioned that there are stores here that sell only frozen goods? I think it’s amazing since there are many homes that still might not even have a refrigerator! Prices are good, as a rule.

Friday I went shopping while the girls were at neighbor Mary Anne’s. Then we all had lunch there. Alex lit the fire in the barbeque grill and cooked the sausages! He’s only 10!! Mary Anne had a friend staying the weekend, and the two girls were having a war with Alex and his friend from Holland who is staying 10 days. They were hiding hair brushes, setting traps with books on top of doors, and soaping tooth brushes. Carol had had it up to her ears. She had me take the girls here while she went to the library, and then all of us except the boys went for a walk on Reigate Heath. It was a lovely walk over rough terrain, and I began to feel sorry for the new stroller. We had a nice time. Saw a windmill converted to a tiny church where there are services once a month in the afternoon. We also saw a gaily painted gypsy caravan parked there. I’ve seen pictures of them and thought it something unusual, but there it was right before my eyes.

How would you think a weekend would work out when it began this way? I had just worked up a good lather of shampoo when I heard pounding feet and this excited statement, “John just threw up in the hall!” It was Saturday morning, and I knew there would be 10 pairs of eyes looking for full plates that night. I sighed, then yelled to the girls to just keep John out of the mess. I was greeted coming out of the steamy mists with a wail, “Lisa used my face cloth to clean it up!’ Well, I’ll set your minds at ease; we had a great weekend. It was spit-up, not throw-up, and the cloth went in the next wash. Before I could begin preparations for the dinner, I heard in the distance a child’s voice in a messy room, AVALANCHE! Crash! Bang! Bump! Roll! I never investigated that one. There was no loss of life because everyone turned up for lunch.

By 5 p.m. we hardly recognized our home. It was a pleasant time to have company late because we simply sat down and reveled in the neatness. It was such a heady feeling we nearly wallowed in it, but wallowing tends to produce a mess, so we restrained ourselves.

John said he invited Sten H-L and his family as a good deed to give them a rest from the rigors of moving. They had been in the country six days, living in a hotel half the time, and spending their days trying to remodel their home and clean up from the previous owners. I couldn’t help feeling a bit smug because we’d been through it and had a chance to recover. We could afford the luxury of feeling sorry for someone else.

I enjoyed talking with them; they had lived in Florida for years and so knew American English. Gunnbjorn (that’s the way it was spelled to me, not a typing error) said she can understand Americans better than the British. The children are going to school right now to learn English and were not willing to talk, though they seemed to understand much that was said. Helena, 13, has a mouth full of braces. They were told in Norway that England had great orthodontia; we were told that orthodontia was still in the dark ages and don’t dare let an Englishman get hold of Lisa. Wonder what the real story is? The boy Lisa’s age never uttered a sound. I presume he can talk Norwegian. Heidi was cute enough not to need to talk; she’s Kate’s age. After dinner they all played upstairs with the Fischer Price toys until 11 p.m.

I got tickled at the Norwegian views of the British ways of doing things. I presumed that since they are close geographically, they would be close in customs. Not so. They think the workmen are sloppy as well as slow. They were horrified at the tiny milk bottles.

Food is fun here. This week I noticed we had tuna from the Solomon Islands, peaches from South Africa, toilet paper from Finland, pears from France, oranges from the U.S., matches from Sweden, grapefruit drink from Germany, bay leaves from Turkey, and porridge oats from Scotland.

John $ was bad in the creche today. Screamed. Kate calls it the CRUSH, and I imagine that’s what the keeper thought of it today.

This afternoon we drove almost 60 miles to ride a steam train. $ enjoyed the ride and only had the heebe-jeebes when the steam hissed. He kicked his legs and snuggled in tight but did not cry! Kate, at that age, would have been hysterical. Today she just kept her hands over her ears.

John $ and John riding the Mid Hants Railroad

That’s enough of my meandering (me Anne dering). Hope all of you are fine.

