ACHTUNG: Breeding Spoons!

We all know about hangers and the occasional additional sock that comes from nowhere and belongs to noone you know. (Although, really, I think the socks are actually sent back as a sort of agressive alien communication from the hostage location where ones that disappear in the dryer are being held.)

HOWEVER.

Spoons are getting to be a real problem in my room. Am not exactly convinced that I have personally brought them all in here; don't remember bringing quite so many in throughout the evening... presently, there are five smug tiny tea spoons littering up random empty spots on my bedside table, my dresser and my desk. There is even one sitting quite primly on top of my wrinkled, turned back blanket. Well, all right, I do remember taking THAT one out of a cup earlier when talking to Fabiana about the heathens who stole her bike. But the others!?!?

Do they make spoon traps?

But they are so cute...

Grammar, functionality and phonology are messing with my brain, I think.


My Irish friend, Sister Antoninus sent me the sweetest letter today with a St. Martin de Porres prayer card! I was so touched by her thoughtfulness. She returned to County Clare, Ireland this summer after being in the US for something like 60 years. She left Ireland at the age of 16, I think, when she became a novice. I was supposed to go to visit her right after my arrival here, but things didn't work out then. If a certain Clarence "Prancy McFrancerton" does not show her lovely face here soon, I really am going to County Clare without her... :)

Miscellany

1. Apparently, on Hallowe'en you are supposed to find out who you are to marry. This is being discussed on Radio 4 right now :)
2. It will be nice for the mid-term holiday for non-university persons to be over (yeah, we don't get a break at all). One by-product of this is that there is one of those little bitty motorcycles mosquito-ing around outside my window.
3. There are fireworks going off randomly at all hours of the day and night. Presumably this is in eager anticipation of Bonfire Night next Saturday.
4. My skill at making fried rice is improving!
5. The microphone on my new telephone operator headset has been discovered to be Suddenly and Unexpectedly Brokeded. Good news about this is that I can stop fiddling around with Every Single One of the audio settings and periodically yelling into said microphone trying to get some sort of line on the sound recorder!
6. A result of fiddling is that I now know how to record my voice into little segments. What to do with segments has not been determined.
7. True Romance is really such a great movie. "You're so cool!"
8. Tylenol as a brand is not available here. Instead, I now have Paracetamol with Codeine. :)
9. Eggplant is one of the best foods ever.
10. I think my email is not working. Even junk mail isn't coming in!
11. Someone just tried to steal Fabiana's bike from the Student Union and when they couldn't get the lock off, they instead DESTROYED her bike. Wheels won't even roll, so she had to carry the bike to her friends' house close to the campus. Isn't that the most annoying and barbaric thing?!??!?!?!?!?
12. Today was Daylight Savings Time here.

All Saints' Sunday

Was today (slightly early celebration), and it is really lovely when the sun breaks through just very suddenly and shines through the smoke of the incense at the end of the service.

And it just so happened that this afternoon, I had already planned to go to Cathays Cemetary (no mockery from the gallery, please. Thank you.) for an Autumn Tree Walk :) The coolest thing was the black cat that I saw toodling about; black cats are lucky here! (We'll see if this picture is clear enough.)

Cathays Cemetary is about a 5 minute bike ride from my house; it was founded in the mid 1800s and may be the 3rd largest cemetary in the country. When it was built, it was Cardiff's largest green space for people to use, so it was where they went to walk and enjoy nature. A good number of the tree types common to cemetaries were also helpful in combatting the heavy pollution of the city, since it was an industrial and mining center. Birch trees shed their bark and this eliminates the impurities that they take in from the air!

The trees were not at their peak yet. Some have already changed color and lost their leaves and some are just at the beginning. But learning about them was still quite interesting, especially the connotations that species like the yew, rowan, holly, pine and cypress have with death, the afterlife and religious traditions.

Every part of the yew tree is poisonous (except for the flesh of the berries). Druids buried their dead near yew trees and they were places of prayer and meeting. Bowmen apparently preferred bows made of yew since it is flexible and strong. A chemical extract from the foliage is now used in cancer medicines. Some yews in Britain are 3000 years old!

Even though we think of holly as a Christmas plant, it is also a common cemetary plant, again for its evergreen (life in the middle of death) quality. It is a symbol of goodwill, peace, health and happiness and has been a religious symbol for centuries.

There are many myths surrounding it. It is considered bad luck to have holly in one's house after Twelfth Night. Berries grow on the tree on the previous year's growth, and both male and female trees have to be present for berry production. Who knew?


The Rowan tree was my favorite. There are several different kinds with either white or red berries.

In the yard there grows a Rowan.
Thou with reverent care should'st tend it.
Holy is the tree there growing.
Holy likewise are its branches.
On its boughs the leaves are holy.
And its berries yet more holy.

excerpt from The Kalevala
(The Kalevala is an epic poem of Finnish folklore. I had to look it up.)

