Category Archives: Living in UK

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Redoing It My Way

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Yesterday I went into our closest town with my friend Tina to get to my hair cut by someone new. The stylist who has been doing my hair is 40 miles away and it was getting to be a bit much for a woman who needs a cut every six weeks so I decided to try the woman who does Tina’s hair.

We had a bit of car trouble on the way there. Tina was driving when the reverse in her car completely disappeared while we trying to back up. This can be a problem when driving on the narrow lanes here as you frequently need to reverse when you meet an oncoming vehicle. We made it back to the village and after parking her car, we picked up John’s car and set off with me behind the wheel.

We had a bit of time to hit the shops before our hair appointments and we went into some of my favorite stores, the charity shops. There are tons of them scattered around everywhere you look in the cities and towns here in the UK.  You can literally walk out of one and within a few hundred yards be standing in front of another. I see these shops as a treasure hunt of sorts and yesterday, I hit gold when I found two almost identical bracelets and a necklace.

Want to know what I did with those three pieces of jewelry (or jewellery for UK readers)…. I made some more….I love reworking jewelry into something I really want. Below are the seven pieces that I reshaped from the original three and I’ve got enough bits left over to make at least two or three more pairs of earrings.

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I had a lot fun making these pieces, but the best find of the day was Lisa, who gave me my sassy new haircut.

Because Red Pine Mountain asked about it, here’s a picture of my new haircut that John took in the pub last night. It’s not the best of me, but you can get an idea of how it looks. I know it’s not dramatically different from some I’ve worn in the past, but I was getting so shaggy looking that it feels fresh and exciting to me. Plus, I really prefer my hair short enough to keep it looking somewhat natural…too long tends too end up being too much work and a bit fussy looking for me.

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Can you see the new earrings I made earlier in day?

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The pub was packed last night as the live entertainment drew a huge crowd that spilled over into the restaurant side where we were sitting as well to the picnic tables outside .

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John and I walked home about 11:45 calling it a night fairly early, but there were tons of folks still having fun as we strolled off into the dark.

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Stars And Stripes Against An English Sky

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On Saturday, I had my second 4th of July celebration here in England. Last year John and I had a sweet little day alone and I made some of my family favorites for our rained out barbecue.  This year was very different except for the rain. Since last year, I’ve had a chance to meet some other women who are married to Englishmen too.  John and I were invited to celebrate the 4th with this new group of friends who’ve very kindly welcomed us into their circle.

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If any of you are wondering…yes, we did set up our tables for the meal in what is referred to here as a poly tunnel or a greenhouse. The weather forecast predicted rain and we wanted to be dry just in case. We did get some on and off sprinkles, but not enough to keep us from having a good game of American kickball.

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That’s John guarding third base while one of the children grabs the ball to try to tag the little girl in the red dress running to second.

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Other activities included a little bouncing on the trampoline which I gave a try after warning the children to give me wide berth.

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There were foot races….

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and fancy dress….

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Even the peacocks wanted to show off their finery.

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The food was pure American 4th of July cookout favorites….hot dogs, hamburgers, homemade potato salad and coleslaw.

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We even tested our knowledge of American geography with a printout supplied by our hostess. There was a bit of cheating going on with a few obvious glances from some of the English players.

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Next on the menu… marshmallow roasting….

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Mmmmmm….

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We finished up with a bit of music and a sing-a-long

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It was getting a bit dark so my last two are a little grainy, but I really prefer to document from beginning to end without the disruption of a flash.

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Last songs and tired children.

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Of course you need a bit of pyro at the end of the day and we had a lovely bit of fireworks…I managed to capture some of the excitement of the children with a little video footage at the end.(RATS!  I can’t get it to work…check back later if you want to see it and I’ll try to work it out.)

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Editing Real Life -Deciding What To Keep

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wedding

I was barely back in Cornwall long enough to unpack last week before I was off  to photograph my first UK wedding. I met these two lovely people though another blogging friend Joanne Rendell.  Joanne and Alycia have connections in New York and after communicating with Joanne after her first book was published, she introduced me to Alycia. Alycia and I have loads of things in common including a theatre background, but it is in loving our Englishmen and leaving our U.S. based lives for that love that we find the most similarity.

It was truly an honor to be asked to record the moments of such an important day and my pleasure to be able to do it. Honestly, it was a bit like being in a movie version of a modern day Jane Austin novel. 

