England 40 Years Ago — Christmas 1981, Part 3

Nymphenburg Palace was as beautiful as Versailles. In fact, it’s put together more cohesively. In a huge circle are small palaces, stables, walls, and the big palace. The large mansion is Baroque – lots of paintings, gilded scroll work and lavish drapes.

We particularly enjoyed the carriage display with gilded sleighs, regal coaches of gold with paintings and a musician’s sleigh.

In the large park are other small buildings. One, the Amalianburg, is a hunting lodge encrusted with lots of silver, special wall papers and Delft tiles.

The orangery in the park housed a delightful little restaurant where we ate large hot dog type things.

An hour away from Munich are the Bavarian Alps – gorgeous! We drove around a resort ringing a large lake. There were oodles of chalet guest houses and hotels besides swanky shops and tempting kinditoreis. We stopped at one for coffee and dessert – the coffee being served with a miniature pot of whipped cream. There we also bought marzipan pink pings, the standard shape and colour to have at New Year’s.

Instead of eating at our inn, one night we walked to a fancy pizzeria and ate the best pizza since we left New York.

We went with Armin and his mother to a downtown church in Munich.

John $ thoroughly enjoyed his Christmas. When we walked into Armin’s house on Christmas Eve, Ingrid pointed to a study little wooden train set. It was his gift from them! John walked straight to it, played intensely and never noticed a bowl full of cookies sitting next to it.

Ingrid offered cookies to the children, but we wanted them to have dinner first. I even sneaked two bowls back into the kitchen when no one was looking. She brought them out again with a flourish, and we agreed she could indulge them to her heart’s content. $ stuffed his mouth repeatedly and loved every crumb.

They served ham decorated with pineapple, mashed potatoes, beans and carrots and Pears Helene. They told us that the usual Christmas dinner for Catholic Bavarians is fish and goose. [I didn’t write about it at the time, but Armin’s mother and her twin sister were there. Ingrid, a wonderful hostess, had us sit at two tables. Armin was with us at the English-speaking table, and Ingrid was at the German-speaking table. That took the pressure off all of us. We had general conversation after all, because John could follow it. If I knew the subject, I could get the gist of a story. It was a marvelous evening, one I will never forget.]

Christmas morning we opened a few little gifts in our room, ate Stollen and drove into Munich again for church. What a marvelous experience to worship in a Lutheran church in Germany on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! For the first time, and probably the last, we saw two large trees flanking the altar softly glittering with real candles! When the music began we nudged each other with delight at every organ piece and chorale. John and I knew every piece of music in the whole service, and the girls recognized all but two! We knew all the melodies for the hymns.

We had feared going hungry all day since so many places are closed for Christmas and Armin and Ingrid were going away. We had no trouble. The most posh hotel in Munich had their very expensive grill open at $50 a head. Luckily John found a reasonable place in the basement where we could eat comfortably and afford it.

We started out for a different view of the Alps, but turned back when the huge flakes of snow began piling up on the autobahn. Instead we drove to Landshut – college friend Gerhard’s home town.

We rounded a bend, and John said, “There’s the cathedral of Landshut.” Soon the castle on a high hill dominating the town was in clear view. Breath taking! It was almost dark. After we ate sausages a few yards from the cathedral, we saw the buildings all lit up. The town looked rich with tastefully decorated shops, many Christmas trees, and quite a few people.

The Bavarian style of Christmas tree seems to be one with white lights only. We caught glimpses of white lighted trees inside, but the outside ones glowed with reflections on snow.

Our flight back to Heathrow was a few minutes early, but so was the Mehrling’s plane. John’s parents had waited patiently for us for three hours. Two men were there right on time to pick us up – we’d been afraid to leave our car in an outside parking lot for nine days since there would be no one to call to get it started if anything went wrong. England was closed up tight for Boxing Day.

The next day, Sunday, it was snowing hard when we got up. We took the easy way and stayed close to home, walking to St. Peter’s. The little church is particularly lovely all decorated with greens and flowers for Christmas.

England 40 Years Ago — Christmas 1981, Part 2

Continuing our Christmas in Germany: Near Regensburg were strange tall poles with wire stretched over the tops. Armin said that is for growing hops – a beer ingredient – and that we were in the major center for it. The villages nestled in the hills were gorgeous, surrounded by snow laden evergreen trees that almost looked unreal.

Every morning we had crusty rolls, butter, jams, cheeses, honey and beverages included in the price of the room.

Lisa, Armin, Kate, John $, John at St. Ann

Armin guided us through Augsburg, the city he grew up in. He arranged for us to see the church of St. Ann that was closed – his cousin’s housekeeper let us park in their drive – and we walked across the street where a porter met us with the keys. The cousin preaches there every second Sunday and is the head of the Lutheran pastors in Augsburg.

The church itself was very beautiful – the old altar being very plain, and the new one at the opposite being Baroque. Armin’s mother was confirmed there, later had her wedding there, and it’s the church Armin himself regularly attended. More exciting, still, is the fact that all of you know of someone who preached there – Martin Luther! On one side of the old altar is the original painting of Luther that is quite well known.