Earthquake!

We missed the North Carolina earthquake! I didn’t find neighbor Joyce’s text until we got home from church. She felt her house shake around 8 am, and that’s when we were getting our breakfast ready. My brother Bob felt it in Winston Salem, too. He wrote that it was 5.6 on the Richter scale, the biggest one in North Carolina since 1916. I’m sorry I missed it. Earthquakes in this area of the country tend to be amusing rather than catastrophic. It’s an event for which you compare stories and laugh about the odd things you observed.

The earthquake that amused me the most happened when daughter Lise was away at college in the mid-eighties. It was Saturday morning, a time when John enjoyed sleeping later than usual. I was dozing, not quite ready to get up. The bed began to shake, and I thought, “What is John $pencer up to now???”

Son $ was about seven years old at the time. He was a very active child, though not a destructive one. I realized there was an unearthly hum, low-pitched and barely audible. I nudged John and asked him if he thought we’d just had an earthquake. He grunted. Not getting any other response, I got up and went downstairs to find a radio. If something unusual were happening, I wanted human confirmation of it. The radio was set to a New York station, and in just a few minutes, the announcer said they were getting reports about an earthquake. Aha! I was right! Soon they had details. The epicenter was near Bronxville, 25 miles north of New York City. Lise’s college was in Bronxville! In those days before cell phones, you waited to hear from anyone who might have been in danger. Since $ and daughter Kate were still asleep, I went back to bed. A day or so later we found out Lise and most of those around her had slept through the earthquake. I was left with a tiny, niggling sense of guilt for having blamed my son for an earthquake.

The Egg and the Angel

When returning from our morning walk, we chatted with Shawn and Bob as they sat on their front porch. They laughed as they pointed out an angel among their plants.

When questioned, Logan (10) said he had nothing to do with it. If Logan was not the prankster, who was? Could it have been neighbor Holly, who comes over frequently? I find it hard to believe that she would raid her own refrigerator before going next door. Would neighbors Dawn or Jeff have put the egg there? Using the Holly-logic, I doubt it. That seems to leave chicken Ariel. I have published a photo of Ariel attending Bible study on that porch, so we know she wanders at will during the day. It’s not chickenly possible for her to lay the egg there. Just perhaps, Ariel laid an egg on one of the neighbor’s property, and the nameless, blameless neighbor placed it near the home where it belonged.

Does anyone else have a theory about how the angel came to hold the egg?

Logan at the Pond

Neighbor Logan (10) stayed with us for a few hours, and I know he was pleased that, for once, David was not working. While grandson David and I finished our late breakfast, John did something with Logan having to do with a puzzle of the US. They may have reviewed capitols, but whatever they did, it was mildly educational.

We brain-stormed about what to do next, and Logan said, “Let’s go to my pond and look for frogs.”

That’s certainly the kind of activity everyone would approve. We were outside in the fresh air, interacting with nature, and having fun together. John stayed home to trim shrubs in the garden as David and I walked down the steep hill with Logan. I loved watching Logan search for frogs with a stick to stir the grass and a cup to catch them. It’s too bad the frogs had other ideas and made themselves scarce. Logan had remarkable patience, which was fine with me, since I found a small boulder to sit on.

I waved at neighbor Jeff when he rode his mower within view, and David and I watched iridescent blue dragonflies dart about. Logan gave up on frogging. He called out, “Look! I found a praying mantis!”

He was holding the creature very gently and let it loose to climb up his arm.

I was scrambling to get these shots and did not pick up on the fact that he was very uncomfortable when the mantis got to his neck. David came to the rescue! As I focused on the creature on Logan’s hair, David scooped up the cup meant for frogs and held it for the praying mantis to walk into. Can you see David’s hand with the cup on the left side of the photo?

They set the mantis free, and Logan ran up the steep hill as David hung back to make sure I was safe on the uneven ground. I felt privileged to have been in a boy’s world for a little while.

