1. Gasoline
2. Cigarette Smoke
3. Fast Food
5 days ago
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Dover and Canterbury
Yesterday we had a field trip to Cover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral. We started out visiting the war tunnels under Dover Castle, then the Castle. We drove to Canterbury and visited St. Augustine's Abbey and then Canterbury Cathedral. It was tiring because of all the driving on a cramped coach/bus and visiting four different places. But so worth it and was a memorable day for all of us. I posted the different places in the order we did them, but that means the last post is the first to read. So if you want to read it in order, then start with the war tunnels and work your way up.
Canterbury Cathedral
Our last stop for the day was just down the street from St. Augustine's Abbey. It was the Canterbury Cathedral. Very beautiful. Unfortunately once again, Daniel cut my visit short. He was tired and simply had had enough. I took him out early for a snack and to wait for the others to finish. We actually had to go back in because it was so cold. We just hung out near the entrance where they have chairs.
I loved the quaint little town of Canterbury though. I had just as much fun walking around and looking at all the old medieval shops.
I loved the quaint little town of Canterbury though. I had just as much fun walking around and looking at all the old medieval shops.
Heraldry signs
St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury
Around 598 AD this Abbey was founded as a way to convert the Anglo Saxons to Christianity. Augustine was sent by the Pope to start it. It didn't get it's title until after St. Augustine died. He was also buried there. Once again, the kids LOVED it. The students did too. There was so much to climb around on and rocks to throw. I'm sure on a "normal" day, the employees would have said no to all the climbing around. They opened it just for our group. Thankfully, Amazing Terry (resident director's wife) is really good at bargaining.
Dover Castle
Cool castle! Dover castle has been used as a castle since Roman times. There was a castle there when William the Conqueror arrived after winning the Battle of Hastings. He fortified it and Kings ever since have added to it. It's right on the coast of the English Chanel so it was a primary invasion route from France. The Germans bombed the coast heavily during WWII, but never bombed Dover Castle. The English think this was intentional because Hitler wanted to use the tunnels as a German command post.
The kids LOVED it! The main goal was to get to the top. Unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn't see as much of the inside as we would have liked. (Daniel was missing for about 1/2 hour) I'm glad we get to go back in the Spring with the Spring term group.
The kids LOVED it! The main goal was to get to the top. Unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn't see as much of the inside as we would have liked. (Daniel was missing for about 1/2 hour) I'm glad we get to go back in the Spring with the Spring term group.
Roman Light house and St. Mary's Church which is one of the few Anglo Saxon buildings left. It dates around 1000 AD.
The boys pretending to be Gargoyles
King's hall and replica of the Bayeaux Tapestry
War Tunnels Under Dover Castle
We went to Dover Castle yesterday. We have a great time. I can't decide what I liked best. The war tunnles underneath or the Castle itself. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside of the tunnels, but there were many tunnels used during the Napoleanic wars and then added to and used during WWII. They were used as a place of war business and hospitals. It was neat going through them because they had all the sound effects, furniture, equipment, etc. The tunnels are situated deep under the castle and have air vents all around. I don't know why I purchased WWII curriculum materials. The kids have already learned so much just with what they've seen here in London. We still have to go to the cabinet war rooms and as a family to the imperial war museum.
There are also some medieval war tunnels under the castle. We ran out of time to see them though. Daniel showed up missing for probably a 1/2 an hour. No one had seen him. He took off with some of the students ahead of us. He got in trouble too! Here are some pictures I found online.
There are also some medieval war tunnels under the castle. We ran out of time to see them though. Daniel showed up missing for probably a 1/2 an hour. No one had seen him. He took off with some of the students ahead of us. He got in trouble too! Here are some pictures I found online.
Monday, February 1, 2010
President Chittock
Susan Howe, President Chittock, Scott, Rodger Macfarline.
Last night's fireside was with President Chittock. He is actually the Executive Secretary but has been a Stake President and served in the Stake Presidency for years. He has also been a Bishop four times! Busy man...Anyway, he spoke about his experiences here in England during WWII. I just LOVE learning about WWII. I don't really know why. My dad liked it too so maybe it was his influence. It was definitely a time of patriotism so maybe that's it too. The things he spoke about are well known facts but he also interjected his own personal experiences. Here are some of the notes I took.
