Ahoy, me hearties! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day once again, and as usual I've got some special piratey goodness for ye. In this episode of "A Pirate's Life" I do a very special cover of Lady Gaga's Poker Face. Ye best enjoy it, or ye'll feel the back o' me hand!
Use the player below or download it here.
Run time: 6:30
Yo ho ho ho
Yo ho ho ho
I am a pirate like they do on seven seas
Raid and pillage every village till me hold is full (I love it)
I wear me patch and pegleg and I really look the part
Best give me what I want or feel me cutlass though yer heart
Yo, ho ho, Yo, ho ho-O-o-o-o-o
I got a scar, brow to me chin
Yo, ho ho, Yo, ho ho-O-o-o-o-o
I got two legs, but only one shin
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No, you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
P-p-p-pirate face, p-p-pirate face,
(Yo, ho, ho, ho)
P-p-p-pirate face, p-p-pirate face,
(Yo, ho, ho, ho)
I wanna drink some rum and sail the tranquil seas (Arr!)
A little pirating is fun when done with glee (I love it)
A pirate ship is not the same without yer chums
And when we raid your ship if it's not rough it isn't fun, fun
Yo, ho ho, Yo, ho ho-O-o-o-o-o
I got a scar, brow to me chin
Yo, ho ho, Yo, ho ho-O-o-o-o-o
I got two legs, but only one shin
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
P-p-p-pirate face, p-p-pirate face,
(Yo, ho, ho, ho)
P-p-p-pirate face, p-p-pirate face,
(Yo, ho, ho, ho)
When my ship’s on the horizon
Hear me cannon
Take yer plunder with the thunder
I’m not askin’ I’m just takin’ with my musket gunnin’
I’m a pirate and won’t deny it
I like to party with the wenches
I promise this, promise this
I’m a pirate and I’m made for this
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
Can’t beat my
Can’t beat my
No you can’t beat me pirate face
(He’s gonna get yer booty)
<Repeat>
P-p-p-pirate face, p-p-pirate face,
(Yo, ho, ho, ho)
<Repeat>
September 19, 2011
July 25, 2011
A Michigan Yankee in the United Kingdom - Part Four
The next day we were back on the plane heading home. It had been a wonderful trip, and I hope we can make it back there again in the not-too-distant future. I had been a bit nervous about aspects of the trip, most especially the driving part. But it all turned out really well, including the weather. While Julayne would have liked it to be a little cooler as temps were uncharacteristically in the 80's, we at least did not have the typically gray, rainy days to deal with.
Using British money wasn't too difficult. They use a decimal system like we do, only instead of dollars and cents it's pounds and pence. The bills are larger than US currency, and the 20 pound notes I carried suck out of my wallet. The coins were much different sizes from ours, with different denominations. There are no one or two pound notes anymore, just coins. There were also coins of all different sizes for fifty, twenty, ten, five, and one pence. By the end of the trip I found myself able to quickly pick which coins to use based on size instead of having to read each one.
The people we interacted with there were all very friendly. I became rather cognizant of the fact that every time I opened my mouth I branded myself as an American. Nonetheless we never had any issues because of that, and Julayne even had a brief conversation with a Starbucks employee in London who was delighted to be speaking with someone from the States.
Our plane ride was long but uneventful. We got fed some pretty good food, and I was impressed at the Delta flight attendants. they came by several times with food and/or drinks. It seemed they were always serving us, cleaning up, or preparing for the next service. I only slept for a half hour or so, and both Julayne and I spent a lot of time watching shows on the monitors set into the back of the seat in front of us. They also had music available, and upon finding the soundtrack from the movie Inception I looped through that several times while I read my Kindle. It was every bit as powerful as I remembered from the movie and I need to get it soon as I've been jonesin' to hear it again.
The plane landed in Detroit a bit after noon, and we were at least a half hour getting through customs. Most of that was standing in line or waiting for our luggage to show. Once out of there we headed home, after a brief stop at McDonald's for lunch and to see the daughter 'cause she works there. After getting home and unpacking we only made it until about seven before we were ready for bed. As far as our bodies were concerned it was midnight, so we gave in and hit the sack.
The next day was Sunday and we spent it in a fog of jet lag. We really didn't do much other than watch TV and take frequent naps. I felt more human on Monday when I returned to work, but I didn't feel totally acclimated until Wednesday.
