Before and Ever After

We are known among our friends from Chicago for how quickly we go from moving-in to moved-in. Hopefully the Lilacs won't be much different. Here is the situation around 4PM yesterday, followed by the first rooms to be transformed into livable space (around 8PM).

Fit for a King

Bullocks! That was close... the movers have come and gone and to my surprise, all three beds made it up the low-ceiling stairway of the Lilacs. The queen was the toughest fit (keep it clean, mates), to my surprise: it didn't bend as well as the king mattresses.

The crew on this end wasn't quite the caliber of our Chicago team, though, and we have some dings and dents here and there to prove it.

All in all, though, we had very minor damage to our stuff and nothing broken beyond repair.

Other good news: so far no electronics have exploded or otherwise malfunctioned using the drop-down transformers I bought for our silly American TV. The Xbox 360 is fully functional.

Well, that's enough of that. It's the end of a long day and I'm ready to go to sleep in a REAL bed.

Special Delivery

Today is the supposed day. After a month of sleeping on an inflatable bed and rotating the same 5 outfits over and over again, our shipment from Chicago is due to arrive in under 2 hours (9 AM). Then, the real game begins: fitting American furnishings through English doorways. I can't wait!

Take the Metal Back to Tintern

My Iron Maiden blurb has become just another way to bring Tintern Abbey back into the blog. In 1988, Iron Maiden recorded a video for "Can I Play With Madness". The video was shot on-site in non-other than Tintern Abbey. Turn off the volume and you actually get some nice footage of the Abbey without the so-so metal. But I don't remember that pit that led to an other-worldly cavern. Must have missed that on the walk through.

Crisps Deux

Every crisp company over here seems to have its own line of flavors. Tyrrel's has interesting combinations, this one being Worcester (pronounced "woos-tah") Sauce and Sun Dried Tomato. It was tasty!

They also have a seasonal "Game" flavor with "Duck, Orange, and Ginger" and a "Thai Curry and Coriander". Good thing I have a few years to try them all.

English Raspberries

Sometimes it is hard to define the differences between American and British culture. While watching some MTV equivalent, I learned that Iron Maiden had scored a #1 hit in the UK in 1990 with the song "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter". On the US side, we awarded the same song a "Golden Raspberry" for the "Worst Original Song" in 1989.

You decide, do you side with the Brits or the Americans on this one (keeping in mind it was 1990)?

The Cut of Your Jib

We stopped in today at Heggies, a recommended butcher, on our way to Sainsbury's (one of our local grocery choices.) Very clean, very well presented meats. You see a lot of what you see in the States, but a few things that you wouldn't typically see:

• Lots of Blood Pudding (aka Black Pudding)
  
• Pre-Marinated Chicken Tikka Masala (the most popular food in England, even more so than fish and chips!)
  
• Lamb shanks
• Lamb kidneys
• "Raw" Bacon (uncured, unsmoked)
• Gammon -- appears to be a generic term, in this case its ham or pork steaks.
• Pork Belly
• Duck parts besides the breast
• Herefordshire Beef
• Gloucester Old Spot Pork
  

We bought some pork belly and the closest thing to American bacon we could find (cured and smoked but a wierd cut). We roasted the pork belly, served it with Sainsbury's Organic Watercress, Spinach, and Rocket (wherever an American might expect iceburg lettuce, the Brits have replaced it with rocket -- which is just a different name for arugula) mix, a loaf of crusty bread with roast garlic, some leftover chips (fries), and topped it all with a poached duck egg -- that was Saturday night dinner. I can't complain!

The picture of dinner is courtesy of Rachel, but it cost me.

Now We're Cooking With Pig Fat

In the US, I don't like to shop at WalMart. I am trying to find reasons to justify shopping at ASDA, Walmart's English twin.

Let's add the Pork Belly Crackling Joint to that list.

Oh my, for just 3 pounds and an 1 hour in a hot oven, you get a piece roast pig that is half-meat, half bacon, and all delicious.

Highly recommended.

A Red Neck and Green Thumb

The Lilacs has a budding garden. We have permission from the landlord to do some planting. We converted part of a flower garden to herbs (rosemary, curry plant, sage, thyme, oregano, mint (mojitos!), and parsely. In the back corner of the lawn, I converted lawn to garden and there we have strawberries, 6 kinds of lettuce, one horseradish, 5 tomato plants, and 2 pepper plants. That bare spot is where the Phase 2 peppers are going to go if they ever sprout... In another patch, we have watercress growing strong and fast.


In the picture you see our next phase, the plants and herbs from seed. Here you can see basil and dill coming right along like good little English herbs (pronounce the 'h', please!). Hot peppers and banana peppers haven't sprouted yet... they might be duds!

Rachel let me know yesterday she ordered more stuff for us (us?) to plant. Berries and stuff. We might not want to leave once we get all this growing. And, conditions here seem better for a garden then for us -- lots of rain!

The Ghost of Strongbow

On my first trip to Hereford with Rachel (our house-hunting trip), we passed through Wales on route to Hereford. Near Chepstow, we passed the eerily beautiful Tintern Abbey. The picture in my title block is Tintern Abbey.

Tintern was founded in the year 1136 by Walter de Clare, the then Lord of Chepstow. Tintern was home to the White Monks, a monastic order that followed the 'Charter of Love' and had six guiding principals:

• Obedience
• Poverty
• Chastity
• Silence
• Prayer
• Work

The Abbey prospered for almost 400 years as a quiet monastery that received little historical note. Much of the Abbey was rebuilt with endowments from local lords. In 1349, The Black Death swept Europe and this, combined with the affects of a Welsh uprising, caused labor shortages and financial difficulties for the Abbey.

In 1536, King Henry the VIII took control of the church of England, one of the main reasons was to take over the considerable wealth held by the churches. The valuable lead that held the roof in place was pillaged and sold. Tintern fell into quick ruin as it was looted and its treasures sent away. The pictures above are what is left of the Abbey despite significant restoration projects over the last 100 years. It still stands as one of the best preserved examples of its era.

But what about the ghosts?

It is said that a group of young nobles visited the Abbey in the 17th or 18th century, now in ruins, and dug about the grounds looking for valuables. They did find two skeletons and in celebration, they prepared a great feast amidst the ruins.

As they sat and joked about the monks rising from their graves, a sudden storm surrounded the Abbey with fierce lightning and thunder that shook the hills. The sky grew darker and a heavy mist shrouded the site.

In a doorway, a gleaming light grew and took shape as a knight in full armor. Then, around the knight, the forms of withered monks and abbots came forward. The storm paused and the knight, with visor raised, pointed at the exit to the Abbey. The young nobles scattered in fear and found themselves lost in the mist. The storm resumed and a violent whirlwind tossed the feast beyond the walls of the Abbey.

The men had disturbed the rest of the monks and their protector, Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare, the son of Walter de Clare. Gilbert was known as "Strongbow" -- either because he skillfully used an abnormally large and powerful bow or because of his battle tactic of utilizing Welsh bowman against the Irish. Either way, Strongbow's legend was known and his image commanded obedience.

Strongbow is also the name of a mass-produced cider made right here in Hereford and very popular throughout England. Ahh, refreshing!