He started by telling us that when the German's came and bombed, they did so at night. London was basically on fire, but you could see St. Paul's Cathedral through the smoke and fire. He said it gave them heart. I believe Heavenly Father protected it so that the British could have hope. This may be a well known quote, I'm not sure, but President Chittock said that there was a long poster put on the top of St. Paul's saying: "You might be able to break our glass, but you can't break our hearts."
I knew that many children were sent to the countryside for safety. I didn't know it was 1 1/2 million. That's a lot. President Chittock had a power point presentation and showed the children at the train station with their gas masks packed in boxes in hand. I couldn't help but get emotional. I can't even imagine sending my children away to live with strangers who really didn't want them. (I'm pretty sure they were required.) President Chittock and his younger brother were sent to Wales. He had no idea who he was going to stay with. He said it was an old couple. He was only a young child himself and admitted they may have just seemed old. Who knows... He was gone for 8 1/2 months. He said his dad came and got them and felt that if something happened President Chittock and his brother would be orphaned anyway, so his dad thought it would be best if they all died together. (Scott said that he's pretty sure most of the kids were sent back after 8 months.)
He talked about the 57 nights in a row of bombing (can you imagine?), black out curtains (he said the planes would fly just over the rooftops, so black out times were 13 minutes before sunset. I don't know why they didn't just say 15 minutes), the Anderson shelters people had in their gardens, rationing, and the tube being used as a shelter. Using the tubes as shelters was illegal, but as President Chittock described, "People Power" took over. They just did it anyway. I totally would. Families and others would just camp out. The trains were still used during the day. People would go to work and then go home to the underground.
He told us many things and then ended with a classic Churchill story. Some of you may have heard this. I like it because it gives an example of Winston Churchill's personality. Churchill had a bad drinking problem. One day after work he was on the bus and a female colleague was on the same bus and said, "Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!" He said to Mrs. Bessington (I think) "And you're ugly! but in the morning I'll be sober." I firmly believe that Heavenly Father wanted Churchill for the job and inspired him and guided him, but I'm not sure I would have liked to know him. lol!
There were many other facts that were discussed and it was all fascinating to me. To actually meet someone who was here and listen to them talk about it with his cute British accent and funny personality. Lovely man.
Here's a link I plan on using to help teach the kids about WWII.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/wartime_homes/
The wartime house you see is in the Imperial War museum where we will go at some point. (I'm actually teaching the middle ages now and trying to finish the American Revolution!) I broke down in the Holocaust section last time I went (6 years ago). Lets hope I do better this time. It was as I was watching the film they showed of the Jewish children being sent to England for safety. I was in England, away from my own kids for the first time since Heather was born. I just have a love of children. I still felt dumb!
I have a bunch of pictures posted on facebook of the places we've been. They should available for everyone to see:
http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?v=photos&ref=name&id=1622855889
I will start posting pictures on the blog too.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Rude Awakening!
Oh my heck! Last night at 2:00 AM the fire alarm went off. This isn't your ordinary house smoke detector. This was a full blown, industrial strength, big building, LOUD type of alarm. I remember sitting up and knowing what it was, but couldn't believe that there could actually be a fire here. Scott and I threw some clothes on and shoes in case we had to go outside, and rushed to get the kids down all those steps. Daniel didn't want to wake up and said it was too early and to turn the loud noise down. At the bottom we met up with the rest of the faculty and their families and all the students. Dave, the resident director, was trying to get the alarm to shut off because there was no fire that anyone could find. It turns out that Mrs. Shepard turned her oven on to the hottest temperature to help warm her up. Oh boy.
About Mrs. Shepard. She's in her late 70's and is getting more senile all the time. She lived here before BYU bought the townhouses. She and her husband were the original directors here. England doesn't remove people from their homes easily and it's just easier and cheaper for BYU to wait it out. So she has a flat here on our side of the building. She's non LDS and smokes, smokes, SMOKES! Heather couldn't sleep the other night because of the smoke. She has an amazing life story though. She's originally from Hungry I think. As a girl she had to wear a badge saying she wasn't a Jew so the Nazi's would know. (She has dark features.) She joined the resistance against Stalin after the war and someone said against Hitler during the war. I have a huge interest in WWII and would love to talk with her. But because she isn't really all there, I don't think I will.
Anyway, last night was a traumatic experience. Laura didn't even know it was a fire alarm until we got downstairs. She thought she was getting up to go to breakfast and couldn't figure the alarm part out. Daniel cried a little and has been talking about it all day. When I was just settling him down last night the alarm went off again!! This time it was much shorter. Dave went up and couldn't get Mrs. Shepard's door open, but managed somehow. She was on the floor having an asthma attack and couldn't unlock her door. Needless to say, today Dave's wife Terry was on the phone with Social Services a lot. The fact that there are children and students here and the fire alarm issue finally caught their attention. Lets hope we get a better night's sleep tonight!