One funny thing from the walk is that the Sweet Gum is known as Liquid Amber here, and the leaves are quite pretty when you are not stepping on the little balls barefooted. Since my daddy is not a big fan of these trees, I had to laugh to think that he would be happy to send the UK as many as they would like :)

My random fixation on different animals and birds has been mentioned previously. Another creature that I am obsessed with is the magpie. They remind me of blue jays at home because they seem rather saucy and smarty-pants-ish. I like smarty-pants-ish. They are black and white, with metallic blue-black wings. I prowled around trying to get close enough to one to photograph one today, but to no avail. A few years ago, one led me on quite a funny hopping photo shoot through the ruins of a monastery in York before I got a sort of decent picture. And then my film was black and white, so it really wasn't what i wanted!

May you live in interesting times.

This is actually a mistranslation of a Chinese phrase. English speakers have attempted to turn it into a pleasantry, but it apparently is a curse meaning something along the lines of "May horrible things happen to you...". And it is the title of the Cardiff Festival of Creative Technology. And this makes me smirk.

This evening, I went to Cardiff Millennium Stadium with James (my host, Graham's son) to the By Invitation Only viewing of "Tim Davies: Drumming". Okay, so to transport you there, you walked in with your glass of champagne to a space rather like Texas Stadium (this is the place that the Wales v. Fiji game will be in two weeks!!!!! So it is pretty much exactly like Texas Stadium.). There are two screens at either end of the stadium hanging from the roof. On the screens are separate and distinct films running of this guy, presumably someone named Tim?, playing the snare drum, but you can only see the drum and his arms -- the rest is in shadow. Occasionally, one or the other screen will fade out and then reappear from a different perspective -- all the time, the snare drum(s) is/are going MADLY. I got kind of tickled and found it rawther funny. (You can't take me anywhere!) Especially since most of the other people were typical tweedy artsy types (which I admit to trying to be at one point in my life -- and failing) trying to appear appropriately moved by the experience :) This drumming lasted for a HOUR -- ha ha! I felt like we were in Mystery Science Theatre 3000. James did think it was pretty funny, too. Or else he was humoring my humor.

This is the catalog description: " Drumming shows the frenetic beating of a snare drum, which in turn echos throughout the empty stadium and beyond and sets up a cliched vision of valour and bravery, the spur to war, enveloped in a never-ending roar of drums."

Obviously, we are meant to "interpret" this as a (yet another) commentary on American Imperialism. Because everything is a commentary on American Imperialism, you know. Badgers are a commentary on American Imperialism. Clover, magpies, Gerbera daisies, tofu, penguins and BombayGin&Tonics even speak against its evils!

Good Lord, a man told me in the OxFam Shop this afternoon that it did seem like everything in the world started going wrong (using the outstanding example of the hurricanes -- VERY logical) when George W. Bush became President...has anyone else noticed this? I feel sooooo enlightened now.

After the Drumming, we went to an equally populated reception at The Big Sleep Hotel (which BTW is owned by John Malkovich!), had more champagne and a loooovely boofay. John Malkovich was not in attendance.



So now, I shall dream of Imperialism and what a wonderful world it will be once Lisa and I fully establish our Excellent Dictatorship.



Brain: "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: "I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a duck and a hose at this hour?"

8 Advils, a Party and a Late Wake-up Later...

Back has slightly relaxed but I can tell it's just waiting to spring forward in attack when I'm in mid-pedal or something. So perhaps walking is a good idea for today. Wonder if this has anything to do with fact that am using exercise ball as desk chair. Professional or even semi-professional opinions on this topic are welcome.

International night was lovely and our speaker was Lord Lieutenant Norman Lloyd-Edwards, Her Majesty's representative in the Vale of Glamorgan.

This means that any time a member of the Royal Family comes here, he takes care of all the arrangements and accompanies them while here. He was in the RNR and spoke on Lord Nelson last evening (remember, kids, that last Friday was Trafalgar Day!). It was fascinating historically, and I also thoroughly enjoyed his perfect RP -- Received Pronunciation -- accent. (Pictured to R , Jack Ayles, President of the Llandaff Rotary Club with the Cardiff Scholars -- the only one maybe not seen before is Mari on the far R.)

Did anyone know that Lord Nelson's sword was shortened 6 inches after his right arm was shattered in a battle and he wasn't able to draw his sword left-handed with it standard length?

(Pictured with me to L is my host counselor Graham Tatham. He is wearing a tie that is supposed to be the Royal Ensign, I think, but all of his Rotary buddies made big fun of it!)

On an aside, today's helpful hint: when one needs duct tape, one should not buy the less expensive stuff. Even IF the normal size of a roll of duct tape is the equivalent of $8.00 USD, one ought to have bought it!!!! Oh, I mean, theoretically......

I've fallen and I can't get up...

Here is my view from reclining position as I lie on my microwave heating thingy (thank you, Mama, for being the Brave and Bold Leo you are and helping me Smuggle it into my bag after they weighed it at DFW! hee hee.) trying to soothe my severely knotted back.

Since tonight is formal-dress International Night sponsored by Llandaff Rotary Club (my club), it would be nice not to glide in with the grace of an 104-year old. Not that my normal Grace is much better, but this is not the place to discuss that. However, this is an Excellent Excuse not to be dragged onto the dance floor! Ah-ha! My dress is hanging waiting to venture forth into the chilly evening. Toe-ring has resurfaced (and there was much rejoicing). Difficult to wear with boots, you know. Really need to take dancing lessons (after back is better). Okay, free association has begun....

