|
June 21 Wednesday sunny Officially the first day of summer. Big party at Stonehenge. Longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and my birthday. Bicycle touring England Ali poked his head into our room this morning to say he was off to work. Sharon and I arose, and had a bowl of Cornflakes and then caught the #19 bus for a tour around jolly old England. We sat right in front on the upper deck for the best view. The bus does a good job of pruning trees along the route. The narrow roads and standard shift buses makes for a jerky ride. The front end of the bus sticks out so far that when turning corners it feels like we are going to smack into sign posts or traffic. We crossed a bridge and thought we were going to see the other side, but no -- we pulled into a bus garage instead. We discovered we were the only one left on the bus besides the driver, (we presume the driver was still on the bus-- as we didn't even see him around by the time we got off). We walked back across the bridge. The next bridge over was the famous Old Albert suspension bridge. The Old Albert suspension bridge is so weak that marching bands are advised to break step when they cross it. Partway across we saw two girls with Canadian flags on their backpacks and said, "Hello, fellow Canadians." They say they arrived yesterday. They still looked eager and fresh. They are touring Europe for the summer. I suspect that in a month they'll be lying in sunny squares trying to catch up on sleep. Train lag. Sharon and I walked to London's National theatre and listened to free lunch time music in the gallery. There was also a photo display, but I didn't like too many. One was a black and white photo of a blind institution with Braille dots across the entire photo. Cool. Others I liked were black and white close-up photos of things women used to beautify themselves -- such as eye-lash curlers. The photos were written up from a historical point of view as someone in the future guessing as to why they were used. Interesting More photos I liked: A dog stealing a toast from the middle of a pile on a breakfast table. A boy having his picture taken with his skateboard outside a house while, unknown to him, three other boys (brothers?) had their faces in comical shapes pressed against the window. Back to London's National Gallery to take in another room of art. Then off to the tube to meet Pat, a friend of Bruni's, who would be driving us back to Alastair and Bruni's in Tring Station. Pat drove fast -- clipping along at 85 miles per hour. And guess what? We were still being passed. In Tring, Pat took us to a field of poppies that covered an entire field -- acres of a brilliant rich red blanket. Superb! It was the most poppies I had ever seen. Spectacular! Looking at the field of red poppies, I could almost hear some farmer saying, "I knew I forgot something." They usually spray their fields so poppies don't grow. Back at Alastair and Bruni's was a birthday card for me. The card had a picture of Buddha on it. "Happy Birthday, 'Rex,'" was written on the card. Rex means King, so I was Rex, or King, for a day. Alastair came home tired. The diet he and Bruni are on so they'll fit back into their summer clothes hasn't done much to placate him -- especially when Sharon and I get to eat everything in sight, and he gets cabbage or spinach. He eats a piece of cabbage and goes off to hit a few golf balls. I have chocolate muffins, rum balls, and truffles. Alastair complains about what's for supper. "Chicken? Again?" Bruni says, "Neil and Sharon don't complain." "Oh yeah," Alastair retorts, "but they leave, so they can go eat out." They have a birthday candle for me. Alastair pours me a glass of champagne. (Alastair's birthday is in February; Bruni's birthday is in March; their anniversary is September 17). This bicycle tour in England certainly has brought some rewarding experiences! |
