At attention

I'm not sure if he is at attention or asleep. When I look at the picture on our computer which fills the screen, his eyes look closed to me. This is in front of Buckingham Palace.

Royal Albert Hall

This is the Royal Albert Hall named after Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert. It houses the UK's largest pipe organ and is the home for "The Proms".

Our crazy Colorado family

This is what will happen to your family and friends when you have them looking after the house that you are building while you are away enjoying far off lands. I think we've driven them mad! But we love 'em. Especially the weird lady in the bridal veil. Corbin and Tonya were having Emily, JJ, and Hilary up one night for a nice supper and I don't know what they put in the chili, but I hear after this shot they had a rousing game of hide and go seek. The summer has not even started!
The next few pictures are shots that Tonya has been taking and sending to us via email with the tech help of Corbin. We can't wait to get home to see the house. Progress is slow due to worker problems. Hopefully the kids can get into it by the 1st of July???

Our great room view

stained interior doors

Ceiling tongue and groove

All kinds of art

Hilary took a day on her own to walk around Camden Town, an area of London close to where we live. Camden is known for it's wild and bizarre shops and has a lot of "artists and musicians" all over the place. There are musicians on the underground playing which is kind of nice. It is regulated and you need a license or permit to be able to do this. These musicians/artists are called "buskers". The term 'Busk' means to play music or sing ina public place so that the people who are there will give money. We haven't gotten a picture of a musician yet. Hilary has but I did not get that from her.
When it comes to fashion, anything and everything is seen here. It's not anything that is shocking or obscene, just colorful and wild!

Abbey Road

Hey Beatles fans. This is the zebra crossing where the Beatles shot the picture for their album cover. This is Hilary on her Rock and Roll Tour she took with a friend of hers that was there with Goshen College. At a zebra crossing, the pedestrian has the right of way and all traffic must stop while you cross the street. All other crossings you have to wait on the green light to go like we are used to in the States.

The National Theatre

We went to a play at the National Theatre on the South Bank of the River Thames. We had inexpensive seats which meant we were on the second to the last row. However, the view was great! This is a more modern theatre and the seats were spacious, comfortable, and with good leg room. We were there early so the theatre is empty but about 5 minutes prior to the start, it fills up fast. The play was "A Matter of Life or Death". It was great. The next night we went to "Little Shop of Horrors" where things were nearly the opposite. We sat in the front row of a very old, small theatre with cramped seats. Since we took front row seats, we had to look nearly straight up at times, and we got 1/2 price on the tickets. But we could see every expression of the actors. I kind of felt like I was in the orchestra pit.

We walked for miles!

Last Saturday, Ed, Hilary, and I took the tube to the museum of science and technology or industry, I can't remember. I do remember that it was the best museum so far. We spent a good bit of time there. Then we walked to Trafalger square. After that we made our way on foot to Hyde Park which is huge and beautiful. That's where this picture was taken by Hilary. We then decided since we were fairly close to Buckingham palace, we might as well go have a look. On our way back from the palace, we spotted the Hard Rock Cafe and with all the walking, we were hungry.

We're having a great time with Hilary here.

Peter Pan

We stumbled upon Peter Pan! This is a bronze statue donated by J.M. Barrie to the City of London to put in Hyde Park. Hyde Park looks a lot like the park in the movie "Finding Neverland". It's huge! Hilary learned on one of her tours that Hyde Park was used as a body dumping ground during the plague.

Jimmy Page

Hilary went on an organized rock and roll tour and she was able to snap this shot of Jimmy Page. For those of you who are not in the know, Jimmy Page was in the band Led Zepplin....you know...."Stairway to Heaven"!

