We went walking at Kedleston Hall today. The house is closed for the winter; I imagine it is prohibitively expense to heat these huge old mansions. The grounds are very beautiful and there are several nice walking routes. There are sheep in the fields and some nice water features. The [...]
We met some friends and co-workers of Molly in Stratford-upon-Avon for lunch on New Year’s Eve. We enjoyed a meal in a terrific pub called the Bell just outside of the Bard’s hometown. After lunch, we drove into town to try some sightseeing. We finally managed a parking spot outside of the [...]
Last week, Molly had a conference outside of London. We decided to go along so she wouldn’t miss us too much. We had a lovely day (though it was a bit wet) exploring Windsor Castle, the occasional home of the Queen of England.
The audio tour was quite entertaining; it featured a little kid [...]
Molly’s aunt Marsha and her friends came to visit this afternoon. She is in the country for work and is our first visitor. We went to Calke Abbey, one of the historic homes managed by the Britain’s National Trust organization.
The house is pretty incredible. It fell into decline around the beginning of [...]
We’ve finally got internet! It’s nice to be connected again. It’s amazing how much we’ve come to rely on easy access to information and communications. Speaking of communications, we’re set up for skype, a free service offering both voice and video calling. Download it, create an account and give us a call! Our username is [...]
Monday was a bank holiday and we took a couple of days to visit some prehistoric sites in England. We started at Avebury, a huge stone circle that surrounds a little village. Many of the stones are missing, but you can get right up next to them and get a feel for the [...]
Today is the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia.
Apparently it is also the 400th anniversary of arrival of the earthworm and the honey bee. I recently heard this piece on NPR. In the interview, Charles Mann, discusses some of the effects of the English settlement in Jamestown. [...]
