The guest contributor is leaving later this morning (it's 1am at the moment) so normal blogging has been resumed.
It has been a wonderful few days with Jeremy - he has been wining and dining and driving me round Shawnee, and through the rolling Oklahoma prairies, I've been so happy to spend time with him. We're both keen movie fans too, I can't remember if he mentioned that we saw two very good films, 'Walk in the Woods' about Bill Bryson attempting to trek the Appalachian Trail, and 'Pawn Sacrifice', about Bobby Fisher, the championship chess player.
Today we paid another visit to Barnes & Noble in Norman, we both love book shops and B&N, with its Starbucks in the middle, is a very big, and particularly good store. Jeremy bought me a grown up colouring book there and I will make a start on that when he has gone. Before setting off for Barnes and Noble though we stopped by the hospital and spent time chatting with Chaplain Bill in the cafeteria, which was very pleasant.
So, it's back to bed...
Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
The world is full of fascinating people...
Well, you will be pleased / unconcerned / bitterly disappointed to hear that I have been asked to write again for Mum's blog. Thank you to all the people (both of them) who were kind enough to say that they have been enjoying my stint as guest writer of the blog. I would also like to thank my mother for the opportunity... (crikey, this is turning into an Oscar acceptance speech).
"For Pete's sake Jeremy, tell us what's been happening, show us pictures, and don't use long words!" I hear you roar. Alright then. By public acclamation, I will.
This morning we went to the Emanuel church service, which today was held at St Crispins, a retreat centre owned by the Episcopal Church about 30 miles outside Shawnee, in the rolling Oklahoma countryside. The service took place at 10:30 followed by a picnic lunch and a chance to connect with other members of the community - and what a fascinating, talented and interesting group! I won't go into details about everyone in the church, but today I met a dulcimer player, a former aid worker, environmentalist, professional photographer, teacher, two avid cyclists, the owner of a gun shop, an ex-employee of the space programme, and Father Christmas.
Here I am with the incredibly talented musicians, Cindy and Daryll (Daryll is also a professional Father Christmas, I wonder why), and their Dulcimer:
In case you don't know what a Dulcimer is (and I didn't), it can best be described as a stringed instrument similar to a slide guitar, harp and xylophone. It can be plucked, hit and strummed, preferably not all at the same time. It looked difficult to master but in the hands of Cindy and Daryll it sounded beautiful and distinctive.
Here is another picture of mum and I taken at St Crispins:
I regard myself as spiritual more than religious, and what today reminded me was, first, that most people are interesting and everyone is unique, something we often forget when we aggregate information and generalise in our information-rich world. And second, take time to find out about people - you never know when you'll meet a Dulcimer-playing Father Christmas.
We had a long, lazy, relaxing drive home (actually we managed to get lost, the sat-nav packed up, and we needed to stop for a banana split to recover), but it was a fabulous day and great to be spending time with mum. Tomorrow is my last day before heading to Denver. Not too sure what's on the agenda - perhaps relaxing locally in Shawnee - but it's been a brilliant time.
Take care, Jeremy
"For Pete's sake Jeremy, tell us what's been happening, show us pictures, and don't use long words!" I hear you roar. Alright then. By public acclamation, I will.
This morning we went to the Emanuel church service, which today was held at St Crispins, a retreat centre owned by the Episcopal Church about 30 miles outside Shawnee, in the rolling Oklahoma countryside. The service took place at 10:30 followed by a picnic lunch and a chance to connect with other members of the community - and what a fascinating, talented and interesting group! I won't go into details about everyone in the church, but today I met a dulcimer player, a former aid worker, environmentalist, professional photographer, teacher, two avid cyclists, the owner of a gun shop, an ex-employee of the space programme, and Father Christmas.
Here I am with the incredibly talented musicians, Cindy and Daryll (Daryll is also a professional Father Christmas, I wonder why), and their Dulcimer:
In case you don't know what a Dulcimer is (and I didn't), it can best be described as a stringed instrument similar to a slide guitar, harp and xylophone. It can be plucked, hit and strummed, preferably not all at the same time. It looked difficult to master but in the hands of Cindy and Daryll it sounded beautiful and distinctive.
Here is another picture of mum and I taken at St Crispins:
I regard myself as spiritual more than religious, and what today reminded me was, first, that most people are interesting and everyone is unique, something we often forget when we aggregate information and generalise in our information-rich world. And second, take time to find out about people - you never know when you'll meet a Dulcimer-playing Father Christmas.
