England 40 Years Ago — February 14, 1982

You can live for years in a place and not know something is available until the crunch comes. Kate forgot to go to the bathroom in the morning, failed to take time at school, and was in dire distress when we were checking books out of the library. It would have been another 45 minutes until we’d reach home. I told myself it wouldn’t hurt to ask and was surprised when the librarian went for a key. My first thought was that it must be nice if they keep it locked. We had to go to the rear of the building, grope our way in, and find the loo. It wasn’t until we were leaving that I found the light switch. Talk about austerity – there was a light and an old toilet, no sink and no toilet paper. Kate would agree it was better than nothing.

It might not be so unusual for a 2-year-old to hand you a $10 bill, but I knew immediately that John $ had been into something! I haven’t seen a $10 bill for at least a year! I deal in pounds and pence now.

I knew something was up by the tone of John’s voice; he shouted, “Anne! I need you up here immediately.” The closer I got to the bathroom door, the more piercing the screams. Kate was almost in hysterics kneeling rigidly in the tub wailing over her spots. We immediately suspected chicken pox which none of the children have had yet. She finally trusted us enough to accept the fact she wouldn’t be an outcast of society.

The reactions of various people to Kate’s illness were amusing. The doctor laughed when I asked if she wanted to diagnose it in her surgery, on a house call or by telephone. She chose the telephone. Kate appreciates $’s actions the most: whenever I put a cooling lotion on her spots, he lifts his shirt for the same. Lisa said, “Well, you’re always wanting to do things first, and now you have.” John kindly told her we don’t need a dog for a pet because we can call her “Spot.”

She seems to be having a mild case without too many spots and not a lot of itching. According to a baby book, we should be able to take our short holiday next weekend before the other two come down with it in about a fortnight. Meanwhile, it certainly is handy having John home so that Kate doesn’t have to go with me in the car to get Lisa to and from school. (Kate doesn’t like to stay in the house by herself.)

Last night John and I left Lisa in charge when we went to dinner at the home of the fellow who took John’s job at work. Also there were the bachelor lawyer, John G, and their friend from work Udo with his wife, Tina. The last three were our Thanksgiving guests, as well. We had a great time. They have a lovely modern home tastefully furnished with fine antiques. The large dining room table was of yew. I couldn’t believe the dinner she put on the table – prawn salad, chicken in a gourmet sauce, beans, roast potatoes, sprouts, profiteroles (small cream puffs piled in a pyramid and covered with chocolate sauce), cheese, mints, and a concoction of sponge cake, meringue, whipped cream and strawberries. We found out she works full time preparing tax returns, and her busy season lasts from March to December!! The man originally comes from Lincolnshire.

The conversation I found most interesting was about au pairs. This couple have had an au pair for years since the mother works. Young girls from other countries sign up with agencies to get this work, usually being about 18 years old, and the purpose is to improve their English while seeing parts of this land. In exchange for their room, board, small amount of spending money, and one day off a week, they do light housework and mind children. Most often they come for only one year, so I presume this couple have had many over the years. The general rules are roughly the same; you can require six hours of work a day. Their present girl is from Yugoslavia, though we didn’t see her because she was out for the evening.

[There were no photos to go with this letter. These days, I think an American hostess would be pleased if someone took a picture of a fancy meal she had prepared. Wonder what the reaction would have been 40 years ago???]

What’s the Story?

As I reached the creek, I saw three items on the rock.

Zooming in, I took another shot and put the camera back in my pocket. All the way home, I wondered why those items were grouped together.

A woman’s story:

My darling love, I went back to “our” rock where we used to talk for hours by the creek. The gurgling water was the same, but my life has been shattered. Nothing is the same since you left. I sat there, having a pouch drink like we used to. Remember that hot summer day when we moved some big stones to change the music of the stream? They have been scattered. I looked at my feet on this cold day and discovered a heart-shaped rock, worn smooth by the flowing water. Picking it up, I warmed it in my hands as if it were your heart I was massaging. If only I could warm your feelings for me again! I went back to the car and got the lock we found the last day we were here. I took it as a symbol that our lives were going to be locked together forever. I’m leaving a message for you, just in case you come back like I did. The rock is my heart longing to be locked with yours once more. You’ll know it was me because of the drink. I still love you.

