Hello all!

In spite of the grumbling about my novelist aspirations from the
recipients of Life in the UK Installments 1 & 2, I have decided to carry
on with my verbose format.  What's more, I've included even more readers
in this installment.  (This is mostly my way of cheating on responding
to the correspondence I've received from friends and family.  If I wait
until I have time and inspiration to write a thoroughly personalized
account for everyone, then no one will hear from me.)  John is
encouraging me to include a journal in our newly created web site, but
I'm reluctant because it seems so self-important.  Let me know what you
think of the idea.

When I last left off with most of you, John was in the States, and I
seemed to have more time to write.  Our life here has really taken off
since then:  We've been on several day trips, spent five days in the
South West, established many new friendships, started school, and had
another baby (just kidding--wanted to see how closely you were reading
this--we're still undecided on the third child).  For those of you who
prefer John's version, you can stop reading now.

One major rude awakening: we live very close to a pig farm.  Do not
visit us in August or after any heat wave.  Without air conditioning,
when the weather is hot we are forced to choose between open windows and
stench or closed windows and suffocation.  In the US, we might consider
a law suit.  One of the neighbors has begun keeping track of the smell
with a daily P-U Scale.  Luckily, today the wind is in the right
direction.  I hope you will let us know when we return if we have
acquired a certain eau de pig.  

We have been taking full advantage of our weekends to see as much as we
can while we're here.  I did manage to drag the family antiquing,
although the kids would tell you we explored some castle ruins (these we
basically stumbled upon unexpectedly) and watched some houseboats in the
Thames while I shopped in the village of Wallingford.  Unfortunately, a
hike through the woods and petting a cat in a remote antique store
triggered an asthma attack for Julia as we drove along some
hedgerow-lined backroads.   Finding a doctor or pharmacy in the middle
of unfamiliar countryside on a Saturday afternoon can be quite a
challenge here, and I panicked as we drove around each blind curve,
hoping to spy a village.  We finally made it back to the Motorway and
found a "superstore" (they are such a draw for the locals that the
highway department actually makes road signs for them as we do for
hospitals) where we were able to get the proper inhalers for Julia and
avoid an emergency room visit.

Closer to home (5 minutes away) we had the opportunity to explore more
of Windsor Great Park and Virginia Water Lake, which are something like
Forest Park in St. Louis, or a smaller Golden Gate Park.  The kids rode
bikes while John and I walked (fast) behind them.  The polo fields
seemed to go on forever.  We had removed Henry's training wheels only
the day before, so more than one pedestrian had to dodge him for their
own safety.  The park is beautiful right now, with fields of heather in
bloom.  We had a picnic by the lake and later tea and ice cream near the
formal gardens.  Clara, I'm sure, would appreciate the ready
availability of creamy treats wherever you go here. You might have
trouble finding a doctor, but you can always find a pub and cream teas.

It's getting late, and I know some of you might not have enough computer
memory for these epic accounts, so I'll continue with my account in
Intallment 4.

If you weren't able to view the photos I sent earlier or missed the
first installments, you can look up our web site at:

http://www.user.globalnet.co.uk/~thebards/family.htm

Maureen