A visit from Hilary

We are enjoying a visit from our daughter, Hilary. She is here for two weeks and we are trying to see as much as we can without going broke. There are lots of free things to do so we have hit several museums and have done several walks around the city. This is a shot on the millineum bridge heading towards St. Pauls cathedral. Just prior to this we had a self guided tour through "the clink", a jail on the river Thames. Then we went to the Tate Modern which is a museum of modern art. Hilary and I liked it a lot but Ed decided he is not the modern art kind of guy. We are going to the science and technology museum tomorrow which is down his alley.

A view from the top of St. Paul's cathedral

We were not able to take pictures inside of St. Paul's cathedral but we could take pictures outside. This is the view we saw after climbing over 400 steps up to the top of the dome. It leads you to the outside of the dome and this is what you see....central London. It was a cloudy day but we could still see quite a ways around the city. The ceiling of the cathedral inside was absolutely beautiful.

Mary Poppins

At the end of the day, we went to the live production of Mary Poppins. It was a little different than the movie. I've been told it followed the book more closely. The song and dance numbers done with 30 plus people were so fun to watch. It was all really, really good.

birthday weekend

I turned 50 in January! On Ed's side of the family, the women celebrate the 50th birthday by getting together for a weekend of eating, playing games, talking, laughing and many other things. I was hoping to do this in the late spring or summer but Ed and I needed to leave for London so this was done in Feb. We went to Cape May, NJ to a big beach house. Trouble was that it was very windy and cold. So the walks were short. We still had a great time. All my girls were able to attend which was an added bonus for me.

50th birthday

This is the dessert we had for our gourmet meal we have on Saturday evening. The meal is prepared by us all. The birthday girl gets to wear a handed down tiara and medals for living to the age of 50.

People in our lives

I thought I would do a series of the people that we are in frequent contact with. This is John Clarke and Anicka Fast who are married and live at the Centre. John is doing the upgrade work to our computer system. Anicka is a full time student at SOAS University working on her masters in language studies. They soon will be going to Burkina Faso for about six weeks for her to do work on her thesis, come back for another six weeks, then they hope to have things in place to go back to Burkina to do mission work. Anicka's mother is from the Netherlands and her father is Canadian and they raised Anicka and her siblings in Papau New Guinea. John is from Canada and speaks French very well. They are the instigators of many fondue, music, and cook out parties.

This is Sasha and Elizabeth or "Leza". Sasha is married to Judy Augsburger, David Augsburgers daughter. Judy works for NBC and was in Russia for 13 (?) years where she met Sasha and got married. Leza is 2 and they are expecting their 2nd child in a month. they decided a little less than a year ago to move to London where she conts to work for NBC. They go to the Woodgreen Mennonite Church. Their long range plans are to move to Virginia and live. Leza is bilingual, speaking russian to her dad and english to her mom. Judy has quite the stories about covering stories in Iraq, but I say she is even more brave for having a child at 41 years of age.

This is Janelle Theisson on the left and her mother Kathy on the right. Vic, dad and husband is not on this walk. Vic is the director of the LMC. Kathy is the librarian, gardener, and fills in for me when I need to be gone. She does lots of other things too numerous to mention. Janelle is going half time to Roehampton University and puts in 1 1/2 days in volunteer work at the center. They live in the flat above us. They have another dau, Katrina, who goes to Canadian Mennonite Univ and is home for the summer working in the office.

American would say: My computer was stolen. Brit would say: My computer was nicked.

American would say: Television, trash, "that's great!". Brit: Teley, rubish, "that's brilliant!"

American: Have a good day! Brit: Cheers!

Keats house

About a month ago, we walked to Hampstead which is about a 30 min brisk walk from where we live. This is a picture of the house that the writer/poet John Keats lived in for a few years. We were on a walk yesterday and just happened upon the house of Charles Dickens. Peter Sellers lived in a house just a 5 min walk from the Centre. Buildings that have been homes to famous people are easy to spot as they have a blue round plaque on the front of the house with the persons name, occupation, and date of their birth & death on it. You can see in this photo that the plaque is right above the door. I never get tired of walking around and looking at the buildings. And now....more words or phrases: What we call the "trunk" of a car, they call the "boot". What we call the hood of a car, they call the "bonette". U.S. "I'm going to vacuum the carpets". U.K. "I'm going to Hoover the carpets".

