Surprise.....! Yes, it is me...Sloane Cameron again...!
Well this is not much of a suprise...BUT...when my mom comes on to write something else she will see this so I am trying to make this BOLD!Now the only reason I am not playing games on the computer is because..well...I cant.All the fun games (Poptropica...Girls Go Games....Even Disney...!) have this weird Adobe Flash Player creepy thing...and of course...you guessed it....I don't have it. The Christmas holiday just started and I have nothing to do. What do yall want me to do...homework?We (we meaning dad..) tryed to get it but again....it would not work.
It truly is a sad life when this happens....I cant stand it...it is so emotional..it realy gets to you.........Well I guess this is good-bye...so.....GOOD-BYE!!!!
Living in Brighton is certainly different, so I thought for my first blog post I would do a little something different. If you are not familiar with the movie Airplane and the Naked Gun series, then don’t waste your time reading this, but in memory of the late, great Leslie Nielsen, here is what I have learned about Christmas in Britain so far.
The snow had melted, but more was on the way. As we headed out the car was sluggish, like a wet sponge, yet we were excited about going to our first Christingle Service at the church. What is that you might ask? It is a large building typically with an organ and pews where people go to worship, but that’s not important right now. As I informed our pastor that we didn’t know what a Christingle was, he said, “Surely you can’t be serious.” I replied, “I am serious and don’t call me Shirley. Just tell me what it is.”
“It is a church service where you stick a candle in an orange with some other stuff sticking out of it and light it.” A little odd, I thought, but intriguing. Christingle started in 1747 by a Bishop in Germany, but was not introduced to the Anglican Church until 1968. Literally Christingle means “Christ-Light.” The orange represents the world, the candle is Christ (the Light of the World), the red ribbon represents the blood Christ shed on the cross for us, the four sticks are the four seasons and the dried fruits represent the fruits of the earth and the earth’s riches with which God has blessed us.
Despite the sluggishness of our car, we still arrived a little early. I asked the kind, old man sitting next to me, “How much longer until it starts?” He replied, “I can’t tell.”
“You can tell me, I’m a lawyer.”
“No, I mean, I’m just not sure.”
“Well, can’t you take a guess?”
“Not for another 15 minutes.”
“You can’t take a guess for another 15 minutes?”
“No, I mean, it won’t start for another 15 minutes.”
The service started (after about 15 minutes) and we sang songs, the kids dressed up like nativity scene characters and the pastor gave a short message about the Towering Inferno and how in difficult times we should expect our hero (Christ) to come to save us. At the end, we lit the candles on our Christingles and sang Silent Night sort of like our traditional Christmas Eve service in America. We really enjoyed the service.
The next night we had been invited to our friends’ house for some mulled wine and mince meat pies—traditional British Christmas fare. Mulled wine is basically watered-down hot red wine with some cinnamon and spices. It is a very nice drink. So, we ate mince pies, drank mulled wine and chatted about various things, including the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Unfortunately, I expressed my opinion that no matter how silly the idea of having a queen and royalty might be to us, as Americans, we must be gracious and considerate. This was obviously an offensive statement to our British friends, but the truth hurts, doesn't it? Oh sure, maybe not as much as landing on a bicycle with the seat missing, but it hurts!
As our conversation turned to the student protests regarding the increase in the university tuition rates, we decided to turn on the TV to get an update. Sure enough the crazy students were rioting in London again. Basically their argument appears to be that even though the entire government is trying to make real spending cuts (unlike the U.S.), the students don’t want the tuition increase because there are still some rich people who could afford to pay more taxes to cover it. Crazy argument. As we watched the student mob heat up and as Prince Charles and Lady Camilla left the theatre in their Rolls Royce, they had a run in with the mob in which apparently Camilla may have been poked with a stick. As a BBC reporter interviewed the chief of police for City of London, the obviously angry chief stammered, “I promise you; whatever scum did this, not one man on this force will rest one minute until he's behind bars. Now, let's grab some tea.”
