spring is coming

I went into Bath yesterday, had a swim and then it was mild enough to sit outside by the Avon River and eat my lunch. I saw three cherry trees in full bloom--that seems amazing for January 24! I don't know if it is normal for here, or a fluke, but it makes me happy to see it.

There is lots of flooding going on in England again. Bath area doesn't seem to be affected, thank goodness, but as soon as we head even a little ways away, we see cricket fields (or rugby, I don't know what sport)--anyways, the fields are flooded and it is strange to see ducks paddling through the goalposts. Lots of coverage on the news of cars submerged in water halfway up, and people slogging through water in their Wellingtons. Mary and I are selfishly glad that we aren't having to deal with this.

Mary stayed up til 5 am writing a paper--the student life! I don't know how she does it...my mind shuts down by 10 pm and if I have to concentrate on anything after that time my output is really pathetic. She seems to manage OK though...we're off for a walk through the fields to clear our minds.

This Sunday we are heading to Stonehenge...will let you know how that goes

More later!
Karen

Friends are great!

Here's a picture of me and Mary with our friend Barb from Victoria. We went to see Mama Mia in Bristol--it is a totally fun musical! It was so great to have Barb visiting and we were kind of sad when she left last Thursday.

But then a friend and interpreter from Vancouver was here visiting her daughter, who is living in the Bath area, so I got to spend the day with Leslie. It was raining, so our day consisted of lunch in a pub...then off to a tea house to eat scones with clotted cream (I hate to think what is happening to my cholesterol level!), then on to another pub and finally dinner at a Turkish restaurant. It was great!

The next day Mary and I headed off to a different women's walking group. There were 11 women on this walk, two that we met the week before. It was a confusing route to get there but we made it. We saw the oldest tree in England! It is a huge chestnut tree, and they think it was planted in 800 or 900 A.D. The walk and company was just great..but the drive home was so confusing. Maybe you have to be born in an area to be able to figure out the confusing roads, with no signage or else useless signs. There we are, zooming around a roundabout at 60 MPH and get close enough to the tiny sign to see that we should be three lanes over for our road. So then we go on this completely confusing quest to get back going the right direction. It was night, and raining, and it took us 1 1/2 hours rather than the 45 minutes it should have taken. Well, I must admit when we got home I opened the pepper vodka I was given in Ukraine, and it was quite good. :-)

Mary is really into her school work and is reading lots, and feeling good about her learning. I am going to be doing a bit of contract work for an American group so I guess I will start getting out of bed before 9:30!

We are heading up to London in February...an interpreter I met in Spain this summer is going away and needs cat-sitting, so it is ideal for all.

Anyways, no visitors scheduled now til March but at least we have found the walking groups, and time just keeps marching along. We saw some snowdrops already in bloom on the walk, and quite a few daffodils were up, though not blooming yet. It really gives me hope that spring is around the corner..and while it has been rainy, it's also been mild, so we are not having a bad January at all.

More thoughts on England in the days to come...

Karen

We found women!

Life is going great these days. Mary's friend Barb is here--she was visiting her daughter who is working in Kenya so was in Africa for a month, and then stopped off in England to visit with us. It is just great to see her and fascinating to hear all her stories of travels in Kenya and Tanzania. We stayed up way too late Saturday night drinking wine and dancing to music (just the three of us), and then roused ourselves Sunday morning to go to this group we found, Wild Women Walking, a lesbian hiking group. There were about 20 women, and we did a really nice 7 mile hike. Pretty muddy, but flat, which I liked. The women were SO friendly, and interesting, and mostly close to our age. Afterwards we went to a pub together...gradually people were leaving and we were almost the last ones left--desperate for company! :-) Anyways they told us about lots of other walking groups and social groups, so I am feeling so much more connected in here.

Of course we got lost coming back to Peasedown (because I was giving directions and honestly I am hopeless.) But eventually we made it back. We had a rental car for the weekend because our landlady mistakenly took the car key back with her to Italy, but it finally arrived in the mail, so today I followed Mary to the rental place to drop off the car, then drove her up to the university. I am getting used to driving standard on the other side of the road but I still don't like the narrow roads and not knowing where I am going. However, I have figured out the roundabouts!

The sun was out this morning, and it's been mild, so that makes me feel good.

