Descending through the misty clouds into Gatwick in London, the plane flew over a crazy quilt landscape of fields and woods in an array of shades of green--lime, mint, forest, spring, olive, chartreuse, fern. We're not in California anymore, Dorothy.
I had been unable to sleep for the nine and a half hour red-eye flight despite my best efforts, unlike the kids, who chose not to sleep in order to watch videos for the duration, and Peter, who can sleep anywhere; he had managed a couple hours of shut eye. So, weary of sitting and anxious to get out into the fresh air, we made our way to Immigration where, of course, we were asked by the agent what we thought about Donald Trump, as we had expected. We anticipate being asked about politics and gun violence in the U.S. frequently!
My fatigue was so severe that my legs felt twitchy (which is different from, say, Katya, whose legs are often actually vibrating) and my head felt too heavy for my neck. I will admit to being quite grumpy, which annoyed Peter, who was trying to methodically (and to me, slowly) take care of getting SIM cards and cash before picking up the rental car. After 22 years, however, the marriage continues to survive the emotional consequences of long journeys.
Finally, we made it the home of Rob, Peter's brother, and his family, about an hour's drive west of London, in the country near the village of Kingsclere. Peter and Matthew chose to revive themselves with cups of tea, but Katya and I headed immediately to our beds for naps. An hour or two later, we arose, refreshed, to join Rob and Susan and their four children--Rosie, George, Immie and James--as well as Immie's friend Miguel from southern Spain for a delicious dinner and great conversation. We were particularly delighted to get to see Rosie, who now lives in Melbourne, Australia, and was home for a week's vacation.
After a wonderful night of peaceful sleeping and a lie-in, I got up and joined the others downstairs. Rosie left shortly after that to visit other relatives and then go to London to meet up with friends there for a couple of days, and George had already returned to London for work. It was a gloriously sunny morning, but light rains came and went the rest of the day. Rosie Rudd and her youngest son Ollie had recently arrived in England from Nairobi, and along with the middle son, Henry, who just graduated from Oxford, stopped by for a visit and lunch. We weren't expected to see them on this trip, so that was a pleasant surprise, and we enjoyed spending a few hours with them.
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| Matthew, Henry and Oliver Rudd, Katya, James holding Toto, Sherri, Rob, Immie, Rosie and Peter |
It was a fairly relaxed day. Rob, Peter and I made a quick trip to the nearby city of Basingstoke for get cash and deliver boots to Rosie at the train station before she left for London. Immie, Miguel, Matthew and Katya made a run to another nearby town for take-out Indian food for dinner. Right before dinner, Peter, Matthew, Katya and I went for a short walk down the road, passing friendly ponies in a field and then going through a gate into another verdant field where young, neutered bulls rushed to great us. They were frisky and inquisitive but backed away when approached to quickly. As we walked a ways down the footpath, skirting our way around an abundance of cow patties, they followed us. While they showed no signs of malicious intent, we took no chances and stuck close together, with Katya clinging to her Dad's arm just in case she was charged.
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| Katya and Peter petting ponies |
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| Inquisitive Cows |
This evening after dinner, nine of us sat around on the living room floor and played a game called Party and Co., similar to Cranium. Immie said her memory is that we always play games every time we visit, so our stay would seem incomplete if we didn't do it this time. Everyone has now gone off to bed, and I will be following them soon.
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| Immie, Miguel and Peter working to earn a point |
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