Family and Armin are in front. Painting of Luther is on the left, way above Lisa’s head.

In the Catholic cathedral not far away are the oldest stained glass windows in the world.

Germans snack constantly. In the Christmas fairs are various stalls selling food. Armin bought hot, sweet-coated almonds to share with us because it’s customary to eat them while Christmas shopping. They also sold cotton candy – white. It’s often pink in the US and blue in England.

We ate in a German restaurant, walked a few more blocks to city hall, and drove past the oldest planned housing development in the world – built in the mid-1400’s for textile workers of the Fugger family. It was a lovely visit to Augsburg.

Every evening after dinner we went for a walk in the lovely little snow-covered town.

$ lay down in the booth when we were eating and said, “Night, night.” Two seconds passed. He rose up saying, “All gone.” He’s a tease.

Pillows in our rooms and in shop windows were square – about two feet by two feet. Germans do not supply soap or face cloths in their guest houses.

Answering the phone differs from country to country. In Norway you say, “Good day, good day.” If we answered in the English way, we’d say, “Tadworth 2978.” Germans answer with their last name. I heard Armin pick up the phone and say, “Herbst.”

Armin took us walking in the central part of Munich. We went in the Catholic Cathedral bombed to rubble and four walls in the war, now beautifully restored in modern style with remnants of stained glass windows, paintings, and furnishings from the original. The church was resounding with organ music because the man was practicing for all the Christmas services.

In one of the large department stores are special displays on every floor only at Christmas time – craftsmen plying their trades. We saw glass painters, doll and puppet makers, a woodcarver, baker, posy maker, etc. I asked Armin to ask the wood carver if I could take his picture. The man said it was against the rules of the store. As Armin was translating for me, the man motioned him over and said he wouldn’t notice if I did it quickly. So, I tried a quick time exposure before smiling and walking away.

We went in a Baroque style church – terribly ornate. Ingrid said we wouldn’t see any in England because they are all Norman or Gothic. This church had few inches left unadorned with angels, flowers, scroll work, etc.

We saw the outside of the opera house, concert hall and former king’s palace. Armin left to go shopping, and we did some shopping ourselves before taking the train back to our guest house.

Some young men came noisily marching down the streets wearing odd caps with feathers sticking out, drinking and blowing raucous horns. Armin deplored the habit. They had just been released from serving in the army and were celebrating in the usual way.

On our way to a palace we passed through the Olympic area used for the games of 1972. The architecture was most unusual. There were big poles holding up tent-like buildings.

England 40 Years Ago — Christmas 1981, Part 1

We flew around Munchen (Munich), landed at Nurnburg, then back to Munich when the runway was cleared of snow. A bus took us from the plane to the airport where we met the patiently waiting Armin. (Armin H was an exchange student at Southwestern when we were in school. He visited us two or three times in New York. He married three and a half years ago, and this was the first time we’d met Ingrid. In the original letter, I inserted umlauts with a pen.)

After settling in at the guest house (the Mill) built on a large stream, we ate at Armin’s. We had Leberkas, dill pickles, and sweet mustard. What a treat! Can’t get good pickles in England nor that kind of mustard. Leberkas, pronounced “lay ber case” translates as “meat cheese”, but is in reality a special meat loaf put together by the butcher and heated at home. It looks something like bologna.

The train station was close to our inn. We walked, took a train into Munich, and saw the center of town where there were many stalls selling Christmas ornaments. All along the streets were stalls selling hot dogs and sausages, others with fruits, and others with cookies and breads. Took a bus to the airport and picked up our rented Mercedes that we’d insisted be fitted with snow tires.

The weather was marvelous. We arrived in snow, left in snow, and it snowed every day but one while we were there! It is unusual for them to have it so early. Meanwhile, England had snow just before Christmas, and we came home to find it still on the ground. Snowed again the day after we got home.

Germans love gadgets as much as I do. In our hotel bathroom was a motorized toilet! Truly! Lisa came from her room all bug-eyed saying hers sounded like it was going to take off.

A sobering experience we were glad to have behind us was the visit to Dachou concentration camp. It’s not something one wishes to see, but should see when in the area.

After that bleak place we toured a Baroque palace that is as elegant as Windsor and Hampton Court. They didn’t have Grinling Gibbons, though.

Ingrid served us soup with liver dumplings, sausages, pickles, sweet mustard, Armin’s potato salad, breads and cheeses, and marakuja ice cream. I may not have spelled that fruit correctly; it’s new from Brazil.

Sunday we got up at 5:45, ate Stollen in our room, and set out for Regensburg. We arrived for the tail end of one service, hearing an Advent hymn and organ postlude, and sat through the 9 AM service with three choirs. Ingrid told us later that the famous choir is touring Germany at the moment. It’s hard to believe the sounds we heard could be improved upon.

We learned that the “coffee hour” can be from 3 – 5 depending on what time lunch was eaten. We had coffee with Ingrid and Armin, sampling two kinds of Stollen from the best bakery in Munich and a lovely assortment of small Christmas cookies – Lebkuchen, Zimmstern, and others.