So ends my impressions from the trip. I hope you enjoyed them. It was a fun place to visit, and I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to go there some day. And until we can return I will bask in the memories of a great visit to an interesting land.
Using British money wasn't too difficult. They use a decimal system like we do, only instead of dollars and cents it's pounds and pence. The bills are larger than US currency, and the 20 pound notes I carried suck out of my wallet. The coins were much different sizes from ours, with different denominations. There are no one or two pound notes anymore, just coins. There were also coins of all different sizes for fifty, twenty, ten, five, and one pence. By the end of the trip I found myself able to quickly pick which coins to use based on size instead of having to read each one.
The people we interacted with there were all very friendly. I became rather cognizant of the fact that every time I opened my mouth I branded myself as an American. Nonetheless we never had any issues because of that, and Julayne even had a brief conversation with a Starbucks employee in London who was delighted to be speaking with someone from the States.
Our plane ride was long but uneventful. We got fed some pretty good food, and I was impressed at the Delta flight attendants. they came by several times with food and/or drinks. It seemed they were always serving us, cleaning up, or preparing for the next service. I only slept for a half hour or so, and both Julayne and I spent a lot of time watching shows on the monitors set into the back of the seat in front of us. They also had music available, and upon finding the soundtrack from the movie Inception I looped through that several times while I read my Kindle. It was every bit as powerful as I remembered from the movie and I need to get it soon as I've been jonesin' to hear it again.
The plane landed in Detroit a bit after noon, and we were at least a half hour getting through customs. Most of that was standing in line or waiting for our luggage to show. Once out of there we headed home, after a brief stop at McDonald's for lunch and to see the daughter 'cause she works there. After getting home and unpacking we only made it until about seven before we were ready for bed. As far as our bodies were concerned it was midnight, so we gave in and hit the sack.
The next day was Sunday and we spent it in a fog of jet lag. We really didn't do much other than watch TV and take frequent naps. I felt more human on Monday when I returned to work, but I didn't feel totally acclimated until Wednesday.
So ends my impressions from the trip. I hope you enjoyed them. It was a fun place to visit, and I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to go there some day. And until we can return I will bask in the memories of a great visit to an interesting land.
July 22, 2011
A Michigan Yankee in the United Kingdom - Part Three
Edinburgh
We were once again in the city, this time in Edinburgh, Scotland. It wasn't quite as big as London, but it was busy enough. We rented another car at the train station, so I got to try my hand at city driving in the UK. It wasn't too hard since I had already had some experience with the whole "driving on the left thing" in Yorkshire. Our car was a VW Polo, and the gearshift gave me fits. I was constantly putting it in 3rd or reverse when I meant to put it in 1st gear. It was quite aggravating.
Our hotel was interesting. We had used hotel points for the room, so we were in a rather nice Sheraton hotel. It was rather modern in the rooms, with a series of light switches that would provide different illumination "scenes". I never did fully suss out exactly how the lights worked, but managed to at least figure out how to turn them off at night and on when I needed some light. There was a separate "mood light" in the bathroom, with colors that could be changed through another set of buttons.
The hallway was strange in that the lights would go out after a while, and then turn on automagically when someone entered it. The lights would come on in sections, so often the sections beyond our room would be dark except for a few lighted signs. It was rather odd, and a bit spooky. I kept expecting something from The Shining to come out of that darkness.
The day after we got there we spent most of the morning at Edinburgh Castle, which sits high up the tallest hill in the city. We took a twenty-minute guided tour and learned more history about more kings and queens. It was quite interesting. The castle also holds the Scottish crown jewels, and we saw them. Having just seen the English crown Jewels in the Tower of London, the Scottish version wasn't much to look at in my opinion.
The whole reason we got a car in Edinburgh was so that we would get out of the city and see a bit of the country. We decided to drive to Glasgow, a smaller city about an hour to the west. Julayne found something called the Falkirk Wheel on the GPS in this little town of Falkirk (imagine that) that was on the way. We had no idea what it was, only that the GPS thought it was an attraction. We decided to check it out, and were quite surprised at what we found.
The wheel is this construct that these tour boats drive into, and then the "Wheel" turns to lift the boat to the upper canals. It was quite interesting. We got to see it in operation twice. They had a nice little gift shop and cafe, and we had lunch there while we watched the wheel turn. The boats offer hour-long tours of the local canals and included two trips on the Wheel, but we didn't want to take the time so after lunch it was back in the car and onward to Glasgow.