The ceremony was one of the very sweetest I’ve ever seen and had some moments so tender that I almost forgot I was there to document the day. I’ve seen brides who were beautiful and grooms who were handsome and happy, but I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such total joy at the moment they kissed. Even I got a little teary behind my camera.

I’m editing like a mad woman and will probably be doing so for a few more days but I’ll be back with more photos if you’re interested in having a bit of a look as I finish them. Thanks to John’s assistance as my second shooter, we ended up with a total of more than 1800 images. So now the big question is what to keep. How do you decide what makes the cut with your images?

I tend to be pretty ruthless, but there are some here that I’m not sure I want to say goodbye to…not just yet anyway. I’m talking about those which are slightly imperfect, but full of emotion…hmmm, perhaps I’ve just answered my own question. Life is messy and imperfect right…so perhaps keeping an image or two to remind us can be useful now and then.

Thanks to the photoshop skills of my sister Margaret, the image above no longer has a bicycle in the background or a sign in the window. 

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Packing It Tighter Than OctoMom’s Uterus

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DSCN4506As most of you who’ve been following my blog lately are aware, I’ve just completed the enormous task of downsizing 48 years of my physical life into a box measuring 200 cubic feet for shipping to England where I now live with my husband John. As you might imagine, 200 cubic feet is not a lot of space especially for a woman with a tendency to place value on the memory of a day or event and hold on to whatever object heightens the memory. Thank goodness my daughter Miranda was willing to take on some of the things that were too difficult to part with over the last few weeks.

I was fortunate to find a home for most of my furniture and big things last May when I came to England for my first long stretch. What I left behind in storage seemed in my mind to be a smaller amount to sort through than it turned out to be after I saw it all again. I wrote here about what it looked like when I began the weeding out process and below you’ll find a couple of pictures before I condensed it to a more manageable group of boxes.

 

Group One Of Boxes

Group One Of Boxes

Group Two Of Boxes

Group Two Of Boxes

As you can see, I had stuff in two places…one a basement room and one in the garage of my step-mom’s home.  She was so gracious about it all. As hard as I tried to keep it all contained to a few places, there were times when it spilled over briefly into other areas as I went through it.  Everything you see is the before image. All of these boxes had to be opened and sorted and repacked. I went through everything creating piles to re-box and take with me or packing them up to give to Miranda. What was left went into a section for my garage sale which netted enough to pay about half the cost of shipping my stuff over.

 

Day Two Of Sale

Day Two Of Sale

I had some telling signs up for my garage sale and between my Craigslist posting and a few signs, I did little else to alert the world that there was good stuff to be had out in Marietta. I did blog about it and three of my blogging buddies showed up  to say hello and help finance my move….thanks to Jules, Leslye and Taylor  along with some long time friends, Patrice and Scott. Additionally, two old boyfriends that I’m still friendly with from 25 and 30 years ago stopped by to say hello.  It was good to see each of them and I was pleased to see some things that were special to me go to people I know. Taylor bought a birdcage that I loved and I can’t wait to see what cool photographs she creates with it. You can see her first image of it if you go here.

A few more shots of stuff no longer mine from the sale…

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By the time the movers came to box up the breakables, I had packed the rest of it. I could pack the non-fragile items, but had to leave the boxes open for the movers to note before sealing. Here are a few images from that day.

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I shipped loads of art over as well as a chair that looks like the female version of one John has. I’ll post them side by side when it arrives.

Below are some of my boxes repacked and stacked to mimic the dimensions of the storage crate.

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The wooden crate you see above is what ALL of my stuff went into.  You’re going to see why I chose the title I did for this post in a minute.

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These men from Atlantic Relocation Systems did an excellent job packing the breakables up and numbering everything. They have a history of working with Rainier, the company I contacted to do the international move and everyone from Doug Wiviott at Rainier to Mike Orlin with Atlantic Relocation Systems and all of the guys who did the hard work of packing it up have been great to work with. I’ll update you in 45-65 days when my crate arrives as to the condition of things, but it’s been good experience so far.

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Remember what I said about OctoMom’s uterus….well….it wasn’t eight babies, but it was pretty tight!

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Going

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Gone!

Gone!