We left our friends’ house and since mulled wine and mince pies didn’t fill us up, we decided to stop and get some fish and chips. As we finished off the fish and chips in the corner of the chip shop and then climbed in the car, we soon realized why no one else was in Steve’s Fish & Chips and why the guy working there didn’t look like he would be named Steve—we all felt violently ill. A kind lady happened to be walking by at the time, so I asked if she knew how to get to the nearest hospital. Terrified, she said, “Oh no! A hospital! What is it?” I replied, “It’s a big building with patients and doctors, but that’s not important right now.” I still think it’s strange she asked that question. Now, you need to remember that we still don’t have a real comfort for driving on the wrong side of the road and in particular the wrong side of the car, but one thing was clear, the life of everyone in the car depended upon just one thing: finding someone who could not only drive our car, but someone who didn't have Steve’s fish & chips for dinner. Nonetheless, we decided to roll the windows down and give it our best shot to make it on our own. We needed some motivation, so I tried my best, “It’s fourth and fifteen and we’re looking at a full court press, but we can do it.” We eventually made it home and felt better in the morning.
We also attended a performance of A Christmas Carol at Sloane’s school. Always the aspiring actress, this was Sloane’s first real acting performance. She was Mrs. Fezziwig which is a character from the scene with the Ghost of Christmas Past. All of the parents were to attend the performance, so it was going to be a packed house. We had told our friends that this was her acting debut, so one of them asked Sloane, “Are you nervous?” Sloane replied calmly, “Yes.” “First time?” Sloane retorted, “No, I’ve been nervous lots of times before.” Since she was apparently uptight I had to give her a little word of encouragement, so I told her, “Sloane, just remember, when you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” That must have been the encouragement she was looking for because she nailed her performance. We are very proud of her.
While A Christmas Carol was the same Charles Dickens’ story we are used to, we also went to see a performance of Carol which is a rather loose and modern day version of the traditional story. Bob Hartman, the author of Carol, stayed with us for about 10 days while he and the Lacey Theatre group practiced the show. Lacey Theatre is a small Christian theatre group that is based out of our church, so we have had the privilege of getting to know and enjoy time with them. Bob is not typically an actor—he is an author, pastor and storyteller, but he did an outstanding job at the dress rehearsal that we were able to watch. We had several meals at our house with Bob, so we had the opportunity to discuss many things with him. On one occasion we asked him if acting was very different from his story telling that he does in schools. He replied, “It involves a totally different skill set altogether.” So, we all looked at each other, shrugged and all said in unison, “It involves a totally different skill set.” I’m still not sure why he asked us to do that. Anyway, the Lacey group has toured around England and has performed Carol over 25 times. When Bob came back through Brighton toward the end of the show tour, we were wondering if he had lost his edge yet after performing it that many times. He said, “No. Like a midget at a urinal, I have to always be on my toes.” When Bob left us for the last time, he looked a little sad, so I tried to break the sadness. “Cheer up, Bob. This isn’t goodbye; it’s just that we won’t ever see you again.” I’m not sure it worked, but as you can tell, we had a great experience with Bob.
On yet another night, we decided to participate in singing Christmas carols outside of a neighborhood pub near our house. The event was organized by St. Luke’s church just down the street from our house. Although the temperature was below freezing, the turnout was excellent. We sang Christmas songs—only a couple of which I was familiar. It is odd that the Christmas songs are so different from what we are used to in America—even the familiar songs were sung to a different tune. There is a great one with very catchy tune that we really need to introduce back home. The catchy Christmas song is about a little donkey and is called Little Donkey, Little Donkey. After the singing, since we were outside the pub, some of our neighbors asked if we wanted a night cap. Michelle answered, “No thanks, we don’t wear them.” So we went home to warm up.
I do find it ironic that in the public schools here the kids sing Christmas carols including Silent Night, yet in America there is no chance of that happening anymore. Nonetheless, while Christmas is celebrated and traditional songs sung by virtually everyone (even our atheist next door neighbor decorates and celebrates), Christ is nowhere in the picture. I assume that since the Church of England was so intertwined with culture and everyday life for so many years that it is still lingering. Nonetheless, most of the churches are empty. It is a bit paradoxical that evidence of Christ is everywhere yet He is in very few lives.
