Something to Celebrate

  I've decided I absolutely love the Easter Holidays in England as schools get two weeks off of school which means we get two weeks off of work which means it can be a time for relaxation as well as real celebration of the true meaning of Easter.  While my parents were here during the holidays last year, this year I planned to hang around SPEC and do a couple of small trips out to different places around England.  Most other people had other travel plans already so it was pretty quiet around the house for the first few days.  And when I say quiet, I mean uber quiet.  The first two or three days it was just Malte(German), Kristin(American) and I left at the house.  Malte and I sat out on the patio almost the whole day after everyone else took off, he was working on his computer while I sat and read. I'll be honest, at first I was really struggling with the quietness and the amount of time to relax, I didn't even know what to do with myself.  We only had sunshine with no rain for about 3 days of the whole holiday but nevertheless, it was still a rather enjoyable holiday.  And, of course, by the end of the holiday, I absolutely loved the quietness and found it hard to return to the normality of busy SPEC.
   On the first Tuesday, Anthony(the Kiwi) and I got on a bus from London and headed down south to Devon, to a village called Dartmoor, which is situated right in the heart of the Dartmoor National Park and what some Brits claim to be one of the most beautiful areas of the country.  Anthony's great-grandfather had owned a pub there in the '60's before the family moved from England to New Zealand and Anthony has always dreamed of seeing the place. His great-grandfather just passed away in 2006 so he knew him quite well and had heard so many stories of life in the little English village. Dartmoor is a tiny little village with nothing more than the pub, a town hall,  and a few houses.  It's surrounded by some other tiny villages called Throwleigh, Gidleigh and Chappel (pronounced "Chapel"). 
   After a 4 1/2 hour bus journey to Exeter, we got off and caught one of the local buses to another little town called Widden Down.  We waited there for the guy who currently owns the pub who offered to come pick us up(we could've walked the 2 miles from the bus stop but it was pouring rain).  After making it down the single-lane-for-two-way-traffic-road(quite common and quite terrifying), we found our way to possibly one of the most gorgeous places I've seen in this country.  Every field we saw was luscious green rolling hills scattered with sheep and any house in sight was tucked away as if it was trying to hide from the outside world. I thought to myself "Now this is England." We were out of sight of any town or city and we  couldn't be more relieved. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a small town close to London and being able to go to the city, but for this country girl(and Anthony a country boy), sometimes even the town is too much and we need a break.

In case we forgot we were in England...

   As we made our way into the pub, I could feel Anthony brimming over with excitement.  We'd finally made it to the place that he'd always heard about when he was growing up.   For him, we were home.
  The pub was so quaint, the smallest I've ever seen, with three tables on one side and two on the other.  There was a beautiful open fireplace which Anthony's great-grandfather had installed some copper around.  The walls were decorated with black and white memories of the good ol' days as well as old paintings of the buildings around the area.  We searched them to see if there were any family members but most of them were from the time right after his family moved on.  As we sat there enjoying a pint of Dartmoor Jail Ale and gazing at the walls, I imagined what life must have been like for them back then.  There were pictures from horse races, fox hunts and, of course, good times that were had in that very pub.  It must have been quite a happenin' place back in the day.  I was intrigued by the fact that they were the same kind of black and white photos I've seen so many times at home, in auctions and in my own family's collections, yet they captured a whole different side of the world, a whole different story.

 

We decided to go back to the cottage where we were staying, which was literally right next door, to rest for a while before we were to return for dinner.  The cottage was beautiful, recently remodeled, and apparently it used to be the barn when Anthony's family was there.  The only remaining evidence that we found to show that it used to be used for animals were the beautiful crossbeams holding up the ceiling of the rooms. But even just seeing those, you could imagine the liveliness such a place must have had. 