The next time you see the crate will be when we’re unloading it here in Cornwall. I wonder if it will seem strange to see my things in this setting. I have to say that as they were putting the very last thing into the crate, I got a little teary. The last two things were a large framed photograph of Miranda as a barely walking toddler sitting in my grandmother’s wicker rocking chair and the last minute addition of sewing box given to me many years ago by my Aunt Wylly, the children’s book author. There was something about seeing that old sewing box slip into a little opening to make the journey that caused me to feel something other than relief and exhaustion. I think it was the thought of Aunt Wylly and her sense of adventure that affected me in the moment. She was such a special woman and an inspiration to me in many ways…thinking of her and knowing how she lived her life…I think she’d approve of this new love and life in Blisland .

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Fairy Spirit Or Twist Of Light

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Fairy Spirit Or Twist Of Light?

I live in a place that is a wonderland for the imagination. Stories lie in wait around every turn and each time I step out for a walk or a run I return with a headful of ideas begging to find a bit a permanence and a place to call home. Whether on the moor or walking over the ancient bridges that cross the river that runs through our little village, I see possibilities wherever my eyes stop to rest. I find myself talking to the animals I see along the way and can easily understand how Beatrix Potter could create worlds where bunnies and geese talk back while cats and dogs do the shopping and farm work. These are fertile grounds for story making and the peace of my rural life is perfect for coaxing life into new characters and situations.

I have so much material that I often feel overwhelmed with my choices much like the way one might when standing before a huge buffet table, only instead of choosing between fried chicken southern style or asian sweet and sour , my banquet table is weighed down with ideas. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but for a woman prone ever so slightly towards being easily distracted…too many choices can be troublesome. So the ideas tend to pile up, waiting in a long queue for their moment with some moments taking longer to arrive than others. If I forget to write it all down…the story can disappear, but sometimes there is evidence, a lasting trigger with an image of mine to remind me.

Such was the case with a walk in Scotland on the Isle of Skye at sunset a few years ago. Day or night, the sky there is always stunning and I crawled over a thorny patch to capture this image lit by the setting sun. Skye has long been a magical place for me and seeing what looked like a bit of a fairy spirit captured in the lens of my camera created  more of a feeling of confirmation than surprise.  I have a series of these taken from different angles and the image is the same …twist of light or fairy spirit…you choose. I’d love to hear your thoughts…

 

(My lens was clean…in case you’re wondering…with no smudges or dust)

 

 

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Breaking Up

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Children all over England are running free for the next two weeks as schools broke up for the Easter holiday on Friday. Two things stand out for me as being different from what I’m used to in America…Easter holiday and breaking up. I think in America you only hear the term Spring Break being used to denote the time period when children get a week off from school rather than Easter break. While it would not be considered politically correct to use the term Easter break in America, using Easter and Christmas to denote a school break in England is still the norm.

The children here have an interesting schedule that varies a bit from what my daughter went through in the American school system. The schedule in England has a more liberal time off period during the school year, but a shorter break for summer. American children are out for roughly 11 weeks in summer while 6 weeks is typical here. English schools start later in September and break up for summer around July 20, but they’re off for 7 weeks at various points during the school year plus 4 additional days referred to as Bank holidays. American children have 4 weeks off with a few miscellaneous days thrown in such as MLK’s birthday along with a few others.

The size of the schools vary as well. The village school here has 20 students and  3 teachers along with 1 teaching assistant. It’s a primary school and accepts children ages 4-11.  Surprisingly even though it’s reminiscent of rural schools that don’t exist anymore in most places in America, there is a computer for every child and musical instruments of various kinds as well.  It’s set in the sweetest location and the children seem very happy and well connected despite the mix of ages. The older children help the younger ones in ways you wouldn’t see in larger schools in America where the grades are separated and the different classes tend to stay within their own age group. Here in our village school, the oldest child has a chance to be a leader and guide to the younger children and it seems to work very well.

I had a chance yesterday to snap a few photographs at the School Fete where teachers, parents and students along with some community members gathered together sell home baked goods, plants, and toys, to raise money for school trips and extras. Even though I don’t have a child in the school, I have an interest through my friend and running partner Tina, who has twin daughters who attend there. I sent some cookies I made (Bear Scat, a recipe I picked up on my recent trip to Alaska) along for the sale and John and I purchased a couple of chances on the duck race that capped the days fun. The school has a bridge right next to it with a lovely bit of water that the ducks were released into a bit further upstream. The children along parents and grandparents stood on the bridge cheering as the ducks floated down with different numbers written on their backsides in waterproof ink.  It was a wonderful bit of fun for the children on their last day before breaking up for Easter break.  The Head teacher, Mr. Ratcliffe along with two other teachers, Mrs. Webber and Mr. Knibbs got into the spirit of things by dressing in costume for the big scoop out. They did a great job chasing down the little yellow ducks that most of us would associate more with a hot bath rather than a cool river run.