That is the end of my Christmas story, but if you weren’t paying attention, here is a recap:
Christingle – good
Mulled wine – good
Spending time with new friends – good
Rioting students – bad
Steve’s Fish & Chips – bad
Sloane’s acting – good
Bob Hartman – good
Lacey Theatre – good
Unfamiliar Christmas carols – generally bad
Little Donkey, Little Donkey – good
Empty churches – bad
Jesus Christ – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace . . . Savior
Just wanted to let everyone know that Lucy did indeed make it to Brighton. Despite the snow, ice and bad roads, Keith and our friend Marek were able to go to London to pick Lucy up from Heathrow Airport on Friday, December 3rd. Lucy flew into Heathrow on Thursday, but because of the weather, she had to spend the night at the Heathrow Animal Reception kennels. The workers there were great, and they took really good care of Lucy.
When Lucy finally made it to Brighton, we met her a few blocks away because our street was too icy to drive on. Keith and I carried her giant crate home, and the girls walked Lucy through the snow. Lucy couldn't figure out exactly where she was. The fun in the snow was short-lived because it melted the next day, but Lucy thought the mud was just as fun.
Lucy is really settling in to life in the UK. She seems a little bigger, but I think that is just because our house is smaller. We haven't quite decided what to do with her giant crate. It is really ugly and takes up half of our living room, but Lucy seems to like it and we might need it again someday (perish the thought of ever having to do that again!).
The only bad part about having Lucy here is the fact that we don't have a backyard. Our small garden is decked, and we don't have any grass. That means several times a day we have to walk Lucy down the street to our neighborhood park. Luckily, the park is only a few blocks away, but it can seem really far when it is freezing outside at 9:00pm. Last night it was actually snowing when I took her out for the last time. It is all worth it though, and I keep reminding myself that it is good exercise for both of us.
Lucy's favorite thing about Brighton is the parks. She absolutely loves going, and she gets so excited. We live near two parks: Dyke Road Park where we take her to "do her business" and Preston Park where I take her running. Preston Park seems to be her favorite because I am able to let her off-leash and she just runs like crazy. There are always lots of other dogs to sniff and chase. It is nice having my running partner back again, and it is motivation when it is cold and I feel lazy.
Thanks again for all your prayers when Lucy was journeying to the UK. Despite the weather drama, everything worked out in the end.
In a few hours Lucy is leaving the US to fly to the UK. I still feel like it will take a miracle to get our dog to Brighton, but God has given us miracles before. I feel certain it was easier getting our children into this country than it has been to get our dog over here...and she still is not here.
Lucy, has been living with my parents since we moved to England in August. The UK has a PETS program that replaces the 6-month quarantine in the UK if you qualify. Basically, you have to fill out a LOT of paperwork in a very specific order, and then pray that you did everything correctly. It has been a rough ride since the beginning of this process, but it will be all worthwhile when our pup gets here.
My mom had to take Lucy to the vet in College Station yesterday to get 2 more vaccinations (that must be given between 24-48 hours of her flight) and to get her vet health certificate. Everything went smoothly, and the vet thinks the paperwork looks good. The problem is now that the ball is rolling, she has to fly. That wouldn't actually be a problem except for the fact that the entire English Isle has been blanketed with snow. Yes, we even have snow here on the coast. Apparently, this is the worst snow storm this early in over 20 years. Of course, that is just our luck.
Snow On Our Street Before It Snowed All Day
Gatwick airport has been shut down all day today, but luckily, Lucy is flying into Heathrow (and everything looks clear there). According to Continental, the flight is still scheduled and on time, so the plan is to get Lucy in the air and in the country - then we will figure out how to get her tomorrow.
Jimmy Winters (LOVE him!!!!) is picking up my mom, Keith's mom, Lucy and her giant crate at the Cameron's, and then they are heading to the airport in Houston. Sweet Jimmy had to help the moms because Lucy's crate is so giant it couldn't fit in any of their cars (and there is no way our moms could have maneuvered the crate and the dog). We will owe Jimmy big time for this favor - he is a REALLY good friend.
