DAY 299

Saturday 5 May 2012

Cinco de Mayo and Rosey Reed’s birthday! Although Rosey has passed on, we felt her presence and knew she would have LOVED all the adventures we were having. Dian made chicken noodle soup and Ravi helped Charles screw the panel on our sliding van door in place.

We hugged Ina’s sons goodbye then followed Ravi’s white van to the ferry in Dover. Along the way we had a Stonehenge sighting from the road (we’d all visited there) and noticed a road sign for Windsor Castle, Legoland and Ascot Racecourse. After stopping to stretch our legs and have a free Starbucks sample at the halfway point, we continued the last two hours enjoying NOT having to navigate but simply following Ina and Ravi’s van to the port.

Our van, their van

By 7PM we had arrived in Dover (those white chalk cliffs) where we made dinner and ate together in their van (more spacious by nearly 10 inches at least). Finally it was time to board the ferry. We got our passports stamped and even though their van was waved over for a security check – looking for guns from British citizens only – we all got on with no problems. Soon we were sitting in comfortable chairs on the top deck and after a smooth crossing we arrived in Calais. (Ina had graciously bought Dian a Daisy Duck Pez dispenser at the duty free shop).

With many times driving to the secret place near the ferry called Sangatte,  Ravi unerringly drove us there where we parked right next to a sand dune overlooking the ocean. Sleep came quickly. (By the way, Charles figured that we had traveled roughly 10,000 miles based on odometer readings in Dian’s journal). Wow!!!

DAY 298

Friday 4 May 2012

Dian gave Ina a green suede shirt and Ina never took it off! We got all caught up on the bla bla blog Right after Dian had bragged that she hadn’t had a cold the whole trip, she got one. Ina made delicious vegetables and chicken while Charles contributed his famous “twice baked potatoes” for dinner.  Afterwards Chris and his girlfriend Hollie and Richard and Nicole went out to a pub where they hung out and played pool.

When the house was empty we listened to Ina play some classical pieces on her piano. She sang along and it was lovely to hear. Just before bed she made Dian a nice cup of hot lemon water with honey. And that, dear reader, is the joy of new found friendship.

DAY 297

Thursday 3 May 2012

Street art in Glastonbury

Nicole walked with Richard to the fruit and veggies store and got some salad ingredients plus some soda bread (thoughts of Grandad’s home baked soda bread came to mind). We all spent the drizzly day working on various things. Dian caught up on about five blogs, Charles and Ravi booked the ferry to Calais and Nicole hung out at Ina’s house adding photos to the blogs so they could be posted. Ina was at work. Charles also helped Ravi make beer by adding sugar and finishing the fermenting process.

Slaving over the blog!

After a quick - and from what Charles and Dian heard - a VERY quick drive to the store for dessert ingredients, Nicole and Richard made chocolate dipped strawberries with whipped cream while Dian made pesto, pepperoni pasta and salad. Dian gave Ina a green suede shirt that had been hers and it was a perfect fit. Ina gave Nicole, Dian and Charles a classic children’s book called “The Tiger Who Came To Tea.” Dian gave Richard and Chris some Simpsons memorabilia and they seemed pleased.

The finished product!

After dinner some of our group played Boggle – can you guess who won? And others played music and sang till about 10PM when Dian, who was slightly under the weather, said goodnight.

Photo by Dian

DAY 283

Thursday 19 April 2012


Happy Birthday Irene! (Charles' mom, Nicole's grandma she never got to meet)


... So throughout the day we kept her in our thoughts, especially in the garden of the Glastonbury Abbey. We all got up early and after porridge (ah, England) decided to take advantage of Ina’s morning off and Richard’s position at the Abbey entrance gate. Walking from the house took only 10 minutes and we were knocked out by the beautiful condition of the grounds and museum. The legends abound there and with Richard guiding us we walked to the chapel where Saint Patrick stayed (and Ina’s choir
had performed a number of times), the grave of King Arthur and Lady Guinevere (some question this, but Charles overheard an older couple in the museum section and the gentlemen told his lady, "You know, some say Arthur didn't even exist..... that's ridiculous!") and the site of Jesus’ visit with his great uncle Joseph of Arimethea,  a metal merchant who travelled to Glastonbury when it was still accessible by waterway and was a huge trading center.

Tryouts for Fiddler on the Roof

We love the street titles such as these in England.

And these.

And these.

The herb garden was especially wonderful with the healing and culinary properties of each plant described on a card in front of each specimen. Since Irene had been an avid gardener we all smiled to think how much she would have enjoyed it. The duck pond, badger hills and Abbot’s kitchen were highlights as well. The museum contained lots of kid-friendly interactive exhibits with a sense of humor we don’t always see in the States. We continued on to the gift store where we bought an Andrews family crest magnet and some cards.

