For years I kept journals -- in composition, spiral bound, and French graph paper books. This blog is an attempt to get back to writing and documenting the world around me using photos, newspaper headlines, and other articles.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tired

I'm tired today.  Just tired.  Not as tired as the guys who just finished the 200 meter butterfly finals, but still, tired.  As an aside, Ian Thorpe is doing commentary for the BBC and he has really interesting outfits.  Not that they aren't stylish -- but so many intersting pieces together gets a bit much.  He is one of the first swimmers that I remember watching and now I think I have dated myself sufficiently.  Moving right along...

I didn't bring my camera today since it was raining when I started out.  But on the way home, I walked behind four people completely decked out in the Russian Olympic gear.  Either they were athletes or the biggest groupie wanna-be athletes with money to burn on clothing, that one could ever meet.  Not that I would have taken their picture, but I really wanted a photo of their shoes.  They were wearing sneakers that had Russian printed along the side.  Some day, not today, I will write a posting on feet and shoes.  I'm collecting photos.

I came back to the hotel room and took a nap.  And by looking at the gymnatstic headline, I slept through a USA triumph.  Figures.  As much as I am enjoying the non-USA TV perspective, during the Games my patriotic zeal emerges and I like watching winning performances by my compatriots. 

So there isn't much to write about today.  I didn't do a big walk.  I napped instead.  I walked one block to sit at the Lebanese place for dinner.  I got a small pot of mint tea to finish off the meal.  They serve it in tea cups that are like the Turkish ones, only is cut cystal.  Fancy.  Again, I didn't bring my camera so no photo.  I'll have to go back just to document the cute glasses.

It feels weird not to attach any photos, so here are a few from Sunday in Regent's Park.




I don't think the spell check is working because it hasn't returned any mistakes.  I'll have to go back and try to re-run that tomorrow.  If anybody else is reading this today, apologies in advance for my typos.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Dear Lovey Lamb

Dear Lovey Lamb,

I miss you!  So many times during the day I look at my watch and try to figure out what you might be doing.  With the time change, I'm five hours ahead of you.  So, are you still asleep, or on an adventure, having lunch or getting ready for dinner? 

I'm so happy to hear how helpful you have been to Nan and Grampy.  I'm glad that your chipmunk engine has not run out of patience while I have been gone.  I appreciate the good manners, kindness and love that you have shown Nan and Grampy, Aunt Heather, Uncle Stan and cousin Joshua over the past week.  It means a lot to me that you have been trying so hard.

Friday I passed a pond that had a flamingo statue in it and thought of you.  Do you remember the time when we were at the San Diego zoo we saw all those pink flamingos? It was then that you decided that you really liked that bird.



On Saturday I was walking down by Big Ben.  I kept taking pictures while I would say to myself, "Selim would love this."  You might not have enjoyed the walking so much, but you would have liked seeing Big Ben again.  So here are some pictures for you.










Yesterday in Regent's Park,  I saw this bird.  I don't remember seeing a bird with the big fluffy stripe down his neck before.



Down the pathway, I saw the same bird, but this time, with the neck stretched out.  Turns out it isn't a stripe, but a great pattern on its long neck.  If you ask Grampy, I bet he can tell you the name of the bird.



In the Boat Lake, I saw a swan and remembered out day in Hyde Park last year when we saw Showoffy hissing at the dog.  This one didn't have the same type of behaviour.  Although it did slow down enough for me to take a picture.



Yesterday Michelle Obama thanked the families, including the children that sacrifice so that their parents can have this career.  While we don't move to a new city every two or three years like regular Foreign Service Officers, we will have spent chunks of two summers away from each other.  And that is not easy.  If I haven't thanked you yet, then I am doing it now.  You are a brave boy and I am so lucky that you are willing to spend this time apart so that I can have this opportunity, with the career that I love that lets me serve the American community away from home, who find themselves in need.

So Lovey,  I hope you had a great day at the Bronx Zoo.  I'm sure you saw lots of interesting animals.  Give everybody hugs and kisses for me and know that I think of you often and miss you so much.  Mama Moose says good night to Mimi and sends you a big hug too.

I love you!  And I will see you two weeks from tomorrow. 

Love,

--Mom

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Absolutely thrilling

I can't show pictures from the even this morning (it was a non-media event and we have been instructed not to post any photo to a social media outlet) and I don't have one that I would want to per se -- but this morning was a complete thrill.  A meet and greet had been set up this morning for Embassy workers and their families to meet the First Lady.  I went to the event with two other TDYers.  We got in line at 9:00 and the doors opened at 9:30.  We were able to get the last places at the front against the waist high barriers.  And we waited until they shut the doors at 10:30, effectively locking us in.  The area was secured and just after 11:00, Ambassador Susman came in, followed by Michelle Obama and Gabe, one of our USA ex-military, current para-Olympians. 

