Samhain ... Sah-ween ... Halloween

The pictures in this issue are of Ashton Court Estate in Bristol. I'll share more about that in a minute, but first, I have a few other updates.

Firstly, I am moving on Saturday, 1 November. Not sure how I am going to work out all of the details to be ready for a move, but I guess I'll figure it out! "Packers" [not the Green Bay type; they pack meat, not clothes] are showing up at 730 am on Saturday, and yes, I will be South of London all day Friday making a trek back to Bristol on Friday night a necessity. This will be fun!

Also on Friday, it's Halloween. Halloween is not nearly as big here in the UK as it is in the US. I have picked up a few things. Firstly, 99% of pumpkins in the UK will be turned into Jack O Lanterns for Halloween. By the way, this photo is not exactly Halloween, but a friend of mine sent it to me and I thought it was hilarious!

Secondly, Halloween is believed to be rooted with Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween), a Celtic celebration that marked the doorway into the second season of the year, the dark [the light season, Beltane, is on May 1st]. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored.

The Celtic day began at night, in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. The most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course, as Halloween.

Okay, back to Ashton Court Estate in Bristol. It is the UKs third busiest country park. It's 850 acres of woodland and grassland and a mansion, of course. Once the gracious home of the Smyth family designed by Humphrey Repton just two miles from the centre of Bristol. Look at the size of the oak tree I had the girls sit under so you could see the "scale" of how big it was.

On the estate's higher ground there are two 18 hole golf courses with views across the city. Orienteering, mountain biking and lots of other sports and outdoor activities are catered for with special trails, and there is plenty of open space for family games and picnics, walking and wildlife watching. The estate is a venue for large scale, keynote annual events such as the Balloon Festival, Community Festival and Kite Festival. I missed the Balloon Festival in August of this year because it rained ... the ... whole ... weekend. I couldn't face standing in the wet grass to watch the balloons not take off.

There are a lot of kids on the ground with these skate boards with big wheels that they ride down the hills, through the grass. It looked like fun.

There is a deer park on the grounds that has been there for over 600 years. There are Red and Fallow deer. We were able to get up close and personal with some Fallow deer that have beautiful racks!

The dogs and I spent a Sunday there a couple of weeks ago on [probably] the last fall day of the year. It was beautiful! Lots of open space. A little bit of forrest. A bunch of dogs. And a bunch of kids. There was a group of six-year old girls playing by the mansion as we came down the hill that were taken by Misty. They thought Allie looked weird with her blue and brown eyes, but they liked Misty, "she looks like a wolf". I know that they were six because they asked how old the dogs were and when I told them Allie was six, they all chimed in, "I'm six!".

Playing Skittles

Btw, clocks changed last night and the UK fell back an hour. Now 4+ from EST and 5+ from CST time. We are closer together....

Last night, my neighbors, Kathy and Lawrence, took me as their guest to play Skittles. Skittles is an old European target sport, a variety of bowling, from which Ten-pin bowling, Duckpin bowling, and Candlepin bowling in the United States, and Five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom the game remains a very popular pub sport in England and Wales, though it tends to be found in particular regions, not nationwide. It is perhaps most common in the south west, which is where I live.

We played in a place called The Clarence House. It's just off of the High Street in Portishead. It's a members-only club that used to be a club for utility workers in Portishead. Portishead used to have to power plants, I guess. They have been gone since the 80's and Portishead continues to turn itself into a residence and recreational community instead of an industrial. This my neighbor, Kathy, in the green top.

The group that got together are the individuals that belong to their community allotment. Apparently, the allotment has a new governance structure in place where they are holding members accountable to use their plots or move them on as they have a waiting list to join. In some areas of the country, the wait lists for an allotment are 10 years, or more. It's viewed as a privilege.

Okay, back to Skittles. You get to throw three rubber balls. I guess in some places, the balls are wood. Imagine the noise of a wooden ball hitting a wooden alley! This is my neighbor Lawrence to the left.

Anyway, there are nine pins at the end of the alley. The pins are set up by fellow players who take managing the end of the alley. You bowl a total of six frames. At the end of the fifth frame, you total your score and bowl the last frame. It is simple match, no additional points, so the highest possible score is 54.

I scored a 37, which was the highest score for the ladies and one short of tying for the overall highest score! I won a five pound gift certificate to a garden centre!

Back to Bristol...

We made our journey back to Bristol on Sunday. We picked up the dogs from the kennel on our way back to my house from the train station. They didn't eve blink that Baynes was in the car. Basically had an attitude of yep, we know him.

