Aliens Have Landed for a Cuppa

Happy Belated Easter! Thankfully, the Bunny made an appearance for us all in Exeter! We were going to spend a quieter 5 days at home, but at the last minute decided to hit the trail for an adventure. We drove down to Exmoor National Park, supposedly home of the wild ponies, but ended up in Dunster. This is a beautiful Medieval village with a castle that looks high over the edge. When it was built, it was actually on the coast line, but hundreds of years later, as the water's edge receeded, it is 2 miles inland. It used to be a main port for wollen trading.

Then, we toured through the park looking for ponies--never seen Bonnie so quiet on a car ride before! But, we only saw herds of horses wearing their coats. We ended up in Exeter which is a lovely place of about 100,000 or so. Funny, because when I was reading up on it in our England book, it said, Be aware of sudden changes in weather as it is on the coast. Well, that's no exaggeration as we were in sunshine on one side of the road, and then in dark ominous clouds and sudden gales on the other. The fury of the downfall sent us into a great pizza place though! The waiters accidently made a mistake with our order, so we took one whole pizza out and subsequently fed it to the swans as it would go to waste otherwise. I didn't know this about swans, but they can be rather territorial and one in particular was more interested in showing off his big wing formation instead of filling up his stomach. He would fly off, land in the River Exe and then put his propellar like feet into rocket mode. Then, he'd curl up his wings and blast into the pizza eating crowd! It was spectacular! I would like to be able to hone in on this technique for educational purposes.

Then, we spent the next day shopping and sight seeing. Exeter has a beautiful cathedral--one of many that we've seen, but I still am humbled upon entering each and every one of these glorious buildings!

Below is a picture of the Snow Queen in Exeter. She was a lovely princess, very Disney! As she wandered around handing our treats, a few flakes of the precious stuff started falling from the sky. Suddenly I heard a uproarious conversation behind me. OH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE SNOWMEN!! IT'S A BLIZZARD! The Canadian in me wanted to say something about YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' HONEY!! Come to Canada, but I bit my tongue. A few flakes does not make a snowman--maybe a snow aphid?

Now, onto the wonders of a cuppa. This is what is offered to you when you sit down for a break. I would like to dedicate this entry to all of the tea bags in England who have so selflessly sacrificed themselves so that we may enjoy a moment of calm and serenity. I bet you'd never have thought you'd hear THAT from a Starbucks drinking coffee addict from Edmonton. But, alas, it has happened. Slowly and deliberately, just like the emergence of a butterfly after a long metamporphosis. I really didn't think it would happen to me. I would not be proselytized into the cuppa culture. But, who can resist a hot civilized cup of tea with milk that you can wrap your cold hands around. As well as warming you up, it creates a space of peace around you that no one else is allowed to infringe upon. It's as if you suddenly have a sign on your back that says 'Do Not Disturb'. And the great thing about it is that most people, even some unruly students, will respond with respect. No problem is too great to disrupt the tea drinker. Comfort comes in many forms. For example, have you ever seen a cat sleeping in its prefered spot, one that is covered with cat hair, indented just to the dimension of the feline that occupies it? That's comfort. Or perhaps, that once in a very long time that you can actually stay up later than everyone else in the house, crawl under a warm blanket and finish the novel you've been working on forever? That's comfort. Just like a cuppa. It brings civility to the world around you. Thank you England, for handing me a warm cup of tea.

Easter Sunday was certainly enjoyeable! We were graciously invited to Helen's father's home in Wantage (15 miles from Oxford). What a delightful place! After having a cuppa with him, we headed down to 'The Lamb' for Sunday roast. Amazing as usual in terms of food, frolic and fun! As we were sitting there, a pair of very distinguished ducks came dawdling down the sidewalk outside the window. Very cleverly, they walked, stopping every so often to check out the business of the town!
That is the wonder of Easter! Everyone deserves a peaceful break to appreciate what they love the most!

Mr. Barnes is so kind! He had us into his lovely home, which is a flat attached to a seniors residence. He helps out with the services at the chapel as he is a retired vicar.

Brian, Nick and Mr. Barnes at 'The Lamb'

The interesting thing about this pub is that last summer it was under water. Some parts of Wantage fell victim to oodles of water and subsequently, this pub was soaked through. It has been refurbished since and thus, the saying above!
We had to take a picture of the Pudding Menu! At home, we call the sweet delights after main course, the dessert, of course! But, Puddings are a serious thing here as some are served as another hot dish. I had to ask Andrea what she thought 'Spotted Dick' was and she replied that it is a cake with raisins, originally called 'Spotted Richard'!





All patrons of The Lamb are asked to Leave Quietly, even the ducks!