Enjoying some delicious steak

  When we returned to the pub for dinner, we opened the door to find some of the tables occupied with whom we quickly learned was almost the whole of the village of Dartmoor. As we sat down and decided between Sirloin Steak and Rib-eye Steak(the only two items available for the dinner menu that night), we realized everyone was looking at us.  They knew right away that we weren't from the area.  If our dress didn't give it away, our accents definitely did. Before we knew it we were laughing and joking with the older couple at the table next to us and thus began our real learning of the history of that little beautiful nook of the country.  The first thing they asked(and everyone we seemed to meet there) was why Dartmoor? Why, out of all the places we could've gone in the country, why did we choose Dartmoor? Which of course led Anthony to explain that he had some family history there.  The moment he said he was a Jordan, smiles would spread across their faces.  "Ah yes, the Jordans.  We didn't know them personally but we've heard lots about them.  A wonderful family, they seemed." I will never forget that couple, they were absolutely hilarious.  It may have been partially due to the couple bottles of wine they seemed to polish off(with the help of some of their friends who were with them but left shortly after we arrived) but I thought they were just lovely.
By the time our food came out, that couple had left and another older couple arrived at sat at the other table to enjoy some steaks.  It didn't take long for them to find out our reason for traveling all the way there and for us to find out a little bit about them.  These two were even lovelier than the first couple.  The man, Ron, used to be a pilot and Shirley, grew up in Cornwall(where the amazing Cornish ice cream, a.k.a. clotted cream-sounds gross I know but it's amazing!-, comes from!). They have a little puppy named Alfie and their house was built in 1326. Yes, 1326.  I couldn't even fathom how amazing that would be to have a house like that! We ended up chatting the night away and just as we were about to leave they invited us to stop by their house the next day. I'd always hoped something cool like that would happen to me, getting invited over by some of the locals in a cute little village. Shirley said if we came in the morning, we'd have tea or coffee and if we came in the evening, we'd have a glass of wine.  How do you turn down an invitation like that?!  It was only a 10 minute walk down the road, we said we could definitely squeeze that in.
   The next day we went exploring down the roads and soaked in as much of the countryside as we could. The paddocks(pastures) were full of sheep, so many of them with cute little lambs!  Yes, I've seen sheep and lambs before but for some reason I was so excited to see so many in every direction we looked. I think maybe I'd been going through some farm animal withdrawal after being in the city for so long.  Anthony kept saying, "It's so weird, this feels just like New Zealand but we have even more sheep!"

Rain & thatched roofing...yep. It's England.

  As we walked on, we found the house in Throwleigh his family used to live in then we made our way to Gidleigh and found the Holy Trinity Church where his grandfather was confirmed.  The church was incredible.  It's estimated to have been built in the 11th or 12th century but was rebuilt in the 15th century.  There's a castle right behind the church which is where they say King Harold II, the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, was born.  The church was open so we went in for a look and we saw the original sanctuary gates as well as the bells that Anthony's grandfather used to ring and even the original Baptismal font.  Outside the church was the cemetery(which is very common of the churches here) with many of the headstones dating back to the 1200's.  Even though it wasn't my family's history we were learning about, I was still fascinated by every bit of it.

King Harold's castle & garden

Holy Trinity Church

The door was my size!  The English back then must've
been quite small...

  After our long walk(mostly in the rain) we went back to change into dry clothes before going over to Ron and Shirley's. We were debating whether we should go as we didn't want to interrupt their dinner, but we figured 5:00 would be okay (the English tend to eat a later dinner anyways) so we thought we'd just stop by to say hi and see their house. We were so glad we went.  As we arrived to the house, I immediately fell in love with it.  The thatched roof gave it a true old English feel and as we walked in, the entrance was all old stone flooring, with low wood beams across the ceiling.  The whole house was absolutely exquisite, they kept true to the style and the decor was incredible.  Apparently the dining room used to be where the animals were kept then upstairs was where the family lived. There was even an old stone hitching post left in the dining room which they had to leave there because it was "listed" with the house(meaning it couldn't be changed or moved).  They were telling us about a tv programme that was done a few years ago which was focusing on the history of the area and it included a tour of the house, which I had to agree, held a lot of history in itself. 

The dining room-watch your head!

   As we sat by the fireplace in the gorgeous sitting room and enjoyed some English beer, we chatted about everything from airplanes to New Zealand to cars. Before we knew it, Shirley was insisting we stay for dinner.  It didn't take much to convince us, we didn't have any plans for the rest of the evening and we were really enjoying getting to know our new friends.  I think they were quite glad to have our company as well as they both said how sometimes living out in the country can get a bit lonely.

