Sunday, August 16, 2009 – Monday, August 17, 2009 - A sad couple of days. Our stay in England is fast coming to an end. But there are still some pleasant times and surprises to come! Sunday morning our six-year-old friend Harry takes us on a tour of Writtle. We stroll along some of the streets in town, look into a few of the shop windows, visit an ancient church, and watch the many ducks on the village green’s pond. Extremely picturesque. We would love to live here. It’s brick or stucco for English homes, not wood like we use in America. Their properties are set off by six-foot brick or wooden walls, often covered in ivy, providing a sense of privacy, and much time is spent on lawn and garden maintenance. What we see is quaint and beautiful. After a while, Harry leads us back to the sidewalk, and we saunter past the Rose and Crown pub, and on to home. A wonderful morning.
Many of Steve and Lyn’s friends have asked us to come by for Sunday coffee. They are all great folks, and we’d love to, but we are out of time. Steve and Lyn pledged weeks ago to escort us for a visit to the home of Iain and Sheena Munro in Chelmsford for lunch and drinks. We had already previously met them at the Endeavor and at Steve and Lyn’s garden party. Iain and Sheena are extremely gracious hosts, and have become experts at hosting such luncheons. What’s more, their home is spectacular, with a large yard (“garden”) for England standards, and it is superbly laid out and lush with vegetation, flowers, bird feeders, and water features. We spend several hours at a huge round table under a back yard awning. The food and alcohol were superb, but the banter was even better. Steve and Iain are constantly engaged in good-natured kidding, often over their English vs. Scottish backgrounds, and never have we been so entertained. It seemed like Iain and Sheena enjoyed making new American friends as much as we enjoyed making new Scottish ones. We were treated to a feast including homemade breads, gourmet entrees, homemade champagne ice cream, and a final testing of some true Scotch, and some 7.5% ale. Reason enough to stay on these islands! All too soon, though, it was time to leave. Iain and Sheena have turned entertaining into an art, and their home an incredible canvas, We are sad to depart.
We return to Steve and Lyn’s to pack. Considering all that we have purchased, that will be a challenge. We share a last few drinks. We watch a final TV show (“Waterways”?), where an English commentator canoes down a stream, and talks, somewhat humorously, of the history and culture of the region through which it passes. Today he paddles the “Lee”, which flows through Essex County, the Olympic site, and into the Thames. A wonderful show I hope is picked up by PBS. Other shows we’ve seen the last two weeks are intriguing as well. One show was a full depiction of how a thatched roof was made from start to finish. Another show follows a team of London exterminators and their rat terrier “Charlie” as they chase bees, bugs, and, yes, rats. How the camera is able to keep up with Charlie as he races like a fiend under furniture and into cabinets and cellars, and actually films close-ups of the dog shaking rats to death, is beyond me. Another show is a tiny bit like Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” called ”Lion’s Den”. Folks who have ideas for businesses or inventions are given the chance to pitch their suggestions to a high-powered panel of successful, well-known entrepreneurs, all of whom do the Simon Cowell bit. However, if in the end they feel the idea has a chance of success, one or more panel members will offer to financially help get it off the ground. Another great possibility for American TV! Then it’s time to talk some more about future visits on both sides of the pond, and we turn in. It would be impossible or us to give a proper tribute to all our wonderful hosts and friends in England. The best part of our trip was the chance to be with our special friends (old and new), which was even more moving than any historical site or tourist attraction!
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