We tried pictures of some of the houses in Ismaning where we stayed. It’s a little town slightly beyond the suburbs of Munich. Many houses have pictures or decorative scroll work painted on the outer walls, something typical of Bavarian homes.

$ learned how to unlock and open the doors of our rooms at the inn, taking every opportunity to run wild in the hall. Consequently, we often took walks whenever we were at home base, despite the extreme cold. We particularly enjoyed all the little walkways skirting the streams running through town.

When I told Armin I’d found my dream house, he queried, “Here???” It is built right over the stream! The living room and balcony are over water at a point where the stream gurgles softly.

England 40 Years Ago — December 14, 1981

We had quite a snow storm on the 8^th of December. First we heard reports on the radio that driving was hazardous north of London. When we left for school, there was rain and sleet; by the time I got back up the downs, snow was settling (sticking) on the grass. An hour later a friend arrived for coffee, having passed many cars stranded on the big highway. There must have been two inches on the ground before it stopped at 1 and the sun came out.

Our half of the house has the green door on the right.

Sanding lorries were out fairly quickly so that I didn’t run into any difficulties getting the girls from school. The signs on the trucks read: “Gritting in progress.”

John had gotten to work on time, but his two Norwegian co-workers came in at noon because of frozen switches. John left work a little early, and we were able to go to the home group Bible study that met in a house on Reigate Hill.

$ has been admiring the Christmas trees in Reigate High Street and is trying to say the words. After John put ours in the living room, we led $ in. He drew in his breath, ran toward the tree and reaching out his hand said, “Christmas tree!” Immediately withdrawing his hand, he said “No!” Poor thing was anticipating our reaction to his reach.

Friday it was snowing hard at 4 a.m. – my instinct woke me to see it! John walked to the station, calling on the phone to say the roads were clear. We set out at 8 in mush. I would have turned back except I’d finally gotten an appointment to have my hair cut and didn’t want to risk going to Germany with a mop on top of my head. I went into Micklefield with Kate, telling Miss Kinman and Mrs. Smith that I’d run an errand in Redhill and come back for her. I wouldn’t attempt the hill at Dunottar. There was a cancellation at the beauty shop, and Lisa had her hair trimmed. We ran to Bejam’s and Boots before heading back to get Kate in Reigate.

Things went well until we were nearing the center of town. We crept. I turned down the school road, went in for Kate, waited for her to get her things together, drove up one back street and got into the queue on the hill one car ahead of my former place! I was so thankful to get home without incident. The trip took 4.5 hours!

$ liked the snow. The girls made a small snowman, and I saw $ talking to it. First he said, “Hey-o. Hey-o.” When there was no answer, he threatened it, saying, “Snow, I’m gonna punch you in the nose if you don’t answer.”

By evening the major roads were well salted, and we sailed to Redhill with no problem. Penny and Andy had us for dinner, introducing us to a couple (man and wife) as Andy and Mike. It took a while to discover which was which. Andy was short for Andrea. She’s in banking and he in nuclear energy.

Saturday night we went to the neighbors in the other half of our house for dinner. Catherine and Philippa had dinner at our house and spent the night, so our girls were entertained while we were out. Jennifer said they don’t entertain very often and they had to invite all those they “owed.” They had 30!!! We had a chance to talk to some of those we’d met at the party they gave to introduce us around, and we met the other two couples who share the first part of the driveway. I was delighted to find out that Charles H had gone to King’s at Cambridge and used to be a reader at services! He also mentioned that his father was a vestryman at Hampton Court Royal Chapel, so he’d worshiped there many times, also.

Jennifer served a cheese dip with crackers, chili con carne (which was not spicy hot), rice, salad, French bread, blackcurrant mousse, treacle tart, meringue cake, and fruit. She served the food in the kitchen, and we sat in the living room to eat. John and several others sat on the floor because all the chairs were taken. It was great fun.

The forecast for Sunday was “grim.” It was grey all day, but nothing fell until late afternoon. We had a small fright, though, when we ran water into a hand basin in the downstairs bathroom, and it didn’t run out. As some of you remember, the drain pipes in the south of England are usually on the outsides of the buildings. We tried boiling water, but the drain was still frozen. Finally I poured hot water into the drain area outside, and the water ran out. We boiled water in all our pots and went running around pouring it down all the drains. I think it had been about 18 degrees in the night. No more trouble.

During the day it became warmer and began to snow about 3 p.m. The wind was fierce – gale force in some places. That’s when Philippa and Kate agreed to join me for a walk to the pond! We had a great time struggling to walk against the wind. My glasses were so encrusted with snow that I could hardly see. We were rewarded. Got to walk on the pond! There were others there, one with ice skates gliding around. Kate had no fear walking on the ice, but Philippa didn’t want to try it. When I walked out on it, she agreed to follow, but wasn’t comfortable. I was glad we did it, because it doesn’t happen often.

The weather was so extreme that John and I made rash statements about no one getting to school the next day. We couldn’t have known that the temperature would continue to rise and that it would rain most of the night. We were all sure we’d be marooned at home today. It was slippery getting out of our drive, but beyond that it wasn’t bad. The lights kept flickering until we prepared the kitchen fireplace and got out candles, but the electricity never went off.