Ron & I in the kitchen

Front of the house-Notice the beautiful roof

 I offered to help Shirley make dinner but she insisted I stay with the guys and chat.  Ron got excited when he realized he had time to show us his workshop and of course, anything with tools with excited Anthony too(he's been an electrical engineer for 5 years). As we entered his little haven, we realized it wasn't just any ol' workshop, this was a real workshop. One of Ron's hobbies is clocks, he loves refurbishing old Grandfather Clocks especially. Besides clocks, he also refurbishes old steam engines and he travels around the country entering them in shows. The engines were huge- they filled a whole flatbed trailer but only produced about 2 horsepower.  One of them was even built the same year as the Titanic!  I loved seeing the pride on Ron's face when he pulled off the covers and our jaws dropped open.  I can't even imagine the patience it must take to finish something like that; to me, that kind of dedication is truly admirable. 
   By the time we finished the delightful dinner, complete with Cornish ice cream dessert, I looked at my watch and realized we'd been there for five hours!  We were so grateful for the incredible hospitality, especially after only knowing us for a few hours! After exchanging e-mails(they have a place in Florida they go to a couple times a year, so of course, I invited them out to Montana the next time they're out) and saying our goodbyes, we made our way back to the pub with our stomachs filled and our hearts full.
   When we got back to the pub, the cook and his daughter and one of their friends were the only ones left, so we sat down for a chat and ended up talking with them 'til the wee hours of the morning.  We wanted to make the most of our last day there, and that we did.

It pays to know the cook...

  The next morning we packed up our bags and headed out. We decided to take the train back as it would cut our travel time in half. So we bid our farewells to the countryside and set off for the city.  We were quite sad to leave, it was such a short trip and with the rain and cold weather all three days there, it was hard to feel like we could fully enjoy every bit of it.  However, it did make it feel like a true English experience. Nevertheless, it was time to return.
Thinking back over those few days, they were so full of learning and loving, it was truly a blessed trip.  Someday I hope to go back to that beautiful part of the country.

  The next couple of days proved to be just as blessed, if not more. That Saturday Anthony and I went into London and met up with his neighbor and good family friend, Dave and his son, Cam.  We met them in the morning and went to the London Dungeons.  I have to admit, the Dungeons are not something I'd ever choose to go to on my own, or ever again, as I'm not a big fan of haunted houses or anything of the sort. The fascinating thing about the Dungeons was that it was more of a history lesson than anything because it reenacted things that happened right there in that area of London a couple hundred years ago.  We learned about Jack the Ripper(yuck) and other murderers and rather disturbing facts of the time.  I was well impressed that Cam, who is 11 years old, made it through the whole thing with a smile on his face for most of the time...I'm not sure I can say the same for myself. But at least I can say I survived. Besides, I wanted to meet Dave and Cam as I'd heard so much about them and they were so much fun to spend the day with.  Dave grew up in England and moved to New Zealand awhile ago so his accent was very British but Cam's Kiwi accent was so cute! After lunch we parted ways as they had tickets to a Chelsea football match. So Anthony and I decided to try to catch a part of one of England's biggest Easter weekend traditions: the Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race on the Thames River. For the last 126 years, this race has taken place and it attracts thousands of people a year. You wear light blue to support Cambridge or dark blue to support Oxford. Now that's what I call a real English tradition. By the time we got there, there wasn't much space left- the street was absolutely packed with people- lots of them university students all dressed to the nines out to support their team.  We were there to hear the starting gunshot but then the excitement only last the 30 seconds it took for them to row past us, then they continued 3 miles down the river to the finish line. Because we didn't feel like running all the way down, we stood and tried to see it on the big screen across the river from where we were. However, when you're vertically challenged such as I, it's hard to see anything over a crowd of people jumping up and down cheering and shouting. Needless to say, we only ended up staying for about 15 minutes before we decided to get out of the crazy crowds and let them have their fun.