We had a long, lazy, relaxing drive home (actually we managed to get lost, the sat-nav packed up, and we needed to stop for a banana split to recover), but it was a fabulous day and great to be spending time with mum. Tomorrow is my last day before heading to Denver. Not too sure what's on the agenda - perhaps relaxing locally in Shawnee - but it's been a brilliant time.
Take care, Jeremy
Saturday, September 26, 2015
700 (yes, 700!) green bottles, sitting on a wall...
I'm back folks! For possibly my last night of guest blogging while mum is munching chocolates, reclining in her chair and stroking Bubbles, the cat. She now has more than a passing resemblance to a villain from a Bond movie (mum that is, not the cat). "Do you expect me to talk?" I asked, nervously. "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to blog!" Well, alright, I made that bit up...
Tonight I thought I would share a little of what we have been up to over the last few days. It's been brilliant.
So, who wants to see a picture of 700 different varieties of soda pop in a restaurant on route 66? I thought so. We went there at the suggestion of Chaplain Bill, who mum works with at the Shawnee hospital. (It's a brilliant hospital, by the way. Smart, friendly, welcoming; I felt better just walking in, which I suppose is the point of it all.) Anyway, back to those bottles of pop. The place is called 'Pops' and it's located in Arcadia, just outside Oklahoma City.
I was impressed with the sculpture outside Pops:
The visit to Pops was on Friday, and afterwards we drove into Oklahoma City (OKC) and had a look around the Bricktown and Stockyard neighbourhoods, which were both very interesting and historic. While in the Stockyard we nipped into a restaurant called the Cattleman's Café for a mid-afternoon piece of apple pie, and as mum and I examined the menu we came across an item called 'Lamb Fries'. I pointed this out to mum, who has always remarked, forlornly, about the lack of lamb in Oklahoma. Sounds great, I said. Mum still looked forlorn. "It's a lamb steak with fries, what could be better than that?" Still a forlorn look. "No it isn't", she said. "OK", I said, getting all cocky and frustrated at my mother's inability to understand a simple item on a menu, "What do you think it is?" Her tentative, uncertain reply was not what I expected at all: "It might be lambs' testicles" she said. "Don't be ridiculous!" I said. "No self-respecting Oklahoman would want that! That sounds offal!" (Sorry, bad pun.) At this point the waitress arrived. Needless to say mum was right, and I was on the receiving end of a lecture from our waitress about how Oklahomans wasted nothing, and how I should always listen to my mama. You think you know someone, and then it turns out that they're an expert on lambs' testicles.
After our trip to OKC we were caught in a little late Friday afternoon traffic heading out of town - in truth it was nothing more than a quiet day on the M25 back home, but unusual for Oklahoma. On the way back we stopped off at a beautiful place called Twin Lakes, not far from Shawnee, and watched the setting sun.
While staying with mum I've been reintroduced to Fox News, and as far as I can see they have now become, quite unexpectedly, the PR office for the Holy See. On Thursday they covered the entire speech given by the Pope to a joint session of Congress. Interesting, I thought. I've not heard Pope Francis deliver a speech before. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, was in tears. Then on Friday they covered the whole of the Pope's address to the UN General Assembly, while also covering the resignation of the Speaker of the House. And he cried, again. Well, to quote the late, great Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again. Then in the evening they covered the whole of the Pope's Mass at Madison Square Garden. I knew when I came to Oklahoma to expect religion; I just didn't expect it to be Catholicism delivered courtesy of Fox News.
Woke up this morning (Saturday) and discovered that overnight I had aged one year, and it was now my 51st birthday. As well as lovely messages from family and friends I had some fabulous presents from mum, and we decided to head out for brunch at the Cracker Barrel. Now, I know what you're thinking: more food, Jeremy? Yep, take a look:
What you have there is bacon, eggs, a side of fried apples, wholewheat toast, two blueberry pancakes, syrup, French toast with cranberries and pecans, tea and coffee. Honestly, after all that I could barely eat my elevenses. By the way, and I address this remark to my family members reading this blog, why did it take until my 51st birthday to discover the joy of fried apples as a side dish? Did none of you think to mention this incredible food sooner? I had to travel halfway round the world to discover it!!
After breakfast we drove to Norman, around 45 miles away, and visited Barnes and Noble where we browsed the shelves, mum got her C Nook fixed, and I bought a couple of books. Then we went to see the movie 'Pawn Sacrifice' about the chess champion Bobby Fischer, starring Tobey Maguire. Mum and I thought it was great. We then finished the day with dinner at the Red Lobster, a favourite of mine.
And not a lamb's testicle in sight.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are heading to a church picnic at St Crispins, as well as a little more local sightseeing. Having a fabulous time in the beautiful state of Oklahoma, and really enjoying the welcome too.