Museums

A few weeks ago we went to the museum of natural history. Another free museum in London! As with the others, it is quite large and we decided to go through just a part of it as we can go back later.

Out and about

The first picture is the clock tower that is in the center of the village of Crouch End which is a part of London. London is made up of many, many of these villages that grew together to become London. This is where I will walk to get groceries for that evening meal. Since I have to carry them and the way back us up hill, I can't carry for more than one or two meals. The next picture is the village of Kew which is in south London. We went there to see the Kew gardens which was beautiful. All the rhododendrons and azaleas were in bloom. I love all the outdoor cafes. The last picture is of Tim Weddler who with his wife live in a room on the third floor. They are from Canada, working in London for a year and traveling around Europe on long weekends. This is at the end of the back yard at the Centre where all the dead branches and bush cuttings are thrown so we have a fire now and then and either cook hamburgers or sit around and talk. Outdoor fires in the city are legal. I just found out the other day that the musician "Sting" has a house in High Gate. We have been putting a High Gate cemetery resident of the week in our blog but I would like to put something different in every other entry. We encounter many words or phrases that have different meanings to us. Such as: UK: Rubbish USA: Trash UK: crisps USA: potato chips UK: trousers USA: pants UK: knickers USA: women's underwear.......more next week!

London Flat & Ed's birthday Tea

Here are more pictures of our London flat. This is the bedroom. It is a good size compared to most flats. At the Centre, we have tea at 4pm on M-F where we have tea and biscuits, which are really cookies. For a staffers birthday, we have a special tea and that person gets to pick their treat. Others have chosen scones and cheese cake. Ed's choice was ice cream sundays. It was a good break for him as he was working hard in the garden getting it ready for a wedding this Saturday.
Cemetery resident of the week: ROBINSON, James (1813-1862). Surgeon dentist to Prince Consort. First dentist to use anaesthetics.

Here are a couple more pictures from our London flat. The first is the bathroom. I am standing in the hall to shoot the picture. The door is a bi fold closet door. The sink is directly across from the door and the shower is across from the toilet. The dimensions are maybe 7'x3' at the most. The second picture is the living room which you see Ed relaxing in and eating his nightly ration of icecream. It also functions as our study. I am standing against the wall to take the picture. There is a loft above Ed's head that is accessed with a ladder which holds a queen sized mattress.

Day to day

I thought we would show some of o.ur everyday things that we encounter such as the kitchen. Everything is small. Most buildings/houses that you see in London are rarely a one family house. They are divided up into many different flats which usually have only 2 to 3 rooms plus a bathroom. We have a kitchen which is large compared to most, a living room, bedroom and a bathroom the size of a closet. As you can see, we have to either bend over or kneel to see into our refrigerator. The stove is only half the size of what I'm used to. We feel lucky to have the size of flat we have as many of the other people that live here have only one room and have to share a bathroom and use the centres kitchen. We'll post pictures of the rest of the flat in a few days. Cheers!

April B-Day Celebrations

We have a house meal every Monday evening, taking turns with making the main dish and everyone else signs up for salads, bread, & dessert. It was a fabulous day last Monday and we ate out on the patio and decorated it with lights and candles as it was Will's birthday. We grilled hamburgers over an open fire. The beef here is a far cry from what we are used to in the States. But it was good anyway. Any guests we have at the centre at the time are invited and we had Deb Brubaker from Goshen join us that night. She is a music prof at Goshen College on sabbatical doing some interviewing of church leaders about their music. We are meeting a lot of mission workers, church workers, people working on papers for degrees, etc. that use the centre for lodging, meetings, or library use.
Our latest outing was to the museum of natural history. We attended a special photography exhibit which was fantastic.