About Mrs. Shepard. She's in her late 70's and is getting more senile all the time. She lived here before BYU bought the townhouses. She and her husband were the original directors here. England doesn't remove people from their homes easily and it's just easier and cheaper for BYU to wait it out. So she has a flat here on our side of the building. She's non LDS and smokes, smokes, SMOKES! Heather couldn't sleep the other night because of the smoke. She has an amazing life story though. She's originally from Hungry I think. As a girl she had to wear a badge saying she wasn't a Jew so the Nazi's would know. (She has dark features.) She joined the resistance against Stalin after the war and someone said against Hitler during the war. I have a huge interest in WWII and would love to talk with her. But because she isn't really all there, I don't think I will.
Anyway, last night was a traumatic experience. Laura didn't even know it was a fire alarm until we got downstairs. She thought she was getting up to go to breakfast and couldn't figure the alarm part out. Daniel cried a little and has been talking about it all day. When I was just settling him down last night the alarm went off again!! This time it was much shorter. Dave went up and couldn't get Mrs. Shepard's door open, but managed somehow. She was on the floor having an asthma attack and couldn't unlock her door. Needless to say, today Dave's wife Terry was on the phone with Social Services a lot. The fact that there are children and students here and the fire alarm issue finally caught their attention. Lets hope we get a better night's sleep tonight!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
We're in London!
We're finally here in London. We arrived last Wednesday night and are still dealing with jet lag a bit but are adjusting. It's been pretty nutty here. We haven't done any sight seeing at all except for a walk to the Nottinghill area that we never completed. Scott and I will finish another time without the kids. I'm not sure where to begin because it's been such a whirlwind but I will do my best. I will start off with the whiny negative stuff first. I figure I should include pictures whenever I can in my blog entry's, so today you get to see what our family room/boys bedroom and refrigerator look like. The kids call the family room the "hanging out room." I haven't had time to take any other pictures. So far our lives have been consumed with centre computer and printer malfunctions, plumbing issues but not in our flat, broken pipe in the ceiling that left freezing water all over the roof and fire escape, grocery shopping, freezing weather with snow, grumpky kids who don't want to be here, jet lag, etc. A lot of the centre issues haven't directly affected us, but we see people running around trying to fix things.
We arrived some time after midnight and were showed around a little by Dave Schuler the resident director. He gave us some fruit, milk, juice, bread, and jam to get us through the night and morning since we hadn't had dinner. We were famished and didn't have food for breakfast and were very grateful. He also told us how old this house is and that everything that usually lasts for 20 years or so is now 20 years or so old and is breaking down one by one. Sure enough, we wished we had Noah's Ark when the great flood of the BYU Centre occurred. Apparently the plumbers didn't finish their job when they "fixed" several of the dorm showers. The showers are directly over the classroom. Scott said he could have taken a shower in the water that fell through the ceiling because there was so much of it. He and one of the other professors frantically put trash baskets under the waterfall. Keep in mind that these buildings were built probably in the 1860's. It turns out the plumbers just forgot to connect the new pipes. Sheesh.
Poor Dave. He has to fix a lot of this stuff, teach a couple of the classes here, make up and enforce rules to 39 19 year olds, he's a Bishop of the singles ward, and is trying to be a family man too. I think he and his wife, Terry, are getting pretty burned out. Provo needs to know all this. It doesn't seem right.
I never knew, or maybe I've forgotten how immature and helpless 19 year olds or so can be. Some of them are bright and motivated, but others seem to have never been taught anything. Heather and Laura have been given kitchen duties this week. They say they are ALWAYS the first to arrive and the last to leave. I know they are the last to leave because I like to help out too. It's such a big job with only 5 or 6 people doing it. I think there are supposed to be more, but they haven't come to help so far. Some of the students just got here though. This kitchen is huge and very industrial-like a restaurant kitchen with tons of dishes and all the cooking pots, pans, dishes as well. Some of the girls have stressed looks on their faces as they wash the dishes or while they carry them to the sinks. It's kind of comical to me. Laura is getting a kick out of the knowledge that she works harder than the students do. She always walks around talking about it. I think it makes her feel good about herself.