I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced three major snow storms in less than a week. It was fun while it lasted, but now we’re hoping for less severe weather so we can get to Germany and back.

Merry Christmas! I probably won’t be writing until the new year.

England 40 Years Ago — December 6, 1981

When Mrs. Wilson (owner of this house) came for coffee, she asked if we’d celebrated Thanksgiving. She’d seen a cookery programme (English spelling) on TV on which a turkey was done and a discussion of our holiday took place. She laughed and told of one Thanksgiving she and her husband spent in the US on business. Mr. Wilson accepted two invitations that day, one for lunch and one for dinner. When she heard what he’d done, she was aghast, knowing our Thanksgiving equals their Christmas Day feast. The lunch was with friends who excused them from over eating, but they partook of both.

She expounded on the “trimmings” they have with turkey for Christmas dinner here. One must have slices of ham, bacon rolls and chipolata sausages. Creamed onions, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, bread sauce, and individual mincemeat tarts are also obligatory. I think our Thanksgiving meal is easier!

Kate was home two days in a row feeling sick. (I’ve learned to be careful in the use of that word. English people mean “throwing up” for “sick”. The word for not feeling well is “ill.”) Kate would turn white and moan, but nothing happened. Jennifer said Catherine had felt that way last weekend, even feeling giddy and light-headed. Must be a weird bug.

Only in England – playing Christmas carols and making holiday cookies, we could look at fresh roses from our garden we’d put on the counter! Catherine, Lisa and Kate helped me make Norwegian Christmas cookies, Berlinerkranser.

John was able to buy a Christmas tree cut this past week! The one we had last year was miserable, needles falling before it was brought into the house. This one has to last longer because we’ll put it up before we fly to Germany on the 17^th. We plan to return on Boxing Day (Dec. 26), meeting John’s parents at the airport.

Lisa went to a friend’s birthday party – a dinner from 6 – 9 p.m. She said they had a lovely fried chicken dinner and they played some marvelously different games. The house is an old Victorian mansion divided into three homes, but the rooms are tremendously large. Lise’s friend has her room on the 4^th floor.

Today we went to church at St. Paul’s, the first time I’ve been there since the Royal Wedding, though the others went once before. It was a lovely service with a great sermon. The preacher said the second Sunday in Advent is Bible Sunday; that must be the Anglican version. John made it through the whole service with $ in the back of the church, though the little one did not fall asleep this time. I could never manage $ like his father does. On the other hand, I doubt John would put up with him in the supermarket!

John kindly dropped me off at the Tower of London so that I could see the crown jewels, only it was closed. This year the Tower and the Jewel House will not be open from November to March. Luckily he hadn’t disappeared and we were able to make other plans. We went to the Zoo instead.

John $ went to that zoo with the Brownworths last summer, but he didn’t tell us much about it. Meanwhile he’s learned many names of animals from books and got quite excited at seeing the giraffes and monkeys. We nearly keeled over laughing when he imitated the sounds of the frisky sea lions. Other people looked at us and couldn’t stop grinning.

[There were no photos to go with this letter, probably, because I knew we’d be traveling to interesting places later in the month.]

England 40 Years Ago — November 29, 1981

I think John $ approaches a neat, clean house the way a writer faces a clean sheet of paper, or an artist a canvas – eager to make his mark and show what he is capable of.

Every once in a while my mother sends us a large cartoon from the Sunday comics which features a little boy with lots of energy. The pictures show his trail through house and yard jumping on beds, riding the dog, climbing a tree, playing in a sand box, watching a neighbor work in a garden, wading through puddles, riding a bike, peering in the garbage, etc. He generally arrives back home telling his hard-working mum he has nothing to do. I think John $ would be pictured that way, only trailing behind holding on to his reins (harness) for dear life is his harried mum – Me!

Ten people came to our house for the home group from St. Mary’s in Reigate. This is the first meeting John and I have been to this season. It was so good to have fellowship with devout Christians again. One of the new people in the group was Lisa’s main teacher at Micklefield last year. Mrs. Freeman asked if Lisa were here and if she could talk to her. She went to the top of the stairs for a long chat with Lisa and Kate.

I can’t remember ever seeing snow the day before Thanksgiving – had to be in England for that! Up here on the plateau it snowed all morning with nothing to show for it but a drippy roof. Looked pretty, though. The snow, not the drippy roof.

Thanksgiving came with a minimum of fuss since much of our routine continued; it didn’t feel like a holiday to me until John came home from the office early. John G had flown into Heathrow that morning, took a nap at home, then appeared in the office to drive John out. They came just 10 minutes before I would have had to set out on the school run. They did it instead, and I put the finishing touches on the dinner.

We also enjoyed Udo K and his wife, Tina, while Lisa talked non-stop with their 15-year-old twin girls and Kate flirted with their 11-year-old son. The boy loved playing with the trains set up in area near the fireplace.

John took Lisa shopping in Epsom, buying two pair of shoes and a top! It took a lot of tact and the patience of Job on his part. I think he has more to spare than I.

$ has learned to put on his jackets and sweaters by the good old Montesori method. He’s so proud of himself.