A man’s story:

While fishing, I saw a rock and a lock under water. Put them on a big rock. Forgot them and my drink when I left.

Sadie Goes to Washington

Sadie moved to Washington State and was very happy to be in a house with a fenced yard. Probably anything was better than being cooped up in a moving car. A few days later her joy knew no bounds when Rose arrived. Rose rescued Sadie when the dog was a puppy, and their reunion was sweet.

Son John $pencer took a photo of her near the Spokane River.

I enjoyed the snow scenes where Sadie was catching snowballs thrown for her.

She was at peace and ready to rest a bit during a hike near the Canadian border.

England 40 Years Ago — February 7, 1982

In all my years of doing the family washing, I had the highest percentage of socks go missing one day. (In England things don’t “get lost,” they “go missing.”) By the next day I’d recovered all four.

Do you remember the verse about the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead? When she was bad, she was horrid. Well, little John can be haughty, but more often he’s NAUGHTY. In one day he unpacked the frozen foods all around the car, willfully threw pebbles from a planter into the fireplace, played in the salt pig, knocked down the gate at the door to play in the shower while I was washing my hair, and opened the big box where my angels were and began pulling them out. Imagine me following in the wake of that little swirling disaster, cleaning up one mess as he was making another. He had also made off with my glasses so that I couldn’t see to dress after washing my hair as the door bell was ringing. You might guess this was a day John Sr. went to London. Do you suppose he knows what’s coming and abandons ship?

John had them rolling in the aisles when he went into the office to catch up on a few things. One of the old hands in the chartering department was moving into a vice-president’s office that John had used the last two weeks. As the man pondered where to put furniture, John said, “It’s kinda like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, isn’t it?” The dour Norwegian couldn’t stifle his laughter on that one.

$ decided to stir up a cake while I was fetching the girls and John was upstairs working. He used two dirty beaters, two cake testers, one clean wooden spoon, two bowls and the cheese grater. Unfortunately, the cake he stirred up was one I’d baked that morning.

We had a most delightful weekend in the Cotswolds. The first historical thing we visited was also the oldest – the foundations of a Roman villa. It was hard to believe they allowed about as much space for elaborate baths as for all the other living spaces put together. Tile mosaics were exquisite, and the hypocaust heating system running under all the floors is more advanced than many systems in use here today!

Not far from that villa were the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Hailes founded in the 1200’s by a brother of Henry III. Most of the foundations and some of the walls are there, filled in with a carpet of lush green grass. Just across the lane was the parish church still standing which is older than the abbey.

Boss stones from the abbey ceiling displayed in the museum

Tewkesbury Abbey was our last tourist stop of the day. One of the first things we noticed was a coal heater with a little wagon of coal standing beside it. The same kind of heaters were also in Ely Cathedral north of Cambridge. The photo at left was taken at Hereford Cathedral and does not have a wagon of coal beside it.

After we’d walked around admiring the elaborate, but delicate, stone work, there was a special sung evensong service in honour of the 30^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. The reverberation period must have been at least 5 seconds, showing off the fine tones of the choir and the oldest organ in use in this country. That organ has just been reworked and was rededicated only a couple of months ago.

For Sunday worship we sat in the choir of Gloucester Cathedral. A proud sidesman told John their choir ranks sixth or maybe even third in the country. We were sitting at the entrance to the lectern, and each time the men stood waiting to read, they smiled at $. Most unusual to us were the organ pipes over the choir screen painted in colourful scrolls and intricate patterns.

We admired the shiny floor tiles typical of this area – all in two colours. They were made by pressing a stamp into the soft clay tile, filling the indentations with lighter coloured clay, and firing them. After buying a reproduction tile in the bookshop [still on our dining room table in 2022], we went back into the choir (or quire as they spelled it on a sign) to find where that design was laid. We wandered into the cloisters, saw the chapter house where the congregation was invited for coffee, and fell into conversation with the dean of the cathedral who had preached the sermon. Around another corner of the glass and stone enclosed cloister was a sign that on that site William the Conqueror ordered the census later known as the Doomsday Book.