As scintillating an activity as this may appear to be, it really isn't so much. Despite the fact that 4 Advils are now theoretically relaxing my muscles in my lower back. Would tea be working against this relaxing property since it is a stimulant? Hmm.

My room is number 3.

Evidence of Anglophilia & my slight obsession with maps is present as well if one is searching for forensic evidence.

Item of interest: The only Rotary Scholar in Cardiff this year who has not bungee-jumped would be........


......ME! (with Irritable Back Syndrome, status probably won't change in, oh, the next 80 years.)

Vocal Cord Action

Three main actions are distinguished: vibrating, for voiced sounds, e.g. ah, zzzzzzz; not vibrating, for voiceless sounds, e.g. h, or ssssss; and stopped, in the glottal stop, as in wa'er, bu'er....

Glottal stop occurs in wa'er where most educated speakers would look askance at it, but it quite often occurs much more respectably and less noticeably as, for example, a substitute for the t in not much. In both cases closure of the vocal cords and their explosive opening constitute the primary articulation of the sound; this is true too of h where the vocal cords come close enough together to produce friction. The voiced/voiceless distinction, however, is almost always an accompaniment to some other articulation in the pharynx or mouth. In s voicelessness accompanies the main articulation by the blade of the tongue, and in z the same blade articulation is accompanied by voice.

Glottal stop often occurs, even more respectably, at the beginning of a word like Idiot! said vehemently. Here it serves simply as a hard beginning to the vowel sound for purposes of emphasis.

(from O'Connor, Phonology, 1973).

Theories of Tea

It has been decided after many cups o' tea that the cream should be placed in the cup before pouring the boiling liquid in, to prevent scalding of the cream. There has been much debate on this subject, but my opinion has now been completely formed. Despite someone once telling me that only "common" people did that.

But, this is also the same Individual who told me that I wouldn't be able to handle the transition from my Comfortable Life in the US to a decreased standard of living such as would be forced on me here without my well-paying job, my friends and family, etc. Basically that I am a spoiled brat. So not much credence is to be placed in their opinions about anything, including tea, anyhoo! and I stamp my foot in their general direction! (this last is to be said with an OutRAAAAAgeous French accent.)

Picture of the side of my house. Sun was out and beautifully highlighting the house exactly 2 seconds before the picture. And now, it is raining; so you get what you see, and you'll like it! Thought briefly about standing out in the pavement (sidewalk) and waiting for the sun to come back, like an eeeeeediot; decided against it. Oh, WAIT, I already was!

First person who correctly picks my window will be treated to a gi-normous bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate with Fruit and Nuts (with the proviso that they actually come to visit me) or, alternatively should the winner perversely not like chocolate, a pint of local Brains brew of their choice. And "SA" does not stand for "Skull Attack" as some may tell you. Think carefully! Sign on the side of the house says "Violet Row" so that's rather quaint :) Is name of street down below, not of our house.

And since rugby is on Brains' front page, this brings me to another exciting development! Hiroko and I may go to the Wales v. Fiji match on November 12 (with the assistance of her Rotary counselor)! We are helping with the Rotary Car Park fundraiser on November 5 for the Wales v. New Zealand match; and I had the cunning plan that we should try to go to the game, because wouldn't that be Cultural and Fun?!? This is the centennial test match against NZ, and Wales hasn't won this game in 50 years. Right now, NZ is #1 in the world and Wales #5. Tickets on Ebay that I found closed out at just under $600 USD -- so probably noooooot....

It has come to my attention that my Centenary email is bouncing some emails back. Theoretically, Centenary has fixed their problems, but if this is the still the case, let me know and I will email you as a test measure. Or we could forget about this antiquated email stuff and Skype! :)

i heart skype.

Meeting the Housemates

It has come to my attention that some people would like to know who in the world I live with, so as to keep things straight.

This was in response to my saying, "My housemates are quite lovely" and this needed explanation :)

Translation: House mates are quite nice -- not FABulous in a sitcom sort of way, per se, b/c we are still getting to know each other. But by no means horrid or psycho or nutters. Except for me. It is a little more difficult process to make instant friends when there is a language barrier, even a slight one, and also when there is so much stress on both ends at a time period (like moving and little house-y annoyances like internet, soysouce, etc.). But I will introduce them :)

Fabiana is 25 and Italian -- she is very serious about study (she is doing an MA in International Journalism and it is really tough since she has to live, eat and breathe news in a second language. So she is pretty stressed out most of the time). She was the last to arrive and so I don't feel like I know her as well as the others, either; but we get along and more things are becoming funny to us, so our friendship is developing. She leaves early in the morning for classes and usually gets back after dark and then she reads until bedtime at midnight. I try to help her with words or colloquial phrases if she gets stuck, but she doesn't ask me often enough, I don't think :)

Maurizio is 33 and Italian -- and he is hyper and funny and quite a lot of fun (fortunately, he is gone back to Italy for October -- soemthing to do with his research funding) and so it is nice for the three girls to have some quiet and get into our routine of study. He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering and is doing research here. This means that when his day is done, he gets to play and "make" dinner parties. Very fun personality and my counselor's son James thinks that he uses poor English merely as a ploy to get girls' numbers -- hee hee. He makes friends with everyone he meets.