Hope life is chugging along well for all of you too. It's always great to hear from you!
hugs
Karen

Rainbow Canyon

So our second to last day we took a hike to Rainbow Canyon. It was amazing desert and rock formation, and the colours in the rock were really spectacular. I don't think they really come across here, so when I see you, I will have to show you pictures directly from the computer.

At the end of the hike our driver met us at the oasis and made us a great lunch of tomatoes and cucumber with feta, pita, tea. the man in the western suit was along for "security". Apparently the American government has insisted on security for American and Israeli tourists (I guess Canadian is close enough to American for these purposes.) I thought he looked so uncomfortable in his suit--but at one point when he got up, Mary pointed out the AK-47 he had tucked in his waistband, which I guess you can't do in a robe. Lots of guns in Egypt.

It was an incredible place to see and now I am dying to see more of Egypt, and more of Israel. We were across the water from Saudi Arabia (but I am not too keen to go there, believe me!), then also from Jordan. So many beautiful places in the world!

We headed back to Jerusalem on Jan. 3, then had one full day there, and flew back to London on the 5th, then took the train back to Bath and Peasedown on the 6th.

Mary has started into reading for her lit review and is really enjoying it. I am kind of glum that the holiday is over. It has been rainy and windy every day here, and today many of the roads are flooded. But Mary's friend Barb arrives tonight for five days and I know her company will cheer me up.

More news to follow, once something interesting happens! :-)

Karen

Camels!

Yes, there were camels! I don't think I had ever seen one outside of a zoo before. The one on the road seemed very blase about our approaching taxi--just took its own sweet time meandering across the road. One of our group, Haya, actually got up and rode on one, brave woman--I am saving that for my next trip :-) (it looks really high up on top of one of them!)

Sinai activities

Mary brought a kite from England and one windy day we all took a turn at flying it. Mary and Ellen got pretty good at it...I was pathetic and gave up quickly, but it was fun to watch. As soon as we started, three Bedouin children came over so of course they had turns too. I just love this picture of this girl who was so delighted with it. I don't think they get a lot of time to just play in their lives.

On New Year's Eve we headed over to a camp a few properties over...several Sudanese people ran it, and made a huge feast, then there was drumming and dancing. Our waiter from the Sultana came over too and impressed us with his incredible dancing--I don't even know what it's called--Arabic dancing? Belly dancing? Anyways, he looked like he had no bones in his body--amazing. It was great to usher in the new year on a beach with a diversity of people...reminded me last year of being with our friends Oscar and Mau on the beach in Guatemala.

K

Sinai, Egypt

Hi again!

More chronicles of holiday travel...Dec. 27 Mary and I took the bus from Jerusalem to the Israel/Egypt border, and then a taxi into Sinai. It is a great trip--amazing scenery past the Dead Sea, and incredible rock formations. Crossing the border required the most production of my passport that I think I have ever experienced. then we had to wait for a final stamp because the one guy who could do it was at prayers. Now THAT is something I haven't experienced in North America!

We stayed at a place called Sultana Village--separate stone cabins, on the beach--a really fun and funky place. It was sunny mostly but windy--I gave up trying to sit out in my bathing suit, but Mary is a tanning trouper so she was out there, despite the wind. I took a clue from the Bedouin women and wrapped a scarf around my head--really was much warmer!

One of the fascinating experiences for me was seeing Bedouins riding by on the beach, wearing robes and headresses, galloping along on their camels.

The area was really popular with Israeli tourist until several bomb attacks a few years back. Now they have done so much building of hotels and resorts, but some of them are half-finished, and some of them finished by abandoned because there are just not enough people. We were told though that later in the season, it is pretty busy there. Given the water shortage (it IS the desert) I can't imagine the ecological ruin of the area if all of the available accommodation was ever filled.

OK, I am going to do several posts so I can comment on the pictures--can't figure out how to intersperse them throughout the text.

K

forgot a picture

Hi again...here is a picture I left out in the last post...Mary in the Old City, in a bead and jewellry store.

Another post coming soon about Egypt--I need to get Mary's pictures of camels first!

K

PS--Good news, Mary's place in Vancouver is rented for February...not sure for how long but I think it is at least for a couple of months.