Glastonbury Abbey

Richard, Dian, Charles and Nicole at the Abbey

Finally. FINALLY, restroom facilities with TWO ladies' rooms so as to avoid a huge line from the ladies'.

Charles, Ina and Dian

The Happy Trails Gang wanted to find a CD of Guy Clark to replace the worn cassette Ravi loved so they went back to Tor Records. Alas Lesley, the manager, tried hard to find one but was unsuccessful. She was an animated conversationalist and also very knowledgeable about music so we ended up chatting for a while.  When she heard we were traveling for nearly a year she spouted, “I’m green with envy!” Which was very honest of her and probably a sentiment many of our friends and blog readers share. (Anyway, thanks for doing your best to hide your baser instincts from us friends and family. We KNOW we have much to be thankful for!) We bought a very good country music compilation CD for 2.99 (pounds) and bade Lesley farewell.

Richard told us that apparently, King Arthur's actual resting place is about ten feet from where it's marked for the tourists.

Where he is actually buried.

Tor Records

 Charles found a fantastic black western shirt with red roses and snap buttons at a thrift shop and then they all stopped back at DollyBirds – The Vintage Hideaway where Nicole had found her “cricket shirt” and
said hello to Esther. She was very sweet and confirmed that Nicole’s military style jacket was indeed from the ‘60s. A doll that had caught Dian’s eye was passed on again but she kept thinking about it. Finally the trio headed home after a quick visit to St. John’s Chapel on High Street.

Vintage store, DollyBirds

Ina gave us permission to put these up.

In the kitchen Ravi was busy making his famous kidney, mushroom and onion dish with a tomato and green onion salad on the side and hot rolls. With a bit of wine from the Andrews larder we were feeling good enough to dance on the table top (well, some of us) and decided to hike to the Tor, around 10 PM. (It's a strikingly sharp hill with an ancient tower on top which we saw on the way in, but didn't know about its long history and mystical connections and influence. Even area young folk will go there frequently, day or night. Of course, it's a good getaway/drinking spot as well, but then that's always been the case). The moon must have been new because Ravi, Ina, Richard, Katy the dog, Charles, Dian and Nicole had to climb up the hill by starlight and occasional torch (flashlight). It was exhilarating as well as a good way to work off a few calories and we lucked out with no rain. At the top, inside the Tor, Dian and Ina cackled like witches and played guitar (which Richard had gallantly carried). The songs we sang were from the olde English or Irish songbooks. Closing with an American folk standard, "Clementine", we left the summit and in a half hour were back by the cozy fire in Ravi’s house.

Photo by Charles

Photo by Charles

The Tor by nightlight

DAY 282

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Up at 10 in Glastonbury at the homes (note the plural) of Ravi and Ina, we had coffee and breakfast by the wood burning stove then Ina went in to work (she’s training to be an audiologist). She had decided to miss the morning meeting in favor of spending time with us.

High Street

Glastonbury locals

Ravi drove us into town to buy some groceries then he and Charles returned to the flat after dropping Dian and Nicole at the THRIFT STORES!!! Oh happy day, Glastonbury had five cool charity shops and one really reasonably priced vintage store where Nicole bought a cute knit top that looked like it had never been worn. She also found a Sergeant Pepper military-style 1960s jacket that was in near-mint condition. Dian found some Picasso cards, and a corkscrew for Ina.

She and Nicole enjoyed tooling around the hip Tor Record store with its modest but well-chosen stock. The dragon/crystal stores were a bit much, they decided, but it demonstrated that the King Arthur legend was alive and well in Glastonbury – otherwise known by some as “Avalon.” Walking the short distance back on High Street, they got caught in a little rain but the intermittent showers followed by hot sun weren't unusual.

We finally broke out the monastery cheese we had bought in France at the Abbey (from “holy cows,” quipped Ravi). The cheese looked intimidating with its musky, dusty outer layer, but we knew it would be special and wanted a special occasion to share it. Served with two kinds of crackers before dinner, it was surprisingly mild, exceptionally flavorful and a hit. We kept slicing until we had polished off most of the small wheel. Then we made a turkey/veggie stir fry with brown rice for dinner, and with Ravi’s Guinnesslicious homemade Irish stout, we were full and content. The after-dinner music was a selection of about 20 of Dian’s originals that Ina’s son Richard proclaimed “brilliant.” Beds were hit by 11.

Les fromage 

Ravi enjoying cheese with his home-brewed beer

Charles, Ina and Richard following suit!

Kindred spirits? We think so.