If we had not seen one small sign on the pole by the bus stop, we would have not known to set our clocks back one hour. Either we missed all the other warnings or people here don’t expect any help on these sorts of matters. Since we’re still staying up to the small hours, at 1:00 am this morning we prepared our clocks to give us an extra hour of sleep. So, until America gets their extra hour of sleep, we will be only five hours later than those at home, in Louisiana, instead of six.
You will notice this blog will incorporate, just for fun, some British phrases, terms and spellings, so don’t be surprised if some words don’t look as you know them. Trust me, they are correct. According to the Brits, nothing is misspelled.
We’ve changed our original plan of finding one church to associate ourselves with while in England and have decided it would be quite nice to attend several while here. With our traveling and visits from mum and other family members, we realised we would not be able to establish ourselves anyway. Last night, we looked online for one that sounded contemporary and that we might recognise the name. We settled on St. Ebbes, one Kelly had mentioned to us.
The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky, so we started to church already guilty of an unpardonable English sin—no coats or umbrellas in our hands. We felt like little children on a wet holiday—full of energy as the sun makes everyone feel stronger and more alive. We arrived at the church a little early, as we now find getting around the town easy peasy, so we popped into the mall next door to have a look around. We spotted my favourite store, Zara, but I realised we wouldn’t have time to shop, so we would plan a visit later. As we turned to walk out of the mall, we heard the rain battering against the roof. Lesson learned, once again. Never leave the flat without an umbrella.
The church building was gorgeous as expected and the people were quite friendly. Worship was led my two young ladies with lovely voices. The rector preached a nice sermon and then warmly invited everyone to stay for lunch at a cost of 2 pounds 50, but 2 Papa already had his eye on a new restaurant. One of the apprentices announced about the upcoming "gift day" where the goal is to raise 85,000 pounds in one day. He told the congregation that if they would give up a couple of pints a month, they could help out the church with a nice gift. (Maybe we should try suggesting that plan at home.)
The rain continued as we left church so we popped into the closest restaurant we saw, not what 2 Papa fancied, but it turned out to be a quite nice. 2 Papa had spinach balls and pasta and I had a spinach salad and a tomato sandwich. You may not thrill as we do over these choices, but they were both delicious.
The only place to avoid the rain was the mall, so off we went again. Believe it or not, 2 Papa bought the purchased items for himself today. As I suspected, with the pound plummeting, the prices are getting more affordable. 2 Papa needed a lightweight jacket and a new, better fitting, more attractive, cooler pair of jeans, which we found at Gap and didn’t cost a bomb. As we left Gap, we spotted a friend from college and stopped for a chat. It was lovely to actually spot someone we knew. By then the rain had stopped, so we headed to the grocery store for more paper towels and bread. As usual, the queue was exceptionally long. Typically American, 2 Papa went to one queue and I went to another and we watched each other to see who would get there first. Even in England, we can’t seem to slow down.
With the time change, the nights are drawing in now. We wanted to get home before dark and change clothes before our evening plans, which was to be the promised open mic night featuring some new friends at college. But, when we turned on our computers, we had an email, as they can't ring us, telling us they were not performing tonight. No problem, we won’t fanny around as we have plenty of work to keep us busy and I had just purchased a copy of The Age of Innocence, thinking I need a little more culture in my life.
This blog may sound a little stiff, so I have two words for you, Simon Cowell. (Well, if you don’t watch American Idol, I guess I don’t have any words for you.) I really think I can relate to him better now. The Brits are admittedly stiffer than Americans in both their language and their behavior, but once you get to know them, they are genuinely kind and pleasant. We have been very well taken care of by everyone at college and on the streets.
Featured photo today is a beautiful view of the canal we walked along yesterday.
In the sermon today, the rector spoke of a time when the Queen was to visit the university. He said for one year, everything was focused on the Queen’s visit. New paint covered the walls, food was tested and retested, walls and floors were brighter than they have ever been. Even a special toilet was built to honor Her Majesty. Then he said, “How prepared are you for the King’s coming?” Great point, don’t you think?
“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.” I John 2:28
Cheers to all my lovelies at home.
Hugs, 2 Mama
You will notice this blog will incorporate, just for fun, some British phrases, terms and spellings, so don’t be surprised if some words don’t look as you know them. Trust me, they are correct. According to the Brits, nothing is misspelled.