When we arrived we drove around the city center at bit, just taking in the sights. Glasgow felt different to me than Edinburgh did, and bit less grand and more down to earth. While we were meandering through the city streets we came across a seemingly authentic New York Police Department car. It was even sporting NY license plates instead of the bigger UK plates. I have no idea if it was for a movie, but we saw no other signs of any such activity. Just the NYPD car parked on the side of the street. Strange. We got a picture of it for posterity, and you can see it in the Edinburgh Part II album. We found our way to a tall ship, and we got out of the car to look that over from the dock. The ship had been refurbished and looked very nice.
When we left Glasgow we decided to take a different way back through the country, as we had been on the expressway for the first leg. The road was somewhat reminiscent of those in Yorkshire, but they had a bit more room, so we weren't always being crowded by stone walls. We stopped at a small B and B with a restaurant along the way for dinner, where I had some deep fried haggis. the menu said it was made by a company that and that it was champion of a great haggis competition. That was enough to decide to give it a try. It was really pretty good, along with the proper British "chips". I had learned by this time the wonders of salt and vinegar on fries, and it was really quite good.
The next morning was our train back to London, and the Queen of England did her damnedest to make sure we missed it. She had followed us north to open the current session of Scottish parliament, and so that morning they were having a parade in her honor. That meant that all of the streets leading to where we needed to take the car back were closed. At one point we had passed an entrance to the train station itself which we finally got back to with just a couple of minutes before our train was supposed to leave.
The kiosk where we had done the rental paperwork was actually there, and so we literally had to leave the car and throw them the keys before running with our luggage (all of which I was carrying/dragging so Julayne could run unencumbered) for our platform. Thankfully the train was still there, even though we were both pretty sure we missed it. I had just got the luggage aboard and we climbed on after it when the conductor blew the whistle and we were off for London and home.
We were once again in the city, this time in Edinburgh, Scotland. It wasn't quite as big as London, but it was busy enough. We rented another car at the train station, so I got to try my hand at city driving in the UK. It wasn't too hard since I had already had some experience with the whole "driving on the left thing" in Yorkshire. Our car was a VW Polo, and the gearshift gave me fits. I was constantly putting it in 3rd or reverse when I meant to put it in 1st gear. It was quite aggravating.
Our hotel was interesting. We had used hotel points for the room, so we were in a rather nice Sheraton hotel. It was rather modern in the rooms, with a series of light switches that would provide different illumination "scenes". I never did fully suss out exactly how the lights worked, but managed to at least figure out how to turn them off at night and on when I needed some light. There was a separate "mood light" in the bathroom, with colors that could be changed through another set of buttons.
The hallway was strange in that the lights would go out after a while, and then turn on automagically when someone entered it. The lights would come on in sections, so often the sections beyond our room would be dark except for a few lighted signs. It was rather odd, and a bit spooky. I kept expecting something from The Shining to come out of that darkness.
The day after we got there we spent most of the morning at Edinburgh Castle, which sits high up the tallest hill in the city. We took a twenty-minute guided tour and learned more history about more kings and queens. It was quite interesting. The castle also holds the Scottish crown jewels, and we saw them. Having just seen the English crown Jewels in the Tower of London, the Scottish version wasn't much to look at in my opinion.
The whole reason we got a car in Edinburgh was so that we would get out of the city and see a bit of the country. We decided to drive to Glasgow, a smaller city about an hour to the west. Julayne found something called the Falkirk Wheel on the GPS in this little town of Falkirk (imagine that) that was on the way. We had no idea what it was, only that the GPS thought it was an attraction. We decided to check it out, and were quite surprised at what we found.
The wheel is this construct that these tour boats drive into, and then the "Wheel" turns to lift the boat to the upper canals. It was quite interesting. We got to see it in operation twice. They had a nice little gift shop and cafe, and we had lunch there while we watched the wheel turn. The boats offer hour-long tours of the local canals and included two trips on the Wheel, but we didn't want to take the time so after lunch it was back in the car and onward to Glasgow.