Take care, Jeremy
Tonight I thought I would share a little of what we have been up to over the last few days. It's been brilliant.
So, who wants to see a picture of 700 different varieties of soda pop in a restaurant on route 66? I thought so. We went there at the suggestion of Chaplain Bill, who mum works with at the Shawnee hospital. (It's a brilliant hospital, by the way. Smart, friendly, welcoming; I felt better just walking in, which I suppose is the point of it all.) Anyway, back to those bottles of pop. The place is called 'Pops' and it's located in Arcadia, just outside Oklahoma City.
I was impressed with the sculpture outside Pops:
The visit to Pops was on Friday, and afterwards we drove into Oklahoma City (OKC) and had a look around the Bricktown and Stockyard neighbourhoods, which were both very interesting and historic. While in the Stockyard we nipped into a restaurant called the Cattleman's Café for a mid-afternoon piece of apple pie, and as mum and I examined the menu we came across an item called 'Lamb Fries'. I pointed this out to mum, who has always remarked, forlornly, about the lack of lamb in Oklahoma. Sounds great, I said. Mum still looked forlorn. "It's a lamb steak with fries, what could be better than that?" Still a forlorn look. "No it isn't", she said. "OK", I said, getting all cocky and frustrated at my mother's inability to understand a simple item on a menu, "What do you think it is?" Her tentative, uncertain reply was not what I expected at all: "It might be lambs' testicles" she said. "Don't be ridiculous!" I said. "No self-respecting Oklahoman would want that! That sounds offal!" (Sorry, bad pun.) At this point the waitress arrived. Needless to say mum was right, and I was on the receiving end of a lecture from our waitress about how Oklahomans wasted nothing, and how I should always listen to my mama. You think you know someone, and then it turns out that they're an expert on lambs' testicles.
After our trip to OKC we were caught in a little late Friday afternoon traffic heading out of town - in truth it was nothing more than a quiet day on the M25 back home, but unusual for Oklahoma. On the way back we stopped off at a beautiful place called Twin Lakes, not far from Shawnee, and watched the setting sun.
While staying with mum I've been reintroduced to Fox News, and as far as I can see they have now become, quite unexpectedly, the PR office for the Holy See. On Thursday they covered the entire speech given by the Pope to a joint session of Congress. Interesting, I thought. I've not heard Pope Francis deliver a speech before. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, was in tears. Then on Friday they covered the whole of the Pope's address to the UN General Assembly, while also covering the resignation of the Speaker of the House. And he cried, again. Well, to quote the late, great Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again. Then in the evening they covered the whole of the Pope's Mass at Madison Square Garden. I knew when I came to Oklahoma to expect religion; I just didn't expect it to be Catholicism delivered courtesy of Fox News.
Woke up this morning (Saturday) and discovered that overnight I had aged one year, and it was now my 51st birthday. As well as lovely messages from family and friends I had some fabulous presents from mum, and we decided to head out for brunch at the Cracker Barrel. Now, I know what you're thinking: more food, Jeremy? Yep, take a look:
What you have there is bacon, eggs, a side of fried apples, wholewheat toast, two blueberry pancakes, syrup, French toast with cranberries and pecans, tea and coffee. Honestly, after all that I could barely eat my elevenses. By the way, and I address this remark to my family members reading this blog, why did it take until my 51st birthday to discover the joy of fried apples as a side dish? Did none of you think to mention this incredible food sooner? I had to travel halfway round the world to discover it!!
After breakfast we drove to Norman, around 45 miles away, and visited Barnes and Noble where we browsed the shelves, mum got her C Nook fixed, and I bought a couple of books. Then we went to see the movie 'Pawn Sacrifice' about the chess champion Bobby Fischer, starring Tobey Maguire. Mum and I thought it was great. We then finished the day with dinner at the Red Lobster, a favourite of mine.
And not a lamb's testicle in sight.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are heading to a church picnic at St Crispins, as well as a little more local sightseeing. Having a fabulous time in the beautiful state of Oklahoma, and really enjoying the welcome too.
Take care, Jeremy
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday
The guest contributor and myself have had a happy, but tiring day, which we ended watching the sun go down over the Twin Lakes.
He will be back tomorrow, re-energised.
He will be back tomorrow, re-energised.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Surprise!
I have a guest contributor for the next few days, son Jeremy who is visiting me en route to Denver, Colorado.
