The Lakes and The Slough

Hey Peeps.

Still getting caught up on postings. My parents are coming for a visit in two days and they'll be upset with me if I spent all my time making blogs (although they would be excited when they got home that there was lots to read).

It was Heather's b-day a few weeks ago and she really wanted to go to the Lake District. We had only briefly gone through a small patch of it on our way to Edinburgh, but it was enough to "peak"our interest in returning. It also afforded us the opportunity to test out driving on the wrong side of the road and I admit, I was a little nervous about it.

It started out a little rough at the rental agency when I had to run home and get our electrical bill to prove where we were living. I asked if we would have had a problem if we lived in Canada and they said no--but I needed to have paper evidence that I lived down the street? Lame. Anyway, we ended up with one of the smallest vehicles ever manufactured. Danny DeVito would have been big for this car. The engine was sufficient though and we set off. It was quite strange at first and that wasn't aided by the fact we might have had to drive down a few one-way streets to get out of town on the easiest route, but we managed.

The highways here are nice. They have wide lanes and no apparent speed limit. It really keeps you on your toes. Every 30 miles or so there are 'service' areas--gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores in very strange buildings that cross over the highway. I wish I got a picture of the one we stopped at. It looked like a air traffic control tower at a really small airport.

We decided to go to a small village called Keswick, which I thought was pronounced Kess-Wick, but is actually called Kes-ick. Poor W. Always ignored.

First we stopped in Ambelside. It was not very nice.

We went to the bakery, got some take away, and had a bun and sugary treat by the river.

We took a short detour through Grassmere on the way to Keswick, but didn't stop. It looked lovely too, if not a bit sleepy. Maybe we just couldn't see into the lively restaurants with all the ivy and vines covering the windows. We did see someone who was about 43 though, so it could be classified as the most youthful town in the lakes.

The drive through the lakes was very twisty and undulating. Kind of like a giant roller coaster surrounded by green glens, peaks, and sheep. We arrived in Keswick and found our b and b easily. It was a nice place for a pretty good price. Here is the view from our window.

We went for a walk down to the lake right away. I'm not sure why, but the name of the lake is not 'Lake ______", rather is is called Derwent Water. I saw some people fishing in it, but didn't think it was a good idea that Heather went fishing all day on her birthday.

Along the way to the lake.

We hopped out of our path and found the lake to be surrounded by a large paddock full of sheep and lambs! I tried to catch one, but it just ran away from me.

It was warm, but I can see how it becomes an even better place in the summer when it really heats up. The size of the fells (hills) were surprising too--much larger than the Peak District.

After the lake we just walked around town a bit. It was kind of what I always imagined the English countryside to be.

We went out for a nice Thai dinner and headed back to the town center. We heard one crack of lightning, looked up and saw some dark clouds, and headed for shelter. This is what it looked like about 30 seconds later.

We retired quickly to a pub for a pint after that. It actually blew away just as fast at it came. We headed back  to Manchester the next morning after a proper fry-up. A great way to end a nice birthday!

The next weekend I was invited by my new softball team, the Manchester Thunder, to a weekend tournament in Slough, just outside of London. It is apparently the city where the original UK Office was set and filmed in (I've just rented it now) and possibly the hometown of Ricky Gervais, although the guy who told me that was right pissed when I was talking to him on the train at 6:30 in the morning. It's also pronounced Sss--la-ow, now Sl-ew. I had some troubles with that one.

Anyway, I've been playing for this team and really enjoying it, but have been too cheap to spring for a jersey because I'll only be playing this summer with them. I have extra time on my hands, so I thought I would just make my own jersey. I've done a bang up job, if I say so myself. I wish I had a picture to show of the 'real' jersey, but you'll just have to imagine how close it is. Also, this pic is only stage one. I managed to fill the thunderbolt with rhinestones and make a hat to go along with it.

We had a good time at the tournament, but ended up with third place (out of 21). The last game we lost was a hot contest. I shouldn't have screwed up so much. Oh well, I had a really messed up finger (I didn't break it, but thought I did!) and I pulled a muscle in my chest that still hasn't healed.

Here is some of the team:

Good Times.

Blast-er from the Past-er

I've missed this one the past two blogs. Thanks to everyone who sent me uncompromising photos of myself to include in this section, however, I have deleted them all. Permanently.

This one is just from last month, but I forgot to include it in my last blog. I really want to hire them for some sort of Barcelona mystery.

Lake District Cats!

This is Lady Beatrice. She is like most Lake District cats, just so content in life.

OK---I'm out. Parents arrive on Wednesday night (if that freakin' volcano doesn't mess things up) and off to Paris for the weekend to visit with Jeff and Helene, then off to Mallorca for a week with the fam!! I'll be really mad at Iceland if that ash come near us.