When we arrived we drove around the city center at bit, just taking in the sights. Glasgow felt different to me than Edinburgh did, and bit less grand and more down to earth. While we were meandering through the city streets we came across a seemingly authentic New York Police Department car. It was even sporting NY license plates instead of the bigger UK plates. I have no idea if it was for a movie, but we saw no other signs of any such activity. Just the NYPD car parked on the side of the street. Strange. We got a picture of it for posterity, and you can see it in the Edinburgh Part II album. We found our way to a tall ship, and we got out of the car to look that over from the dock. The ship had been refurbished and looked very nice.
When we left Glasgow we decided to take a different way back through the country, as we had been on the expressway for the first leg. The road was somewhat reminiscent of those in Yorkshire, but they had a bit more room, so we weren't always being crowded by stone walls. We stopped at a small B and B with a restaurant along the way for dinner, where I had some deep fried haggis. the menu said it was made by a company that and that it was champion of a great haggis competition. That was enough to decide to give it a try. It was really pretty good, along with the proper British "chips". I had learned by this time the wonders of salt and vinegar on fries, and it was really quite good.
The next morning was our train back to London, and the Queen of England did her damnedest to make sure we missed it. She had followed us north to open the current session of Scottish parliament, and so that morning they were having a parade in her honor. That meant that all of the streets leading to where we needed to take the car back were closed. At one point we had passed an entrance to the train station itself which we finally got back to with just a couple of minutes before our train was supposed to leave.
The kiosk where we had done the rental paperwork was actually there, and so we literally had to leave the car and throw them the keys before running with our luggage (all of which I was carrying/dragging so Julayne could run unencumbered) for our platform. Thankfully the train was still there, even though we were both pretty sure we missed it. I had just got the luggage aboard and we climbed on after it when the conductor blew the whistle and we were off for London and home.
July 20, 2011
A Michigan Yankee in the United Kingdom - Part Two
Yorkshire
We had wanted to visit Yorkshire as part of our trip because we're both fans of the stories written by Alf Wight, more commonly known as James Herriot, which share the adventures of a beginning veterinarian working in the Yorkshire Dales. We have both read the books many times, and have watched the excellent BBC TV show adaptation which showed the beauty of the countryside. So we knew if we were going to the UK we had to spend a little time in Yorkshire.
To get there we took the train north out of London to Northallerton. It was a great way to travel, with the journey only taking about three hours. In addition to the cafe car, they had a trolley that was pushed up and down the cars for purchasing a quick snack. It reminded us of Harry Potter, even though we didn't see nay Chocolate Frogs available for sale.
When we arrived in Northallerton the biggest challenge of this trip faced us. We had rented a car to get around the countryside. Soon I was seated in the driver's seat on the right side of the vehicle, with the stick-shift in my left hand. Yep, everything was opposite to what I'm used to. One blessing was that the pedals were the same as at home, so it was still the left foot for the clutch and the right foot for gas and brake.
I was thankful that we had started our driving in the countryside rather than a big city, but Yorkshire roads presented their own challenges. They are narrow, hilly, and twisty. Many times there is a wall mere inches from the side of the road. I also hadn't driven a manual transmission for about 20 years, so I had to get used to that. All in all driving in the UK wasn't terribly difficult, but it took a great deal of concentration. I would have Julayne remind me to remember to turn right into the left lane, and she made sure I didn't brush up against any of those pesky walls. It was definitely a team activity.
Most roads were just wide enough for two lanes of traffic, but there were often cars parked on either side of the road in the villages and towns. This made for lots of stopping and waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before dashing past parked cars to an unobstructed part of the lane.
One thing that was a big help was our GPS. We had purchased the UK maps before we left, and they were a lifesaver in Yorkshire. (We had also used it once or twice in London to find a close Starbucks or tube station.) Our destination this day was The Wheatsheaf, a small B and B that has the distinction of being the place where Alf Wight and his wife spent their honeymoon. The GPS took us through tiny roads and twisty turns to successfully get us to the inn. I don't think it would have been half as easy if we'd tried to do it from printed directions.
Along the way we stopped at the Wensleydale Creamery where we were able to sample some of the most fantastic cheese I've ever tasted. We bought a couple of wedges to take with us and nibble at later. It was heavenly, and only lasted a few days before we finished it. Now I wish I had more.
The Wheatsheaf is in this little town called Carperby. In addition to the beauty of the countryside one of the remarkable things was the quiet. When the occasional car wasn't passing by, all that could be heard was the occasional bird, cow, or sheep. We ate dinner in the dining room, where we had some excellent food, and I had an equally excellent locally brewed beer.