Hiroko is from Japan and is 34. she is doing an MA in Journalism Studies and her course is not as intense as Fabiana's in stress level. She was a journalist in Tokyo for an English language newspaper. She is our heroine for figuring out the internet service. She is funny and easy-going. She and I are going to stay here for Christmas, although I don't think we will both be in Cardiff the whole time. Fabiana, Hiroko and I are all on the same scholarship program -- that is how I found them and asked if they wanted to live together!

Maurizio met Fabiana when she was looking for a house and decided to join the group since finding smaller (fewer bedroom) accomodation here is difficult. We live in a 5-bedroom (this sounds really huge, but isn't) house, bi-level, with the living/dining room downstairs. All of us like to cook, so that is good :) I am the only knitter.

Well, not really a whole picture, but maybe this will help.

ALERT -- Belcher in Wales

This is too funny......

Paul Belcher

I am, however, not fooled.

First cousin, once removed

Ella Ruth arrived at 9.30 p.m. EDT yesterday! Auntie Karen notified me of the title of my new status, so I know everyone is glad to have that clear.

Oma is now an Uber-Oma (that is my horrid attempt at intensifying the simple term of "Oma"). I shall look it up online and get back to you all.

Today, October 21st is Trafalgar Day. Have just watched (on t.v.) the Queen perform the Lighting of the First Beacon in Portsmouth, followed by the specifically sequential lighting of beacons all over Britain. Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales, Greenwich. Then the Royal Marine Naval Band performed Beat Retreat -- it was all quite impressive. Especially with the 52 gun salute of the cannons from the HMS Victory right there!

This morning, I had early coffee with my friend, Georgia, who is in my course and lives just right around the corner from me! A neighbor! She is from Greece but has lived in Cardiff for 6 years and has the absolutely most delectable accent -- i Heart her accent and want it for my own... But then i would sound like a prat. So sad.

Oh, and Hiroko is our Great Heroine of the Week -- she conquered the internet company and we are in the classification of petty thieves! Such a nice feeling.

Okay -- so my guess was totally wrong. "Great grandmother" in Dutch is "overgrootmoeder". hmmm. That word is larger than Oma, and not nearly as speedy :)

Cousins!!!!

There is about to be one more of them! Well, at a "once-removed" or "second" level or something -- Note to Self: must become more competent Southerner and learn these intricacies.

When one is sibling-less, cousins are quite lovely to have, (especially in the case of my fabulous cousin and cousines) and so it is terribly important that Auntie Karen emailed to let me know that Ella Ruth is being birthed TODAY!!!!! For those out of the loop, Ella Ruth is going to be born to my cousin Sara and her husband Kevin. Sadly, this will take place in Ohio :) But am sure they will be back closer to Louisiana as soon as possible; I suppose when Sara completes her medical training. This is slightly unexpected since I thought this was not supposed to happen for another couple of weeks; even yesterday, Sara popped into my head and my thought was, "Need to call Sara before the baby comes..... " This occurred in the middle of Phonology, so really couldn't do a lot about it at the time. And everyone knows how my memory goes. Oops. Too late.

Anyway very excited, even though Sara HAS taken the name "Ruth" first, in honor of Oma -- Meredith and I will have to get over it :)

Vacuum therapy

So, things are terribly better now that the floor is clean.

Why, oh why, oh why?

...does technology have to be so terribly difficult? And why must all customer service issues be routed through Bangalore, India? (we found out that this is, indeed, where an awful lot of call-in technical support is located -- from the Rotary GSE team who we met at the District Conference, so I am not being purposefully mean. Well, perhaps just a little, because the annoyance level is VERY high at the moment.) And why must those persons of unknown gender be so terribly pompous and tell you that it is apparently an "issue of something substandard on your machine" --- aaarrgghh! There are an awful lot of things that I can tolerate, and pomposity is NOT one. Where is St. John's Wort when I need it?

Well, children, our lesson is that this is where pride gets you actually. Earlier I had been so very proud of myself for setting up our t.v. Freeview box all by myself and then going to the electronics store to get our wireless router (for some reason, these Paul-Belcher-ish tasks have become my skill here). The Devil was beating his Wife, but I saw an absolutely beeeeeautiful rainbow and was in a marvelous mood even though soaked through.

On the way back home, all of this joy began to flee when my pedal on my Big-girl Bike FELL OFF! How does a bike pedal fall off? Fortunately, I was 2/3 of the way home, so blissfully unaware of looming annoyance of electronic proportions, I cheerfully walked on, stopping by my favorite news store to buy the Telegraph for my daily fix of Sudoku and the Codeword. La, la, la!
But, enough of this. My sanity will be restored after some tea and Sudoku. And maybe a bit of therapeutic vacuuming (here, it is called "hoovering"). So you can see how thoroughly fury affects me :)

basil propogation

Botany lab is well begun on Crwys Road. Pictured here are Mama plant (happily transplanted from its tiny plastic pot now that I have finally found a place to purchase dirt), Baby plant #1 (one day in it's new pot) and Baby plant #2, just getting started :) Their view is not so fabulous from the kitchen window, as it looks down on the motor garage, but there IS a mechanic who sings, and plants are supposed to enjoy music. Right?

