Thomas goes to a Birthday Party

Today, I went to a birthday party.  A couple of weeks ago, I got an invitation from Jack, a classmate of mine.  The invitation said the party would be from noon to 1 pm at the Colchester Academy Sports Hall.  It said it would be a football party. 
So I took the bus to the Colchester Academy Sports Hall.  There I met the other people who were invited to the party.  There were about thirty or thirty five!  We were outside.  We played games - one was to kick as many balls as possible into your goal at one time. There were a lot of balls to play with.
After that, we split into four teams, two for the younger kids who were from about five to seven, and two teams for the older kids.  Most kids were from my school, and the other were Jack's siblings and cousins, I think.  Then the two sets of teams each played a match.  A man from the Sports Center ran the matches.  The kids had a good time playing, but the adults who had stayed to watch were cold.  When those matches were done, the group split into four equal teams, combining all ages, and played a tournament.
After that, we went back into the main lobby, sang Happy Birthday to Jack, and had birthday cake. The cake was fruit-flavored.  Each of us got a packed lunch to take home.  My lunch had a sandwich, crisps, a carton of squash, and a party favor. 
The biggest difference between this party and the ones I've gone to back home are the amount of people.  I got Jack some small gifts, but he didn't open any of his gifts at the party.
It was fun.  I am glad I was invited.

Going around in circles in Colchester

In Lexington, we have a traffic circle.  Actually, two now, I think.  The community has had a bit of a difficult time adjusting to this method of traffic control, and the signage around it has expanded in all directions, both signs on posts and painted on the pavement. 

Traffic circles are common in Britain; I had heard this, and experienced them in 2007, going around clockwise, merging first to the right, then to the left lane in time to turn off onto the correct road. 

Until I arrived in Colchester and ventured out to the Waitrose grocery, I hadn't seen one like this.

It is absolutely dizzying to watch the cars loop around in a double loop, faster than they should.  Crossing traffic as it is speeding off the circle is a bit nerve-wracking.  There is a blinking light, meaning that drivers are supposed to stop for pedestrians in that crosswalk, and it is amazing that they actually do.  It would make a good animation - cars zipping by and all coming to a very sudden but smooth stop for the lady with the wheeled shopping cart, and then resuming their speed instantly the nanosecond she is on the curb. The second crossing has a traffic light, which makes it easier to cross and not nearly so animation-worthy.

I'll do a lot to shop at a well-stocked grocery store.

Meeting the Queen's Dresser

On Wednesday, February 2nd, Thomas met the Queen's Dresser, who visited his school, St. James' Primary School.

Thomas says, "Her first name was Diana. She had short, grayish hair, and a kind face.  She spoke to all the students at my school.  She talked about dressing the Queen, and her job.  She said she liked it a lot and got a chance to travel to interesting places.  She said it was really fun, especially the Queen's eight dogs.  She showed us pictures of the Queen's clothes and brought in a hatbox and showed us pins like the ones used to pin the Queen's hat in place so it didn't blow away.  (The Queen always pins on her own hat.)  She got to live in the palace, and stayed on the floor right above the queen, so that if the queen needed her in the night, she could just zip down the stairs.  She retired in 2003.       Some of her favorite moments were at Christmas when all the dogs would get new toys and try to steal each other's.  The Queen used to yell at the dogs, and she thought that was very funny.  I thought she was really nice." 

Spring comes to Colchester

A tree in bloom in Colchester Town Centre

We have been here for a little over a month now, and magically in the last couple of days, there are flowers blooming.  What's up with that? 

In early January, when we arrived, the thinly shining sun, usually clouded over, would rise by around 8 am, reach as high as the building tops by a little after noon, and set by 4:45pm.  Now, the days are already a little longer, and in Castle Park and the green areas in the Town Centre, there are several different trees and shrubs in bloom, and snowdrops and crocuses peeking up in he grass.  It is still mostly cloudy.  The last several days have been very windy, and it seems as if the wind has persuaded these plants to wake up.