We saw a lot of the countryside, having booked a driving tour for the next day. Once again the pictures tell the tale, so check out the albums and videos on Facebook (Julayne uploaded them and I shared them. Check my posts of July 14). Suffice it to say that Yorkshire is lovely with often breathtaking scenery. After the tour we went to the James Herriot museum in the small town of Thirsk, and stayed at another B and B across the street.
We had great service in both of our B and Bs, and they were the only places we stayed at in the UK that provided free internet with the rooms. The rooms were cosy, homey, and a wonderful place to say the night. I only wish we could have stayed longer.
The morning of our third day in Yorkshire it was back to Northallerton to return the thankfully undamaged car and board another train to Edinburgh, Scotland, the final destination of our UK adventure.
We had wanted to visit Yorkshire as part of our trip because we're both fans of the stories written by Alf Wight, more commonly known as James Herriot, which share the adventures of a beginning veterinarian working in the Yorkshire Dales. We have both read the books many times, and have watched the excellent BBC TV show adaptation which showed the beauty of the countryside. So we knew if we were going to the UK we had to spend a little time in Yorkshire.
To get there we took the train north out of London to Northallerton. It was a great way to travel, with the journey only taking about three hours. In addition to the cafe car, they had a trolley that was pushed up and down the cars for purchasing a quick snack. It reminded us of Harry Potter, even though we didn't see nay Chocolate Frogs available for sale.
When we arrived in Northallerton the biggest challenge of this trip faced us. We had rented a car to get around the countryside. Soon I was seated in the driver's seat on the right side of the vehicle, with the stick-shift in my left hand. Yep, everything was opposite to what I'm used to. One blessing was that the pedals were the same as at home, so it was still the left foot for the clutch and the right foot for gas and brake.
I was thankful that we had started our driving in the countryside rather than a big city, but Yorkshire roads presented their own challenges. They are narrow, hilly, and twisty. Many times there is a wall mere inches from the side of the road. I also hadn't driven a manual transmission for about 20 years, so I had to get used to that. All in all driving in the UK wasn't terribly difficult, but it took a great deal of concentration. I would have Julayne remind me to remember to turn right into the left lane, and she made sure I didn't brush up against any of those pesky walls. It was definitely a team activity.
Most roads were just wide enough for two lanes of traffic, but there were often cars parked on either side of the road in the villages and towns. This made for lots of stopping and waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before dashing past parked cars to an unobstructed part of the lane.
One thing that was a big help was our GPS. We had purchased the UK maps before we left, and they were a lifesaver in Yorkshire. (We had also used it once or twice in London to find a close Starbucks or tube station.) Our destination this day was The Wheatsheaf, a small B and B that has the distinction of being the place where Alf Wight and his wife spent their honeymoon. The GPS took us through tiny roads and twisty turns to successfully get us to the inn. I don't think it would have been half as easy if we'd tried to do it from printed directions.
Along the way we stopped at the Wensleydale Creamery where we were able to sample some of the most fantastic cheese I've ever tasted. We bought a couple of wedges to take with us and nibble at later. It was heavenly, and only lasted a few days before we finished it. Now I wish I had more.
The Wheatsheaf is in this little town called Carperby. In addition to the beauty of the countryside one of the remarkable things was the quiet. When the occasional car wasn't passing by, all that could be heard was the occasional bird, cow, or sheep. We ate dinner in the dining room, where we had some excellent food, and I had an equally excellent locally brewed beer.
We saw a lot of the countryside, having booked a driving tour for the next day. Once again the pictures tell the tale, so check out the albums and videos on Facebook (Julayne uploaded them and I shared them. Check my posts of July 14). Suffice it to say that Yorkshire is lovely with often breathtaking scenery. After the tour we went to the James Herriot museum in the small town of Thirsk, and stayed at another B and B across the street.
We had great service in both of our B and Bs, and they were the only places we stayed at in the UK that provided free internet with the rooms. The rooms were cosy, homey, and a wonderful place to say the night. I only wish we could have stayed longer.
The morning of our third day in Yorkshire it was back to Northallerton to return the thankfully undamaged car and board another train to Edinburgh, Scotland, the final destination of our UK adventure.