Hi Folks! I'm sure you probably logged on looking for Val /Valerie/ Mum, but normal service will be resumed soon. Mum regularly checks the stats on the blog and if her readership falls then that's probably the end of my writing career. So, please, read to the end. Read it again. Then tell your friends.
(By the way, sorry to digress, but can you tell me the most northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly states in the Union? The answers are quite surprising - read to the end and you will find out. Neat trick, eh? Something I learnt from my mama...)
Brilliant to see Mum looking so good, sprawncey in fact. And I think I know why: a diet of clean wholesome living, good friends, and Fox News (they're not evil, just not very good). My theory is that the elevated heart rate that results from seeing Bill O'Reilly, Shepard Smith and Megyn Kelly in full flow is actually quite a good way to get a cardiovascular workout. A friend once remarked to me that the entire spectrum of European politics would fit inside the US Democratic party, which is why it's so hard for Europeans to understand the Republicans. I'm inclined to agree.
Recently I have been reflecting on the possibility that I may, perhaps in May 2020, be living in a world ruled by Donald Trump (ultra right wing Republican as US President), and Jeremy Corbyn (ultra left wing Socialist as UK Prime Minister). In this scenario it would surely be only a matter of time before the Donald fell out with Britain, if he hasn't already. America might even invade the UK, and because Jeremy Corbyn can't conceive of a situation in which he would deploy the British army good old Blighty becomes the 51st state of the Union.
And that would not necessarily be a bad thing.
On the downside, we lose 1000 years of history, the Royal Family, and Fox News becomes prime time viewing, but there would be some pretty significant pluses. Today, after only 24 hours in the most exciting country on Earth, I discovered a few reasons why it would be great to be American.
First and foremost is the place where mum and I had lunch: Americans know it as IHOP, and to me it is the International House of Pancakes. It was incredible. As Jeremy Clarkson would say, it was the second nicest thing I've ever put in my mouth. Needless to say there was an incredible amount of pancakes, some of which now reside in a handy box in mum's fridge (another thing that we Brits could learn from Americans). It did remind me, though, a little of the Holy Roman Empire (bear with me on this) which, as any good historian knows, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. So it is with IHOP. It's not International, it's not a House, and it's not made of Pancakes.
Second, and to be serious for a moment, is the fact that the wealthiest country on earth is actually an immigrant country. Millions of people, some of whom were, like my father, refugees, while most were economic migrants, came to the USA. The fact that they made the arduous, hazardous journey at all suggests that the majority were self-starters, not feckless scroungers as migrants are often portrayed. And within a few short centuries they built an incredibly successful, advanced nation, so they weren't really trouble makers either. Granted the US has its problems, including with its current approach to the issue of immigration, but there is surely a lesson for Europe when we see the self-confidence, energy and vitality which built the USA. In Europe we have many fewer people of working age to support our economic growth, as the bulge of baby boomers in our population grows older and retires. It is obvious to me that hard-working immigrants provide at least some of the answer to this challenge (I think perhaps Angela Merkel agrees with me on this point). I particularly like the stirring words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the statue of liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
That sounds like a friendly, confident, welcoming place to be. So, great welcomes and stirring poetry can be added to the list of reasons we should value Americans.
Of course, for every Emma Lazarus there's a Donald Trump, but on balance I think things work out just fine.
Time to sign off - hope you've managed to read this far!
Here is the answer to that tricky question posed earlier. The most southerly state in the union is Hawaii, and the most northerly is Alaska, the most westerly is Alaska. And the most easterly is... Alaska. Apparently they have one small island on the other side of the international date line. Tricky.
Thanks for reading, see y'all soon.
Jeremy
Hi Folks! I'm sure you probably logged on looking for Val /Valerie/ Mum, but normal service will be resumed soon. Mum regularly checks the stats on the blog and if her readership falls then that's probably the end of my writing career. So, please, read to the end. Read it again. Then tell your friends.
(By the way, sorry to digress, but can you tell me the most northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly states in the Union? The answers are quite surprising - read to the end and you will find out. Neat trick, eh? Something I learnt from my mama...)
Brilliant to see Mum looking so good, sprawncey in fact. And I think I know why: a diet of clean wholesome living, good friends, and Fox News (they're not evil, just not very good). My theory is that the elevated heart rate that results from seeing Bill O'Reilly, Shepard Smith and Megyn Kelly in full flow is actually quite a good way to get a cardiovascular workout. A friend once remarked to me that the entire spectrum of European politics would fit inside the US Democratic party, which is why it's so hard for Europeans to understand the Republicans. I'm inclined to agree.