Cemetery resident of the week: MONK: William Henry (1823-1889). Choirmaster, organist and composer of church music, notably that for "Abide with me". Musical Editor of the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.

House Update

Drywall tape and dope is well on its way. The beams look like they have had some finish applied.

On the outside the window trim is complete but they haven't gone any further.

Celebration in the Garden

The garden is a source of great pride here at the LMC. It is quite large and offers a wonderful venue for worship, solitude, and parties! We have visitors coming regularly to spend the day in the garden Prayer Hut.

There are several April birthdays to celebrate here. Last night we celebrated Will's with a barbecue (interesting, since Will is a vegetarian). Every Monday night we have a "house meal" taking turns with he main dish. It was a wonderful evening in the garden.

Nothing new to report on the house. Plans were to be taping the drywall last week and this. We haven't heard how its going. We'll post a photo when we get one.

Cemetary resident of the week. (we actually visited the cemetary over Easter weekend. It is mostly overgrown and gnarly, but interesting) Sayers, Thomas (1826-1865) Last of the bare-fisted fighters. About 10,000 people attended his funeral.

House Progress

The drywall is hung in the whole house. This week they will tape and dope the seams. Here is the kitchen, looking toward the front door. We hope things will continue to move along at this pace.

Thanks again to the Grabers for the photos.

Four Day Easter Weekend!

Yes, you heard me. In the UK they take Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays. It was wonderful. The weather was terrific and there was time for some casual strolling through the area. This is Crouch End. The people in the picture are the staff here at LMC. We are standing in front of Banners - a pub that Bob Dillon used to frequent when he was recording in the area some years ago. He wasn't in this afternoon.

The other fellow we encountered (Tuck)was hiding in an abandon train station. He had some excellent stock tips but didn't know where Dillon was either.

Cemetary resident of the week: Willis, Henry (1821-1901) Built or rebuilt over 1000 pipe organs - including the one in Albert Hall, London.

We took a little Trip

About an hour and a half South (by train) of London is the beautiful town of Bournemouth. Beautiful beaches and views as well as expensive real estate and lots of tourist attractions. We arrived about 1:00 PM, played a round of mini-golf, and, after some delicious (and greasy) fish and chips, we headed up the beach for a nice stroll. It was windy which made it feel cooler than you would like the beach to be. They have the cutest beach huts (6' X 8') that line the beach road - seems like hundreds of them. I guess you can rent them for the day or the summer. Interesting. The water really doesn't get very warm, so I guess they just hang out at the hut and watch and listen to the surf.

It was a great day. We went with Tim and Karlyn Wedler - a young Canadian couple (Emily and JJ's age) that lives here at the LMC. They have jobs in London and are taking every opportunity to visit as many European destinations as possible. What a life! We had a great time with them.

Cemetary Resident of the Week: Osbaldeston, George (1787 - 1866) Famed as huntsman and steeplechaser. His record for 200 miles was not beaten until Skudamore covered the distance in 4 minutes, 19 seconds less in 1993.

Some Progress

Some good progress this week! The roof is completely finished, the insulation is installed and the additional wood beams have been added in the great room area. Sheet rock (drywall) is being hung this week. This should take almost two weeks to complete. They have a good start on the exterior trim as well.

We can't wait till there is stucco on the exterior. The outside has had the "bare wood" look for too long!

Thanks to the Corbin/Tanya Graber family for the photos!

The British Museum

It's a puny photo, but here is Phyllis deciphering the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. This is the real thing! The great link that allowed us to read ancient Egyptian writings. Pretty Cool. Other items in the British Museum include the some Greek marbles that the Greeks want back pretty bad, many huge stones from Egypt, Easter Island, and many other remote areas of the world. It is amazing, all the things the Brits swiped from around the world. They justify it by saying that if they hadn't "collected" the stuff, we wouldn't be able to see it anywhere in the world. Either way, it is amazing!