Today must have been the most marvelous of Advent Sundays we’ve ever had. We arrived at Winchester Cathedral in time to walk all around the church, finding Jane Austen’s grave and seeing this longest of Medieval churches. The girls and I sat near the front of the packed church – every seat taken in the first two sections reaching half way back. Most seemed to be regulars greeting each other and smiling at us. What warmth!

The choir was superb, singing one of my favorites by Ralph Vaughn-Williams. I went up for communion and was shocked later to see John approach the altar with a sleeping $ in his arms. The sermon was erudite, but with a simple message.

We ate dinner (roast beef for others, salmon for me) at a tiny restaurant with most attentive staff. $ ate like a pig with good manners and behaved beautifully.

The great hall still standing from the castle was also within walking distance and featured King Arthur’s round table hung high on the wall. (It’s several hundred years too new to be authentic, but is old nevertheless.)

Two original gates in the city wall remain, one with a lovely little church built right over the opening.

Walking back to the car, we again stopped in the cathedral to buy a few little things and the Christmas tape done by their choir. We reveled in the glorious sound all the way home.

England 40 Years Ago — November 22, 1981

At the beginning of the week the butcher, Mr. Luf, handed me an envelope that he said they’d had since the Saturday before, hoping Kate would come in. Her face lit up when she saw it after school; she opened it, and her mouth dropped open when she discovered a one pound note with a lovely birthday card. She flew out of the house to go over and thank the two men and a boy who had signed it. [The butcher shop was easy to reach using a footpath. Kate often went with me and occasionally ran over by herself to buy eggs.]

This nation is changing over to the metric system faster than the US. I was looking for shoe laces and found them marked in cm only. I know what 1 cm looks like, but I couldn’t visualize 60 of them end to end. Solution: I found a ruler in the stationery department, and the problem was solved.

I was invited to a coffee to meet two ladies who live in this area. Eileen B had the get-together in Reigate not far from Micklefield school. I don’t know how she got to know the other two, one of whom has a son at Micklefield, and the other with a son in school just down Breech Lane. All three of us visitors had a toddler in tow, so the visiting was at a minimum. Did find out that the husband of one is a builder, and the other a stunt man! At the moment he is working on the Pirates of Penzance.

On a rainy day John $ had his Wellingtons on, and I was able to lure him to town by going from one puddle to another. The rector replied to my martyred air, “You’re only young once. If you jump in puddles when older, they lock you up.”

$ loves to pull cereal out of the cabinet

The day the car was in the garage for servicing was the day the assistant matron of Dunottar called to say Lisa was ill. I don’t believe I’ve ever fetched her from school in the middle of the day. Luckily I was able to call the garage to find the car was finished and return the call to the school to confirm that I would be picking Lisa up in half an hour. Had to get John $ just as he was going to sleep for his nap, walk to town, get the car, and drive to Reigate. Brought Lisa home and helped her to bed before going back for Kate. Lisa felt better soon after getting home, so it wasn’t anything serious.

I’ve noticed that in speaking of kinfolk, English people refer to their “relations.” The friendly girl who pumps petrol in Reigate said, “When I went to visit my parents, my relations drove me down.” To me “relations” conjures up a bunch of people you have to struggle to get along with, as in “keeping up good relations with so and so.” I’d take relatives any day!

When we first moved in, Catherine and Philippa told us everyone in the village is nice except the grump who runs the post office. They told us to steer clear of him whenever possible. I found that he was, indeed, a sour person; and all I do is hand him my Braille work once a month. You can imagine my horror as I went in to buy these funny brown envelopes when Kate marched up to the window. She picked John $ up so he could peer through the grill and told the man it was the first time he’d walked in the post office. I was imagining he’d keep a sharp stick to poke at little people like I’d poke at spiders, but he smiled and asked how old $ is!!! What a shock!!! Kate seems to inspire some people to be friendly when I can’t.

England 40 Years Ago — November 16, 1981

Sorry I missed writing last week. Birthday week is always a hectic time. Nine days ago Kate had four friends spend three hours here for a party, including games and lunch. They are of an age to cooperate nicely and eat heartily, so we all had a good time.

Lise with Kate and her friends for Kate’s birthday party

Thank you all very much for all the notice of the girls for their birthdays. They both had all their cards displayed in their rooms. The real birthdays, which fell in the middle of the week, we celebrated by having them choose their menu and by having their dad home from work early.

Lisa had four friends for a slumber party. Two I know quite well – Catherine S and Caroline H – but Emma H and Janet S were new to me. All were so sweet and interesting to talk to. We feel both girls have some lovely friends.

Lise is 13. The girls’ birthdays are one day apart.

Before long I may have to arrange to shop without John $ or find some horse blinders to fit him. After I’ve put a few purchases in my basket that hangs on the handle of his push chair, he peers into it and helps himself to anything he fancies. I bought bananas; he grabbed them, and before I could think “NO” he’d bitten a little of the skin. By the time I got home he’d worked one little finger into the hole and began to fish out the banana bit by bit.