Two Sundays in a row we’ve been in churches with such warm friendly people – Guildford last Sunday and Gloucester this week. At both we felt such a part of the congregation that we were comfortable taking communion. Probably it helps that we know the Anglican service fairly well now. These smaller cathedrals are obviously home churches for many people; the sidesmen greet the regulars as old friends and have welcoming words for strangers. Of course, this feeling can’t extend to the tourist-mobbed big churches in London.

We couldn’t resist buying the record of Christmas music by the Gloucester choir. On reading the cover, we found that Gustav Holst was very active in that church and that Ralph Vaughn Williams was born near Gloucester, though he later lived near Dorking.

I forgot to mention that we saw the tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. If we go to enough churches, we will have “seen” most of the kings and queens of England.

A No-mess Crisis

I thought the shower head had become really clogged with deposits from our hard water. Thank heavens I hadn’t gotten my hair wet! I shouted to John, and he found there was no running water anywhere in the house. Neighbor Bob came over immediately, and the two men checked under the house. Bob suspected the pump had failed. He was able to suggest a company to call, warning us that it could be expensive. A new pump would be bad enough, but if we needed to drill for a new source of water, we should brace ourselves.

There was no telling how long it would take for the repairmen to respond. Shawn and Bob offered us their facilities and water. What would we do without our fantastic neighbors? David and John filled four gallon milk jugs at their house, as well as two five-gallon containers. The jugs went to the kitchen counter, and the big containers to bathrooms. In the photo, you can see the big water holder. Can you also see the small plastic container on the floor? That was for dipping water to pour into the toilet or for washing hands in the sink.

Two men came within six hours! The pump was at fault, and they installed a new one before dark. We had water again!! We could use it, even though we needed a new bladder for the pressure tank. They had already used the one they keep on the truck, so they returned the next morning to finish the job.

The photo shows the well cover near our driveway, with the tire marks from the large truck. We are very thankful we got off as lightly as we did.

The well cover is supposed to look like a large rock. After I added this photo, I’ve decided it looks like a friendly little alien. Does anyone have a name to suggest?

Happy Ending

Sadie knew something was happening, but she had no idea what was coming. I took two photos to show her waiting mood.

I was waiting, too, but I tried to keep a smile on my face. Son John $pencer packed his car carefully, preparing to follow his heart to Washington state, a continent away. Sadie obeyed the command to get in.

The trip was going well until there was car trouble in Sundance, Wyoming. A mechanic said he needed a new transmission, but there was none to be had there. That man talked with the mechanic who had worked on the car in North Carolina. Together, they decided draining the transmission fluid and replacing it might get the car to the coast. The first suggestion would have cost thousands of dollars, but the second cost hundreds. The happy ending is $’s arriving at his destination one week after leaving.

$ drove through light snow and treacherous ice without further incident. He commended on the cold – -30F (-34.4C). Sadie walked oddly, he said, really feeling the brutal chill to her paws. I imagined a cartoon dog walking on her toes, trying to skim over the surface without touching it. She is much happier now, resting in a warm house. $ is taking a break for a day and will begin job and house hunting in earnest.

I can smile freely again, knowing our son is where he wants to be. When family or friends leave our house, my heart is heavy. It’s almost like being physically sick for days or hours before, proportional to the time they’ve spent with us. When they leave and wishing won’t bring them back, I can resume normal living once more.

Visiting Nathaniel

Our plans to visit grandson Nathaniel were canceled, because he tested positive for COVID. A week later, after he quarantined with a very light case, we went to a restaurant he chose. We always leave that decision to him, since he is a culinary student at the university and has heard about all the nearby eateries. We had a lovely visit with him and friend Sarah, as shown in the photo.

What doesn’t show is the explosive sound that greeted us when we opened the door of the restaurant. We were shown to a table right under a speaker. I immediately lowered the volume on my hearing aids while the others refrained from covering their ears. If we had stayed in those seats, everyone would have come out as deaf as I am. Nathaniel politely requested another table, so we picked up our menus and napkins to follow. I didn’t hear what he said, but we were led upstairs and shown to these two tables pulled together. We did not know that a Super Bowl playoff was on the air, and EVERYONE downstairs was an avid fan. The restaurant person asked if we were sure we wanted the sound off and mercifully left us in peace.