Recently I have been reflecting on the possibility that I may, perhaps in May 2020, be living in a world ruled by Donald Trump (ultra right wing Republican as US President), and Jeremy Corbyn (ultra left wing Socialist as UK Prime Minister). In this scenario it would surely be only a matter of time before the Donald fell out with Britain, if he hasn't already. America might even invade the UK, and because Jeremy Corbyn can't conceive of a situation in which he would deploy the British army good old Blighty becomes the 51st state of the Union.
And that would not necessarily be a bad thing.
On the downside, we lose 1000 years of history, the Royal Family, and Fox News becomes prime time viewing, but there would be some pretty significant pluses. Today, after only 24 hours in the most exciting country on Earth, I discovered a few reasons why it would be great to be American.
First and foremost is the place where mum and I had lunch: Americans know it as IHOP, and to me it is the International House of Pancakes. It was incredible. As Jeremy Clarkson would say, it was the second nicest thing I've ever put in my mouth. Needless to say there was an incredible amount of pancakes, some of which now reside in a handy box in mum's fridge (another thing that we Brits could learn from Americans). It did remind me, though, a little of the Holy Roman Empire (bear with me on this) which, as any good historian knows, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. So it is with IHOP. It's not International, it's not a House, and it's not made of Pancakes.
Second, and to be serious for a moment, is the fact that the wealthiest country on earth is actually an immigrant country. Millions of people, some of whom were, like my father, refugees, while most were economic migrants, came to the USA. The fact that they made the arduous, hazardous journey at all suggests that the majority were self-starters, not feckless scroungers as migrants are often portrayed. And within a few short centuries they built an incredibly successful, advanced nation, so they weren't really trouble makers either. Granted the US has its problems, including with its current approach to the issue of immigration, but there is surely a lesson for Europe when we see the self-confidence, energy and vitality which built the USA. In Europe we have many fewer people of working age to support our economic growth, as the bulge of baby boomers in our population grows older and retires. It is obvious to me that hard-working immigrants provide at least some of the answer to this challenge (I think perhaps Angela Merkel agrees with me on this point). I particularly like the stirring words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the statue of liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
That sounds like a friendly, confident, welcoming place to be. So, great welcomes and stirring poetry can be added to the list of reasons we should value Americans.
Of course, for every Emma Lazarus there's a Donald Trump, but on balance I think things work out just fine.
Time to sign off - hope you've managed to read this far!
Here is the answer to that tricky question posed earlier. The most southerly state in the union is Hawaii, and the most northerly is Alaska, the most westerly is Alaska. And the most easterly is... Alaska. Apparently they have one small island on the other side of the international date line. Tricky.
Thanks for reading, see y'all soon.
Jeremy
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Last Day of Summer.....
Tomorrow - Wednesday - is the autumnal equinox. And the temperature driving through town was 91, so it is nothing like my understanding of autumn, with lovely cool damp weather, and trees changing colour.
Went to the hospital this morning, - sadly, for me anyway as I miss my lunchtime companion and his conversation - Bill is going to be away on Tuesdays for the next few months as he is doing something academic. So I am going to get there about 9, have breakfast, and make an early start.
The rest of the day I actually spent doing some housework, a fairly rare occurrence I have to admit, before getting back to my knitting and television. It is hardly surprising I have got square eyes.
In the Presidential campaign there are 15 or 16 candidates, it's hard to keep up now they have started dropping out, and I am not sure how this debate came about but it has been raging - raging, I tell you - because the question was asked if a Muslim President would be acceptable. Ye gods!!!!!!!!! was my reaction. Radical Islam has vowed - and is bound and determined - to establish a world wide Caliphate, and Americans are actually considering whether this is ok with them. Thank goodness I say, for our 1000 year old monarchy, where the worst that could happen would be the heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Sunday
There is a definite change in the weather. Woke up this morning to rain and a thunderstorm of Biblical proportions crashing around me. I sometimes wonder how much more of it the poor roof is going to take. I have mentioned its parlous state to Mark but he is obviously not going to do anything about it, not while I am here anyway.
Last night Bruce and Rosalyn invited me to the local theatre to see 'South Pacific'. The songs and music were all so familiar, I had grown up with them, but I don't think I realised they were all from South Pacific.
It is a wonderful little theatre. It is in the round, and being such a small town everyone knows everybody else anyway, so when the performance is over there is a lot of milling about as the audience pours on to the stage to chat to the cast. Even though I don't know anyone I like to sit and watch them all, it has a very 'party' atmosphere.
Apart from this I have really done little else. I've been a bit preoccupied - more than is good for me, my critics would say - watching the Presidential debates on the evil Fox News. Or evil CNN.
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