Seems we jammed quite a bit of activity into this past week and a half (in fact I actually started this email on March 2 and just can't seem to get it finished...) Thursday Feb 23 was the end of one wind tunnel test so they packed up all the stuff to go back to the states and most of the crew flew back home on Friday. The next test wasn't due to start until mid the following week so that gave Robin a couple of days off. We did our usual Friday walk followed by lunch at The Pub With No Name. It actually is called the White Horse Inn but the sign for the signpost on the road went missing some time ago and is now called The Pub With No Name. It was a very cold day as you can see by the pictures attached. One of the pictures is from the car on the way there showing a typical country lane from the perspective of the driver so you get a feel for what a thrill it can be to drive or cycle. If a car comes from the other direction you just sort it out somehow. Cycling is really fun if there are drivers from both directions! Just before we reached the pub there was a golden lab hanging around at the entrance gate to her owner's house looking impatient. Sure enough, after our walk while cozied up to the fire at the pub who should come in but the very same lab and her owners. We told them we'd seen her waiting and they laughed saying she was always up for a walk. They were a cute senior couple and very British looking - including walking coat and wellies (wellies are the rubber boots most of the country walkers use - and after cleaning out the lugged soles of our hiking boots numerous times I see the wisdom of them). Oh yeah, I had bubble and squeak here! It was quite good. On the way home we stopped into a nice Organic Farm Shop we'd been wanting to see and also purchased a trainer for the bike at a bike shop in Farnham about 5 miles from Aldershot. (for non-cyclists: a trainer is a stand you can put your bike in to ride in place). After returning home it was time to move upstairs to our new apartment. The move went fairly smoothly but we are a bit bummed that this apartment isn't quite a cozy as the old one. There is no balcony, fewer windows, a smaller fridge and the worst part is since it is the top floor the ceilings slope in and the kitchen sink is placed under the sloping part meaning when I'm washing dishes, instead of looking out the window, my head is crammed up against the ceiling. Also, I've had to tangle with a new washer/dryer. The problem with this one is that even on the "woolens/cold and no dryer" setting the clothes come out steaming hot! I have a merino wool sweater that is now suitable for a 4 year- old. The technician was called in and it seems that when it was installed it was connected to the hot water supply. It is designed to use cold water only and has its own heating unit for washing cycles requiring heated water. Hard to believe that I am the first one to have a problem with this when the washers in both of these apartments have been here for 18 months. The one downstairs was an installation problem as well - the drain hose was kinked when it was installed. Bernerd, our co-landlord, says he is not letting me loose on any more of their washing machines but Christine (his wife) and I decided I should be the official appliance tester in all their units. Saturday Feb 25 was a cold and windy day. Robin braved the weather to do an Audax UK ride out of Reading (about 15 miles from us) and had a good ride. Dry but very cold and he only got lost once I think. I decided to try out the new trainer and ground out an hour and 45 minutes watching the Olympics. Sunday was finally the end of the Olympics and now our "telly" can get a much deserved rest. We finalized arrangements for our trip to Norway. W e had planned for this to fall at the end of Robin's work assignment and had booked a tour already. Since Boeing wanted Robin to stay longer they said they would find someone to cover for the week of his vacation if he would come back to work a few more weeks. We are flying from London to Oslo on Saturday March 11 (TC - I'll be thinking of you and wishing you a happy birthday that day!) then we'll catch the train to Al and will be picked up at the train station and taken to a "hut" called Raggsteindalen for 4 nights where we'll do some skiing on our own before joining up with our tour group on the 15th, go to another area and ski with them before returning to London on March 20. We are really looking forward to the trip and it sounds like the snow and weather conditions are good. We've "hired" (we would say rented) equipment from a UK company that FedEx'd the skis, boots, and poles to us. My boots are a bit small so they'll be sending another pair this week. Sunday afternoon we went with Christine and Bernard to see the apartments they own in Farnborough (about 3 miles north of us). We've decided we'll likely ask for one of those apartments the next time we come. They are slightly bigger, closer to work for Robin (he could walk if he wanted) and they have dishwashers!!!! Those apartments would make it more comfortable if we EVER get anyone to come and visit us while we're here. Monday Robin didn't have to go to work so we took the train into London, spent a good couple of hours touring St. Paul's Cathedral (attached picture of a cold Robin at the top of the dome), did a walking tour of the St James district off Piccadilly (found in a funky little book I found called Secret London), visited Lock & Co Hatters at its location since 1764 where Robin bought a new handmade wool cap (very smart!) and stopped in next store to the "newer" kid on the block, Lobb's shoemakers - only here since the 1 850's - where they make handmade, custom order shoes. The shoes looked VERY nice and VERY expensive but the staff were quit nice to us. Dinner and a later train home and we were tired out. My "rest" day wasn't all that