The English believe in charity and start training their children for it early in life. Every Friday at Micklefield they take up a collection for some organization. Last week, of course, was Poppy week – donations for Remembrance Day (Veteran’s Day). At Dunottar various groups organize things to bring in money for their favorite charities. There have been Rubic cube contests, a game of net ball between students and faculty, and pony rides at lunch break. Adults, too, are not ashamed to walk the streets and pound on doors to raise money.

Lise, at thirteen, has decided it is the thing to run down her parents. I nearly laughed aloud at the conversation among the girls as we came home from school for Lisa’s slumber party. She was going on about how OLD her father is, and it was absolutely the wrong group to air that. The three other girls who came from Dunottar are the youngest in their families, and two of them have a sibling engaged to be married in the coming year. Caroline said, “My father is 50”, in a placid tone, and the other two said theirs are 51. End of conversation! Lisa knew very well that John just celebrated his 40^th.

Yesterday we drove through the autumn countryside taking back roads toward Arundel Castle (emphasis on the “a” as in “apple”). It wasn’t open – most things aren’t now – but we did see the village and outer walls. It was beautiful and imposing. We drove on to the sea and walked beside the pounding surf with the crisp breeze stinging our faces. Refreshing.

Saturday we invited neighbors Jennifer and Vivian for a quick cup of tea and a taste of carrot cake. When I mentioned the name of the cake, they rolled their eyes slightly, having never heard of putting carrots in cake. They decided it was edible. We were discussing beverages, and they said the reason people put milk in the cup before pouring the tea goes back to the time real china cups from China made their advent here, along with tea. The English people knew china was much more delicate than whatever they had been using, so they put the milk in first to keep the china cups from breaking from being suddenly heated by the hot tea. They pointed out that it has never been the custom to put milk in coffee first; it is always served separately.

That’s all the news for now. I hope to reply to several weeks’ worth of letters that I haven’t gotten around to before.

England 40 Years Ago — November 2, 1981

Kate had last week off for half term, and Lisa got only half Friday and Monday. One day Kate and I set out for Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. This castle was built in 1386, was probably burned during the civil war and gradually decayed for 200 years until it was cleaned up and presented to the National Trust. It’s a compact fortress surrounded by a lovely moat. After we walked through and around it, we tried to get home on small roads. Took forever, but it was fun.

Kate enjoyed being outside working with Mr. Clewes. He was able to get her to practice her violin by telling her he was sure she couldn’t really play a tune. Another day she went to the office with John, staying the full working day. She was really tired when they got home and chose to stay at home the following day just diddling around.

John took Friday off, we pulled Lisa from school, and off we went to Paris for the weekend! The first fun thing was riding on the hovercraft across the Channel. We just looked at each other as our “flight” was called. They always referred to it as flying! The vehicle takes about 25-30 cars and extra foot passengers. The loading is relatively quick. Passengers leave their cars being lashed down by the crew and go to either side cabin to sit in airline type seats. Hostesses ask each adult if they wish to purchase anything from the duty free shop and bring your items to your seat. Kate and I decided to go to the loo and understood why they urge you to remain seated most of the time – it’s almost impossible to walk! The girls who work in the craft are used to it. John says they have their sea legs. They trot up and down the aisle with little difficulty while Kate and I lurched the few steps we walked.

The hovercraft is about as noisy as a prop jet. After the engines rev up, it slowly rises up in the air and slithers off the sloping ramp onto the water. I think all of you would enjoy it, with the possible exception of Julie and Chrissie. The return flight was rough because the sea was not calm, but we just enjoyed being bumped around. It could be compared with flying in an airplane through turbulence. It took half an hour to go over and 45 minutes to return, and the fare has been reduced so that it is the same as going on a regular ferry.

We were surprised at the openness of the countryside on the way to Paris. It is empty land! All is farmed or used for industrial purposes, but there are few towns and only a few houses in sight from the highway. The city itself doesn’t seem to be surrounded by suburbs like most cities we’ve seen; you’re in the country, and then suddenly in the city. The traffic was something else again! It took hours for us to work our way to the hotel near Orly Airport, and this was at 3 in the afternoon. After we settled in the hotel, we decided to take a drive toward the city while waiting for the dining room to open. We figured the traffic couldn’t be heavy on the way in and past rush hour. It was. We found ourselves squeezed along with the crowd before trying to make a block and reverse our direction. One block took half an hour. That is not an exaggeration! We were so glad to find the hotel again, though we’d wanted to eat in an outside restaurant (by outside I mean not at the hotel, not outdoors). We ate, put down a tired little boy and went to bed ourselves.

Saturday we had a later start than planned, but did get in Versailles to see the Palace. What opulence! The innards are all marble, gold, mirrors, chandeliers, and paintings. It boggles the mind that a few people could live in that way when the rest of the country was in abject poverty. No wonder they parted Marie Antoinette from her head!

It seemed a fairly long way to Chartres (pronounced “sharts”, I think). It was worth it for the view of the cathedral from a distance. That church is considered by many to be the most beautiful in the world. It sits on the top of a steep hill and seems to be a beacon to the world for miles around. We worked our way up steep lanes seeing what a medieval French town must have looked like. There were times the Peugeot had to squeak between two buildings; an American car simply wouldn’t have made it. All parking places were taken above ground, so we went into an underground car park. It was a marvel – two concentric circles held hundreds of cars, and you’d never have guessed it was there close to that ancient cathedral.