Giant Crate!
We are all praying (feel free to pray too) that Lucy and her crate end up weighing less than 100 pounds. The cost of her trip is determined by weight, and of course she is right at the limit. Lucy usually weighs around 50 pounds, but at the vet yesterday she weighed in at 54 pounds (too many treats at the grandparent's house?). We are not sure how much the crate weighs, but we think it is about 44 pounds. Yikes! That is close. It is going to take a major miracle for the weight to be under 100 pounds, but we really need it to be. There is a $500 difference between 100 pounds and 101 pounds!
At this point, that doesn't even really matter, we just need her to get to London safely. Her flight is scheduled to land in London at 9:30 tomorrow morning, and we are supposed to pick her up around 1:00 after she has cleared customs. A friend of ours from church, Marek, is going to take us to Heathrow to pick Lucy up because he has a car big enough for the crate. We are going to owe him big time too - especially because driving to London can be a nightmare and it will be even worse tomorrow in this weather. In fact, we are praying (feel free to pray some more with us) that it will not snow too heavily tonight and the roads will be clear.
We will keep you posted on the dog drama, but seriously, feel free to pray. We could really use it!
Well, we have spent our first holiday away from home, and we made it. In fact we had a really nice Thanksgiving celebration. The girls were disappointed that they didn't get the week off of school like their friends back in Austin, and they did talk us into letting them stay home on Thursday. We had "family time" for Thanksgiving even though our family gathering was a little smaller than we are used to during the holidays.
Pagoda at Brighton Marina
We went to the Brighton Marina and had Chinese food on a floating boat, and it was actually really good (we have been looking for good Chinese food since we have been here). After lunch, we took the girls to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was pretty funny because the guy working at the concession stand asked us if we were on holiday. We all sort of looked at each other and said, "yes we are on holiday." We didn't tell him it was our Thanksgiving holiday.
Our big Thanksgiving meal was postponed until Friday evening since all the kids had school. We invited two of our favorite British families (the Steells and the Barrs) to share Thanksgiving with us, and it was their first Thanksgiving. I was a little nervous cooking for 12 people (6 adults and 6 kids) since I had never really cooked the Thanksgiving meal, but I had a lot of help and recipes from my mom.
Grown Up Table
We had to order a turkey from a butcher because the grocery stores here don't get fresh turkeys until Christmas. Keith had to get the turkey on Friday morning so we could cook it straight away - there was no room to put it in our tiny fridge before we cooked it. Our turkey actually turned out really well. It wasn't pretty, but it tasted great. The best part of the meal though was my mom's famous dressing. I even figured out how to find corn meal here to make the cornbread for the dressing.
I think our friends really liked the turkey and dressing, but the sweet potatoes really freaked them out. They just couldn't understand why anyone would put marshmallows on potatoes. It was really funny. They also were not big fans of our jello salad. They didn't buy the fact that it counted as a fruit instead of dessert. Fair enough, but it is Thanksgiving after all.
Kid's Table
To round out the festivities, we even had pumpkin pie and pecan pie. They looked like they were going to be a little tricky to make until I finally found some pumpkin puree at Waitrose and substituted golden syrup for light corn syrup.
It was a little sad not spending Thanksgiving with our families in Texas, but it was wonderful celebrating with our UK "family". This year we were especially thankful for God's faithfulness and provision. We had good food, a warm home, and we were surrounded by good friends. Who could ask for anything more? We are truly blessed!
I can't believe November is already halfway over, and it is almost Thanksgiving. Because there isn't the holiday pressure of getting ready for Thanksgiving here, you already get the early pressure of Christmas which actually makes you feel even more stressed out. People around here are already on to Christmas, and I still have to worry about Thanksgiving. It makes you feel even more behind on Christmas, but I can't really worry about that right now.