We finally got to visit the famous HARRODS department store. It was like Christmas in there - people wall-to-wall. Six floors of everything from A to Z. Phyllis found a scarf for 250 pounds ($500). Yikes! (she didn't buy it of course) I found polo equipment - now all I need is a horse to put it on. In the main stair well there was an opera singer cutting loose on some Italian Aria. Impressive. All in all, the place was quite out of our league but it was fun to visit.

Thanks for your comments. They make this fun.

Graveyard resident of the week: Evans, Mary Ann (1818-1890) Author writing under the pseudonym GEORGE ELIOT. Novels include Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss.

Kenwood House

This is Kenwood House which is about 20 minutes walk from the LMC. It houses a free museum displaying paintings like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough. Here is the link to the web site http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=conProperty.106 There is also a nice pub and restaurant with a nice outdoor patio for dining. If you come visit us we will take you there for lunch!

Sunday was the last warmish day we've had for a bit. We had snow, sleet and rain falling yesterday and there was ice on the surface of the water puddles this morning. Yikes - reminds me of Colorado winter! Today was sunny but didn't warm up much.

We are doing great. Each day we feel more at home.

Tombstone of the week: Gray, Henry (1826-1861) Lecturer in anatomy who died young but is widely for his 'Anatomy descriptive and surgical' - Gray's Anatomy - http://www.answers.com/topic/gray-henry

We got shingles and a fireplace.

I don't know what type of dance they are doing, but if it's a snow or rain dance..... well that's just nasty. Andrew and Emma Graber are showing off their moves on the hearth. The shingles are half finished and the chimney chase has been constructed. The weather has been mostly cooperative in Woodland Park, but I guess the warm temps make things a bit muddy.

Special thanks to Tanya Graber for taking the time to get the pictures.

London - Another Land of Aaaaaaas!

This week we are enjoying a visit from our first North American guests - Weldon, Jenny, and Laurel Martens. They are visiting with another couple from Nebraska who's son is in VS in Northern England. So far we have been able to spend Sunday with them and we took in the Evensong Service at Westminster Abby at 3:00 PM and a ride on the famous London Eye a huge ferris-wheel on the banks of the River Themes. It was a spectacular evening and the views were brilliant! We hope we will be able to take in a musical with them on Wednesday night. They have been touring the city on there own for the last two days. They've seen more in two days than we have in a month!

We just finished hosting our first solo conference at the LMC. The presenter was a professor from EMU - Jayne Docherty. Everything went very well. Phyllis cooked up some killer meals and the weather was nice enough for the folks to eat outside on the patio.

Highgate Cemetery Resident of the Week - Cruft, Charles (1852-1938) Initiator of the annual British dog show 'Crufts'.

House Progress

I just got off the phone with the general contractor who told me that the fireplace was installed today. As you can see the deck is framed now and shingles are stacked on the roof. They plan to build the chimney chase tomorrow and install the skylight so the roofers can finish. I really want them to get the roof on before they do any insulating or sheetrocking inside.

The weather is expected to be warmer now. This is the third day of 50 degrees + after a number of weeks of nasty winter weather. One of the workers rolled his car trying to get up there a few weeks ago which stinks and with all the freezing and melting the driveway is quite a mess and dangerous.

Special thanks to Corbin Graber for taking pictures for us.

The only Mennonite Church in England

The Wood Green Mennonite Church has exactly eleven members and average weekly attendance of 20 +/-. They are a normal church as far as we can see - just small. They meet Sunday afternoons at 3:00 PM in the fellowship hall of a Baptist Church in the town of Wood Green - about 3 1/2 miles from the LMC. The church was started in the LMC and relocated to Wood Green to try to relate and connect with the community there. It has not been easy. There is no pastor, as such. The weekly responsibilities are handed around and organization is maintained by the head elder who is paid 1/2 time. They are a friendly bunch and each Sunday service is ended with - what else -tea!

