Life with Robin – England, 2018 (Part: 2)

May 7, 2018, 3:53 PM

Hello All

So, last Friday, Robin decided to get me out of the house and on a bus to York citing the weather was beautiful and we should go while the going was good. He was right, the weather was perfect. We caught the bus outside his house and went into town to catch the bus that goes to York. It was another double-decker and the front windows were open once again so naturally, I snagged them. The English countryside was breathtaking. Movies and pictures do NOT do it justice. I couldn\’t take pictures because the bus was constantly in motion, so sadly, none of my attempts came out worth looking at.

We stopped at many towns to pick up and let off people which meant we left the main highway and entered little towns all along the way. I was what they call in this country \’Gobsmacked\” It was another visual feast and I could have just ridden on the bus all day looking around at the little farms with brand new baby sheep, horses and green fields, some planted, some freshly tilled but all lawns manicured.

BTW, I thought there was a smaller version of a Clydesdale horse here, but they are actually called \’Shire\’ horses that just look like a Clydesdale. The same type of lower leg long hair around the hoof and they prance and run like a Clydesdale. So now I am certain that the little woman in the store buying Irish Liqueur WAS, in fact, a hobbit! lol

Besides the beautiful countryside, we had picked up these school kids, in their uniforms who were traveling to Pockington to the Private School there where they disembarked. Not too soon either as they were mostly Japenese girls and were speaking in their language the same mindless chatter mixed with giggling laughter teenager speak you hear all over the world. To say it was annoying is at best an understatement! Except for this one kid who was clearly Autistic with a touch of Tourette\’s. We have a kid in our Fry\’s grocery store who bags groceries and he quotes Disney movies without stopping to take a breath. He quotes them word for word including the intonation of the character. Basically, he acts out every single line but with only his voice while he is sacking your groceries. If you speak to him or interrupt his monologue it throws off his entire rhythm and makes him quite annoyed. So we had about 40 minutes straight of this Japenese boy with his headset on singing LOUDLY and about every 8th word would should an expletive or two. I will probably go to hell for this but I found myself laughing quite often. Until he went into this recitation of what was clearly a conversation with someone, in perfect English BTW, (obviously a perfect parrot as most Autistic people are) of an argument that he was reliving. A very bad argument. Now I know I have a lot of \’crazy\’ going on in my own head at times, as I\’m sure you can all relate too, but this poor young man and the things in his head……It almost put a damper on my entire day when the bus stopped and let them all out at the private school. He let out a few more expletives which made me smile and cheered me right up! hahaha sometimes I wonder about myself! Seriously thinking of shouting choice words at people and claiming late in life Tourettes. There are seriously stupid people in this world. I could probably get away with it! lol

So that was the bus ride. We rang the bell for the bus to stop in what was clearly old town York. Not knowing how far we would have to walk. There were signs at the corner pointing towards \’The Shambles\’ so we walked in the direction of the arrow and in half a block we were at the beginning of the small little ancient cobblestone street barely wide enough for the old carts and the watery sludge that ran down both sides.

We went to the Minster and I can tell you now the pictures I attached do NOT do it justice.

So I was able to see the Shambles, ate a hamburger in the Open Market there, and went to the MInster then had coffee at a coffee shop. Not Betty\’s which I will go to next time. They were packed today so we didn\’t bother. Saw lots of shops featuring Harry Potter because apparently, JK Rowlings patterned Diagon Alley after this place with all its leaning buildings and centuries-old structures. I know I mention it every email but this is the ACTUAL place she copied.

I was able to walk on a small bit of the wall, which was thrilling to feel the history as I stood there. We walked about 3 miles in all, one small step at a time, trying not to fall on the uneven cobblestones. I got dizzy looking up and spinning around just trying to take it all in. It was impossible to do it.

I wanted to absorb it like a sponge, sort of ingest it into myself just to turn back time, and see what I would see if it were 600 years ago. *sigh* Probably just as well. I would have most likely said or done something that got my head chopped off!

The Rose and Crown and the Pond are both in Beverly on the road to York. The rest is the city gate, then the Shambles and last the outside of the Minster. Will send the inside of the Minster in another email.

Enjoy

Bye for Now

Robin

: York Minster

: The Nave, York Minster

: Robin in York Minster

: Rose Window, York Minster

: Statue of Constantine The Great in York

: The Teddy Bear Shop, York

: Outside the Famous Betty's Tea Rooms, York

: Smile! Coffee Shop, York

: Cobbled Street in York

: The Shambles, York

: Harry Potter Store in The Shambles, York

: Riverbank, York

Wed, May 9, 2018, 11:46 PM

Hello All

So I want to talk about Tuesday\’s in Beverley, England. It\’s my understanding that Tuesday\’s are not so crowded but this particular Tuesday which was LAST Tuesday was a sunshine filled day for England so every single person who wasn\’t actually working a job was out in town!!! It was almost as crowded as Market Day.

All the Brit\’s who think that mid 70\’s are hot ( bless their British pea pickin hearts) were out in the town with a variety of clothing, some short sleeves, some no sleeves, some shorts, some really cute young girls ( meaning in their 20\’s) who mastered the art of walking on the uneven stone streets in 5 inch heels ( Bitches) and red lipstick, hoop earrings, their pony tails swinging behind them as they walked with their hands in pockets holding their clutches in their partially submerged hand, sacheting down the street in their Satin High Waters and tight mid drift tops, ( looking cute as hell) darting in and out of the shops trying to clean up on the sales of Spring/summer clothing! (they had to hurry because the clouds were gathering quickly and it could have been raining at any minute thus requiring a coat and wellies) For those of you who don\’t know, wellies are the term for Wellington\’s which are the rubber garden shoes sold in the US.