The stones are obviously very old, and the floor from the back up to the chancel is cobbled like an old street. It’s the first time we’ve ever been in a church with such a rough floor. By late afternoon on a cloudy day you could almost not see the ceilings. The windows glowed with a soft light, and the colours were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.

We walked into the shopping part of town to find people scurrying about and business as lively as could be at 5 in the afternoon. Most impressive were the flower stalls doing a brisk business in potted plants. We later found out why. We had forgotten it was Halloween and the next day All Saints’ Day. It seems to be the custom in France to decorate graves with plants for All Saints’ Day. On Sunday EVERY cemetery looked like a flower shop! We saw numerous glowing spots of colour in the landscape on the drive back to Calais (that ends with “lay”), and each one was a cemetery.

We found out that hand-knitted Norwegian sweaters are very absorbing items. I hope you enjoyed the above description because I’ll now tell you how the day started out. $ wouldn’t eat breakfast, whimpered in the car as we drove away to go sight-seeing, so I took him on my lap. You guessed it. He let loose with all the orange juice he’d insisted on drinking. It kept coming and kept coming. Got on the car carpet, my legs, and all over $, mostly on his sweater. The sweater absorbed a great deal. We immediately turned around to go back to the hotel, and I washed out everything by hand while John and Lisa cleaned the car. He and Kate searched until they found Woolite, and soon the sweater was smelling sweet again. We took the ice bucket from the Holiday Inn and started out again. Every time $ looked green, cried, or burped, I shoved his head down that little plastic bucket. Luckily, nothing else happened. We did enjoy our day and got to see much that we’d wanted to.

Sunday we walked around the inside of Notre Dame looking at all the beautiful windows. What a treat to hear the bells pealing and resounding down through the church, though it wasn’t loud at all inside! We stayed for part of the service until $ had had enough. The boy choir was so much better than we’d have thought. Many French choirs sound terrible compared to English or German ones, but this was an exception. People kept streaming in to attend the service. It was very moving.

The Seine flows right by the church, all hemmed in by stone banks. A short way down the street is the Eiffel Tower, and we also drove to see the Arc de Triumph or however you spell it. If I can’t spell English, I know you’ll forgive my French.

This morning (Monday) Kate was supposed to go to school, but threw up three times instead. Lisa has been very kind to her, fetching her drinks, books and such. I washed three loads of clothes, spread Carpet Fresh in the car, and returned overdue library books. I’m so glad Kate can aim at a bucket and not do her thing on me! Tomorrow all should return to normal.

Paris is surprisingly open with very wide boulevards, unlike London’s narrow winding streets. John said the man who helped design Paris also had a hand in the design of Washington DC. Most of the areas we were in came from this period.

England 40 Years Ago — October 25, 1981

Deviousness comes early to some. $ has decided he doesn’t like milk. When I was caught on the telephone at lunch time, he crawled out of his chair onto the table, lifted the lid of the teapot and neatly poured his milk into my tea, closed the top afterwards and looked as smug as could be.

There was heavy, heavy rain while we were in route to school. Going down the very narrow and steepest part of the back road down the Downs, I saw the car ahead of us go into a skid. Fortunately, it didn’t hit any in the line of cars waiting to get up the hill. Whew!

There was an open night at Dunottar for parents of new girls. It was a free for all in the dining hall – parents and teachers milling about and trying to talk about the school and the girls. The president of the board of trustees calmed everyone down by making a speech mostly on financing and nearly put me to sleep. Rather pointless, I thought, but I was glad to see what a couple of Lisa’s teachers looked like.

Why are weeds so strong? Our telephone was out of order for two days, and the engineer (repairman) found that a vine near the kitchen window had broken the wire!!!

Did you know that ground nuts and monkey nuts are very familiar to all of you? Both are names for peanuts!

I asked the girls if $ had seen people feeding horses on a TV show they’d watched together. The following day he kept shoving food at the mouth end of his wooden riding giraffe.

It was bound to happen sometime. I was so thankful $ had on dry pants and that I hadn’t an important appointment looming over me. In fact, it was leisure time that got me in trouble! I was intent on getting $ to walk happily with me to the butcher shop for fun and exercise and didn’t discover until I returned home that I’d left the key inside. Since thieving is a national pastime, I’d carefully locked and double locked all windows and doors. Mrs. Wilson was home, but couldn’t find her key. Vivian took a look all round but could only suggest breaking a window. Finally Mrs. Wilson made a second stop up here to say she’d at last located Jeremy, who was working nearby, and would come with the key in 10 minutes. They were all terribly kind and understanding. Even had a cup of coffee next door while waiting – a treat I’d not usually allow myself!

When I read this newspaper headline, “Many axed quangoes are still awaiting legal death,” I had to know what on earth “quangoes” were. Even after reading 20 inches of the column it made no sense. On to the dictionary! “Quangoes” – acronym for quasi-autonomous national government organization. Surely they deserve a quick death to put us out of our misery!

