In the moment…
I’m typing this from the British Air concourse from Heathrow. We had a little time to burn and some pound coins that will end up being useless once we board, so here I am, writing a letter home. It is quite grey outside, and a seagull just went wheeling by the window. Our terminal is filled with blond Americans with good teeth and short women in vivid saris and plump British men in caps or suit coats over jeans.
A list perhaps, to gather a few thoughts. Our visit to Kent seemed very short. (I’ll leave a post about Rome for later (worth posting about, for my reaction was much what it was elsewhere in southern Italy–I had no idea I would like it so very, very much, though perhaps I should have known it would be my kind of place)). the visit to the UK was very quiet and family oriented, but also, my brain is tired this morning. I am ready for a quiet stretch of time on the plane, with no one I must speak to (and CR is just as talked out as I am, I think, plus he’s still carrying around the cold we both picked up in Indiana). So, a few notes, scribbled in the boredom of waiting….
Best books read on the trip thus far: Truth and Beauty, Ann Pratchett, a memoir, and the absolutely lovely THE WHOLE WORLD OVER (I think that’s the title) by Julia Glass, who wore the gorgeous Three Junes. Great novel, and that most alluring of things: a page turner of a literary fiction.
Yesterday, we spent the day eating a proper English Sunday dinner. Roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, gravy and potatoes (roast and mashed), broccoli, carrots, swede (rutabagas), followed by berry crumble smothered in custard and a stunning, unbelievably sweet and amazing thing called banoffee pudding. Wow. A little break, a walk around the fields, then tea, served with scones and fresh cream and strawberry jam (and my beloved prepared mine for me), follwed by supper (!) which was salmon and salad and yet more puddings and strawberries and cream. I opted for salad and a teeny bit more of the banofee pudding, feeling as if I might split wide open if I had any more than that.
We visited Sissinghurst on Saturday and had it nearly to ourselves. I did have the office to myself for a long while, then the walk to the top of the tower. The weather was crisp, almost cold, the vistas from the top a little hazy and green and the gardens completely different. I’ll post some photos upon my return. It was a deeply delicious experience and I think I might buy a vase of Bristol glass one of these days (I already have a collection of cobalt glass, but that would be fun, wouldn’t it?). I’d also forgotten that she died on my birthday. Not my BIRTHday, just the day.
Also visited Dover Castle. About which I will have to write, since I’ve just passed the minute mark and must put this up…. Cheers