Foxton, July 20
It's been a great few days since making the big hop from Adelaide to the UK. After six hours in Singapore, I flew from there nonstop to Zurich. I know some reading this are airline enthusiasts, so I thought I'd hum a few bars about the flight experience.
While I'm sure there are days this doesn't happen, Singapore Airlines and Swiss Air were fantastic. Every flight was on time, the food in business was really good (Asian fish dish with noodles going up to Singapore, beef filet from Singapore to Zurich), and they feed you continually if you are so inclined. Wines were also terrific, I had an amazing Swiss Riesling on the flight to Zurich, great Bordeauxs, etc.. My bag had to change flights twice, it arrived in Birmingham punctually, I was off the plane and getting into my rental car in less than 30 minutes Tuesday morning. From Zurich to Birmingham, I was the only passenger in business, I assumed on an hour flight I'd get a cup of copy (just like any hour flight in first in the United States), but no, another copious platter was placed in front of me, containing a wonderful omelet, fresh fruit, croissant, roll, really good apricot jam, excellent coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, etc. Since I had just had a similar breakfast experience flying into Zurich, I wasn't able to eat much of it, but it is really fun to experience this level of service, and sadly points out how miserable things have become with flying in the US.
In any event, after arriving, I found myself in the Midlands an hour before I was suppose to get the key to the cottage, so I did a bit of grocery shopping at Waitrose in Lutterworth, and then met Laura, the proprietress of Foxton Locks Lodges, at the cottage I'm currently staying in, Fox's Den. It is a very comfortable, almost luxurious log cabin, with two bedrooms, two full baths, and fully appointed kitchen (will full size American style fridge), nice living room, private outdoor hot tub and a great deck off the back that overlooks the countryside, with a gas bbq. I am about a quarter mile walk from the canal, near the Foxton Locks, which is a still functioning lock junction on the old canal system.
England at one time had a massive system of inland waterways, the canal that runs through Foxton, down to Market Harborough, is a remnant of that. Today, there is no commerce on these canals, instead people own long, narrow barges that are appointed with kitchens, sitting areas, bedrooms, etc. and cruise up and down the canals. Some of the barges are quite elaborate, some not so much, and their occupants range from very kind interesting people (yes, I've become a tow path lurker, and have struck up all sorts of conversations), to some scary people (one guy had a black plastic skull sitting on the bow of his barge, another couple who look like they had bathed in the canal invited me to smoke something with them, I declined....). Barge occupants aside, the canals are beautiful, and I have spent many hours out walking along the tow path.
Tuesday night when I got in my very good friends the Jacksons, who live about 8 miles from here, had me over for dinner, which with three young teenagers amounted to meat fest, complete with salad and potatoes, and some good wine. For those that don't know the story, Philip Jackson and I have been friends for over 30 years. My high school in Marin, Redwood, and his Upper School in Blandford Forum, Dorset had a student exchange program. Both Phil and I applied to go, and we were both rejected, but smart enough to stay connected to the program, and he ended up visiting a Redwood student, Jill Husen, the summer after she came back from her year in the UK. I knew Jill, she introduced me to Phil, and the rest was history. On ensuing trips back, Phil stayed with us, and was spoiled rotten by my Mom who packed him lunches every day when he went out sightseeing, and did his laundry -he essentially endeared himself to the Giles family. I was treated equally as well by Phil's parent, John and June, on several trips to the UK. Life has presented many changes and adventures since, but we have remained friends to this day. Phil is married to Caroline, they moved up to Leicestershire approximately 15 years ago so that Caroline could take over managing her family business, Palmers Garden Centre, three fantastic sons have emerged, George, Jack and Pip, and I have the honor of being Jack's godfather. On Wednesday night, the Jackson boys came over for dinner at the cottage, and broke in the hot tub.
George is showing off in the back, Jack is sitting to the side trying not to get his hair wet, Pip is enjoying the bubbles.
Sunset that night as viewed from the deck Wednesday night was amazing:
The UK is currently experiencing one of the hottest summers in recent times, however hot here is about 88 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius - I'm sure my Aussie fans are laughing at this, however humidity is involved, and the afternoons are kind of tough. Nights however are cool, unlike the US east (Andrew I noted your weather posting on FB the other night with the 10pm reading in Central Park), and good for sleeping, you don't really need a/c. Thursday, I went up to Leicester to have dinner with Roger and Rosy Dickinson, the brother and sister in-law of my good friend Simon. They have a wonderful row house in an older Leicester neighborhood, we enjoyed some nice Italian wine and Rosy cooked a fantastic salmon and shrimp dinner. We had too much fun, however, and I missed the last train to Market Harborough, so I had to take a cab from Leicester to MH, and had a very funny, enjoyable conversation with the driver, Hesh, who was from Mumbai, and had been a VP of HR there for a tech outsourcing company. Not sure if that was a sign about my future, but he seemed very grateful to be in the UK, and the fact that he was driving a cab was not of great significance to him, relative to what being here would eventually offer his children. Kind of puts a lot of things in perspective when you think about what he and his wife were willing to do/sacrifice.
Friday the Jackson took me to a country living association or CLA annual fair event at Rangle Hall - lots of fun, but very warm. Caroline told me to dress distinctively, so I wore an Indonesian batik shirt I bought in Singapore for the occasion....I stood out like a sore thumb, but still had a great time.
Last night we did another bbq at the Jacksons, Caroline's brother Rob, his girl friend Juliette, and her friend from Romania, Karman, joined us, lots of fun. Today my friends Louise and Greg from London join us for the weekend, and the British summer country living continues. Had another great walk this morning, I will miss the access to this when I head down to London Monday, it has been great for clearing my head and thinking about what's coming next in life.
That's it for now, stay tuned for more.