The photo of our party, taken from a different angle, shows the game projected on a large screen behind Sarah’s seat and mine.

The building had been a residential house, and we had half the upstairs. I’m still amazed that we got the quiet we wanted AND a private dining room at no extra cost. I wondered why no other diners were brought upstairs. As we walked out, we saw that every parking space was taken in that tiny lot.

David told me today that every time he heard patrons downstairs shouting or groaning, he glanced at the screen to see what was happening. I’m glad he had a good view and I did not.

England 40 Years Ago — January 31, 1982

The regular mid-week train strike was looming up again as John’s boss realized the end was drawing near. This past week John left home on Tuesday morning knowing he wouldn’t be home until his work is finished Friday night.

I got lonely for some lengthy adult conversation and called Jackie F Wednesday morning. Both her husband and son were staying in a hotel in London because of the strike. In answer to my invitation for a cup of coffee she said, “Sure. I’ll come as soon as I get up, dress and have breakfast.” We had a great time trying to talk while John snitched all the cookies on the tray, played in the sugar bowl and drank from the cream pitcher. She wasn’t hungry at noon, so I fed John $ and put him down for a nap. Talking was much easier then until my stomach growled across the room. At 2:30 we had a sandwich; she went home as I was waking John 15 minutes later. What fun it was to have unlimited talk!

Some people save up for a rainy day while others shake their fist at the sky. $ does neither; on rainy days he wakes up in EXUBERANT spirits and longs to go outside. I lured him to the butcher shop by letting him think he could eradicate nice muddy puddles – you know, stamp them out. He refused to go home, turning toward the village instead. We explored the puddles in the churchyard, climbed through all the pews in the church, examined a model of the church in the porch, and then we found a big drain in the street on Breech Lane. It’s too much to ask that we do these things unnoticed. I was standing in the street holding on for dear life as $ tried to get on hands and knees to see if he could crawl into the drain. Looking up, I saw a red car creeping near us and Vivien Sutton sitting in the driver’s seat slowly shaking his head. $ and I came inside when I promised he could wash his hands; he’s not old enough to know that is supposed to be torture.

We spent a most enjoyable evening with John G (company lawyer from NC). He’d kindly invited the whole family, but we chose to leave $ at home with neighbors Catherine and George (Georgina). We had a foretaste of his neighborhood driving through the posh area near Eaton Square. His flat is on the ground floor of an old, well-preserved building, and the flat itself is marvelous. There is a very large drawing room, a cozy book-lined room that doubles as study and dining room, compact kitchen with all the appliances one could wish for, bathroom and two bedrooms. Lisa was the first to go in his bedroom with skylight and a wall of closets with perhaps five doors of 6-foot mirrors. He told her to open the next to last door, and it was the entrance to the en suite bath! We walked through the little door, up three steps and there was a shower enclosure, separate bath, WC, bidet and hand basin!

While walking two blocks to a restaurant, John pointed to the block of flats where Lady Diana lived before her engagement. (The general area is Kensington.) The food we had was delicious, and we all enjoyed John G, the perfect host. He found questions and anecdotes for Lisa and Kate, and they responded to his interest. We strolled back to the flat and saw his fancy TV set that can give weather, stock market reports, news, etc. on demand by pushing the numbers on a calculator-type gadget. [Do you suppose I didn’t know what a remote control was 40 years ago???] After a little more conversation we had to head home.

Hours after we’d left home George said $ insisted on putting on his coat to go outside to look for Kate. He looked around, was told she had gone, and he was then happy to go inside and take off the coat. ??? He doesn’t care to be left behind!

Today we went to Guildford Cathedral, arriving minutes after the service started. The building was finished after WWII and was the first one to have dedication services televised. It is brick outside and white inside – very light and modern, though not objectionably so. Often John and I have heard recordings of evensong played on the radio from Guildford Cathedral, and it was a shock to us to discover it does not have a choir school. The boys sound every bit as professional as many we’ve heard. The message was also good today. The preacher said the church attracts the MAD and the BAD, and if it doesn’t, then that church should reevaluate its evangelism program.

