Our stay in England has come to a close. We have arrived home safely after a bitter 19 hours of travel from the moment we woke up to the time we arrived home including all the delays and all the driving. We went by train, tube, plane, automobile, and bus! It was an incredible time in England. We saw not only London, but we had a unique chance to see the countryside with the locals. Matt and Suzanne Sear were the couple who initally invited us to England. Logan and Matt had practiced guitar duet music for about a year in their respective homelands and finally got to meet and practice together for the first time in person. After hearing them play together (after having done sessions of practice for hours and hours) others commented that they sounded like they had been doing it for years! Logan and Matt played at Matt's parents house in front of Matt's parents and Suzie's parents-all very nice people. For the next two nights after that Logan and I were invited to stay with Matt's parents (they are more comfortable driving) Matt doesn't drive at all and Suzanne got her drivers license years ago but is only now driving.She isn't all that comfortable driving the roads and highways so it is my understanding that this is why we had a few days with the parents, although it was also something they wanted to do to show a couple of Americans around cause they love the USA- so they were extremely pleased to have us stay with them. We were delighted to experience some of England's best back roads that lead to many small villages and historical sites that only the locals know where to find! Many tourists/newcomers to the country only go to London and that's all they see of England but Logan and I got the real experience to hang out with the locals!!! We went to a few ancient churches which have been around for centuries. In one church in Shoreham, England the locals were there having their afternoon tea and scones talking together and with us. Some of the locals brought with them some goods from their garden, of which was a garden that belonged to the town for the villagers and each household gets a chance to have a section of it. The man we met brought some of his veggies that Matt's parents bought and we later enjoyed for dinner. Logan and I had some orange juice and a delicious slice of fruited bread another local woman made. We later drove down some very narrow roads which only one small car could drive on. The road was so narrow (forget about your Ford F-350) and tight fitting, for example if we had rolled down our window we could very well touch the thick bushes growing alongside the very edge it was one bad turn and your in the wall of shrubs! I have never in all my life seen this kind of road! Even overhead was dense leaves from the trees growing directly over the road just enough space for a small car, like a wormhole! Some other places we went was a Lavender farm where they grow my favorite, Lavender. As of now they were not growing -out of season- but I was able to get some in a sachet to smell. Did you know Lavendar can be used like mothballs for clothes and you can also use it in cooking? I didn't know that! I love it for making a room smell nice or in the shower as bath soap or shampoo!!! While Logan and I were visiting we talked till we were blue in the face about the comparisons between cost of living in the USA and the cost of living in England. The Englanders say that its much cheaper in the US. Well if you want to know and believe it here are some figures: gasoline in the USA= abt. $3/gallon currently, in Enland they spend close to $8/gallon (us money)! That is expensive! No wonder why they don't drive much (Matt and Suzie). We learned that many who reside in England don't have to have a car cause the public transportation is well used and organized either by bus, train, or the underground tube (like the subway). If one lives in a good sized town they can walk almost everywhere(I hope I lost some weight) otherwise they do have to drive! The idea of Logan and I renting a car was out of the question for it was another outta sight expense in two ways, not knowing how to drive on the left--confusing to watch, let alone drive, and the other expense was and would have been $400! No WAY! We didn't need it cause among Matt's good friends and family we were able to get along fine without a car, and thanks to their public transportation and our feet. Off track here, another cost of living example: gallon of milk in my grocery store $2.79 and England's would run me $4.00! However the pay is considerably better for in some ways they were and in some ways depending on the profession not so. Teachers get paid here pretty poorly to start anyways, about $20,000-30,000 in the US. In England, $50,000 and upwards and the pay doesn't stop during summer vacation correct me if I'm wrong but its my understanding that in the US it does, I may be wrong though. But they get paid much better in England, but then they get taxed from the royals way too much 40%! Its comforting to know that we all share even across the ocean we all have the same workplace issues, the nursing industry is the same there, working underpaid and overworked and understaffed for example. I Overall the people in England are a bit more mannered, I can only speak of my own experiacnes here in NH, but if someone bumps into me they usually just keep going without saying anything. In England, people say they are sorry for such happenings. I noticed very little 'BLING" young men acutally wore their pants at their waists what a find! and nobody was so worried about having the better car or toys etc (there's no room for it in that small country), even that naughty "rap" culture we have adopted here in the US which Logan and I find apalling was mostly absent. I never once saw anyone in England with one of those pretentious cell phones that are stuck on the ear, those scream, "I am a pretentious snob". Ulgh. Another topic in another blog. So we really enjoyed the fact that people had some kind of rooted knowledge that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it.While in England, on our 10th wedding anniversary, we visited Hever Castle. One of the notable kings who lived there was King Henry the 8th and what a beautiful sight; even gardens galore! After the two days with Matt's parents, we returned to Matt's house. We went back to our fun nights at the Conservative Club playing pool and guitar practicing for the boys while the women, Suzie I and, did some shopping and watching movies and going to London. Then it was two nights of performances for the clan, Logan, and Matt played their guitars( and Suzie did some beautiful singing). Logan and Matt had some unique experiences together finding that in many ways they were very much the same in their thinking, the techniques they use in teaching guitar, they had a very similar laugh and similar mannerisims. We now believe they are long lost brothers! Suzanne and I also had some similarities; we like to teach, she's a teacher of special needs kids, she is much like I am a bit quiet and we both are our husband's secretaries and we both have to remind our men about the same sort of things. It was so funny and bizarre at the same time. Suzanne even has the same digital camcorder as me!! I was teaching her how to use hers cause before we came she had just bought it and she hadn't had the chance to read the directions. Even a bounus with that is; I could charge my camcorder's battery with their electric charger cord( the outlets carry different wattage and they have different sockets) and I save money not having to buy a converter! It was strange; out of all the camcorders in the world we had the same! God's hand was in much of our trip, I do believe. The food was excellent! I didn't have any bad food (I stuck to what I knew). Logan did have some toast with Marmite (something I didn't know) piled on (its a yeast extract) and he loaded it on thickly like peanut butter and when he took a bite it made his mouth quiver. Afterwards he was told to spread it on lightly..its like putting on a pile of salt, so can you imagine?? There was nothing really different, I'd say the food there was better than here. Their sodas were not so strong in syrup, it was very light tasting.
England's air, it made my hair feel very thick, it poofed out making it harder to manage my thick locks but I managed. I had a magnificent time in England, we felt so at home, we knew the common british slang and learned some new ones. Logan and I watch a lot of British comedy and dramas by choice and so England was that much better. The new friends we made enjoyed our company. Each night we went to a private club and met some new local friends and made some great bonds there too! We had some late nights talking and laughing and sharing. The best time we've had in years!
Cheers everyone!