I scooted down to the waters edge and stretched out on a big rock to capture a few memories of Duck Race 2009.

 

Mr. Ratcliffe (Center In Chicken Suit)

Mr. Ratcliffe (Center In Chicken Suit)

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(L to R) Mr. Knibb, Mrs. Webber, and Head teacher, Mr. Ratcliffe

The Newspaper Photographer Getting Her Shot

The Newspaper Photographer Getting Her Shot

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Mrs. Webber Breaks The Net

Mrs. Webber Breaks The Net

 

Ready, Set, Go!

Ready, Set, Go!

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The Big Scoop

 

The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away

 

 

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Soaking Up The Spring Sun

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Sleeping In The Sun

Sleeping In The Sun

At a glance, this kitty cat picture might look a bit disturbing, but I assure you…he’s fine and only doing what we’re all doing here in Cornwall…soaking up the sweet warmthof the spring sunshine.  With all the lovely spring flower photographs I’ve been enjoying on the blogs I read regularly, I thought I’d post a few of my own for you to enjoy.

It was February 2008, when I first arrived in Cornwall, meeting John face to face on Valentine’s Day. After two lovely weeks with him, I went back to Georgia and didn’t return until May, when the colors of Cornwall had shifted dramatically. It’s a great gift to see the seasons transition this year with the sweet man who is now my husband. I love how he seems to know every plant and bird species by name and everyday feels like a field trip as we explore the places around us.

 

 

Kitty Cat Closeup

Kitty Cat Closeup

 

A House Just Off The Village Green (16th Century)

A House Just Off The Village Green (16th Century)

 

 

 

A View From The Village Green

A View From The Village Green

 

 

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Jackdaws (Crows) Flying Home To The Church Tower

 

Building New Nests For Spring

Building New Nests For Spring

 

Where Do You Want This...

Where Do You Want This...

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Magnolia

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Close To The Heart Of It

 

Almost A Flower

Almost A Flower

 

Golden Explosions At Sunset

Golden Explosions At Sunset

 

Fragile New Life

Fragile New Life

 

Flowering Buds

Flowering Buds

 

Future Pine Cone?

Future Pine Cone?

 

More Growing On The Pine

More Growing On The Pine

If you’re still in need of something sweet to make you smile …head over to Chookooloonks where you’ll find a tender love story that might make you cry, but you’ll be smiling on the inside.  

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ER-Bound

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Air Ambulance To The Rescue

Air Ambulance To The Rescue

The Air Ambulance above is ER bound or as they say here, A & E for accident and emergency. While I was working at my computer yesterday, I heard this terribly loud noise. It was not a sound I’d heard here before even though I spent the better part of last year in this village with John. It took me a second to realize that the sound I was hearing was not a plane landing on the house, but rather a helicopter flying in tight and low looking for a place to land. Just about the time I realized what it was, it shot over the house past a window and I was up off the couch as John came inside saying, ” Elizabeth, that’s an air ambulance …”  Grabbing my shoes, I was reaching for a light coat when John said, ” Do you want your camera?”  Want my camera…most of you know I don’t leave home without it and I was scooping it up practically as he spoke. It circled twice and headed in the direction of the village green, but there are so many trees on the green, I knew it wouldn’t be putting down there. I ran out the door with John following at a more leisurely pace and ran down just past the pub to find two women directing the odd car or so away from the lane (small road bordered by tall hedges) because there had been an accident.

It seems a group of about ten walkers had been been having a Sunday hike and were passed by three people on horseback. I often encounter riders when I’m running or out for a walk with John. The horses usually seem as used to people and cars as we are to them, but yesterday…one carrying a teenage girl of about sixteen spooked and dumped her. In trying to find it’s footing, her horse trampled over her according to the two women at the top of the lane who were directing cars. They were part of the group of ten who were there during the fall. 

In this country, when something occurs that we might call an ambulance for, or if you’re sure you should go to the A & E , if you call the emergency number (999) you may see any one of three main types of vehicles and medical people show up.

All three were present yesterday. These next two photographs were taken after the crisis. A Rapid Response Vehicle may get there first before the ambulance arrives, “Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) RRVs are normally staffed with a single Paramedic or Technician who can get to the scene of an emergency quickly and provide patient assessment and advanced life support techniques. If possible the RRV may transport a patient with minor injuries or it may have to wait for back up from an accident and emergency ambulance or urgent transfer vehicle. Alternatively the crew may refer the patient to another health agency.”