We didn’t even have a map in the car with us since we left home in a hurry, and the weather didn’t look as if we’d enjoy racking around the countryside. The sun kept threatening to shine, finally did, and we had fun poking around Portsmouth. We had an excellent tour of Lord Nelson’s great battleship, HMS Victory. He was the admiral of the fleet, directed and won the battle of Trafalgar, and was mortally wounded in the fight. There are brass plates on the deck showing where he fell, and markers where he died several hours later on the surgeon’s deck.

John has made arrangements for the mail to continue. A crony here will see to things, and a pal in Miami will coordinate his end. So, for the time being, please continue using the Miami address.

England 40 Years Ago — January 24, 1982

Only in England! I was waiting in the car for Lisa to get out of school and idly watching several moving men unload a van. My interest perked up when an older couple drove up and the young new owners came out to greet them. The man was wearing a tie!!! His wife looked smart, too, though dressed in slacks and a pretty smock top. I couldn’t believe they were in the middle of a move and looking so spiffy.

Our warming trend brought more than a thaw – the birds are trilling merrily. You’d think spring had arrived.

John had occasion to enter $’s room after he’d been put to bed. John described him as being like a mother hen sitting on her eggs – the blanket was in its usual place completely covering his head, and he was lying on an armful of matchbox toys. [That almost sounds like a bed of nails to me.]

I went to visit Paula at her home for a short while one morning. She looks good and is getting excited about bringing Nicholas home in a few weeks. [He was born with spina bifida and had to stay in the hospital much longer than Paula.] The nursery she’s fixed up is more exciting than our three had – cute wallpaper, new light fixture, shining cot, new blankets, toys, books and a wardrobe full of new little clothes.

John was told to stay home during the rail strike this past week. Again, the action stopped all trains for two week days and seriously disrupted things the other days. It was fun having John home. He drove the girls to school both days, had time to visit with me in the mornings, and was working on the phone all afternoon while I was fetching the girls. He finds this strike a nuisance because there are many things he wants to get cleared up before he leaves.

Today we went to St. Mary’s in Reigate for the first time in months. $ fell asleep during the service and didn’t give his dad any trouble. We took a half hour drive after the service to kill time before going to the Hull’s house for Sunday lunch. They served a joint, roast potatoes, leeks from their freezer, fresh sprouts from their garden, lemon mousse, and rhubarb crumble. After an hour’s walk on the common, we came back for tea.

When the discussion at the table centered on travel, I asked Gillian where she’d like to go. She said she’d never been to the Lake District, would like to see that, and has a great desire to walk on Hadrian’s Wall. John H responded to that question with enthusiasm mentioning Africa, Chile, Brazil, South East Asia and six weeks in the sun in California. Gillian then said, “If you’re talking about TRAVEL, I’d choose New Zealand.”

Lisa had her friend from Micklefield and Dunottar come spend a few hours Saturday. Yasmine is one of the top students and so very pleasant. She has been kind to pay attention to Kate, too. The three of them got along remarkably well. We did miss seeing any of the neighbors who live under the same roof this weekend; I think this is only the second or third weekend we’ve not seen one or another of them since we moved here almost a year ago.

This has been a rather uneventful week. Sorry I couldn’t find more to write about.

Snow Melt Art

Until this year, the best part of snow was watching it fall and hoping it would stick. During the last snowstorm, I paused occasionally to watch it and was rewarded with about eight inches of it piled on the deck. Days of melt ensued. I had no use for this destructive process until I looked at the design where snow had melted. There seemed to be dark fanciful animals leaping there.

About half an hour later I looked at the white bits and saw a white Yorkie on the left, followed by others with their muzzles behind the dog ahead. On the right are several dachshunds.

Three days later there was a special design under a plant stand. I’m not sure if snow clung to the stand, keeping it from accumulating below, or if it melted and dripped on snow under it. Obviously, I missed the action as this was forming.

John and I were walking in a light flurry when we noticed Sadie licking the snow off the road as she walked. I failed to record that design, but I did catch her in the act of scooping up snow with her tongue.

I am so happy that snow now has two dimensions for me – one coming, the other going.