TIDBITS

Tidbit #1

Tomorrow morning we say good-by to this latest group. There have been 41 missionaries -- 35 of them from America -- which means that there has been more noise, more mess, more casualness and more goofing around which resulted in one broken finger. The flip side of that is that Americans provide a lot of leadership. Many of them come with a seminary background, active families, school leadership, and the confidence to move forward. It takes a great deal of vigilance to keep them reined in. Sometimes they just don't get the fact that it is NOT OK to wrestle, shoot pencils across the room, run and holler down the hall and you name it. They must have been stars at scout camp!!!In some ways it is like breaking in horses. (at least that's what Pres. says. Frankly, I wouldn't know!) But when (and sometimes if) they get there they are dynamite! And we love them and send them off with a tear in the eye and a lump in our throats.

Tidbit#2

This weather...! We have had a mild winter comparatively, but Saturday and Sunday it hit with a vengeance! We had ice storms. I know some of you have experienced them, but I never have seen anything quite like this. Sat. we were going to run an errand and went out to the car and found it completely encased in a layer of ice that you could not even chip away. The doors were frozen shut, the windshield was solid ice and our errands quickly became unnecessary. Sunday morning we awoke to a cold building and cold showers. The heat had gone off and so we huddled in the chapel with space heaters and blankets. Probably a good thing it was fast Sunday so there was no food preparation until evening when they finally restored some heat.

Tidbit#3

The Queen's Jubilee...Yesterday was the 60 year anniversary of the queen's reign. There was a bit of hoopla in the news....the queen greeting children, the history of her reign, and her Royal Majesty looking as lovely as ever. I have to admit I am a royalist! That is taboo in some circles here, but for me it has nothing to do with politics, much more to do with fairy tale enchantment! And what little girl has never dreamed she was a princess, much less a queen! (and in the eternal scheme of things.....we hope we are headed in that direction!)

Tidbit#4

Politics......Mitt Romney is often center stage on the BBC networks. They seem to like him here. His religion is rarely mentioned but his place in American politics is high on their rating charts.

Tidbit#5

American products......there is a member of the church here who has a business importing American products. Things like jello, microwave popcorn, pop tarts, cereal, cake mixes, root beer, tootsie rolls, rice a roni, and you name it are all available for a price. Imagine paying £4.5 for a cake mix. That translates to about $7.50! The amazing thing is that his business is booming! And I mean booming! We were there yesterday and they were moving into a larger ware house to accommodate the demand! And yet England is in a recession.

Tidbit#6

Somewhere I saw that when the Emmy Awards were passed out a few weeks ago, a series called Downton Abbey won one for something.....(details unknown). But it peeked my interest because one of the custodians brought us the DVD's for Downton Abbey and we have been watching them. They take place in England during WWI and give you such a sense of English aristocracy during those war years. It was a great series.....just wondering if it has been playing on PBS in America!

Another series is called Lark Rise to Candleford. This one has the flavor of Little House on the Prairie. (well not quite, but sort of). On occasional evenings we indulge in a bowl of popcorn and a bit of English historical fiction!

Tidbit #7 (pictured above)

We celebrated our 8th anniversary on Jan. 31. The chef made a cake, the missionaries sang to us and we called it a day! Eight remarkable years.

Well, I must move into this day. I have "miles to go before I sleep".