Here are some of the highlights of the past few weeks:
At the beginning of November, Paul Streeter was in town, and we were able to have lunch with him. For those of you who don't know, Paul was our across the street neighbor in Austin for many years. He and his wife Tanya are really good friends of ours, and we have many fond memories of fun times on Emerald Falls with the Streeters. Ironically, Paul is originally from Brighton, and he was in town visiting family. Keith and I met Paul for some fish and chips, and we were all able to catch up a little. Unfortunately, the girls were in school, so they missed seeing Mr. Paul. We hope next time Paul visits Brighton he will bring Tanya and Tilly too. We may end up seeing the Streeters more in England than we did in Austin.
On November 5th, we celebrated Bonfire Night with everyone in England. Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, is celebrated here with a few organized bonfires and a lot of fireworks. There is an amazing bonfire in Lewes, a town nearby, but it is mad and really crowded to try to get into this little village. We decided to try to enjoy the fireworks here in Brighton, so we just went down to the park near our house to try to watch a nearby fireworks display. We ended up having an amazing view of the fireworks at the County Cricket Field, and it was really neat bundling up to watch fireworks on a chilly, damp night. It is a lot different than watching fireworks sweating on a humid July night in Texas. Some friends of ours from church, Elin and Joe, watched the fireworks with us, and then we all came back to the house for some pie and tea. It was good fun!
November has been Hospitality Month at church. Everyone is supposed to sign up to host some sort of event (like tea, brunch, dinner, etc.), and then people sign up to come to an event without knowing whose house they are going to. Our family decided to host a Mexican Fiesta. It was really fun, and we served beef enchiladas (thanks Katie for the perfect enchilada sauce recipe), green chili-chicken enchiladas, stuffed jalapenos, 7-layer dip, black bean and corn salad, and for dessert I even made pralines and Mexican flan. I am still not sure our Mexican cooking tastes good to the English palate, but our family thought it was delicious. Ole!
Last Saturday, Keith and I served a hot, sit-down meal to the homeless at a local ministry in town called Safe Haven. This ministry is a partnership between our church and two other churches in town. Every Saturday the homeless can come to St. Peter's Church (which is located just down the street from Gloucester Place) where they get a nice, hot meal and can enjoy some time off the streets. There are volunteer opportunities to cook, serve the meals and to just sit and visit with the guests. We both loved volunteering, and we can't wait to do it again soon. We are trying to figure out a regular schedule for volunteering. It is difficult for us to both do it together because of the girls, so we may have to alternate going.
In the spirit of Hospitality Month at church, we have been hosting a house guest for the past week. We have been lucky enough to have Bob Hartman staying with us while he has been rehearsing for the Carol tour. Bob is actually an American who is a pastor, author and storyteller who is quite well known here in the UK. He wrote a book called Carol that was adapted into a play by the Lacey Theatre Company, and now he is going to tour with them performing this Christmas story all over the UK. We can't wait to see Carol when our church hosts the dress rehearsal this coming Monday!
Besides Bob, we also had some other special guests at the end of November. Clint and Susan Bateman were in London on business, and they took the train down on Sunday to see us in Brighton. We went to a pub for lunch, and had a wonderful time catching up with the Batemans. They were even able to come by our house for a cup of tea before they had to head back to London. It was such a treat having them visit us right before Thanksgiving. It was almost like having family here for the holidays. Thanks again Batemans for the visit! Who is coming to Brighton next? You are all invited!
As you can tell, we have been really busy, and we have been very intentional about jumping right in to life here in the UK. Things are going really well, but we are still adjusting to the differences. Going to the grocery store is still frustrating for me. It takes forever and still feels very foreign. I had a good week this week because I got 3 days worth of groceries delivered. Also, we are all very freaked out by the fact that it starts getting dark here around 4:00. It usually feels like it is about 11:00 by 7:30, and there has been a few times that I have felt like I should go start dinner and then I realize it is only 4:30. Crazy!
At school I have LOADS of friends one of which is called Nina. Nina is SO amazing! I cant describe her but I will give it a whirl. She really really dark brown hair and her eyes are brown. She is the SWEETEST person you could ever meet! She always has this attitude that life is full of love and she is always SO outgoing! I could go on and on about her BUT why don't I just show this pic!