Passing the pond, Kate was asking where the young swans were. She said, “Where are the swignets?”

Despite heavy rain we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Warwick Castle. Here in England you just ignore the rain as much as possible. I’ll admit that was a bit hard to do at Warwick Castle. There was a long hike from the car park to the outer walls of the castle, and quite a walk to the barbican.

The buildings on view are arranged around a large courtyard, and you duck in for a bit, then back out in the rain to dash to the next part. It was a bit hard to see with rain streaming down my glasses while outside and the fog that instantly whitened out everything as soon as I stepped inside. In the lower regions, we never knew if the squishing of our feet signaled we were squeezing water out from the last puddle or letting more in from the puddle just entered.

There have been fortifications on that site since the 900’s! The state apartments are impressively luxurious. We saw a handkerchief and a saddle that had belonged to Elizabeth I!!! In the library I was most impressed with the water colours. The picture had been done by members of the Warwick family several hundred years ago. I knew water colour painting was a general hobby among the upper classes, but I never imagined they would be so exquisite. The ones on view were about 9”x12” with the finest brush strokes imaginable and vibrant colours. I would have guessed they were done by a master painter had I not read otherwise.

The tiny tower steps going round and round were both treacherous and steep. The passage way couldn’t have been more than two feet wide, and the sharply curving stone steps were so narrow that our feet wouldn’t fit flat even on the outermost part. John carried $, Lisa held our guidebooks, and I had a camera and pocketbook in one hand, the other holding Kate who was scared to death. There was a warning to the elderly and infirm that more than 200 steps were ahead. After puffing up and holding our breath on the way down, we FELT elderly and infirm! We saw the room high in the walls where soldiers stood ready to run to any part of the wall needing reinforcements.

We easily found a lovely modern motel, but finding dinner was another matter. The motel dining room didn’t open until 7:30, and we had a tired little boy on our hands. We searched three towns to find something that was open, suitable and affordable. Evidently English children are not expected to eat after 4:30 when traveling. We found numerous fish and chips shops, but they had counter only – no where to sit to eat. Fried fish eaten in a car on a rainy night held no appeal. Likewise Indian food and Chinese take-aways. We finally settled for a pizza place. What a lovely surprise! It was newly decorated with lots of light wood, had a menu that included vegetables, a charming waitress who exclaimed over how “gorgeous” $ was, and we had no need to rob a bank before entering.

Sunday at 5 a.m. $ arose ready for a full day and wouldn’t postpone the start of it. John drove him around the countryside before dawn to keep him happy while the rest of us got our beauty sleep. He saw Coventry Cathedral and the massive ruins of Kenilworth Castle by moonlight. After breakfast he took us all to see the towering walls of pink brick that are all that remain of Kenilworth.

John’s timing was splendid, as usual. We found Stratford upon Avon with no trouble, spotted a church, parked the car, and walked in just before the service began. It happened to be the burial place of Shakespeare! After the service we went up in the chancel to see the grave of him and his wife, Anne. Also on display were photostats of his baptism, marriage and burial pages taken from the church records.

I had left church before the sermon to remove $ and walked about the town scouting the historical places and finding a restaurant. While waiting for the service to end, I went behind the church and found the River Avon lined with fishermen. Within sight were waterfalls and locks. While enjoying the scenery, I idly watched a narrow boat being rowed down the river. As it came closer, I realized the five boys in it were very young. The man in a track suit running on the opposite bank was their trainer. He shouted, ran, had them stop, shouted some more, and really put them through their paces. Bet the fishermen loved that!

At the Shakespeare Hotel we ate roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower, swedes (turnips) and roast potatoes. Having amply satisfied our stomachs, we began to walk.

Shakespeare’s birthplace was a fairly large house very simply furnished. The house he bought when he’d retired from London was demolished one or two hundred years ago, but the foundations remain. Adjoining that is the house that belonged to his granddaughter, Elizabeth. The guide commented on how large the house is and how wealthy Shakespeare was. Both he and his wife came from good families, and he’d made very wise investments. Not far away was the home of William’s daughter who had married a doctor, John Hall. It, too, is large.

Shakespeare’s birthplace
Lot where Shakespeare’s retirement home was
His granddaughter’s home
Home of Shakespeare’s daughter

We drove in the car to Anne Hathaway’s cottage – the farmhouse where she lived while Shakespeare was courting her. The guide said they married when William was 18 and Anne 26 years old. Anne’s father was not poor, either; he farmed 90 acres!

Standing near the door, I took the photo below to show the thickness of the thatched roof.

I was glad to see a visual history of plates – an old square wooden trencher with a large round depression for the meal and a small one for salt. That’s where we get the expression “square meal”. The wooden trencher was used in William’s day with only a knife and fingers to eat with! Next shown were pewter plates that came later, and then china. All these had belonged to the family – 13 generations of that family had occupied the house.

The sun had shown all day to spite the forecasters. We hit a few sprinkles of rain on the long drive home, but it wasn’t too bad. We decided the impromptu trips can be more fun than the well-planned ones.