July 18, 2011
A Michigan Yankee in the United Kingdom - Part One
The wife and I recently came back from a trip to the United Kingdom that we had been planning for the last few years as part of our 25th wedding celebration. Our actual anniversary is not until October, but due to weather and schedules a summer trip worked out best. We were there for 12 days and had a terrific time. This post, and the ones that follow, are (hopefully) not going to be a detailed travelogue, but rather a collection of the observations and impressions of the places we visited and the people we met.
London
We flew into London Heathrow on a pretty packed flight. The plane had departed Detroit around 10pm just before some wicked storms moved in. We tried to sleep on the flight, and even took earplugs to facilitate that. Sadly, they only minimized any noise rather than completely stopping it. I got a fitful three hours in, totally missing dinner service. Then a little later I got another hour that felt like it did more to refresh me than the other three. I'm a little more used to working on 3-4 hours of sleep than Julayne is, so overall I think I fared better the next day, but looking at pictures of me in our hotel room that night you can tell I'm pretty knackered (that means tired to my fellow yanks).
London is an old city, and its infrastructure has been around a long time. Some parts are new and shiny, and others have been there for centuries. We learned about this getting to our hotel. We had two large suitcases and two small bags. We took a very modern commuter train called the Heathrow Express (which I kept wanting to call the Hogwort's express) to Paddington Station. Then from there we took the Tube, London's subway system. When we arrived at the Piccadilly Circus station, which was near our hotel, we had two sets of stairs to carry the suitcases up, along with a couple very steep escalators. In fact many of the older stations in the city center are not handicap accessible at all, and even the ones that are can require a lot of walking to get from train to train or from train to street level. They are working to revamp many of the stations, but most won't be done until nearly 2020. It'll be interesting to see how that affects visitors for the Olympics next year.
The city itself is a mixture. Obviously there is much about it that is old, even ancient. We saw tombs and gravestones at St. Paul's Cathedral that went back to the 1500's, and there might have been some from even earlier. The recognizable landmarks have obviously been there quite a long time. They even admit that for the most part the major highways leading to and from London, such as the A1, are pretty much still following the roads put in place by the Romans. We heard a lot about former kings and queens, and about the great fire of 1666 which destroyed much of the city. As we walked down the passageways of the tube stations with their 1930's tile work it was easy to imagine them filled with people during the Blitz in WWII.
One thing I noticed was that, except for the obvious tourists, the people that were moving about the city tended to be rather young. I noticed very few people on the streets and tube that were older, except for others who were obviously tourists. Also, the city is very cosmopolitan. Not surprisingly, everyone we talked to had an accent, but many times it was not a British one. London is a great melting pot, and after a while I felt like I could be in any city in the world.
One of our great pleasures on this trip was to finally meet face-to-face with our Twitter and Facebook friend Martyn Casserly. He is a fellow podcaster, and we have been chatting with him online for a couple of years now. He graciously arranged to get a cell phone for us, as ours were incompatible with the UK networks, so we met up with him our second day to get that from him. We had a quick bite and a coffee at Starbucks and spent an enjoyable half-hour talking. We were able to meet again on Saturday afternoon where we found a quiet cafe and talked for another three hours or so. It was great fun.
On Sunday morning we joined Martyn and his wife Naomi for worship at a local Anglican church, St. Hughs. It was an odd service in that the building they worship in is being torn down and a new one built in its place. So for the next two years they will be using another local church building on Sunday mornings. The service was one part saying goodbye, and one part setting out for an exciting journey that will end two years later in a new building of their own.
The last song was called "Moses, I know you’re the man" and the priest so wanted us to be able to sing it well we went over a verse at the start of the service. When we got to the end and were singing the song it made for an unusual picture. The words are casual and speak of the Exodus, but the tune is ragtime. And as we were singing with as much gusto as we can mange, the officiants in thier robes were bowing to the cross with great solumnity and processing out even as they sang along. It was such a juxtoposition of ceremony and casualness that the moment has stuck with me, and is one that comes to mind when I think of our time in London.
Afterward we went back to the Casserly's place to hang out for a bit, then went to a wonderful noodle place with Martyn's entire family consisting of their two delightful little girls, Martyn's mother, and cousin. It was Matryn's birthday outing, and we were glad to be invited to be a part of it. Afterwards we got an ice cream near the Globe Theater and spent some time in a small private garden that they had access to. It was a wonderful afternoon, and probably my favorite part of our visit to London.