Jerusalem

Happy new year to all! Mary and I are back from our trip to Israel and Egypt, and I have been sorting through the pictures (discarding the many blurry and pointless ones I took--I'm telling you, digital cameras were MADE for photographers like me!)

I have so many impressions and memories, it's been hard to know even where to start. I just loved Jerusalem and was astounded by it. Even though I'm not at all religious, I have a Catholic upbringing and being in the places that were talked about in the Bible felt quite profound. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (one of the pictures here) where Jesus was laid after his crucifixion. And saw another church where Mary (the mother of Jesus) is purported to be.

And it's not just Christianity of course...I have never seen so many Orthodox Jews in my life--I remember going to New York City and being struck by all the men with black clothing, hats and forelocks--well, that was NOTHING next to Jerusalem! I was dying to take pictures but thought it would be kinda rude.

One of the pictures here, the gold roofed building, is the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim mosque. A memory that really sticks with me is being in the Old City, where so many stalls are, and hearing the Muslim call for prayers being broadcast...I have never heard anything like that before.

It is so quiet on Saturdays--almost no traffic, no businesses open...because it is the Jewish Sabbath and the city of Jeruselum is influenced greatly by Orthodox Jews. Commerce comes to a halt and there is no driving. It is truly a day of rest.

It was a delight to go to the market to food shop. All the fresh produce, the breads, spices, meat and fish, dairy--it was just gorgeous and everything was so delicious! Coming from the land whose national cuisine is fish and chips, or bangers and mash, well it was a delight. I ate homous there that tasted like none of the homous I've had in Canada...I swear I could have eaten it every day, and then alternate it with the falafel. Mary and I both swore to start diets once we got back to England, but she is doing better with it than I am.

We bought some Armenian painted tiles for our bathroom renovation this summer--there are so many gorgeous ceramics that it was bewildering to choose. And of course every shop keeper is like, how much do you want, I'll give you a good price, here look at these, do you want to take two? At first I felt bombarded but then I got into the spirit, either ignoring them or else haggling the price, even to the point of walking away til they lowered it. One of the pictures shows Mary in a bead stall--but I wish I could capture the beauty of the old city, with stall after stall after stall filled with gorgeous coloured things.

Because we were there at Christmas, there were TONS of tours, and many Christians overcome with emotion I guess, kissing altars and such. Christmas Eve we made dinner with the fabulous friends we stayed with, Ellen and Anat--both secular Jews, but quite happy to help us celebrate--you'll notice our "Christmas" tree, a big plant of theirs we decorated. On Christmas Day we went to Tel Aviv, about 45 minutes away--a much more modern city, also beautiful with some really great architecture. It felt so nice to have no Christmas hoopla--it was just a regular day there, people sitting outside having coffee, lots of great shops to look at.

Mary and I were so thrilled to stay with Ellen and Anat--they were so hospitable and we were so glad to have friends to share time with, after being a lot on our own here in Peasedown. And of course it is always interesting to see a place with people who live there.

We went past the Women in Black demonstration, where women (and men) are protesting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. I think, how hard to be a citizen of a country that you love, but whose government policy you hate...well, I guess I am starting to get a taste of it with Harper in power in Canada, but of course Israel has so much more conflict. It felt very peaceful and safe, though I would be reminded at times of the threat--like, going into the bus station to catch the bus to Egypt, you had to walk through a metal detector, and put your bags through an Xray machine...and also had to do that coming off the bus from Egypt, to even get into the bus station and then exit onto the street.

Another fascinating thing for me was hearing about being in the army. All Israeli Jews do mandatory military service when they're 18. I realized that I have never talked before to anyone who has been in an army--nor to anyone who has even held a firearm, let alone fired one.

I'll write another posting later about being in Sinai, in Egypt. There is just so much and I don't want to blab on and on and lose my readers! :-)

I guess to sum up, I think somehow in my mind Israel had an almost mythical status--it is so much in the news, so discussed, and often the images I've seen were of bombs or conflict. And when I went, I discovered a green and beautiful place, with flowers and great food, and a vast number of people living their daily lives, just like we all do.

I really loved it.

So more later--I have to get pictures from Mary's camera of the camels in Sinai--they made quite an impression on me. Last Christmas, being in a seaside town in Guatemala, it was the pigs roaming the streets that really struck me--this year it was camels wandering across the highway.

More soon!

Karen