Once in Portishead, we of course, had to take Baynes for our usual walk. That means 1/2 mile up hill to the downs [green space], then across the fields and through the woods. There were plenty of other dogs about, and when we came out of the woods, the calves were waiting for us. Mind you, the calves are now old enough to have horns. AND, the bull was around. I had not ever seen him before and was happy to know what the heck he looked like!

On Monday, it was raining, of course. I had a boat-load of meetings to participate in, so Baynes entertained himself on the High Street in Portishead. Not much going on here, I have to be honest. Just a newly opened Cosco Coffee. It kind of throws the balance of the High Street completely off. Anyway, Baynes found it.

On Monday night, we made our way into Bristol to the new Cabot's Circus http://www.cabotcircus.com/website/CentreMap.aspx?currentSectionId=50b3b743-7178-4a88-ac76-e0cb2df83210

It brings Bristol into modern UK [finally]. We stopped in a store called Dwell. I think Baynes fell in love. I bought a pair of salt and pepper shakers, white and black dogs, all for £4.95. And then we headed to the Welsh Back for dinner at the Severn Shed with one of my staff members, Caroline. Baynes peppered her with questions about the monarchy. I had only just realised that the Prince of Wales [Charles] and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall [Camilla] live in Gloucestershire! After my nine months of nearly daily travel there, I could have stopped by for tea!

Tuesday, we took a drive to Wales. Baynes wanted to see what it looked like, and thanks to Mother Nature, it was a beautiful day! We took a drive to Chepstow and the Wye River Valley. In Chepstow, we stopped for a walk with the dogs outside of the castle. Then we headed for a bit of a drive up [North] the Wye River Valley. Then back to Portishead.

Later in the afternoon, Baynes and I headed into London for the Champions League game, Chelsea v. AS Roma. It was a great opportunity to see a real European football game. Only one problem ... it wasn't until Wednesday night. Yep. That's right. I bought tickets for the game thinking it was on Tuesday night, and it was actually on Wednesday. Dang!

We had a nice dinner at the pub across from the very empty stadium. Headed back to the hotel. And the next mourning met at 5:15 to make the trip to Heathrow.

It was GREAT to have Baynes here. His first trip to the UK. And for the most part, the weather cooperated!

Baynes does London

I should actually let Baynes do this blog update so that you are getting his views on London. Think I'll prime a few things and let him chime in.

Looney's words:

Friday night dinner at Rules. In the same year Napolean opened his campaign in Egypt, Thomas Rule opened an oyster bar in Convent Garden. Rules still flourishes, the oldest restaurant in London and one of the most celebrated in the world. Rules serves traditional food, specialising in classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings. Rules is fortunate in owning an estate in the High Pennines, “England’s last wilderness”, which supplies training in game management for the staff, exercising its own quality controls and determining how the game is treated.

We sat under this painting of "Maggie Thatcher", victorious in the Falkland Islands and for dinner had game pie with Savoy cabbage. The painting was commissioned for Rules by artist http://www.johnsprings.com/

Baynes' words about Rules:

I made a goal to experience the local cuisine. Hence, I ordered the "game pie"! As open as I wanted to be, the glorified Banquet pot pie filled w/ grouse (gross), rabbit (sorry Bugs) and a plethora of other creatures seemed to be something Granny might serve on the Beverly Hillbillies! Nonetheless, the ambience and the company were sublime!

Looney's words: We also spent time on the London Eye on Friday afternoon, which I briefly mentioned before. The London Eye, also known as the Millenium Wheel is 135 metres (443 ft) tall. It is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3 million people a year. It is no longer the tallest in the world. It was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang (160m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165m) on February 11, 2008.

We couldn't get our friend, Barb, to go on the Ferris wheel. Barb works as the receptionist at the Minneapolis campus of St. Kate's where Baynes works. Tracy, who did go with us, is Barb's daughter. They were in London on day 1 of their own European adventure. It is pretty cool. It took us about 30 minutes to go all of the way around.

Baynes' words:

Although I was still a little "under the weather" from the previous evening's activities, I managed to make it through the merry-go-round-orama w/ ease. The views of the city were unbelievable and it was so fun to be able to connect w/ the La Chance's on the other side of the pond!

Looney's words: On Saturday, we had a bit of a lie-in [I slept until 830], and then we headed to the market on Portabello Road in Notting Hill. I have not been there since 2001, my first trip to London. When it's not Saturday, this is a a quaint neighborhood with plenty of antique shops to explore. On Saturday, it has the added attractions of vendors whom have set up booths on the sidewalk. There are street performers. Food booths. A farmer's markets. And PEOPLE!

