Adventures on the high street

In these parts it was the last day of school for most children! You know the excitement of the last day, and as we walked up to the high street I could see uniformed children skipping and laughing on their way to school. Of course I understand that, its just a bit odd because of all the places I have lived the last day of school has been in May or maybe June, but the end of July? The British have a great year-round system where kids go to school for 6 weeks and then have 1 week off, have 2 weeks off for Christmas holidays and Easter holidays, which by the way are called Easter holidays. Now they are off for the summer holidays and will return in September.
Anyway, what I wanted to blog about was my curious cat children and all that they did on the high street today. Ethan has not been allowed to ride his scooter through the town centers since an incident involving a metal sign where he, looking the other way ran full speed into the sign, knocking it over. So today, he walked and Tim walked for most of the way, though rode in the umbrella stroller for a bit of it. This isn't the wonderful stroller my sister gave me, which some how has broken, but another one that we bought second hand. Its much nicer for going into stores with very narrow aisles and grumpy elderly people who don't want you to be in the stores. First stop was FARA charity shop for furniture, and we asked about bunk beds...the chap said he'd sell one to me for a reasonable price and I decide to call Todd about it (of course forgot my mobile phone) and then you can imagine what two small children would do in a shop crammed with second hand furniture. We go to the card shop for a look, the kids see some balloons...and well, there's another shop to leave. Stop at the ATM and Ethan enjoys pressing a couple of the buttons. Cross the street to the butcher where I get my yummy free range eggs the same price as Tesco's eggs and some (ugh!) liver! But liver is good for me with all the iron, so I've taken to making it, though I can't stand it and only persuade my family to eat it by making a dessert on the same night. Next stop a browse in the pet store and a longing eye at the gerbils and hamsters and rabbits...Ethan plays with the rabbit cages that are on display. Come now, come now, COME NOW. Next stop post office and the kids want to touch the dividing strap, and they make the pens hang down, and off we mail grammies birthday card to the US. Lots of love in there Grammie, no peaking till your birthday. The boys put the cards and other mail in the red pillar post box, and dilly dally, hanging from the box. There is a man waiting behind us. "Do you think anyone else would like to use the post box today?" I ask, and we move on. A look in the charity shop for shirts and books for the kids, the kids obviously find things, but I don't , so its "not today, come now." A stop in an actual furniture store, produces a good bit of longing in me for a new bunk bed, but of course thats not very reasonable. The kids climb on the bed and on the way out Ethan punches every roll of carpet and climbs on a carpet on a trolley. "One more instance and you will have to hang on to the buggy" Then we are crossing the "Zebra Crossing" and Ethan is playing a hop scotch, jumping from stripe to stripe. The cars behind patiently waiting. And now I have a boy holding onto the buggy. We go to the News Agent to top up my Oyster Card for the coming week and Ethan watches the lottery advert and the Indian man who runs the story tries to talk to him and he says, "You're clever" and I think "right, clever!" He's staring at the simple video with his mouth open! Anyway, they manage to say bye, and he says "Bye darlings!" (all kids are called darlings, and sweetie and poppet here!) Finally we arrive home. Such were our adventures on the high street. And as far as I could tell, not one grumpy look from any elderly people, unless they did it as we passed, which may well be.

Little sighs, little hoorays...daily life in the UK

Little joys and little annoyances filled my day...many hoorays and sighs...



One joy is the delivery of groceries that are ordered online. Well, its a little difficult to get it all in the tiny fridge, though I managed. I shouldn't complain, we are blessed with an additional freezer. The fridge back home was enormous compared to this!

On my fridge I have some magnets---from the National Zoo in Washington DC, from Cedar Run Cattle on the Eastern Shore in Maryland (Where I used to get my fresh eggs and meat from, farmer Lou asked us to put his magnet on the fridge here) I have some pics of my family and Todd's brother's kids. I have some phone lists, including an emergency phone list I only had the sense to make about 2 weeks ago. Hooray for online shopping and the Tesco delivery chap!




Next sigh ...left the knitting out where the 2 year old who loves swords and string can find it. I recently have been learning how to knit, have a scarf I have been working on and because I am so enthralled with the idea that this is actually making something I carelessly left it out. I may need to call in help to salvage my project. Hooray for friends who can teach me new things!



Certainly the biggest sigh of the day happened when I went to register at the GP. (For my American readers, the GP is the general practioner, with the national health system everyone has to register at their local GP) This particular GP would not let us register until we had been here for 6 months. I went in March to register our whole family and I brought all our passports plus an item of mail for the last 6 months that had our name and address on it. Turns out I needed one piece of mail for each of the last 6 months with Todd's name and address on it and one for each of the last 6 months with my name and address on it. Now, because I am not working and do not pay the bills and many places send us our stuff over email, I had to scrounge to get these papers together, and 5 weeks later I return to register at the GP. So there I am with all my papers at the reception desk of the GP's surgery (yes, americans, the surgery is the doctors office, not the O.R.) The woman at the desk oohs and aahs about my American passport. I guess American passports are really patriotic and showy compared to other countries. They all come round to look at it. "There really is a picture on every page." Right, and each page has quotes like.."We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..."

There are about 7 other people politely waiting in the queue behind me. Then someone, not really sure who, comes down and asks me some questions (that I would have deemed private) in front of this queue of people. This is slightly annoying to me, after working in America in a chiropractic clinic when HIPAA was launched and everyones personal health information became super hush-hush. So, slightly embarrassed, I leave the GP surgery knowing I have ticked off one other thing from my list and assured that I still have no idea what to do in this culture! Government run health care....hooray? (By the way, you may be wondering what private questions the person asked me today, and the only answer you are going to get is that they were private, and if those 7 other people have a blog or a facebook or a twitter, they may be sharing that information on their sites.)




Hooray and sigh for the sun staying up later! My children have a really difficult time sleeping when its bright outside. I love the light, its wonderful that now in the beginning of May it already stays light until 9 pm, so...we will have to get some black out shades. Hooray for sunshine and longer days!






I saw the sweetest elderly couple walking along the high street today. She was using a cane and he was carrying the groceries in a bag. They were holding hands and smiling, their white hair blowing in the breeze and their faces beaming. Beautiful people, I thought to myself. Hope Todd and I are like that when we are old.




I popped into a charity shop (thrift shop, Americans) on the way home and found a brand new book that Ethan will love. Hooray for charity shops on the high street!



Hooray also for bank holidays! Yesterday was a bank holiday and so Todd was home, and today was his normal day off so it was a wonderfully nice break for all of us! Hooray!