Ready Just In Time

We have managed to get prepared for Christmas in spite of a rather late start. We are now ready for the visit of the Youngs, who will arrive on Friday, and for all the rest of the family on Christmas Eve and throughout the next couple of weeks.

The tree is laden with treasures collected from all over the world throughout the years -- there are even a few new things from England this year

Father Christmas keeping watch over the entry hall

The garlands are up and the wreath is hung

Happy Christmas to you all!

OXO

D.

A Check In to Remember

Okay, so I haven't posted since we got home from London. Well here goes. The trip home, once we had checked luggage, went fine. It was long, and the Cincinnati-to-SLC leg of the trip seemed interminable -- you know, restless leg syndrome, etc. -- but all went well.

The horrible part of the journey was checking in at London's Gatwick Airport. We had heard rumors that Gatwick only allowed one piece of carry-on luggage so I went to the Delta website and searched from top to bottom for any mention of hand-luggage restrictions. They had all kinds of notices about different check-in times and security measures for every area of the world, but no mention of luggage: the standard one-carry-on-and-one-personal-item rule was all that was mentioned.  So we each had two pieces to carry on. 

Arriving at Gatwick, we saw large posters explaining that the one-piece rumor was true and that it was British law, not just a Gatwick oddity. The passport-security guy, however, told us we would be fine because nobody knew about the law and Delta would take care of us. Well not really. 

As we inched forward in line toward the counter, we quickly consolidated and prepared to check two extra items. At the counter, the agent (a pleasant man with a slight French accent) was, in fact, not prepared to take care of us in any way; he informed us that we would have to pay for each extra piece of luggage. I told him the extra luggage was Delta's fault for not informing us in advance of the law. 

He passed me over to the ticket counter where I explained to the agent there that it was Delta's fault and that I had no intention of paying for extra luggage; they must wave the charge and allow us to check the two extra pieces. The agent informed me that since I had been in the UK since August, I surely should have heard all about the law on TV or read about it in the newspaper. I informed her that there was no law that compelled me to read the paper or watch TV and that I most certainly had not heard about the law. 

I then went through it all again with her supervisor.  I reminded her that I had chosen Delta as my carrier and they had a responsibility to inform me of the British exception on their website, by email, by printing a warning/reminder on my confirmation, or by giving me a printed explanation when I arrived in Britain. I would not pay! After a few minutes of messing with her computer, stroking her chin, and muttering under her breath, she caved and said they would not charge for the two extra pieces. Dang rights! 

Even happier news was that they were so rushed and flustered with the extra luggage that they didn't charge us for our one very heavy overweight bag. So we escaped unscathed with several hundred dollars resting peacefully unspent in our checking account.

Well done Delta.

OXO

D.

See You Soon

OK dear ones, we are on our way home. This group looks happy, but it was a sad departure after a wonderful time in London.


We love you all and can't wait to see you all again. It will be a very merry Christmas, indeed. See you all tonight.



OXO

D. K. and K.

Farewell Walk

Today we went on a farewell walk with the Ringers and Bartons to say goodbye to all the things we love so much. We started at the Tower of London and then walked all the way home to 27 Palace Court. It was a delight and such a nice way to finish this experience.

Circle Line from Bayswater to Tower Hill

Standing beside the Hung Drawn and Quartered pub with All Hallows by the Tower in the background - the young fellow in the middle is Tina and Tony's daughter, Chantelle's son Ryan

The gang at St. Dunstan in the East

St. Dunstan's fountain

The girlies at Lloyd's of London

Leadenhall Market

View from the portico of the Royal Exchange -
Mansion House center left, Bank of England right

The peeps at the Royal Exchange - Kathryn!?

Beautiful St. Stephen Walbrook

In Watling Street

Bollard sitters behind St. Pauls

Katy's last sandwich from Pret in Paternoster Square -
Temple Bar and St. Paul's in the background

Fleet Street - Bartons had peeled off at this point

The Temple arches --
Kris enjoys one last Bounty bar

Somerset House in Christmas dress

Katy and Eliza embrace Christmas at Covent Garden

Covent Garden is icy and beautiful in holiday dress

#15 Routmaster circling Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery
with Whitehall and Westminster Palace in the distance

Winter Carnival at Leicester Square

Katy, Eliza, and Hansen at the Winter Carnival

Fortnum and Mason

Piccadilly Arcade is posh and pretty this time of year

St. James's Palace - Jeff caught Katy's silly-face disease

Green Park with Buckingham Palace through the trees

The Haunted Christmas Mansion in Hyde Park

The Winter Festival in Hyde Park

On the Serpentine in Hyde Park

Kensington Palace from Hyde Park

Jeff and Dickie kicking up their heels

The final straglers at the Italian Fountains
in Kensington Gardens

One last visit to Tuk Tuk for supper

Yummy!

