The Hobbit Hole

Day 3 (aka, Thursday).

Susan and I got up to misting rain (as darkly predicted by Karsten) and departed for more errands before we were to meet Graham's son, James for lunch and a bit of City Orientation. However, everyone should be proud to note my cunning purchase of a second set of keys to my room and house! V.g. idea.

It is quaint to walk in the rain while doing busy things, but I have an idea this amusement may fade :)

Walked to the Student Union in great time -- it is about 15 minutes from my front door. James showed us through where we would have used computers had we not had the good fortune of figuring out that a wireless signal is coming from somewhere around my house, so that is quite convenient until we get ours set up at the house once Fabiana arrives! The pub in the Student Union is quite large; there is also a large pool hall, as well as a concert hall. Naturally, I don't know much about local music yet, but apparently a lot of big name acts come to the University.

James took us to lunch at the Yard and a crayfish sandwich is on the menu! The Yard is very wood-and-metal sleek architecture and decor. Cool place. James has just completed an MA and is certified to teach secondary students -- he is currently waiting to hear back from a possible position at a school just north of our neighborhood. The three of us (susan, james and i) discussed the horrors of high school students and comparisons between the mental capacity of a potato vs. that of the average student.

Walked, walked, walked -- until I finally had to cut it short for a rest before my feet just arbitrarily disconnected themselves....

The door to our house is in a flat wall (no garden entrance like a lot of the houses in a terrace set-up like this) and opens right onto the side walk (aka, pavement). Apparently, James and his friends refer to these houses -- there is a Bridge House North and a Bridge House South -- as the Hobbit Holes! He had never been in one before, so after finding all this out, we analyzed the aspects of the house as fitting the profile -- it really works.

Some funny observations so far:

• the pub at the bottom of the hill is about a 30-second walk from my front door.
• the pub over the hill the other way and down is about 40-seconds.
• we have a clothes washer in our kitchen and it is also a dryer!!!!! who knew?
• there are two different kinds of light bulbs -- the screw kind and others that are smooth with little frankenstein prongs.
• if you purchase the wrong kind of light bulb, it doesn't work.
• there are Discount Cards at the pubs (like grocery stores at home), but these are for beer! (which is helpful since a pint is 2.60 regular price = $5.00.)