England 40 years ago — August 3, 1980

August 3, 1980

The question was asked in a letter if we saw the moon. Funny, but so many things are different that it took me by surprise to think we see the moon the same!

We’ve been to Anglican churches until today when we drove into Kent to go to a Lutheran one. It is very small and terribly modern, but they used the liturgical setting we are used to. Nice to have something familiar for a change. The pastor is from Wisconsin and his wife from Canada; been here 25 years.

Someone suggested fired (sic) chicken as American, and I’ve done that – cooked it on a grill here. Fried chicken is beyond me – always greasy and undercooked inside. I’m more busy with housework here: bigger house, no baby food, girls who sleep through first serving of breakfast, etc. We also entertain the gardener twice a week for lunch, run to French lessons, and try to play tennis once or twice a week.

We’ve had a nice week. Went to the library and post office Tuesday. I’ve squeezed in the reading of two books – one about the upper classes and one about Windsor Castle. That afternoon Carol H appeared on our doorstep to introduce herself and her 8-year-old daughter, Mary Anne. Invited the girls to go swimming at the school up the street, but only Kate went. She was asked to stay to tea afterwards, so we picked her up after getting John from the station. She’d had a marvelous time.

Carol was a stewardess for Pan Am 15 years ago and was based in San Francisco. She’s rather glamorous, very slim and wears eye make-up when wearing shorts. Wow!

Wednesday Lisa stayed in her nightgown all day watching TV and reading. That’s probably the last time for that to happen since they are getting to know the children in the street. There is too much going on to be that lazy!

Kate went with me to the hair dresser’s for a hair cut. The lady did a nice job for £1.20. I was amazed at the low price after reading how expensive salons here are supposed to be. I must call the neighbor who suggested this place to tell her how pleased I was. The shop felt about 10 by 10 and was further shrunk by having three customers and three beauticians in it plus Kate and $! I thought she could stroll him about outside, but she wanted in on the action. Didn’t stop talking the whole time I was in there. Maybe that’s why the lady cut hair so fast. I bet next time she’ll stuff hair in Kate’s mouth! Well, she didn’t talk all that much. I had a chance to learn that the owner comes from Germany and that one asks for FRINGE instead of BANGS.

Doubled my dry-power Thursday when I was shown a hook and line (sounds like fishing terminology) outside. Celebrated by doing four loads of wash and getting them all dry!!! I try to refrain from asking the girls to watch for rain because I remember hating being put on guard like that as a child. I felt I should go out to scan the sky and maybe shake an umbrella in its face when I really had no intention of interrupting my own fun for guard duty.

Ran hurriedly to town Thursday to buy swim caps for the girls because they are required at the local pool, and one can’t borrow a cap for two years. Kate again swam as a guest of neighbor Carol. That day Mary Anne and Alexander (10) came here to play after swimming. Both Lisa and Kate swam Friday, and they let us know it is 25p each. I’d much rather pay than be beholden to neighbors. We daringly invited them for tea that day. I say daringly because I don’t really know how to do teas. Bumbled through it in my usual clumsy style. We probably should have gone into the living room, but I don’t allow children to have food in there. Even the dining room would have been better, but $ was awake and wanting to share in the eating. So, we had tea in the kitchen. Only Carol and Mary Anne were here; Alex was playing with a friend. After tea Carol went home to get her racket, and she played tennis with the girls for an hour. She gave Lisa some good pointers. Mary Anne (8) plays as well as I do! I make no moves to play when anyone else is about – can hide behind $ as an excuse!

Yesterday John worked hard resorting things in boxes and got everything extra put in the attic. Mary Anne and Alex were here much of the afternoon playing the game “Life.” I can’t believe how well these four children play together. Amazing.