After just a tiny bit more packing and cleaning we were ready for bed in anticipation of a 7:15 departure on December 15th. It was a great four months and, as you know, we will miss this wonderful place.

OXO

D.

Almost Home

The time is growing short! We said goodbye to the students this morning and then spent the rest of the morning going through all their leavings and straightening up the place. They did a commendable job of leaving things in order. This afternoon we spent packing and weighing and buying an extra bag. With only 50lbs. per bag, we are struggling a little, but will make it by leaving a few things behind (old running shoes, etc., nothing fun). Tonight we are going to dinner with the other directors and Tony and Tina to thank them and bid them farewell.

Yesterday we cleaned up more stuff from the list. We went to St. Bartholomew the Great, probably the oldest church in London, dating back to Norman times. Then we walked to Covent Garden and on to St. Martin in the Fields for lunch at Pret. We took a bus to Harrods in Knightsbridge where we had a splendid time messing around and picking up a few last things.

Waiting for the Circle Line at the Bayswater Station

St. Bartholomew the Great with its Norman arches

Kris and Katy bending on the bendy bus

Anybody need to make a phone call?

Lunch at Pret a Manger near St. Martins,
which is still under wraps

When we saw this on Sloan Street, we though
of Finn and Uncle Stephen

Katy looking more sophisticated than ever in the Harrod's tea cozy

The girls in the Harrod's Food Halls

Tomorrow we will clean and finish packing and then play (or maybe play first). I'm not sure what the playing will entail, but I may not be able to post because of time, but we shall see. We really are at the end of the "diversion."

OXO

D.

Two Days of Adventure

Monday I gave my last final exam and spent the day reading journals and doing grades. Kris and Katy finished some business at Marks and Spencer's and H&M. That afternoon (it was dark already) we went with the Ringers and Bartons to an excellent used book shop on Pembridge Road that Jennifer discovered. It's is a shame we didn't know about it earlier: Kris could have saved a fortune on books. Katy purchased HP5, which she intends to finish by Saturday. After supper we bought tickets for 39 Steps, a really tiny British comedy based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1939 movie. The theatre is small, the cast is small (4) and it was hysterical: a real favorite. We had an hour to kill, so we walked from Piccadilly Circus to Fortnum and Mason. The windows are great featuring The Twelve Days of Christmas this year.

11 pipers piping, 12 drummers drumming

9 ladies dancing, 1o lords a leaping

Katy looking very sophisticated in her Fortnum and Mason tea cozy

Kris and Katy at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus
prior to seeing the production of 39 Steps

Yesterday, Katy and I set off to finish a few more things on our list. Katy went first to the Hyde Park Chapel to help the missionaries with a new member lesson for Livi, a Hungarian convert who is a nanny here. We went to the Natural History Museum and visited the dinosaur exhibit and then caught a bus to the Imperial War Museum where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We grabbed some stir-fried noodles at a Chinese takeaway before going in. Last evening was the farewell dinner and party. It was loads of fun with a great dinner, white elephants, a talent show and awards.

You may remember the fuzz ball from the carpet --
we finished it yesterday and gave it away as a white elephant

Kensington Church Street on the way to
the Hyde Park Chapel

Katy with Livi in front of the Hyde Park Chapel

The magnificent Victorian cathedral of natural sciences:
The Natural History Museum

Katy looking very mutinous at Captain Bligh's house
across from the Imperial War Museum

Chinese noodles for lunch

The Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum is so impressive, both in terms of
architecture (Richard Rogers) and its terrific exhibits

The "High Table" with Dave Shuler who is the new resident director,
and Katy Summerhays and her parents

Happy Christmas to one and all

We are off to finish up a few more sites today; we will keep you posted on our progress.

OXO

D.