Humble Crumble Return One can make a long-list of “must see” sites when visiting London. Historical Sites. Theater. Gardens. Museums. What is a bit different? An East End eating tour. Knowing that Charles, Christina, and Dwight love food variety, it is an obvious choice. Exiting the Shoreditch tube station, we make our way to Spitalfields …
341. Parliament: Bombs, Fire, and Closures
Everybody recognizes the Houses of Parliament along with Big Ben. Of course, my wordage is slightly inaccurate. Everybody recognizes the Palace of Westminster. Occasionally, we’ll see a figure in the House of Commons giving a speech being listened to by others sitting a few feet away. Occasionally, when we see the London skyline, we’ll see …
340. Being a Tourist with Family
Family LIverpool Lennon statue It has been a long time. Our last family trip is in 2014 when we celebrated our sons’ university graduation. Since they both studied in Great Britain, we traveled around the country letting them show us some of their familiar haunts. Jokingly, we labeled the tour a pub and distillery tour. …
338. Whitby and the Whitby Museum
Five miles north of my Robin Hood’s Bay finishing point, I decompress at Whitby, a town with a population of 10,000 which I never would have guessed. A good place to rest and recollect. As it was historically larger than Robin Hood’s Bay due to its role as a small port for ships fishing the …
337. Ordinary Folks
Guess who is coming to dinner I thoroughly enjoy taking photos of individuals. In a different life, I would have loved to be a photojournalist. Recently, our son Charles sent me news about the death of the great Indian photographer Raghu Rai who chronicled South Asian life of the famous and not-at-all famous for decades. …
336. English Garden Spaces
Dark Iris Whitby Museum Mary and I enjoy gardening. So, I notice garden spaces as I walk through England. Garden before Richmond Garden Everybody who has planted plants from astilbe to zenias has probably heard of “English cottage gardens.” Every square foot of ground is planted. Flowers of various colors and heights. Flowers for the …
335. Tea or Coffee?
Tea or Coffee? Why ask? Everybody knows the answer. If you are from the States or the Mediterranean world, then the answer is coffee. If you are from England, then the answer is tea. I’m sitting at the breakfast room at the BnB talking with another couple who are from Durham. Danny, the BnB owner …
334. I’m Singing in the Rain, Not
“I’m laughing at clouds so dark up above.” No offense to Gene Kelly, but that is not how this last day goes. Rain, rain, and more rain. I am fortunate. I bailed from walking an exposed ridge line in the Lake District because the rain and the cold made me leery that the rain might …
333. Trees and More Trees
Richmond tree In Atlanta, we have six Oak trees, five Japanese “Red Cedar” Cryptomeria, a Gingko (the oldest living species at 200 million years), and a Dawn Redwood (also probably million years old). I’m not counting the seventy Japanese Maples from dwarf to mature twenty-five year olds. Maybe growing up with mature, stately street Elms …
332. How To Get to White Horse Farm Inn
Frank, Joy, Wolfgang Wolfgang doesn’t know. “If I tell you how to go to White Horse Farm Inn, I’d be lying.” “I’ve owned the Buck Inn for fifteen years, but I still don’t know much about the surrounding area.” The night before, I talk to two locals in the pub. “White Horse Farm Inn, for …
Journeys: Explorations in Body, Mind, and Spirit 