I had a week of holidays last week, and I split the time between spending time in London with David, and relaxing/organizing/ jettisoning things I no longer need in Chase Cross. On Monday, David took me to Cirencester, an old Roman settlement in which he spent the bulk of his growing up years. I saw several different homes in which his family lived, including the home with the creek (called a river by the locals) nearby and the remains of an old Roman wall where David used to play fort as a child. We also met his old next-door neighbours who still live in the same house. They were surprised and happy to meet him, and gave him the scoop on what family members and neighbours are up to now. Despite being quite a rainy day, we had a good time exploring David's old haunts...a real trip down memory lane for him.Tuesday I went to Covent Garden, where I picked up some souvenirs (professional photos of London, and one of a typical English village scene) while David went to work. Wednesday I was at home doing my organizational stuff--I'm very aware that my time here is running down now! On Thursday, I met David's mom Joan at the Tate Britain, a gallery of mostly British artists. We saw a lovely watercolour exhibition. As Joan is a watercolourist herself, she was able to tell me about some of the artists and their work. We walked to the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, where we looked at art from the 18th-early 20th centuries. I enjoyed John Constable, and (J.M.) William Turner (whom Joan told me is one of the greatest English watercolour landscape painters).
On Friday David and I went to the Geffrye Museum, a compound of almshouses that has been turned into a museum displaying how the middle classes (or the "middling sort," as they were consistently called in the museum) lived in different periods of history, from the 17th century to the 20th century. One room would be decorated as a 1630's sitting room, and the next room as a 1670's one. Then the following room would be dressed as a 1740's parlour, and so on up to about a 1980's living room. There was a clear progression from very bare and plain in the early 17th century, to much more sophisticated and furnished in the 19th and 20th centuries. Clearly the "middling sort" grew in numbers and wealth and status during that time.
Saturday we saw a musical in West End London called Betty Blue Eyes. It is set in 1947 England, where severe austerity measures and rationing have dampened the spirits of everyone. The wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip is just what they need to perk themselves up a bit. The elite of the town are planning a pork roast "private function" for themselves only, trying to keep under wraps the unregistered pig they are raising illegally. Meanwhile, the meat inspector keeps making his rounds condemning animals not fit for meat or meat sold under false pretenses (horsemeat sold as prime sirloin steak, for instance). I enjoyed the show....it was historical, with clips of film and photos of actual posters from the time and showed the class distinctions ("Fair shares for all!"), and quite funny too, especially when a "non-elite" couple tried to steal the pig only to have it shitting in their bathroom and creating quite a stink in the neighbourhood.
Sunday Wood Green had our last formal gathering--potluck and service--at the London Mennonite Centre. A very poignant day for those who have accumulated years and years of memories at the LMC--weddings, funerals, worship services, fellowship meals and more. About the photo at the top, David and I were washing dishes after lunch, and one of our friends pointed her camera at us. David stuck out his belly to make himself look really fat, so that is what we are both laughing about, although in the picture it doesn't really doesn't look that way. As Sue (the photographer) commented when she emailed the photo to me, "Love is finding a man who's comfortable in an apron."
I fly home in 48 days now, and David is planning to come in September for an exploratory visit--to see me, and also to interview with several prospective employers and a prospective school (Regis College--associated with U of T--has a program that combines mental health and spirituality that he is quite interested in).
Take care,
Julie