Dave has outlawed video skyping completely. Also, no online games, TV shows and movies, and anything else that needs to be downloaded. It messes the whole system up. I've had some trouble with the server since the students have arrived and have seen some skyping. Why don't they obey the rules? Dave said that faculty can decide to either follow that rule or decide that only faculty can video skype. We were all silent and nothing has been said about it since. I'm sure we all want to use it, which is why it was silent, but also want to be good examples and fair. So we don't know yet.
There have been lots of mice and rats, but not on the 5th floor where we are. The mouse traps are so NOT humane. They are the kind with glue that just makes the mice stick and left to die on there own. Of dehydration I guess.
We love our flat. It's a lot more spacious than the house in Virginia. There are enough rooms for Heather to be alone when she needs to be. She can go into the kitchen and shut the door if nothing else. She likes the student library downstairs too. At least for now. The students are here now and will probably be in there a lot.
I love the shopping area near our house. Even just to grocery shop you have to walk by all the other shops and touristy places. It's fun and alive. I mentioned in my e-mail that I found a children's library in Nottinghill. It's just a few minutes walk and only for kids. I'm excited about it and can't wait to sign up.
I also can't wait to go to Asda (walmart). We need a stroller for Daniel. He has a hard time keeping up. It was too complicated to bring our other one here. But I'm also excited to find better food (But they do have Helman's/Best Foods mayo at all the stores!) and other things at a big store like that. It's only 3 miles away. Not bad on a bus or tube.
The milk is different. It tastes the same, but they have different percentages. They have whole milk, part skim, 1.7%, and something else. At home we buy 1%, so here we buy 1.7%. I can't stand skim. It's too watery. It's not milk in my mind. But we live on the 5th floor with no elevator and go up and down ALL day, so that should make up for it. In fact my jeans are feeling looser!
We are provided with breakfast and dinner Sunday through Friday. The schedule is: Devotional at 5:15 and dinner is at 5:30. Breakfast is at 8:00. It forces us to be on a good schedule. Saturday we are on our own. Since I like to cook, I'm glad for that. It's fun eating with all the students though. The kids don't always like the food, but they are required to try everything and eat as much as they can. Terry has always had bread and either fresh fruit or a salad with the meals so far, so they get something. Our first meal was an amazing broccoli cheese soup. So yummy.
We went to church today. The students were assigned to their wards. We're just staying in the Hyde Park ward because it's close enough for our kids to get to their weekly activities. We still don't know about scouts though. Seminary is at 6:15 AM. Ugh! The tube doesn't even run that early. I think buses do. I just hate to have Heather do that by herself. Caroline, the other 15 year old here, is taking the home study course. Heather probably will too, but Scott thinks it takes away from what seminary is for the kids. Hearing a teacher bear testimony and group interaction. I think we're in abnormal circumstances and it will be OK if she does the home study course for one semester. The schedule would kill us and Scott realizes that.
I'll write more in a day or two. We have a field trip tomorrow to the British Museum (which is only partially opened) and St. Paul's Cathedral. I'll take the camera. In these pictures below, all our kids are doing electronics! Even Daniel. Pretty sad. They did have a long day though.
We arrived some time after midnight and were showed around a little by Dave Schuler the resident director. He gave us some fruit, milk, juice, bread, and jam to get us through the night and morning since we hadn't had dinner. We were famished and didn't have food for breakfast and were very grateful. He also told us how old this house is and that everything that usually lasts for 20 years or so is now 20 years or so old and is breaking down one by one. Sure enough, we wished we had Noah's Ark when the great flood of the BYU Centre occurred. Apparently the plumbers didn't finish their job when they "fixed" several of the dorm showers. The showers are directly over the classroom. Scott said he could have taken a shower in the water that fell through the ceiling because there was so much of it. He and one of the other professors frantically put trash baskets under the waterfall. Keep in mind that these buildings were built probably in the 1860's. It turns out the plumbers just forgot to connect the new pipes. Sheesh.
Poor Dave. He has to fix a lot of this stuff, teach a couple of the classes here, make up and enforce rules to 39 19 year olds, he's a Bishop of the singles ward, and is trying to be a family man too. I think he and his wife, Terry, are getting pretty burned out. Provo needs to know all this. It doesn't seem right.
