In England, Easter weekend is one of the biggest holiday times there is. The schools are out for two weeks and Friday before Easter and Monday after are bank holidays, so most businesses are closed. Including Jim's! So, we gathered Dan, who was feeling sad and lonely because Meg was on vacation in America, and we had many English adventures.
Our first adventure was the Cambridge/Oxford boat race, a "very English" event. The conclusion that we have come to after attending the Cambridge/Oxford boat race is that no one actually cares about the boat race and that it is just an opportunity to go out with your friends and families and get snockered throughout the day. We were amused to find that no one around us even knew what the team colors were and then, when the boats came by, we discovered that they were all wearing WHITE shirts...so we really had no clue who we were supposed to be cheering for. Some of Jim's colleagues also joined us for part of the time and the weather was beautiful. A good time was had by all. Here are some pictures of our cultural experiences.
The first thing we saw when we arrived at the first pub was a group of men wearing striped socks, short pants, top hats, bells on their feet, and some ribbons, hopping around like leprechauns to accordion music and smacking large sticks together. We thought this was pretty funny and came up with all kinds of theories for why men were dancing around in such a away. On Sunday, our friend Simon cleared it all up for us with a sigh, "They were Morris Dancing." The Scottish have their dance, the Irish do the jig, and the English...Morris Dance. Since Dan has such a great attitude about being part of our ever evolving blog, I made him pose in front of the Morris Dancers.
Jim and Dan were both thrilled to be pictured in front of the first pub. We got there so early that we had a great spot against the wall, from which to watch the boats go by. All around us were people dancing (the Morris Dancers), laughing and eating hamburgers and hot dogs and drinking Pimm's, which I haven't acquired a taste for, but which is part of the English package. It was a beautiful day!
Soon, Jim's colleagues showed up and we had a large group of Americans hanging out along the wall, vocalizing about how we don't really like Pimm's and how you couldn't find decent bacon anywhere. This is what always happens when you get a bunch of Americans together in London. Here are Jim's colleagues:
We relinquished our good spot on the wall, because after standing there for a few hours, we really wanted to sit down. Close to where we were, and, as it happens, right next to the world's smallest bar, there was a park. Everyone was picnicking and drinking and laughing and making merry (but no Morris Dancing) and queuing for the loo (which was actually a pretty funny experience. Through careful observation, I learned that if you jump the queue for the loo, you will suffer the consequences. I saw more than one person who jumped get directed by the crowd to a loo that was occupied--embarrassing both for the person who jumped and the person who forgot to lock the door. If they weren't being mislead, they had to suffer the wrath of 300 people who had to use the bathroom--verbal assaults abound!). We settled down in a patch of grass and started to get ready for the big race! Jim practiced his rowing:
and then promptly passed out (only joking...we staged this picture...but it does look kind of realistic):
Dan really did take a nap in the park, which impressed us:
I bet Dan that Jim would get Thai food at one of the stands on the way back from the bathroom and I won (a pound). then I got to take a picture of Jim eating--REVENGE!
The boat racers went by really fast and you can't see them very well in this picture, but this--about 5 seconds--is what we had been waiting for for FIVE HOURS! And we couldn't even tell who was winning! (Cambridge won, we found out later.)
It was worth the wait, though, and it was fun to be part of something so traditional. I really liked the crowds, too!
On Easter Sunday, we thought we were going to a pot luck, but that ended up not happening, so we threw together a picnic and went with Dan, Simon, and Kate to Hampstead Heath, where, along with a bunch of other people, we enjoyed the still fabulous weather, gorged ourselves on picnic food, played Frisbee, and strolled around the park. Jim and I were excited because we had saved some moldy bread to feed the ducks, but the duck feeding experience was pretty disappointing. The Hampstead Heath ducks are well fed, so they weren't interested in our moldy old bread. Even the Canada Geese weren't hungry, a phenomenon that I didn't think was possible--those things are notorious pigs!
After our failed duck feeding attempt, we made our way back towards Dan and Meg's house and stopped off at a fair that was set up at the South End of the Heath. Just like in America, the fair brings all kinds and the guys who were running "the rambler" (the British version of the Tilt A Whirl), largely had no teeth. Kate was very good at convincing Jim and me that getting on the Rambler was the thing that we needed to do and before we knew it, we were strapped in and ready to go. Dan, smartly, declined and he stayed behind to watch our bags, which were also being closely watched by a sketchball who was sitting on the Rambler's stairs. At first we didn't spin too much, but then Jim realized that if he shifted his weight to one side or the other, we could really start to spin. I was definitely feeling pretty nauseated after that ride, but it was fun.
One thing led to another and eventually we decided that BBQ was a good idea. Jim and Dan tracked down food and the grill-meisters went to work. Here are Jim and Kate, preparing for action:
Meg would have been proud because we used environmentally safe charcoals and this contraption, which reduces the need to use kerosene:
I didn't really help much, but I was happy and I played with the cat:
Playing with the cat (who was outside of the frame--he fetches!)...or possibly dancing to Oasis??
There was much celebrating when we finished cooking and realized that everything was delicious and not burned (a miracle, in my opinion..too many cooks in the kitchen, etc.)
Tomorrow Jim goes back to work and I go back to doing whatever I can think of while Jim is at work. It was a fun weekend!