Nick and Andrea did a fabulous job of designing an Easter Egg hunt for the girls. After they had found all of the chocolate eggs, Nick would run ahead and rehide them! I totally cracked up when he just emptied the bag onto the ground and told the girls that they would find the jackpot if they looked hard enough! They kept walking by, not noticing the giant pile laid before them. Of course, they eventually found them and we divied them up. The Chapel at Mr. Barnes' home

Smooshy Moussey!

I have this wierd feeling about grass here. Lawn! Not any other kind of grass! In any case, Helen's lawn has been green all winter. The rain has rung, the sun has shun, and the grass did not grow at all! I wish we had this in Canada! But, yesterday, I decided to head out and mow it anyway. Of course, the girls had to get involved in this. So, out came a stack of bamboo sticks from the shed, a couple of garbage bags and the half marathon foil cape that they insisted on keeping! Within minutes, a teepee that wasn't too shabby, perhaps even by North American Native Indian standards was erected. It looked maybe a bit more the lunar module with incoming aliens though! The girls wanted to spend the night in it as we sometimes do in our backyard back home, but I declined. IT'S STILL FLIPPIN' MARCH for Heaven's sake! Anyway, we had our warm pudding in it after dark, with Mousse and a torch. Then ran the hell inside as it is STILL March. Must be that green grass that is fooling us!




Gale force winds blew in half Helen and John's fence. Brian made the not very politically correct joke that now Mousse can fit through the fence!

I've noticed that all church towers are all on hills that look over the villages and cities, for the most part. Upon asking, I found out that they acted as beacons for travellers by land and sea. The Dundry church tower is about 500 years old. Then, the school, which was essentially built by the church is now 150 years old. We've been busy planning all sorts of celebrations for the upcoming last term of school. The assembly hall will host an exhibition timelines, facts, treasures and histories of Dundry. A school party is planned and all students are going to dress up either in Victorian clothes or WW2 children and we are even going to have a jumpy castle hopefully! Then, for the finale, the whole school is putting on a performance (yet to be written by our wonderful selves) of decades of Dundry. Should be a blast, not doubt an awful lot of work, but what an amazing chance for me to be here at this time!

Dundry school children all marched up to the church for Easter service, which was lovely! Especially because we came up with a fool proof plan to get my class to sit nicely and listen. The Year 1 teacher, wonderful Ms. Butler, suggested that we get each of my students to walk up with one of her infants. I told my kids that this was needed in order for the little kids to sit nicely and she told her infants that the big kids needed them to demonstrate good behavior--you get the idea. Well, I have one young student who loves to engage in conversations with anyone and anything that passes by. So, we lined her up with a sweet little infant and plopped them in the pew in front of me. I kept my eye on them, but had to laugh when she finally turned around to me and said in a loud voice, My, 'ees a cheeky monkey int 'e, Miss!!! I guess he kept pretending to slide off of the pew and she couldn't get him to sit still.

Dundry school with church tower in the back

Back at Cerney Lane, across the street, the council has decided to build another set of homes. So, on a walk with Maxine and her two border collies, she told us all about it. The thing that I found interesting though is that around the perimeter of the area, they have put up this green plastic at an angle which leans outward. Now, my first thought is that it had to do with the rain, but in fact, it's a wildlife catcher! I guess that they can't continue to build until all of the wildlife is rehomed. How it works: During the day, the machines and workers make noise and trouble for the creatures. At night, the creatures all gather together to look at their options. Most likely and hopefully for the builders, the creatures decide that it's best to pack up and hit the road. So, they wander to the perimeter of the space, only to hit a slippery green leaning tarp. Trapped! But, to their delight, they find a pile of peat, soft dirt and comfort. So, they set up camp there. Then, in the morning, the workers have to go around and collect anybody along the tarp. They then move them to new homes. Now, just for your information, the creatures are slow worms--legless lizards, frogs or all shapes and sizes, salamendars, newts and maybe even a few adders. I wonder if the green tarp would hold back cougars and bears in Alberta?

And just to end today, I am including Bonnie's Easter poem that won her the year 5 award for poetry--and a little stuffed bear.

Easter Treats

Chocolates and Sweets are the yummiest treats,

that you find on Easter day.

A chick and a bunny are always so funny,

that you find on Easter day.

Looking for eggs to put in our bags,

is the best thing on Easter day!

And, to answer last week's question: A twitten is a small pathway, but this word is mainly used in Suffolk.

So, two more weeks and we're off to the grandest aventure de tout! To France for two weeks with Mari, John, Lizzie, Dad and Deirdre. Can't wait. So, until then,

Happy thoughts!

beth