As may be obvious, the signal is back... therefore, I shall attempt to upload pictures in some previous posts. We shall see.

Random notes of interest. Or not.

1. It is Tuesday. (glad to be able to assist everyone with that)

2. Paul has informed (reminded) me via email that the new Harry Potter movie is out in 30 days! hooray!

3. It is raining.

4. NTL should install our internet tomorrow! hooray!

5. Connie H. emailed me that a scholarship came in for me!!!! So, the traumatic deprivation of not going out and instead writing all those essays paid off in at least ONE instance :) hip-hip hooray!

6. Am going to sign off now to work on planning Lisa and Ben's trip -- Edinburgh is NOT being helpful with lodging.

7. I promise to start returning emails after we get our internet!

sidney, my welsh pony

For everyone's general information bank, it has come to my attention that my first horse was a Welsh pony named Sidney. It is obvious that moving to Wales was fated from my earliest history. (just thought you should all know this.)

The sneaky signal has disappeared again -- boo. But am early for class and am playing on lab computer.

Yesterday, Llandaff Rotary had a charity walk and I valiantly participated, adding my cough to the melodious sounds of the birds along the Taff River as we walked through Bute Park. One point of cultural difference, however: when one participates in any sort of walking event at home, one would think to wear comfortable, excerise type gear, right? T-shirts (long or short sleeve, or both layered), walking trousers (you DON'T say "pants" here -- it is not nice), etc. So thinking I was properly fit-looking, I toodle off to find everyone dressed as if for a J.Crew photoshoot! Dear, dear, I do seem to guess wrong here... but bravely I forged on walking with Bagel, the Jewish miniature dachsund, and her friend, Polly (both pictured to R, walking along the Taff River trail) and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Until Graham and Jane and James took me to the Manor Park Hotel for lunch....with me in my Walking Gear. And everyone else in their Sunday best in the restaurant. Can we get any more Bridget Jones than this? (There is absolutely NO reason for anyone to respond to this question -- it is merely intended as a rhetorical device.)

Class begins. Ta!

Blumpy Grogger

Grumpy Blogger is not cooperating with the uploading of pictures in the middle of the night.....so there will still be more to come and there shall be a notification when this happens :)

good night!

Saturday in Roath Park

Even in my recovering health state, I had to escape from the Blue Room and so decided to venture forth to Roath Park today. The Park is about a five minute bike ride from my house and I rode uphill to get there. So it took me more than 5 minutes. The good thing about this was that the ride back home was downhill!

The Park has a Conservatory, Rose Garden and a lake/pond thing that also houses gulls, swans, ducks and these amusing diving birds with white beaks and white insides of their mouths. This is the view from my first bench, that I had to leave when the sun went behind a tree behind me. It was a little hazy today, but if one looks carefully into the background, right above the trees, Caerphilly Mountain is just barely there. This is the northern-most border of the City of Cardiff. Development is not allowed to infringe past this point. Not sure if this is law or custom...... To the left is a little coffee shop being supervised by pigeons.

Also at the lake/pond is the Scott Monument. This was the most interesting picture of it because of the birds (i think). Read about the philosophy of speech acts between watching the funny birds establish pecking order. The black white-beaked ones lower their necks in a charging position when they are annoyed with another bird and swim after it until in pecking distance. Don't really know much about speech acts.

Here are more details of the Scott lighthouse, most notably, the blue door and the ship at the top.

Plaque reads: " To the memory of Captain R.F. Scott C.V.O., D.S.O., R.N. and his faithful companions Captain L.E.C. Oates, Lieut. H.R. Bowers, Dr. E.A. Wilson and Petty Officer Edgar Evans who sailed in the S.S. Terra Nova from the Port of Cardiff June 15th, 1910 to locate the South Pole, and in pursuit of that great and scientific task, laid down their lives in the Antarctic regions. March 1912.
BRITONS ALL AND VERY GALLANT GENTLEMEN
Erected and presented to the City of Cardiff by F.C. Bowring, Esq. J.P.
1915."

Ship at top of lighthouse is a miniature of the S.S. Terra Nova.


Flowers are just coming to the end of the season, but there are still a few lingering about :)



Interested persons may wish to review the posts from Torquay as I am about to try to upload pictures to those.

Was trying to go to sleep early, but between the stuffy nose and the incessant ringing of the doorbell (darn it, Maurizio, for buying that contraption :0) am wide awake. Neighbors next door are having a party (to which we are invited, and Hiroko and James seem to have gone since no one is answering the door. my immediate plans do NOT include directing party folk to the correct location. Am in no mood for festivity that does not involve hot lemon drinks, preferrably served to me in my bed). This is all well and good. Except for fact that my address is 16B Crwys Road. And THEIR address is also 16B Crwys Road. Tricky part comes in the actual name of the houses: we are Bridge House South. And they are North.... Brilliant street planning there, I must say, to have two houses with the same address.