We saw lots of other stuff that I won't spend time here talking about. Visit my Facebook page to see pictures of all the places we went, and most of them will speak for themselves.
Next time I will talk about the second part of our trip: Yorkshire.
London
We flew into London Heathrow on a pretty packed flight. The plane had departed Detroit around 10pm just before some wicked storms moved in. We tried to sleep on the flight, and even took earplugs to facilitate that. Sadly, they only minimized any noise rather than completely stopping it. I got a fitful three hours in, totally missing dinner service. Then a little later I got another hour that felt like it did more to refresh me than the other three. I'm a little more used to working on 3-4 hours of sleep than Julayne is, so overall I think I fared better the next day, but looking at pictures of me in our hotel room that night you can tell I'm pretty knackered (that means tired to my fellow yanks).
London is an old city, and its infrastructure has been around a long time. Some parts are new and shiny, and others have been there for centuries. We learned about this getting to our hotel. We had two large suitcases and two small bags. We took a very modern commuter train called the Heathrow Express (which I kept wanting to call the Hogwort's express) to Paddington Station. Then from there we took the Tube, London's subway system. When we arrived at the Piccadilly Circus station, which was near our hotel, we had two sets of stairs to carry the suitcases up, along with a couple very steep escalators. In fact many of the older stations in the city center are not handicap accessible at all, and even the ones that are can require a lot of walking to get from train to train or from train to street level. They are working to revamp many of the stations, but most won't be done until nearly 2020. It'll be interesting to see how that affects visitors for the Olympics next year.
The city itself is a mixture. Obviously there is much about it that is old, even ancient. We saw tombs and gravestones at St. Paul's Cathedral that went back to the 1500's, and there might have been some from even earlier. The recognizable landmarks have obviously been there quite a long time. They even admit that for the most part the major highways leading to and from London, such as the A1, are pretty much still following the roads put in place by the Romans. We heard a lot about former kings and queens, and about the great fire of 1666 which destroyed much of the city. As we walked down the passageways of the tube stations with their 1930's tile work it was easy to imagine them filled with people during the Blitz in WWII.
One thing I noticed was that, except for the obvious tourists, the people that were moving about the city tended to be rather young. I noticed very few people on the streets and tube that were older, except for others who were obviously tourists. Also, the city is very cosmopolitan. Not surprisingly, everyone we talked to had an accent, but many times it was not a British one. London is a great melting pot, and after a while I felt like I could be in any city in the world.
One of our great pleasures on this trip was to finally meet face-to-face with our Twitter and Facebook friend Martyn Casserly. He is a fellow podcaster, and we have been chatting with him online for a couple of years now. He graciously arranged to get a cell phone for us, as ours were incompatible with the UK networks, so we met up with him our second day to get that from him. We had a quick bite and a coffee at Starbucks and spent an enjoyable half-hour talking. We were able to meet again on Saturday afternoon where we found a quiet cafe and talked for another three hours or so. It was great fun.
On Sunday morning we joined Martyn and his wife Naomi for worship at a local Anglican church, St. Hughs. It was an odd service in that the building they worship in is being torn down and a new one built in its place. So for the next two years they will be using another local church building on Sunday mornings. The service was one part saying goodbye, and one part setting out for an exciting journey that will end two years later in a new building of their own.
The last song was called "Moses, I know you’re the man" and the priest so wanted us to be able to sing it well we went over a verse at the start of the service. When we got to the end and were singing the song it made for an unusual picture. The words are casual and speak of the Exodus, but the tune is ragtime. And as we were singing with as much gusto as we can mange, the officiants in thier robes were bowing to the cross with great solumnity and processing out even as they sang along. It was such a juxtoposition of ceremony and casualness that the moment has stuck with me, and is one that comes to mind when I think of our time in London.
Afterward we went back to the Casserly's place to hang out for a bit, then went to a wonderful noodle place with Martyn's entire family consisting of their two delightful little girls, Martyn's mother, and cousin. It was Matryn's birthday outing, and we were glad to be invited to be a part of it. Afterwards we got an ice cream near the Globe Theater and spent some time in a small private garden that they had access to. It was a wonderful afternoon, and probably my favorite part of our visit to London.
We saw lots of other stuff that I won't spend time here talking about. Visit my Facebook page to see pictures of all the places we went, and most of them will speak for themselves.
Next time I will talk about the second part of our trip: Yorkshire.
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