Rapid Response Vehicle

Rapid Response Vehicle

Or you might see this a larger vehicle show up with more equipment and medical personal such as an Accident and Emergency Vehicle, ” accident and emergency ambulances are normally staffed with a Paramedic and a Technician crew. The ambulances are fully equipped to deal with most circumstances and can transport a patient either sitting or lying down on a stretcher.”

Accident and Emergency Ambulance

Accident and Emergency Ambulance

Finally, you see the Air Ambulance which I followed on foot. For those of you in America, you probably think like I do that air ambulances are reserved for the most critical situations…well, you’d be surprised how often they’re used here and for the types of accidents or emergencies that most of us wouldn’t think of as requiring a flight out to the nearest trauma center. If you’re interested in knowing more you can check out this site for more information. The quotes I used above were taken from it and I was intrigued to see that they have medical people responding on motorcycles and mountain bikes as well.

Last thing…something I don’t think you’d get in America anymore due to privacy laws..the ambulance attendant gave us an brief update on the way out of the village by saying they thought the girl would be okay. The attendant said she might have a fracture, but it was more for precaution that they were taking her by air.

 

Picking Up The Patient

Picking Up The Patient

 Look low to the ground…it’s sitting in a field near the injured girl.

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Up Up And Away!

I have to share what I was thinking as I ran down the road following the path of the helicopter. As I paused to snap a photo in mid run…I thought , “Elizabeth you’ve turned into an ambulance chaser.”

Good News Update:

I received an update on the injured girl after a trip to our village shop today. The postmistress who was present yesterday for all of the watching and waiting told me today that she had been told the teenager was going to be fine. She had two stitches to her face and was released.

 

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The Long Walk From Mevagissey To Gorran Haven & Back

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Yesterday John and I took a long walk along the south coast path of Cornwall. We began in the village of Mevagissey and picked up the path just past the harbor where colorful boats rocked gently and seagulls battled loudly for bits of dead fish floating near the boats in the low tide water that edged the harbor.

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With a fish that big you’d think they could share it, but most of time, the strongest one wants to take it all. Take a look in the two gulls over at the right in the picture above…don’t they look like they’re planning something.

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Meanwhile,  I think there may be more fish in the ( gulp) sea…

 

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Leaving the seagulls to battle over brunch, we climbed up out of the village and onto the path going towards Gorran Haven. The day could not have been more perfect, blue sky, a light wind, and everything blooming and greening up for spring. People in the village had paintbrushes out touching up for the season of tourists that come for summer holidays and school breaks. The coast path though was mostly empty with only a few people passing us fro the opposite direction. 

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This green space with sheep was what we could see when we looked to the right and below is what we saw on our left….        img_73035     

 

It’s a remarkable contrast…it reminds me of both Scotland and the California coast.

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You have to mind where you go as sometimes the path takes you right along the edge. 

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These forget-me-not flowers almost don’t look real. John said they were a bit early for this time of year and then he reminded me of how when I came to Cornwall to see him the first time, I brought him a packet of forget-me-not seeds. He planted them after I left  and they didn’t do well here in Cornwall. He has the nicest green thumb, but only one tiny flower survived. Of course, one can be enough…if it’s the right one.

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My Very Own Version Of Planes, Trains, And Automobiles

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Picking up from my last post, we did arrive at the local train station and found that we could all ride the same train together at least for a little while. First we had to wait… and some of us were less than happy with this.

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The purchase of a little snack made us all feel a bit better.

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Here comes the train…and we’re off!

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Crossing the Tamar estuary on Brunel’s historic bridge as viewed from the window of train number one. After a short ride, we said goodbye to John’s daughter and granddaughter waving them off as their 2nd train departed. In these next three photographs, I’m in the reflection you see in the window outside of the train saying goodbye while John’s granddaughter’s little face is looking back at us through the window from inside the train.

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Me with my backpack and my wedding bouquet…it looks like I’m blowing kisses. 

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A Last Look Back

We boarded our next train and then dashed to our bus before arriving at the airport and our plane which fortunately was delayed by the weather.  After they deiced the plane, we were on our way to our honeymoon destination…the city of love…Paris!

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I’ll be back tomorrow with more, but let me leave you with a challenge…can anyone out there guess why I took the flowers below with me to Paris…leave me a comment with your thoughts and I’ll announce who gets it right first.

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