Bike is fabulous. Collected it today (no streamers, tow ropes or flowered basket, for those of you amusing souls who have inquired) and, if am able to set forth energetically tomorrow morning, have every intention of toodling about in exploration. And also to buy bag of dirt to plant the baby basil plant that I have rooted, despite no one here believing me that it would work :) Must try not to completely deplete energy and muscular function as am participating in a Llandaff Rotary Club charity walk (something like 3 miles, or is it kilometers....) on Sunday. Oma should be here to show them how it's done.

Well, think it is about reading time now. Must read myself crosseyed before sound sleep comes; cannot just go to bed. Maybe the classical channel will overtake the doorbell sound.

Oh! It's 11.11 -- you should make a wish!

It is now Friday!

So, now I can't say that today was my first 2.5 hour volunteer shift at Oxfam Book Shop; but yesterday was. Worked with Winnie and Ivy, two quite darling Welsh ladies who showed me the ropes and were concerned about where I will spend Christmas. The shop itself is in St. Mary/High Street and it will be great to get out and about (with an actual destination and purpose other than meandering. One of my great strengths is meandering, but one cannot live on meanderment alone.) from my usual paths to and from classes and the grocery store!

Tomorrow I will collect my New and Improved Real Big-girl Bicycle! Think it is purple-ish. Whatever. Not garishly purple and it (hopefully) won't have the same risk element of complete disintegration that the Bike Shop Guy told me was my last two-wheeled implement.... and it is new meaning possible re-sale benefits.

Item(s) of interest today (or yesterday):

1. a US Dollar being used as a rear-view mirror ornament....
2. the mohawk is back with a vengeance.
3. this winter is projected to be colder than usual!
4. bought SkypeOut minutes and called my Oma from my computer -- this is the coolest :)
5. Oma was making an Italian Cream Cake.
6. Mmmmmm........caaaaaaake.......
7. Have now been in Wales for exactly one month and one day!

Weekend in Torquay

That sneaky signal had disappeared again but is briefly returned!!!!!

So quick overview (pictures will be posted later):

FRIDAY -- drove to Torquay for the Rotary District 1150 Conference with Graham, his wife Jane, and Hiroko. Lunch at the Celtic Manor Golf Resort. This is where the Ryder Cup 2010 will be held. Forgot my camera in the car and didn't get a picture of those glorious dragons in the lobby.

Got to knit the whole way there! Haven't really had a lot of extra time for this lately....wonder why?

Upon arrival in Toquay, went exploring for dinner location with Lindsey and Travis, the Scholars from Aberystwyth (on the central west coast of Wales). (These are views from approximately the same spot before we went into a pub and when we came out -- it is really not as appalling as may first appear; don't worry, mama :) Only about an hour difference.)

That was about all of the city I got to see for the weekend, since professors have an insane amount of reading for us to do. Well, it is not really insane in the amount they assign; it is more an issue of a Suggested Reading List of, oh, between 10 and 76 books per class --with the (confusing, albeit generous in a foggy sort of way) instruction to pick out whichever ones sound interesting and read those really well. HOW in the WORLD am I supposed to choose between books? It is like being asked which of my Cats I would save from a burning building. Utterly muddling and absurd.

Anyhoo, back on track now: we found a place to eat (all of the Scholars, who were in charge of dining with the Rotary GSE Team from Bangalore, India) and all was well after we were fed.

SATURDAY -- read Research Methods all morning. yay. Went to the Conference and especially enjoyed the presentation on Mercy Ships. Every reader of this MUST go to their site and look at the amazing things they are able to do -- they are mobile medical centers that are able to serve thousands of people in need in quite short periods of time. People WALK for miles for help when they hear that a Mercy Ship will be anywhere near them.

Evening dinner and entertainment and a dance. Rotarians here really enjoy dancing!

(to R are Fabiana, my housemate; Anoop, from Bangalore; and some random person who darted into the picture)




SUNDAY -- Graham, Jane, Fabiana and I skipped out of the Conference early and stopped in Exeter on the way home. Cathedral (hooray!), tilted buildings, and Mol's Coffee House (below and to R; built in 1596!).



Also, happened upon an exhibit of "800 Years of Exeter's Mayoralty" in the Guildhall -- the Exeter Salt was on display along with artifacts from the establishment of the Office of Mayor in Exeter (as you may have guessed, 800 years ago) to the Civil War.

Here is your educational tidbit: The Exeter Salt, which was made by Johann Hass of Hamburg in 1630, is a salt container in the form of a turreted castle and was originally presented by the city to King Charles II in 1660. It is said that it was a gift to gain favor with the new King (this was after the English Civil War), as the city had sided with the Parliamentarians during the war. King Charles II sister, Princess Henrietta, was actually born in Exeter and a portrait of her given by Charles II in 1674 hangs in the main hall of Exeter's historic Guildhall. Until the reign of George IV the Exeter Salt was used for the Coronation Banquet in Westminster Hall, held after the Coronation Ceremony in Westminster Abbey. (am's own note: it apparently now lives in the Tower with the Crown Jewels.)