Late afternoon we went across the street to the home of Gillian and John for a sit and chat in their back garden. It was so pleasant, warm with a gentle breeze blowing, and they had brought out a large carpet for John $ to crawl on! Also had placed three toys on it for him. Such thoughtfulness! Their daughter, Katherine, was away camping, but Caroline (Lisa’s age) was there. They were shy with each other, despite having swum together before and played tennis, so that they didn’t begin to enjoy each other until time to leave. Neighbor John is an identical twin, and Gillian says she can’t tell her husband from his twin on the phone! She says they both have the same peculiar way of walking, too! He is a barrister in London.

After church today went to Knole, one of the largest private houses in England. The outside was impressive, but we weren’t allowed to see much inside.

[Kate was smitten with the deer wandering around near the car park.]

Kate and Lisa with a deer at Knole House

Leftovers in the Neighborhood

Neighbors Shawn and Holly had a fun idea for a street party on Sunday. Early in the afternoon they suggested we bring leftovers to share, and the response was a resounding YES! We converged at the appointed time and began laying out our dishes on a long folding table on Shawn’s lawn. As soon as most of the food was there, a dark cloud moved overhead, accompanied by thunder and raindrops. You should have seen us scramble! I picked up a heavy glass pitcher and two trays that might have slid off, and the fellows lifted the table onto the porch.

Before even thinking of filling our plates, we admired the rainbow in our yards. I’m sure Holly was aiming at her house where half the bow was. I wanted to catch the other end in our yard. That’s when I realized that trees continued to grow after we moved here six years ago. Our ugly tan house was barely visible. It takes a little imagination to see the rainbow in the middle of the picture.

Rainbow in the center. Trucks are in almost every photo from the South.

We settled down to eat, and everyone looked at the camera at my request. What a cooperative bunch! Only Logan and I were missing. Left to right were Jeff, David, Bob, Joyce, Dawn, Holly, Shawn, and John. This is the whole cast of characters who often appear in my posts, residents of the five houses at this end of the short street.

When an adult left the area, Logan sat down to eat. This should have been a video, because Logan was swinging his leg as he ate and the cat wandered by. That was action eating. Logan was very helpful in fetching things, cleaning up, walking Joyce home in the dark, and carrying our chairs back to our porch. He’s always a bright star in the ‘hood.

Logan’s Exuberance

Neighbor Shawn had her hip replaced, and she was back home less than 24 hours after the surgery. I was stunned and thrilled that it was so very quick. Logan (10) stayed with us while Bob picked her up. We didn’t know exactly when things were happening, so we walked to the creek. That’s where we were when Bob called from Sorrell’s (service station on the highway). He brought Logan to us at the fire station, and the fun began. As we started up the steep hill, Logan ran ahead, skipping and twisting in the air. I asked for a repeat to share with everyone.

Logan began to jump the ditch, and the ditch petered out before Logan did.

He had a ball of glow-in-the-dark slime in his hand, and he repeatedly threw it high in the air and caught it. His luck ran out near the top of the steep hill, and the slime landed a short way down a ravine. He could see it and knew he could get it, but it was in a brier patch! Thorny wild rose bushes snagged his clothes and scratched his arms and legs. I tried to suggest ways for John to help him, but he retrieved the ball all by himself. I was impressed that when he lost the ball, he took responsibility for the accident, planned a way to get it back, and did it alone. What a boy! I will also add that this spot scares me. I walk in the middle of the road there, because the slant of the pavement and my trifocals make me feel like I could roll into the deep ravine and never be able to climb out. Logan is responsible, resourceful, and BRAVE!

After breakfast Logan launched himself on the exercise bike. I recorded it about the third time he did it, very impressed that he got on from the rear.

Logan’s energy never flagged. I think if I were his mother, I’d need two naps a day and three on Sunday.

I prefer to write about upbeat, happy things, but we all know life has somber moments. While Bob was getting Shawn from the hospital, they got the news that his brother died in Florida. He had battled cancer for some time, and today was the day he was called to his eternal home in heaven. For those of you who pray, would you please pray for peace and strength for this loving Christian family? Thank you.