restful! Tuesday was back to work for Robin after we did a nice ride together. I followed up with a short run down to the pool to get tickets for early morning swims this week. Did I tell you my "new" pool is out of service??? What is it with me and pools here??? They tell me it will be closed for 3 weeks! My run ended in a snow flurry which was great fun and it wasn't sticking and just made it seem a bit otherworldly. Wednesday set up started for the new test at the wind tunnel so Robin is working 12 hour days for the rest of the week along with the rest of the crew. I did a swim at my "old" pool followed by an awful run. Nearly at the end of my run I was crossing the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks - there were several other people using the bridge and 3 young men/boys decided to lob a full can of beer off the side which landed on the steps below barely missing a man carrying his bike up the steps. I believe that is what the British refer to as "yobbish" behavior and indeed it was. On this note I must add that it seems to me the British not only seem impervious to weather (when I am huddled inside because it is too cold, rainy, or snowy they don't seem to notice a difference) but are also impervious to trash (or rubbish as they would say). All the parks are absolutely strewn with litter (of course, it is always of the McDonald wrapper or cheap beer or soda variety). The streets and walkways and especially the byways of roads and the railway are dumping grounds. I do see municipal workers cleaning up along the streets often but it seems the everyday joe or jill sees no reason not to dump their trash wherever they wish. This is especially irritating here in our apartment building. There are only 9 apartments in this building with the mail boxes located just at the front entrance. We get several pieces of advertising each week for local food joints and it seems some residents see no reason to take those all the way to the recycling bin (30 feet away) but just chuck them on the floor right there. I don't get it - I mean they have to walk over that same spot too but it doesn't seem to bother them. I pick it up whenever I see it - that just makes me crazy. Thursday I had a better run and finally called the McCurdy's. Hank McCurdy is the son of a friend of my parent's who is here working on his PhD at Cambridge. We've scheduled to get together with them at the end of the month. It should be interesting to hear about their experiences here in England and also hear about his PhD work. His wife, Chris, is an avid cyclist so it'll also be fun to trade cycling stories with her. Friday Robin was working during the day so no walk/pub lunch for us. He's back on 2nd shift this week which is more fun for me because then he can play in the morning hours. Saturday we took another trip with the bikes to the Isle of Wight to see the southeast part of the island. It was a sunny day and a bit warmer than it had been. We stopped at the only windmill still standing on the island. It was built in the 1700's and was used for grinding grain until the early 1900's. It has been restored and most of the machinery is wood. We didn't get to go inside but it was very cool. I've attached a couple of pictures. You can barely make out the wooden turning mechanism at the top - the entire roof turns along with the attached sails to face the wind. At the end of the day we went to the site of a roman villa from the first century AD that had been originally excavated in 1880. The mosaic floors were amazing but it was all housed in a temperature and moisture controlled building (good for the artifacts but way too cold for a couple of cyclists at the end of the day). We shivered our way back to the ferry and found Ye Old George Inn in the village of East Meon for dinner on the way back. It was quite warm and a bit rowdy as a wedding party was using the pub for the reception but other non-wedding members were there too having dinner or a pint. Of course, the resident dog was on patrol and making his/her rounds of the patrons (and any little nibbles they might drop). Sunday we were back to lend a hand at the Rowhill Nature Reserve. Today's task was moving some wood down a path and up some stairs to where it could be picked up by a small truck. It was a tough morning's work and I was ready for lunch and a nap when we got back home. I had a hard time convincing myself to get up and go for my run but was glad I did as it was a nice afternoon and I found a nice unpaved and quiet road that I hadn't run before. Today is a much appreciated real rest day for me while Robin returns to 2nd shift. If you don't hear from me again this week breathe a sigh of relief but then expect another long email after the 19th to give the report on the Norway trip. A few parting observations/factoids: Each day 150 million cups of tea are drunk in Britain. A freehouse differs from a pub in that a pub is connected to a specific brewery and most serve whatever that brewery dictates as far as beer is concerned. A free house may serve whatever they like. Not sure of the origins of that but I'm thinking that is the only way the breweries had of distributing their products so they "sponsored" public houses. Remember my little facts about driving left vs right? The same website talked about walking left vs right. In the states we tend, for the most part, to stay right while approaching someone from the opposite direction. The web writer says his study of the British reveals they don't have a default side for walking but rather read each other's body language as approaching to decide which way to go to avoid collision. He also said that after spending a month bashing into people here he finally figured it out and also employed the method of walking very fast and staring straight ahead which usually resulted in people getting the heck out of his way! Cheerio for now!