Living in London

This is our boiler. It provides our hot water as well as pumping warmth through the radiators to heat this drafty flat. The entire contraption is only 32 inches high and 25 inches wide, which is downright minature compared to the 50 gallon behemoth that we had in Oakland. The size difference is due to the fact our unit here is “tankless” versus the tanked variety we enjoyed in the US. (The New York Times has an insightful article on the raging debate between the tanks and the tankless.)

Regardless of the technical differences, we actually have no idea how the boiler really works. We have managed to figure out how to set the timers for both the hot water and the heat. We know its 5:00 am when the radiators begin gurgling as the hot water moves around. We also know that the whole thing just quits now and then. We learned this the first time through a very cold shower. The remedy is to reach behind the boiler for the hidden valve to replenish the water that occasionally boils off, leaving internal levels too low for the boiler to function properly.

The best thing about this system is that the “radiators” for all the bathrooms are simply heated towel racks. Nothing beats a toasty warm towel as you step out of a lukewarm shower.

The worst thing is that the boiler is temperamental, unpredictable, and the landlord opted out of installing a central thermostat when he built this palace. The heat is either on or off, with a valve at each radiator to control individual room heat. When the weather changes we make the rounds to adjust the valves again.

We dream of our digital and centrally-controlled heating system in the U.S.  I guess we should be grateful we are not shoveling coal for heat!

The snow on our street	The White Cliffs of Dover	We even brought a bit of the cliffs home

We didn’t work in England on December 27^th because it was the official holiday for Boxing Day. For weeks we had been talking about taking some day trips over the Christmas break, and when we awoke to big fat white snow flakes outside our window, the “white” theme was set. How about those cliffs in Dover you hear so much about?  

The city of Dover is located in the southeast corner of the country, about 80 miles from London. Knowing it would take at least an hour to get out of London, we left mid-day for a leisurely drive, admiring the beautiful snow-covered countryside. Once there, we found the Dover Castle (closed this day) and so drove to the National Trust visitor centre.

From here we set off on a short walk to see the cliffs. One thing they don’t tell you at the visitor centre is that the chalk + dirt make for some voracious mud. It was all over us, and trying to suck our shoes off as well. We walked as far as we could on the path and took a few photos. The cliffs really are white, and you really can see France from this point. We have loved to have taken the tour of the war tunnels under the castle; I’m sure this was a very important and tense spot during WW II.

Also in Southeast England, we wanted to visit Canterbury (to find out more about the tales) and Sandwich (for, well, a snack) but ran out of daylight.

p.s. The snow didn’t stick in London — although the cold still lingers.

For those of you who struggled with wedging that last bowl of salad or leftovers or dessert into the refrigerator these past few holiday weeks, we offer you our sympathy. In London, most refrigerators are less than half the size of those in the U.S. As we prepared our Christmas Eve dinner for ourselves and a few friends we soon discovered that we had more food than our little fridge could hold.

How lucky we are that it has been so cold lately (it has been hovering around freezing for the last few weeks). Our window ledge served double duty as a substitute for extra fridge space. (Note the outside ledge is only about five inches wide, so all goods must be securely anchored on the inside of the window!)

We enjoyed our second visit to Paris this weekend, again in the icy winter. Our first trip was last year at this same time! What is up with that?

Anyway, it didn’t slow us down for a
second … we spent four glorious days enjoying a fabulous walking tour of Montmartre, seeing a terrific traditional French circus, taking another Segway tour, and shopping til we ran out of money. (I actually fell off my Segway this trip, and am happy to report that no photos exist of this event).

We had some great meals and learned of a new champagne drink that has become our new favourite. The weekend was gloriously clear with blue skies and unbelievable lights at night. But wow, was it ever cold. Our next trip to Paris needs to be in the balmy spring don’t you think?

We have been meaning to see the stage play “Mary Poppins” for some time now (it opened almost a year ago!). To augment this experience we rented the Disney film and viewed it a few weeks ago.

The Disney version wasn’t at all like I remembered from the last time I saw it (scary to think about how long ago that might have been) but the songs were even better than remembered!  Both of us were singing for days afterwards. This prompted us to finally get those theatre tickets, and we saw the play on Monday evening. It was the best theatre experience we have had in London so far. The actors, the staging, the music were all fantastic. Even the theatre was the best we have visited (there was actually room for our legs!).