Happened to see this on our way there

Anthony, Dave and Cam:
smiling POST-Dungeon experience

That night we got back to SPEC and I remembered that St. Peter's, the small Anglican church I attend in London Colney, was holding an Easter Vigil at 11 pm.  I've never been to an Easter Vigil before so I decided I should see what it was like.  It ended up being Anthony and I and seven other ladies of the church. We started with a bonfire outside the church then light our candles and processed in.  The service was full of songs and readings and afterwards we had some cakes and champagne(yet another new tradition for me).  As I've been to St. Peter's quite a lot over my time here, I've gotten to know some of the ladies very well and they were thrilled to see us there that night and said they were grateful for having a male voice singing with us that night.
   The next morning, I awoke to see the sun poking through the clouds, and the birds singing in the tree outside my window. It was Easter morning!  Alleluia!
It was the first Easter I've spent without family so I wasn't sure how much it was going to truly feel like Easter. But let me tell you, by the end of the day, it definitely felt like Easter.  Anthony, Malte and I made our way to St. Peter's for the service there then I went to Mass with Anthony straight afterwards at the Catholic church down the road.  We got to the church just as the service was starting and there were no seats left so we made our way up to the balcony, where the choir was singing. We were the only ones up there that weren't in the choir but all the songs they sang we already knew...so we decided to add in our harmonies.  It brought back so many memories of singing with the Senior Choir at Zion and Anthony has done lots of music in his church as well so we sat there, singing every note with big smiles on our faces.
  After church we hurried back and grabbed some food which was to be our contribution to the big meal we were going to join in.  Tim and Tanya Balfe are a couple who live in a little cottage on our site, they have 2 kids, Alice(12 yrs old) and Patrick(4 yrs old) and they invited anyone who was going to be at SPEC for Easter to come to their place for lunch.  So Malte, Kristin(American program coordinator), Anthony and I made our way down to spend the afternoon with them.  As soon as we got there, Anthony and I kind of took over the kitchen, preparing a very Kiwi dish to cook on the grill.  After all the preparations were made and the table was laid, we sat down to a delicious Easter meal. With 9 of us(Kristin's friend Venus joined us too) at the table, there were lots of smiles and lots of laughter.
 The Balfe's so graciously opened their home to us, even though some of us barely knew them at the beginning of the day. As I sat there, looking around the table, I thought to myself, "If I can't have my actual family here with me today, this is definitely the next best thing. This is family."  That is a feeling I will never forget.

   I have to say, if you ever want an enjoyable Easter, spend it with a 4-year old. Every couple of minutes Patrick would ask "Can I have some more of my chocolate egg?" and before we knew it, he was bouncing off the walls and running around kicking balloons everywhere. I've discovered that eating an overload of chocolate at Easter is another great English tradition. I don't mean just a few pieces here and there, but a huge chocolate egg that you crack, then you eat the pieces throughout the day. And quite often, you'll end up with multiple eggs to get through. I also learned that Easter Baskets as we have at home are much more of an American thing. Instead of little gifts in Easter Baskets, they just get chocolate instead. So much chocolate!!!
   After we cleaned up we decided even though it was still spitting rain a little bit, we'd have an Easter Egg Hunt. So Kristin and I took a bunch of eggs, some plastic and some chocolate, and went and hid them all over Chantry Island (which is right next to their house, where we have our campfire pit and such).  The Easter Egg Hunt was a first for Anthony, so he was just as into it as the kids were. As we let the kids loose, they ran all over, filling their arms with eggs.
  After the Easter Egg Hunt, we went back inside to play some games, hear Patrick play some guitar, and then Alice starting to teach me some Irish dancing right there in the living room.  After which, of course, I taught them a little bit about Lindy Hop and swing dancing. We finally headed back to the house about 8:30 pm that night.
  After a day filled with church, delicious food, chocolate, games with kids, playing rugby in the rain, egg hunts, and Irish dancing, I realized how blessed every moment had been. I thought to myself, Easter in England is much more of a celebration than I've ever experienced before. It's a time to celebrate the life of Jesus and the good news of His resurrection with loved ones. Though I just got to know the Balfe family that day, I felt such love between all of us.  They are such a loving family, you can't help but reciprocate the feelings. They offered their home to us at a time where we all were wishing we could be in our own homes, they offered a place in their family.  And that, to me, is something to celebrate.