Clearly the girls in Beverley shop at the high streets and NOT at the Walmart on Bell and Tatum where I find most of my personal style choices! *sigh* I\’m in my leggings, tunic t-shirt, tennis shoes and hair in a clip, no lipstick just chapstick, makeup sweating off my face already, deodorant and powder disintegrated from the sweat and humidity, pulling my old lady trolly and stumbling once in a while on the uneven brick street. Damn did I feel sexy or what???

So anyway, had the fish and chips again which was delicious as always and then we meandered over to this small tiny shop which is also a mini market that sells fresh fruits and veggies. Its back behind the public toilets. So walking along the way, we passed Copelands Bakery and the Trolly I was pulling shoved me into the store, No REALLY! So we picked up scones, 2 maids of honor, a lemon tart and a berry tart and one XL Danish with Carmel and chocolate drizzled all over it! Yes, you heard me right! and NOW you know why I shop at Walmart. hahaha

Now this woman has been open every single time we walked past her shop but TODAY when we NEEDED her to be open she was closed. A sign was on the door saying Closed for her personal Holiday. WTF??? Didn\’t she realize I needed an ONION??? I would have felt much better if the note had said \”OH and Hiya to that woman here from Arizona working up a nice rosy thigh rash walking all the way over here in this low 70\’s temperature with the very high humidity….yeah YOU sweating like a hooker in church….I\’m sorry I missed your presence in my shop but I will be back in a few days and Madame can pick up her bulbous herbs at that time!

Was that too much to ask??? I think not!

So off to Tesco\’s we marched pulling our Trolly behind us. Or me actually, I was pulling the trolly. Robin was walking along with his light Camel tan colored leather jacket (not hot at all) and Stetson, looking cool as hell strolling along while this small plump woman with the round red face who was struggling to keep up with his long legs. Finally, we get into the store, finished our shopping and called for a Taxi who said it would be an hour at the very least so we decided to sit in the small cafeteria this store has. Robin had hot coffee and I had an ice-cold bottle of water…( Are you sensing a theme here?) lol

So here is what I said all that to work up this for: The subject is Prams or Strollers in England. The people here put these large thick plastic covers on their baby strollers to keep out the wind and cold. These plastic coverings come down over the top of baby fitting snuggly and secure tightly with snaps to the bottom of the stroller. Now while I am all about protecting the babies from the wind and cold it was MY understanding that it was usually FROWNED upon covering our children and creating a seal with heavy PLASTIC. AT least the last time I looked it was not recommended. Right? I mean there are actually labels WARNING people NOT to put these plastic bags over your head…but it\’s okay to put over baby???

So what do poor families do….\”Don\’t worry about it honey just use a garbage bag\” I mean I understand it\’s not airtight but still…..

So we are sitting with our groceries and Trolly waiting for the hour to pass till the Taxi gets there and two tables over is a woman, probably mid 50\’s drinking her coffee and also a full one on the other side of the table, clearly waiting for someone. So after a few minutes, this young Hispanic man, very dark, built like a brick house came striding in with a swagger and an attitude, kissed this woman loudly on the lips then sat down at the table. He was wearing the traditional lime green, seriously neon lime green skin-tight T-shirt and matching pants with grey striping around the bottom of the leg, the uniform of a road worker here. Black sports shoes, not hard-toe boots, and enough bling for the Las Vegas Strip including earrings, bracelet, and a huge Gold Ring.

Robin and I both looked at each other with the same thought and I\’m sure You guessed it. This woman was a Cougar and probably paid for all that Gold. This guy had a pencil-thin unshaven line around the jawline of his face and one over his lip. Frankly, he looked ridiculous but I suppose that\’s the European style for Young Suave looking gigolo\’s. What made me laugh at this was when the young counter worker brought his order to him I expected to hear him say \”Gracias\” but instead what he said in his heaviest British accent was \”Ah Brilliant Cheers Dah-ling\” just like Tom Jones in the 70\’s. I spit out my water……Maybe you had to be there but it was NOT what I was expecting…..it\’s hard to explain how odd it seemed but perhaps you can imagine my surprise. I mean I had to stifle back the snort and cover it up with a fake cough when the woman looked straight at me.

What a day Tuesday was!

Anyway, that\’s all for now. Hope this finds you all happy and healthy and doing well.

Love to you all

Hugs and Smoochies

Robin

: Robin and Robin, 2018

: Tarts and Maids of Honors

: Hot Chocolate and Apricot Pastries in "Our Little Square"

: Robin's Favorite, Fish 'N' Chips and Cream Soda

May 17, 2018, 10:05 AM

Hello All

Just a few pictures about Market Day! A couple pics of the fruits and veggies you can pick from. The picture I got of the sweet potatoes said American Sweet Potatoes but they are grown here. I bought one the size of a cantaloupe and will be baking it today. The grapes are the Black grapes I mentioned. They are so purple they are Black! Robin is holding up a cluster for me. No, I didn\’t buy the whole cluster but I did take a chunk off this one. They have a few small seeds right in the middle but I didn\’t care when they taste so sweet. I have them with gouda cheese and it\’s a delicious combination.

The other pics are various views of the town. The street lamp has been there since the 1800\’s and originally used as a Gas Lamp. One of Robin\’s Uncle\’s was on one of the crews that would go around town lighting those. The bars that go across are for setting the ladder on he tells me. I always thought they used a long pole and perhaps they did but I suppose they needed to be able to climb up for whatever reason and therefore would need a ladder. Other pics are random in the town, different angles of the booths set up. One has a jester\’s hat on the street sign. One looks like a traffic jam but it isn\’t. That\’s how the streets look. The lights go green, people scamper quickly out of the line of traffic and the cars and buses accelerate quickly. No such thing as a slow start or stop here. It\’s all Mach 5.

So that was Market Day.

Robin