We’ve changed our original plan of finding one church to associate ourselves with while in England and have decided it would be quite nice to attend several while here. With our traveling and visits from mum and other family members, we realised we would not be able to establish ourselves anyway. Last night, we looked online for one that sounded contemporary and that we might recognise the name. We settled on St. Ebbes, one Kelly had mentioned to us.
The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky, so we started to church already guilty of an unpardonable English sin—no coats or umbrellas in our hands. We felt like little children on a wet holiday—full of energy as the sun makes everyone feel stronger and more alive. We arrived at the church a little early, as we now find getting around the town easy peasy, so we popped into the mall next door to have a look around. We spotted my favourite store, Zara, but I realised we wouldn’t have time to shop, so we would plan a visit later. As we turned to walk out of the mall, we heard the rain battering against the roof. Lesson learned, once again. Never leave the flat without an umbrella.
The church building was gorgeous as expected and the people were quite friendly. Worship was led my two young ladies with lovely voices. The rector preached a nice sermon and then warmly invited everyone to stay for lunch at a cost of 2 pounds 50, but 2 Papa already had his eye on a new restaurant. One of the apprentices announced about the upcoming "gift day" where the goal is to raise 85,000 pounds in one day. He told the congregation that if they would give up a couple of pints a month, they could help out the church with a nice gift. (Maybe we should try suggesting that plan at home.)
The rain continued as we left church so we popped into the closest restaurant we saw, not what 2 Papa fancied, but it turned out to be a quite nice. 2 Papa had spinach balls and pasta and I had a spinach salad and a tomato sandwich. You may not thrill as we do over these choices, but they were both delicious.
The only place to avoid the rain was the mall, so off we went again. Believe it or not, 2 Papa bought the purchased items for himself today. As I suspected, with the pound plummeting, the prices are getting more affordable. 2 Papa needed a lightweight jacket and a new, better fitting, more attractive, cooler pair of jeans, which we found at Gap and didn’t cost a bomb. As we left Gap, we spotted a friend from college and stopped for a chat. It was lovely to actually spot someone we knew. By then the rain had stopped, so we headed to the grocery store for more paper towels and bread. As usual, the queue was exceptionally long. Typically American, 2 Papa went to one queue and I went to another and we watched each other to see who would get there first. Even in England, we can’t seem to slow down.
With the time change, the nights are drawing in now. We wanted to get home before dark and change clothes before our evening plans, which was to be the promised open mic night featuring some new friends at college. But, when we turned on our computers, we had an email, as they can't ring us, telling us they were not performing tonight. No problem, we won’t fanny around as we have plenty of work to keep us busy and I had just purchased a copy of The Age of Innocence, thinking I need a little more culture in my life.
This blog may sound a little stiff, so I have two words for you, Simon Cowell. (Well, if you don’t watch American Idol, I guess I don’t have any words for you.) I really think I can relate to him better now. The Brits are admittedly stiffer than Americans in both their language and their behavior, but once you get to know them, they are genuinely kind and pleasant. We have been very well taken care of by everyone at college and on the streets.
Featured photo today is a beautiful view of the canal we walked along yesterday.
In the sermon today, the rector spoke of a time when the Queen was to visit the university. He said for one year, everything was focused on the Queen’s visit. New paint covered the walls, food was tested and retested, walls and floors were brighter than they have ever been. Even a special toilet was built to honor Her Majesty. Then he said, “How prepared are you for the King’s coming?” Great point, don’t you think?
“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.” I John 2:28
Cheers to all my lovelies at home.
Hugs, 2 Mama
Great point made by the pastor and by your inspiring scripture quote. That no matter what we are doing, our focus should always be about "getting ready for the King"! Love that. We had a terrific day at church this morning and this evening when we had a surprising visit in the parking lot by several vampires, monsters, aliens, princesses and sumo wrestlers. It was an unusually strange group of visitors even for WFR! But they all seemed to get along as long as the candy kept coming. In the end I think a ghouslishly good time was had by all. See my photos on facebook sometime of seven little goblins and their friends who did their best to scare up a good time! They represented well!
ReplyDeleteMiss you guys, now off with you and have a jolly ol' time. Joneal