We walked down the hill and back up the hill again. It was a bit like being a salmon swimming up stream. Not so easy.

Whilst we were on Portabello Road, we found one of Baynes' favourite attractions in the world: Woolworth's.

Woolworth's is still open here, which always cracks me up. I have distinct memories of running errands with Dad on Saturday mourning and going to Woolworth's. I have no idea what he was there for, but the pets were in the basement, and I always made my way to visit the big cage with the Magpie to see if I could get it to talk.

After Portabello Road market, we headed to Kensington to see Kensington Castle, Princess Diana's former home. We toured through the gardens a bit and then headed into Hyde Park. We covered the whole park and headed to Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful day and the Palace was buzzing with people.

After Buckingham, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe', of course. The London location is the original Hard Rock after all.

Baynes' words:

Yes, it's true, I was as excited to see a Woolworth's as I was to find a store dedicated to Andy Worhol goods! All in all, the scene @ PR was so cool. I could hang out there every w/end! Thereafter, our venture to Buckingham Palace et. al. was grand too. I found it very surreal to be so near to the royalty I grew up hearing about 24/7! Alas, there were no Liz, Phil, Charlie, Cam, Wills or Harry sightings to be had!

Baynes is here!

London my never be the same!

Accomplishments so far:

- Baynes toured Soho and Mayfair on Thursday on foot whilst I worked.

- Baynes had a "lie-in" on Friday morning [recovery from jet lag and too much wine, perhaps] whilst I worked!

At 3:00, we met Tracy and Barb at the London Eye for a ride! Tracy and Barb are on their way to Venice, Rome, and Barcelona. Very cool. Barb didn't want to ride "the big Ferris wheel", but I got a picture of her with a feathered friend waiting for us at the bottom.

For dinner, Baynes and I met my friend Erik at Rules, the oldest restaurant in London. I can highly recommend it. Our dinner was 4 hours long! I couldn't believe it!

Okay, we're off to Portabello Road to the Notting Hill street market.

Wimbeldon

Not just tennis tournament, but likely my new home. I went to visit a place today that we already have under lease, so if it works out, should be a fairly easy transition from Bristol to the suburbs of London.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

The house is likely built in the 70's and it is all about built-ins! This is the basement, or ground floor out to the patio in the back.

This is the garden. Check out the picnic table!

The ground floor to the front of the house has the kitchen. Then the 1st floor [which is the 2nd in the US] has the master bedroom with en suite bath, and two small bed rooms; one pink, one purple.

The 2nd floor [which is the third in the US] has the office with an updated en suite bath, and small storage room IN ADDITION to the built ins.

And there is the view! Love valleys ... except that the train/tube station, is at the bottom of the hill. Went up the hill in my heels and down the hill in my trainers [running shoes].

Next stop: London

Well, after struggling with the decision since the middle of August, I have finally accepted the fact that I am moving to London.

In September, I accepted a new post as the Director of Business Development for our operation here in the UK. This means that I am in charge of new sales across the UK [this, by the way, does include Wales and Northern Ireland].

The picture to the left is of 13 of my colleagues at the Kettering Station. After a presentation, they all boarded a train back to London. I was on a track headed the opposite way to Bristol. Therein lies the problem. In theory, I should be able to run this operation from Bristol, but in application, it is very difficult to get things done remotely located. Out of sight, out of mind.

Additionally, the nice work-life balance I have enjoyed since moving to the UK is being nicked away as I have to make either day trips to London [spending 4 hours on the train and another hour commuting to/from the train station], or kennel the dogs and spend a few days in a row in London. The dogs and I are not happy with either of these scenarios. And by the way, there are no frequent traveler miles for being on the train. At least when I was traveling in the States I had a benefit to enjoy later.

This picture on the left is what it looks like to be caught in road works living outside of London. In this case, I was trying to get to Highnam outside of Gloucestershire. The actual road works was only about 1.5 miles long, but the journey time to pass through ranged from 45-minutes to 1.5 hours. Not a lot of work/life balance there either!

In the end, it seems like the best option is to spend less time commuting and reclaim the work-life balance, which is code for: take the dogs for 1-2 hour walks ... daily!

Now I just have to figure out WHERE. As you might imagine, finding a place to rent that accepts dogs is enough of a challenge. Factor that by two and add their size, and you have an entirely different set of issues!

Sigh. Ah well. Life is journey. Time to move to the next part of the adventure!