Phyllis and I are finding our stride. Phyllis works in the office mostly, maintaining the calendars, communicating with expected guests, distributing mail, cleaning, laundry, and - what else - making tea! I have been doing my favorite thing - fixing things. Not big things, just things like sticking doors, broken lights, doorbells, appliances, etc. Also, I have been spending time trimming trees in the beautiful garden. There are a number of apple trees and other fruit trees that have not been producing. I'll either be the hero or the goat - depending if they produce this year.

Last Thursday we enjoyed our first of (I hope) many London live performances. We saw PHANTOM of the OPERA at Her Majesty's Theatre in downtown London. One of the fellows that lives here at the LMC works very close to the theatre district and is able to get last minute discount tickets. Very nice!

Highgate Cemetary Resident of the Week: Dulcken, Maria Louise (1811-1850) Possibly the first woman to play at the Philharmonic Concerts. Queen Victoria's piano teacher.

The Handover

Well, it's official. We've been handed the keys and, as of tomorrow when we deliver Jim and Lois Bare (previous hosts) to the airport, we are on our own. It is a shame not to be able to work with Jim and Lois longer - not so much for additional training, but for the joy of working with such fine people. They will really be missed here and they have done a wonderful job!

We hosted our first workshop last weekend. Thomas Finger, a theologian from the Chicago area. His topic was Anabaptist, Trinitarian, Socio-economic Spirituality. Pretty "long-haired" stuff (as my good friend Heber would say) We provided lunch for about 25 people and hosted the Wood Green Mennonite Church on Sunday. Everything went very well.

Today we attended our first staff meeting. It was a good chance to get a feel for how the group works together. I got a few marketing related duties assigned to me which I am delighted to do. I will try to increase attendance at the periodic seminars and conferences if possible.

Tombstone of the week: Liston, Robert (1794-1847) Surgeon noted for his speed in amputation. Designed the Liston Splint

We really are in London!

On Saturday we had a chance to get started on London exploration. We purchased our OYSTER cards (pay-as-you-go transportation cards), hopped on the #43 bus and headed to London Bridge station along the Thames river. We took a short boat tour up river to the Westminster stop next to the parliment buildings and the London Eye. It was a gorgeous day and we had a good time. There is sooo much to see!

Our training continues as we meet the different individuals that work here as well as frequent guests of the Centre. We are also gaining understanding of the mission and passions of LMC and the great legacy that has been built here.

Tombstone of the Week - In Highgate where we live there is a famous cemetary where some very interesting people are buried. I'll try to include an example each week. I hope thats not too morbid for any of you. This week: Marx, Karl Heinrich (1818 - 1883) Father of Marxist philosophy

A New Chapter

Greetings from London!Life, as we know it, is now changed! I am writing from our flat at the London Mennonite Center. We are thankful for a safe and uneventful trip and friendly and welcoming folks her at LMC. We have had 2 days orientation already and there is much, much more to learn - but we can already see that we will enjoy our life here. The photo is of LMC - a place of tremendous character - inside and out. Not a lick of snow in sight! 55 degrees+/-

Few Visible Changes at the Moment

I keep getting chewed out if I don't change the picture often enough. So here is a new picture. The electrician is adding lights to the soffit. Otherwise, we have been trying to get all the possible decisions made before we leave town. I am writing this from the Upper Room at RMMC on our last night here. We head for Kansas tomorrow. There are about 35 JYFers and sponsors here for JYF Snow Retreat. Its always nice to hear the noises of having campers here

On the house the electrician and the gas line have passed inspection. Plumbers will be inspected next week. Also next week the framers will build the front deck. They have decided to build a temporary deck support system and wait until the ground thaws before digging the perminent deck piers. From now on Corbin Graber will be taking the Blog pictures for us. We will watch the progress with the rest of you via this Blog. Thanks to all of you for your encouraging support.