Lincoln

Mom and Dad have been wanting to go to Lincoln for awhile and so they decided to use Lincoln Cathedral as one of Dad's projects. I still don't understand what these "projects" are. They kind of sound like excuses to go out and have fun to me.

From Mom:

"I wanted to briefly tell you about our trip to Lincoln. Dad and I took the train from King's Cross on Friday night and had decided to stay two nights. Lincoln is in Lincolnshire which is where some of Grandma Christensen's relatives are from. The Cathedral is up on a hill and our hotel, the White Hart was right around the corner.

We spent about 3 hours in Lincoln Cathedral. There was a modern 15 "Stations of the Cross" exhibit that was really neat. It was carved out of wood with insets of various woods from all over the world.

None of the chairs were in the nave and so when the afternoon sun came through the stained glass windows there was a spectacular effect.

The Cathedral has a teeny carving called the Lincoln Imp. There is a legend that some of the devil's imps escaped and flew into the cathedral. The angels told them to leave but one of them wouldn't leave and so it was turned to stone. It's way up high and if there hadn't been some people nearby who knew where it was, I probably wouldn't have found it.

Lincoln Cathedral is also known for letting the Da Vinci Code in to film in their Chapter House because Westminster Abbey wouldn't let them. (you'll see pictures of Dad playing the piano in there)

Some of my favorite things in the Cathedral are known as the Gilbert Pots. The person that created them evidently used the potter's wheel to it's maximum capacity and so the pots are very large. They are filled with sand and serve as candle holders in the Gilbert Chapel. One of the pots didn't have any candles and so I put one in; when dad came along, he put in a second.

We also were just around the corner from Lincoln Castle which houses one of the three copies of the Magna Carta but it was in Santa Barbara or something. Actually we'd just seen the most legible copy in Salisbury two weeks before. The castle was also a prison for awhile.

We then wandered down Steep Street knowing we were going to have to come back up at some point. We stopped for a lemon and chocolate "sponge" at a cute little pub. We went to Evensong and the men and the girl's choir were singing. It was a great service because they used a string quartet and did a Pergolasi Mass. Later we went to dinner at Cafe Zoot.

We always have to get back in time for Sunday dinner at the Centre so we left after a late breakfast. Dad tried the black pudding. I chose not to have a taste. He didn't eat all of it but at least he can say he tried it.

That's it for Lincoln."

Mom also included this picture in her Lincoln album. I think it's from the castle. I have no idea what it's about, but I thought it was kind of awesome.

Dover, Canterbury and Lost Lambs

New update from Mom:

"I've never been to Dover Castle so I was excited to go. It was actually sunny. As we've planned these trips we find that many places aren't open to tourists during this part of the year. Dover Castle was open but a big chunk was under construction. We first went through the secret war tunnels. It's all pretty sobering. The castle was the main defence (that's how they spell it here) as early as 1100 and the tunnels, which may have been caves, were carved out by them and expanded as time went on. By WWII they were hidden war rooms, a hospital, and even living quarters for servicemen and their wives. Everyone wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover and so Tony drove by them and they were able to catch a glimpse. Nothing like seeing it from the ferry.

We then went to Canterbury. First we went to St. Augustine's Abbey ruins -- they opened it especially for us. The girls played some sort of hide and seek game behind all the broken walls. Then we walked to the cathedral. They split us into groups and we had guides. For awhile I thought I was locked in the cloisters all by myself. I went in there to go back to the the chapter house where we [Utah Chamber Artists] rehearsed last spring. Anyway, when I was done reminiscing and tried to leave, I couldn't figure out the handle.

There was a cathedral cat in the cloisters (remember Wolfie from Salisbury) but not another person. I could not get the huge wooden door open and finally found a way out around the back and so now I know how to get in there for free.

Meanwhile, Dad made the mistake of asking the guide a question and spent the next half hour with him. He and I got separated so I wandered around Canterbury on my own for about a half hour. It was fun to just take pictures and wander. We were all supposed to meet at 4:30 to walk back to the coach. When we did the count off (Alyssa who is #6 is always late in answering and dad has to go ALYSSA???? and it is just like that guy screaming ALVINNNN!!!! in the chipmunk Christmas song) there were 3 girls missing. We waited and waited. We threaten to leave if someone is late, but there were three girls and it was getting dark. Dad was really scared. Dave and Terri were still back waiting for late girls at the meeting spot, but they weren't there. All the leaders have cell phones and the girls are always supposed to carry the emergency phone #'s with them but we hadn't heard from them. We finally decided to try and drive around to find them. Astonishingly we drove right by them on the other side of town. They had gotten a policeman who was walking around with them. Dad was traumatized."


I (this is Laura talking now) recently wrote a post on my personal blog about always losing my cell phone. Dad sent me an email letting me know that I'm not alone in losing things because (as Mom explained above) the students seem to lose themselves. Here is Dad's account of Canterbury:

"Be back on the bus by such and such" is an order understood and absorbed by most of our students. But every time we stop our touring bus and re-board later, most of us wait for the lingering, oblivious few who remain to take that last digital picture, or are still waiting for their hot chocolate at Starbucks, or still in the gift shop or bathroom. In Canterbury, 3 of our group got so lost on the way back to the bus, I got concerned and feared the worst. By luck, we did a loop around the town and found them at the main bus stop in the center of town, instead of the Coach Park on the edge of Canterbury. Sigh. Even though we have passed out to everyone a card to keep with them on all trips that has my cell phone number on it, well...of course they don't bring such things with them.