Bravo!

On Saturday evening we went to our village church to see a local theatre company perform Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia. The performances were unbelievably good! Most professional, and very well done for what seemed to be a fairly complicated play. We enjoyed wine and snacks as we sat in the front pew completely entranced!

We walked home through the church cemetery on a wild windy night feeling totally satisfied.

Today we had a very luxurious experience at Berry Bros & Rudd, at the store and cellars where they have been operating for over 300 years. Still managed by the same family, this place has an amazing history, and really ‘gets’ the concept of service.

Established in 1898, they were originally an 'Italian Warehouse.' They not only supplied coffee beans, but also weighed their customers on their giant coffee scales. They showed us ledger books with the records of customers’ weights spanning three centuries. It was apparently very fashionable to get dressed up and head over to Berry Brothers for your annual weigh-in. Customers who visited the store include Lord Byron and Beau Brummell, Pitt the Younger, the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon III, prime ministers Balfour, Melbourne, Peel and Asquith, John Nash and Edwin Lutyens, Gertrude Lawrence, Laurence Olivier and Evelyn Waugh, and of course, us! [Note: we did not weigh in ]

In 1923 Cutty Sark Scots Whisky was created here. In 2000 they began a wine school and this was one of the classes we attended.

Our class included a tour of the store and cellars, a couple of hours tasting champagnes, and a fabulous lunch paired with five more wonderful champagnes. The tastes were generous and the air was spiced by interesting conversation with the other patrons. Very enjoyable afternoon.

Take a virtual tour for a 360 degree view of many of the rooms in the store and cellars.

“We are all worms. However I am fairly certain that I am a glow-worm.”

              —  Winston Churchill

A few weeks ago we watched the HBO film called “The Gathering Storm. It is about Winston Churchill’s life just before WWII began. We are exploring an emerging interest in Winston Churchill and we were completely entranced by the film. Albert Finney is amazing in the lead role, and I’d recommend the film just for his performance. Of course, the other performances are wonderful as well, and the subject matter was fascinating. We have been working on a Churchill theme ever since!

What a huge character this man was! Far from perfect, or even proven right about many things in retrospect, he is still bigger than life. He served under six monarchs, won sixteen terms in Parliament, and was Prime Minister twice. A prolific author and journalist who published over 40 titles in his lifetime, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He experienced an amazing range of history during the violent 20^th century – participating in the last great cavalry charge against the dervishes in the Sudan campaign, making a daring escape from a prison camp in Pretoria during the South African war, leading Britain and the world through WWII, and then seeing Britain on to becoming a nuclear power. He is reputed to have started every day with a cigar in bed and then held court sitting propped up in bed – including giving dictation to his secretaries and holding discussions with senior military advisors. His consumption of champagne is legendary, and he drank it daily at both lunch and dinner.  About Pol Roget (his favourite champagne) he said “I deserve it in victory and need it in defeat.

Following on the theme, we recently visited the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill museum. The War Rooms are located underground for protection from bombs, and are realistically preserved. It is easy to picture yourself trying to live and work there, around the clock, during the war. The audio tour is very helpful in portraying life “underground.”  The Museum is quite a contrast to the realistic 1940’s era Cabinet War Rooms – very high tech, multi-media based, and gives a thorough overview of Churchill’s entire life before and after the war.

Our next step is to visit Chartwell, Churchill’s family home in Kent for about 40 years, and a place about which he once said “A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted.” 

The web is loaded with great information about Winston. Here is a link that is a great place to start.

Since our last post we have had some challenges with time and space that have prevented us from really exploring London and from putting up any additional posts. The time issues are related to both of us: we are working full time at pretty demanding jobs, putting in long hours in distant locations from one another. The space issues are around the fact that we have been burglarized twice in our new location and are trying to figure out our next steps. We hope to be back soon with new and exciting posts, but for now, we are taking a rest.

Gosh it’s great to be back in England! When we were “out there” it didn’t feel like we had a home to come to, but as we arrived at Heathrow, and saw the orderly queues and the great multi-cultural throngs and drove home via the roundabouts, and came into our light and quiet flat, we realized that we are home. And happy to be living in London.