As welcome as these signs of springtime are, I feel as if it has happened without me.  I wasn't ready for it.  I have just barely figured out how to cook a British 'joint', or beef roast, and we just experimented with frozen Yorkshire Puddings, surely not as good as properly home-made ones would be, but probably not a bad introduction.  Tins of Oxtail Soup still wait in the cupboard.  I know that there will still be a month or two of cold days ahead, but this unexpected jolt of springtime has let me know that our six-month plus three week stay here really isn't as long a time as it first seemed.


Snowdrops in bloom in Castle Park

 Where have I been the last month?  It has taken awhile to figure out the workings of this 1860s house we are living in, to make peace with the radiators, how to rotate the laundry through the 'drying cupboard,' and how to lock the back door with the 'Standard British Lockset', which one can actually still purchase new from our local Homebase store, which also sells 'draught excluder,' better known as weather stripping.  It took a little time to find the Sainsbury's, the Tesco, and the Waitrose, and to discover which have the comparative advantage for different products.  (Only Waitrose seems to sell grapefruit.) 

It turns out that all that Haggis which was prominently displayed in all the groceries toward the end of January was for Burns Day, January 25th, a Scottish holiday honoring Scotland's bard, Robert Burns.  Some belated Googling revealed that the traditional Burns Day dinner involves the Piping In of the Haggis (bagpipes, of course), the Selkirk Grace, which is barely comprehensible but vaguely humorous, and consuming said Haggis accompanied by lots of Scotch whiskey, which undoubtedly is essential for getting the stuff down.  I read the label, and decided it wouldn't go over at the Bollinger household.  Way too many organ meats.  As for myself, I decided that my annual childhood bite of Easter kishka, as well as more recent tastings of Steak and Kidney Pie and Black Sausage had absolved me of the need to try it.  I saw signs for vegetarian Haggis, but there never was any on the shelf, and anyway, what is the point of vegetarian Haggis?  Isn't that just vegetables mixed with oatmeal?  Or worse yet, tofu?  Bagpipes and kilts with oatmeal and tofu--that is just silly.  You can't drink Scotch with tofu, can you?

Although we really wouldn't have actually celebrated Burns Day with Haggis, it would have been nice to know what we were deliberately missing, in an intentional way.  We might have read some of Burns poetry over Chicken Tikka Masala, and marvelled how far the human race has come.  I'm sure July will be here before we know it, so I am more motivated now to experience all the joys of Britain, especially our borough of Colchester and county of Essex, so we don't miss something important, maybe something even more important than the next big Haggis occassion.

Thomas' First Day of School

Today was Thomas' first day of school in Colchester.  He started at St. James Church of England Primary School, which goes up to Level 5, Thomas' level.  He is sporting his new uniform, which we bought yesterday at a little shop in town which only sells school uniforms.  It consists of a yellow embroidered polo shirt, a sweatshirt for when it is chilly, like now, and grey slacks, which look somewhat dressy but are surprisingly comfortable. (Also the label says they are Teflon coated, which is handy for ten-year-old, and even almost-eleven-year-old boys, but somehow at odds with the anti-chemical eco-consciousness I have seen here.  I bet they dry quickly, which will definitely be appreciated.)

"I like my new school.  It is small, and friendly and not stressful at all on my first day.  First we started with math, then assembly, where head teacher (principal) Mr. Graham talked about the Nativity.  Then we had a break outside, like recess.  There was language, where we studied phonics, very basic.  We had lunch, and then another break.  Outside, there are two foosball tables, and two basketball hoops, and a small climbing wall, and other equipment.  Next history, where we are studying changes in Britain since World War Two.  That was hard, since I haven't been in Britain since World War Two.  I managed to think of five things, including Medical Care.  We worked on computers for this.  Finally our Assistant Teacher came and read to us from a book the rest of the class started last Semester.  Then we went home."

"I like my home - it is homey.  I have my own room, with a mattress on the floor.  And I like my school.  I will go back tomorrow."