So...I taught everybody a song that contains my cell phone number. We practice it, sing it on the coach, and it sinks into their little brains so that if they get separated from our group and have forgotten the card with my phone number on it, all they have to do is sing this tune back to themselves and call me up.

The tune is the first phrase of a familiar tune popularized by the Harvard Glee Club back in the 1930's.

"Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time."

I've fallen behind. Mom sent a bunch of pictures, but there wasn't narrative to go along with the pictures. For the record, Mom and Dad have been to the following:

Stourhead
Winchester Cathedral
Portchester Castle

I will post one picture from their field trip to Stourhead, because it makes me feel all kinds of wistful. If you remember this:


You'll probably recognize this:


In addition to being a major tourist site, it is where Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth in the rain (and got rejected). Apparently all the girls were very psyched. She sent a few of this site. I made one of the pictures my desktop here at home (my desktop at work has the photo I used for the blog's title box. Mom takes some good photos).

Here is another she took at Stourhead. Mom said every time you turned around, you wanted to take a picture.


Oh, and Mom and Dad have a tip for anyone who wants to go see a movie at Whitely's in London. If your ticket says the movie starts at 8 PM, and you're there and nobody else is, it's because the locals know that you'll be watching 30 minutes of ads before the movie actually starts.

Mom's first British haircut

Got this email from Mom:

"My roots were finally getting gray enough that I had to find somebody to take care of my hair. I'd researched some online, looked around as I was walking, and tried to get a recommendation or two (which was to no avail) and so I finally decided on Toni and Guy on Kensington Church Street. I'd passed by it so many times from Abbey House to the tube stop that it felt kind of familiar.

Maybe things are a bit more "posh" in SLC than what I've experienced in Sandy, but this was a whole new experience. First, you pick someone to color your hair, someone different to cut your hair, and then someone different to style and finish your hair if you want. Then you pick between three different levels of experience with each costing more as you move up. When I went in to "book" I just told them to refer somebody. (Oh, plus there are 3 different degrees of root coverage depending on how much of your head you want done.) So I ended up with Serina, the lowest rung, doing my color and Laurie, the second rung doing my cut. No need for a "style."

First Serina came to talk to me about what I wanted. She thought my highlights contrasted with the regular color of my hair way too much and suggested a "toner". That is a semi-permanent colour - did I want red? or just the same gold I'm using - that would mellow out what was already there. Extra 15 pounds. (colour was 48 pounds and cut was 55 pounds. yikes) I said ok fine. So Serena colors my hair, wonders if I want tea etc. Then she brings this giant machine over and puts it around my head. She called it a heat machine. It had funny little warming discs that just radiate heat in about 4 places about 6 inches from your head. It's like you are in the oven. Then she walks me over to the shampoo station. Oh, another reason I picked Toni and Guy was because they don't put you all in the front window for everybody to look at as they go by. So, this cute new girl comes and puts me in the chair to wash, condition, apply toner, do the head massage and stuff. Suddenly I feel this rumblings underneath me and its a massage chair. I'll bet I was in the chair for 30 minutes. It was terrific.

Then out comes Laurie. (pronounced Lori) He looks to be about 18. He has what looks like a Paul Gaugin painting up the side of one of his arms. (All of the guys in there had their jeans about mid-buttocks) He was very sweet, easy to talk to. We talked about how weird it is that in the US we have "bangs" and in the Uk they have "fringe." Laurie did a great job; a little more precision than usual. He was very careful. He then blew me dry. Serina came back to ask how I liked the color. They got me my coat, I gave the front desk a bunch of cash including tips, made my - woops booked my appt. in advance which gives me a 10% discount. I figure I'm dropping at least $200 everytime except when I finally get new highlights which will cost another 50 pounds or so. The toner did it's job and my highlights are much more subtle, which Serina informed is really what "highlights" are all about.

So, I'm happy with what they did. The trauma of deciding where to go is over. I'll stick with Serina and Laurie and start saving up for next time."

I know. I was expecting a picture as well.

Heavy Snow

LONDON, Feb. 2 -- A beautiful yet crippling blanket of snow fell across much of England on Monday, causing transportation nightmares but giving rise to thousands of cheery snowmen in a nation barely equipped for heavy winter weather. Nearly a foot of snow had landed in London by midday and another solid dump was expected Monday night in what meteorologists called the heaviest snowfall in nearly two decades. Snow also caused transportation disruptions in France and Ireland, as the icy weather blew westward across northern Europe.

I got that report from the Washington Post. And I got the image from Google.

Mom sent this image to the left. This was taken from her flat window. She left me a voice mail earlier saying she hasn't gone outside all day because no one plows the roads or even shovels. And I guess she doesn't have skis like the guy pictured in the first image.


Coming up next:
Stourhead, Winchester, Portchester, and Mom's first British haircut experience.