Stopped in Cribbs Causeway, close to Bristol as well. This is a Gi-normous Shopping Center that a few people to whom I am related would very much enjoy :) Have a new favorite artist and would love it if some generous person feels like purchasing a painting for me. The artist is Govinder Nazran. Interested persons and potential donors may wish to view his work . You might notice that there is a certain theme of Cats (as well as other amusing animals -- I know I have my dogs friends.); I miss my Flee very much!

(Note: you will want to click on individual pieces of art to see them enlarged -- just can't help but smile. Unless you are some sort of animal-abhoring person, in which case, I wonder that you are my friend?)

signing out for now -- hope the signal is still there! eek!

(as is possibly evident, a new skill has been employed in this edition of my life.)

Legwarmers, Liquor and Bossy Boots

legwarmer

(noun)

knit leg covering; a knit tube that covers the calf of the leg

and sometimes also the top of the foot (usually used in the plural).

1) The legwarmer appears to have returned as a fashion accessory. My initial response this morning was to be alarmed; but then the idea came that other people's legs will look trunkier and this will reflect nicely on mine -- my calves, not my legwarmers :) this is shallow, I know.

2) There is a liquor store INSIDE the Student Union Building. This is merely offered as a point of trivia. Obviously, I have not purchased there since a) prices are most probably double and b) a 15-minute walk home would probably take longer and end up injuring my back and c) related to last item, carrying a large amount of cargo would tempt fate to trip me on the uneven sidewalk, ending in humiliation and, possibly even, wasted product.

3) My new word today is "Bossy Boots." This is a term assigned to persons acting in, you guessed it, a bossy manner.

Also, I have overcome a cultural barrier (that has been stressing me out all week) today with an overly friendly Pakistani man in my course, with the recommendation that we should shake hands instead of invade Anne-Marie's space. Do hope this will not assign me to the Group of "Hated American B----." But anyhoo, that is the most difficult cultural problem I have encountered so far and if that's the worst, I shall consider myself easily assimilated.

Phonology is fabulous!

Yes, I like words. and spelling them. and phonetic structure. And Southern American English is NOTHING like "received pronunciation," which is the standard of spoken English based upon the accent from the southeast of England. My pronunciation of the word "ten" elicited smiles and chuckles in class today. But this class is definitely going to be my favorite! The phonetic alphabet involves fun-in-drawing, too :)

Note: American English is "rhotic" -- therefore, we pronounce our "r"s.

Have recently become obsessed with spotting a badger. This is a result of a road sign warning drivers to "Watch for Badgers" -- so, today on the BBC-Wales website, I was excited to see an article on species of animals in Wales (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/wildlife/species.shtml)! Sadly, there is no section on badgers, as I suppose that are not exclusively Welsh-speaking. But there are some other fascinating creatures like Black-tailed godwits, polecats and Sika deer. Adders, though, I will not be seeking out.

Here is a helpful site on Badger-watching for those whose interest may have been piqued -- http://www.badgers.org.uk/brocks-world/08watch01.html. There is a live badger-cam, but this is only on at dusk here; there is also a page of instructions for badger-watching for the visually impaired. I am confused.


And now, a portion of a poem that was emailed to me today by a dear friend.

Understanding is the ultimate seduction of the mind,

go to the truth beyond the mind

Love is the bridge.

Llandaff Rotary

Note of primary interest: today is Oma's birthday and she needs to be well-wished by as many people as possible :) She was born in 1919, so you can figure out the math and be amazed that she goes to water aerobics, visits the sick and will kick your a.....(well, your behind) walking.

So tonight I attended my second Rotary meeting with Llandaff Rotary Club with Graham, my counselor and had a lovely time. Although the speaker did not show, so it was all conversation and chit chat instead of learning about Lord Nelson or something. Oh, and the part where I spilled boiling soup on my lap was just hilarious. Then, they asked me to get up and give a report about the LINK Weekend in Derby (self-conscious? me?). You see, this is all a result of "Anne" meaning "grace" and the fact that my neurological system seems to take great pleasure in causing as much of the opposite as possible. Skin on my wrist still stings like the devil, but brave and strong, and all that rot!

And I JUST DROVE A CAR ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!!!! And IT IS NIGHTTIME!!!!! and nothing was hit or bumped or otherwise disturbed (except perhaps Graham who was a bit alarmed at the speed with which we went around the roundabouts, so he decided that that was enough practice for one evening about halfway home :) ).

Really need to start carrying around little reporter's notebook so as to record items of interest as they are being discussed since they evaporate quickly as such a terrible lot of new things are being incessantly pummelled at my brain. Tonight, did talk about Welsh food and my new thing to try is laverbread -- this is a mixture of boiled seaweed and oats that I think is fried up kind of like hot-water cornbread. Other items of Welsh culinary repertoire: Cockles (little tiny mussels), cawl (a stew-ish sort of dish with lamb, leek, swede and potato), faggots (spicy meatballs), and rarebit (this sounds like some sort of uncooked rabbit to me, but is relatively harmless since it is simply cheese on toast). Here is a good list of some recipes should anyone feel adventurous: http://www.grossi.co.uk/wales/recipe.htm

And now for something completely different. This afternoon, I trimmed about 1 1/2 inches off my hair and think it looks pretty good. It actually kept curl this evening. mostly. as much as my hair is able.