I never knew, or maybe I've forgotten how immature and helpless 19 year olds or so can be. Some of them are bright and motivated, but others seem to have never been taught anything. Heather and Laura have been given kitchen duties this week. They say they are ALWAYS the first to arrive and the last to leave. I know they are the last to leave because I like to help out too. It's such a big job with only 5 or 6 people doing it. I think there are supposed to be more, but they haven't come to help so far. Some of the students just got here though. This kitchen is huge and very industrial-like a restaurant kitchen with tons of dishes and all the cooking pots, pans, dishes as well. Some of the girls have stressed looks on their faces as they wash the dishes or while they carry them to the sinks. It's kind of comical to me. Laura is getting a kick out of the knowledge that she works harder than the students do. She always walks around talking about it. I think it makes her feel good about herself.
Dave has outlawed video skyping completely. Also, no online games, TV shows and movies, and anything else that needs to be downloaded. It messes the whole system up. I've had some trouble with the server since the students have arrived and have seen some skyping. Why don't they obey the rules? Dave said that faculty can decide to either follow that rule or decide that only faculty can video skype. We were all silent and nothing has been said about it since. I'm sure we all want to use it, which is why it was silent, but also want to be good examples and fair. So we don't know yet.
There have been lots of mice and rats, but not on the 5th floor where we are. The mouse traps are so NOT humane. They are the kind with glue that just makes the mice stick and left to die on there own. Of dehydration I guess.
We love our flat. It's a lot more spacious than the house in Virginia. There are enough rooms for Heather to be alone when she needs to be. She can go into the kitchen and shut the door if nothing else. She likes the student library downstairs too. At least for now. The students are here now and will probably be in there a lot.
I love the shopping area near our house. Even just to grocery shop you have to walk by all the other shops and touristy places. It's fun and alive. I mentioned in my e-mail that I found a children's library in Nottinghill. It's just a few minutes walk and only for kids. I'm excited about it and can't wait to sign up.
I also can't wait to go to Asda (walmart). We need a stroller for Daniel. He has a hard time keeping up. It was too complicated to bring our other one here. But I'm also excited to find better food (But they do have Helman's/Best Foods mayo at all the stores!) and other things at a big store like that. It's only 3 miles away. Not bad on a bus or tube.
The milk is different. It tastes the same, but they have different percentages. They have whole milk, part skim, 1.7%, and something else. At home we buy 1%, so here we buy 1.7%. I can't stand skim. It's too watery. It's not milk in my mind. But we live on the 5th floor with no elevator and go up and down ALL day, so that should make up for it. In fact my jeans are feeling looser!
We are provided with breakfast and dinner Sunday through Friday. The schedule is: Devotional at 5:15 and dinner is at 5:30. Breakfast is at 8:00. It forces us to be on a good schedule. Saturday we are on our own. Since I like to cook, I'm glad for that. It's fun eating with all the students though. The kids don't always like the food, but they are required to try everything and eat as much as they can. Terry has always had bread and either fresh fruit or a salad with the meals so far, so they get something. Our first meal was an amazing broccoli cheese soup. So yummy.
We went to church today. The students were assigned to their wards. We're just staying in the Hyde Park ward because it's close enough for our kids to get to their weekly activities. We still don't know about scouts though. Seminary is at 6:15 AM. Ugh! The tube doesn't even run that early. I think buses do. I just hate to have Heather do that by herself. Caroline, the other 15 year old here, is taking the home study course. Heather probably will too, but Scott thinks it takes away from what seminary is for the kids. Hearing a teacher bear testimony and group interaction. I think we're in abnormal circumstances and it will be OK if she does the home study course for one semester. The schedule would kill us and Scott realizes that.
I'll write more in a day or two. We have a field trip tomorrow to the British Museum (which is only partially opened) and St. Paul's Cathedral. I'll take the camera. In these pictures below, all our kids are doing electronics! Even Daniel. Pretty sad. They did have a long day though.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Packing
Whew! What a day. We have 14 bags and 7 carry-ons and still had to send 24 good sized boxes home, (two to London). part of this is because I don't know how to simplify very well and took lots of kitchen stuff with us. A lot of it belongs to the girls, linens and blankets, home school stuff, clothes, and just stuff. We have spent tons of money on that and on our car so it can go to Utah. We hired a company to truck it out and one of Scott's colleagues is going to take it. I hope that the fact that room and board is taken care of in London, we will at least break even. We are also getting rent for our house, so hopefully it will all work out. We still have to figure out how we're going to pack up a few extra things. Well, not extra because they are necessities. Toiletries and some other things. Soon we will go to the hotel and this will all be over. Yay!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
