Installment 1, Dated 7/24/98

Cheers, everyone!

We've been in England for over 17 days now, and I thought it was high
time I let you know how we're doing.

We left S.F. on an evening flight with Virgin Atlantic.  The kids were
relatively entertained by the personal video monitors in the seat backs.
Occasionally I was forced to help Henry figure out how to play some
Super Mario type game, but in general they were not too needy, and I
even managed to watch the Big Lebowski.  Even better, the flight
attendants were actually pleasant and helpful, no matter how many times
we accidently pushed the call button.  Although we arrived nearly
sleepless the next morning, we managed to stay awake the whole day.  

Our first order of business was to check out the indoor pool and the
chapel/basketball court.  Both buildings have the most amazing
intricately painted ceilings, with beautiful dark wood cross-beams.  On
another day, while the kids played basketball with John, I lay on one of
the few remaining church pews and stared up at the ceiling.  The altar
statues are covered with a curtain, I suppose so the sacred won't have
to view the profane.  It's a far cry from St. Sabina.  If you come to
stay with us, you will wake up every morning in our guest bedroom with a
view of the stained glass windows of the chapel.  Then we'll take you
over to the heated pool with whirlpool spa, tanning bed (you have to pay
for the tan, though), and sauna.  Noisy kids are frowned upon, however,
so you can imagine it's not entirely relaxing for me to be there.  The
strict rules haven't stymied the Bards, though: the kids have made a
visit to the pool a part of our daily routine.  We've even already made
some friends there.

The second place we explored was our little village, about a ten minute
walk from the townhouse.  Although the shopping isn't glamorous, it does
offer all the necessities: bakery, grocery, hardware store, wine store,
post office, pharmacy ("chemist" here), produce market, hairdresser, dry
cleaner, upholsterer, library, and even health center. I feel like I've
stepped into the past, with so many single service businesses. Hours are
very limited, of course, with the last shop closing at 8:00 and most by
5:00.  The proprietors all already seem to recognize me and the kids
when we run our daily errands.  Until recently I didn't have a car, so
we had to replenish our food supplies on foot. (John works too late to
enable me to use his car when he gets home.)  I've been enjoying this
way of living more than driving to the big Safeway and dragging the kids
in with me.  Here, they seem to be somewhat entertained by the walk, and
they like to hang out in the stores' doorways watching the other
shoppers and cars as I pick up what we need. Then, too, Henry is enticed
by getting a fresh baguette every day. Maybe when the weather gets worse
we won't find this process so idyllic.

Our first dinner here we dined outside at a pub.  Although we considered
eating indoors, the kids took one whiff of the cigarette smoke and
protested loudly.  In fact, they have been the smoke police so far.  It
was rather embarrassing one day at rush hour in Waterloo Station (we had
gone to Harrod's department store) when they complained very audibly
about all the smoking businessmen surrounding them.  The lack of
anti-smoking rules is a part of California we all miss.  

Our trip to Harrod's was the only one we've made into London so far. 
Even though the train station is close (5 minutes' walk), it's a bit of
an ordeal to cope with kids once we reach the city and have to manage on
the subway.  I'm planning to wait until they start school to really get
to know London.  

On our first Saturday we took a longish drive to the village of
Hungerford, where we
shopped for antiques, watched the ducks, trout, and flower-laden
houseboats in the river, and stared at the town firemen as they
repeatedly climbed a four-story scaffolding and slid back down poles in
some sort of charity fundraiser marathon.  We had lunch in a little
half-timbered restaurant called the Tutti Pole.  It was so pleasant that
we went back two hours later for tea.  The weather, true to English
stereotype, was misty and cool. 

We've also visited the town of Windsor, but viewed the castle only from
afar.  The kids really want to visit the castle, but it's so close, I
know we'll be taking guests there soon enough.

Other than those brief outings, my time has been filled with unpacking
and organizing (I am not very efficient), and the kids have filled their
time playing quite well together in their rooms.  I like having three
floors; it means they only come down to get me involved in their
disputes when they are really desperate.  We also occasionally walk to
the green in our residential "estate" (we would call it a
"development"), and the kids have found soccer playmates there.  My
biggest complaint about our neighborhood is that there are too many
Americans.  But it is really safe, and soon I'll feel comfortable
letting Julia visit neighborhood friends on her own, something I never
did in California.

Our final preoccupation has been finding a car for me (John's is
supplied by Sun).  We wanted something fairly inexpensive, used, and
economical to operate (gas is about $5.00 a gallon).  I ended up
rejecting John's practical suggestion of a Ford Escort wagon and chose a
Morris Mini Cooper instead.  It's an amusing little car that drives like
my old ('68) Volvo did.  Mine is a sort of ridiculously sporty model,
British racing green, with white stripes, alloy wheels, and fog lamps. 
One warning for visitors: it has a trunk ("boot") with space for about
one carry-on bag in it!  John thinks the kids and I look like characters
out of a Richard Scarry book driving around in it.  For me it's a real
challenge driving anything here.  Getting used to a rear view mirror and
gear shift on my left is enough to confuse me, but add the round-abouts,
confusing and narrow roads, and the left-hand flow of traffic and you
have a pretty scarey situation for me and for the other drivers I
encounter.  We'll try to send photos soon, hopefully before the car gets
damaged!  

Well, John tells me people prefer to read brief emails, so I guess I
might have weeded out a few of my recipients by now.  The first letter
is yours to keep, but if you want further installments, you must write
me back, even if only briefly!