Along the Monty Python strain, I would also like to take this opportunity to mention the fact that the Post Office down the road from me has a huge live parrot who sits behind the glass with the clerks. It is a lovely and personable bird and does not appear to be pining for the fjords.

Sorry, no pictures tonight.

Ceilidh and double-drip beer

Sorry kids! Haven’t had internet for several days and I know you have all been pining away wondering what in the world could be going on…..and, no. I still have not re-discovered the elf.

So, I am a real student again, with an ID card and everything J My lectures seem like they will be quite interesting and quite more than a little challenging. Our introduction to the Centre for Language and Communication Research included one of the professors telling us several times that, “Yes. It is possible to fail!” Oh dear. Our first day of classes was today (last week was Orientation Week – I ‘went’ to the Pub Crawl with one of my classmates, Katharine, from Iowa, but we kind of turned it into our own pub crawl since we were feeling a little tired of chit-chatting).

Friday morning, 7.00 am, found me walking to the Central train station to catch my train to Derby. The humidity was working hard to make me feel like I was at home, and despite the chill in the air (and the lovely misting rain), I was sweating profusely by the time I arrived at the station. The lined raincoat will probably be appreciated in a month, but at the time I was rather disgruntled with it.

Four hours later, I was in Derby. After having a little indie-pop music party across the aisle interrupt my nap when some vexing first-year students got on the train in Birmingham – errrrrr. I went up early for the LINK Weekend, which was for all of the Rotary Scholars studying in Britain and Ireland this year (150 or so!). My housemates could not leave until after lectures, so they came up with Hiroko’s counselor that evening.

Toodled around Derby, visited the Cathedral and the market and lunched. The Cathedral and the Roman Catholic church, St. Mary’s, were designed by the same architect. (Sadly, I didn’t take a picture of the two towers juxtaposed since I was unaware of this tidbit until later.)

Diagonal from the train station is The Victoria Inn, which is a pub for up-and-coming musicians as well as other live music. David Gray started here! There is a disagreement in Derby right now as the pub, built in 1875, stands in the path of a billion pound regeneration project for the city. If you would like to sign a petition, you may do so at www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/save_the_vic_2005. (Got this from the Derby paper and is meant to demonstrate complete immersion and awareness of items of local concern, wherever that may be. lol.)

Was hosted by John and Jo Sartin, who live in Duffield, a village just north of the city. They are quite lovely and very interesting to talk with – John is retired from the insurance business and his hobby is woodworking. He made this lovely stool and some of the other furniture in the room where I stayed. Friday evening, they took me to a ceilidh (pronounced, kay-lee – this is an Irish/Scottish word meaning “a meeting, usually in a private house to sing, tell stories, play music, etc. – this one was a dance J) at the church parish hall; it was a surprise 70th birthday party for one of their friends. There was even a man in a kilt who danced like the wind! Have decided I like kilts. Party included wine and huge buffet as well! I want one (a ceilidh, not a kilt) for my 70th birthday, so everyone start planning! However, means will have to learn to dance coherently first…..

Saturday – toured Sudbury Hall with other Scholars. Sudbury is about 15 miles west of Derby and this is the hall of the Lords Vernon – the 11th Lord Vernon (from an indirect line) now carries the title, although the property is owned by the daughter of the last Lord Vernon, from the direct line. Females are not allowed to hold the title. Well! (Pictured to the left are herself, Fabiana and Hiroko, two of my housemates. The large green door is the entrance to the loos.)


Had a lovely half-pint at the Vernon Arms (pictured R) with John and some Rotary Peace Scholars from Australia (they are studying in Bradford, England) – the beer was a local brew double drip beer, which was quite hoppy and stronger than single brewed beer. It was interesting.

Evening sent all the Scholars to a Barn Dance in Nottinghamshire – and, no, there were no men in green tights. Much entertainment and music and I even braved it out onto the dance floor at the very end – my dance partner was Yaw, from Ghana, and as neither of us knew WHAT we were doing, it was quite amusing. Fortunately, the scholarship is not based upon coordination.

Sunday – quick meeting with Rotary officials. And then off to Cardiff! This time, I drove with my housemates, Mari (the other Scholar in Cardiff) and Hiroko’s host, Steve. After two hours, the stabbing pain behind my knee almost sent me over the edge, but self-control, self-control. How do I always end up in the middle? Oh, and guess what -- I was a big nerd with my map of Great Britain and Ireland (that the Rotary District so fabulously gave us – I do so LOVE maps!) and followed our progress the whole way home. Steve even took me (since the other 3 were crashed out) on a detour driving through the Welsh mountains from Monmouth, south toward Chepstow to drive past Tintern Abbey!!!!!! It was absolutely a gorgeous drive, except for the removing van that had us going 15 mph; and rounding a corner to see the delicate strength of the Abbey ruins was unreal. We only drove by but I will definitely be going back very soon. It was sad not to be able to stop since the day was perfect for pictures. And my camera was in the trunk. And I was monitoring my map. So I got no photographic evidence. But, no regrets, or else one’s neck tenses up and gives one a headache.

Continue to be obsessive-compulsive and have just finished foam-cleaning the carpet in a good portion of the house J hooray! This is not my first official Act of Procrastination, though, I promise!