In her remarks, she thanked us for our service to country and then thanked the family members for their support of us.  So to my family, the First Lady thanks you for supporting me in being here.  She was warm, gracious and stunning in her cream with black piping outfit.  Then she worked the line.  She started at our end first.  She spoke for quite a while with a kid who had been standing in the second row.  Then she thanked the two TDYers that I came with and then me.  She took both my hands in hers and thanked me for coming.  I was tongue-tied.  All I could do was thank her.  I felt like crying I was so overwhelmed.  Then she moved on to the next person. 

About half way through the line, people got bold and asked her to pose for pictures.  And she did.  Happily.  So if I had been at the second half of the line, I would have done the same.  She really took the time to talk with the children.  At the very end, she took a group photo with the kids.  It was very sweet.  After she left, we were in a daze.  It felt like an important life moment.  Amazing, really.

The event took place in the St. John's Wood area which is close to Regent's Park.  I decided to go there and continue with my walking campaign to photograph the Olympic mascots.  It was a good idea in theory, but stupid in practice.  I was wearing heals.  And I got confused in the park between all the walking paths, in loop, outer loop, around the lake, by the gardens -- I didn't draw a good enough map of their locations.  And for some reason, rational thought escaped me and I kept at it instead of going back to the hotel for a change of outfit and shoes.  No, that would have been smart.  Instead, I walked and walked and walked.  In heals.  Through the thunder and rain.  And in the sun, I walked.  If there were to be a picture in the dictionary of the crazy woman in Regent's Park, it would have my picture right next to it.  I'll blame my behaviour on the amazing morning and lack of lunch.

There were 11 little mascot statues on this walk.  I started in the middle with #7, the Victoria Park Mandeville:




The Animal Wenlock was next and it was beautiful.  Some of the figures don't have much going on in the back side, but this one was good from all angles.





The Regency Mandeville




Rainbow Mandeville -- now, I was looking for rainbow colors.  I'm not certain what the connection is between rainbow and a map of the British Isles -- but I didn't name these guys.  And I love maps so who cares.




Finally, I discovered the Union Flag Wenlock.  These were all straight forward to find.  I started at the northwest corner, entering the park from Prince Albert Rd.  I took the straight diagonal pathway (right under the Regent's Park Pathway sign on the map below) through the playing fields, to the south east corner and then along the outer circle to the York Gate.





The problem came when I tried to find the Sherlock Wenlock.  It was supposed to be by the entrance in front of the London Business School.  It was, in a way, but on across the Boating Lake and in front of the Inner Circle.  So I walked around the lake until I found a foot bridge that took me across the water.  And there I found (bathrooms, most importantly) the Safari Mandeville




the Birdy Wenlock





Midsummer Night's Dream Wenlock



and the Rose Garden Mandeville.



And then I took a wrong turn.  I ended up close to the pathway that I took to start the morning, north of the Inner Circle.  I was in the grass and ended up back at Chester Road, without finding the way in between the lake and the Inner Circle.  So I walked around the Inner loop, past the Jubilee Gates and the rose gardens until I found the pathway that went to the east side of the water for the last two on the list, the Deckchair Wenlock, which had vandalized with red paint or marker in the "eye"




and the Sherlock Wenlock.




At 2:50, the mission was complete.  The balls of my feet were so sore, that I wobbled very slowly to the Baker Street tube.  It started to rain when I was in front of Madame Tussuad's, but that didn't make me walk any faster.  At least I didn't add any new blisters.  And I saw the First Lady today!  What could be more fantastic?!  (Rhetorical, having my family meet her as well would have been the best.)  Back to work at 7:00 am tomorrow.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Cycling venue

I attended the Men’s road cycle race today. From the hotel, I walked down Piccadilly towards the Wellington Arch.  I stood on Constitution Hill, near the four pillars of the Commonwealth Memorial.  I got a spot right at the barrier and waited there for an hour.   We could hear the broadcast announcements of the teams – country and members down at the start line, about 1km away.   The atmosphere was quite festive.   Whenever a motorcycle, police bike or team car drove up, people would whistle, clap or pound on the barrier signs to show their enthusiasm for the event. 




To my left were two teenage boys, avid cyclists, who knew many of the riders, even those not representing team Great Britain.  Close to the start of the race, one of them said, “I’ve waited my whole life for this and now they are counting down the minutes!”  His face was full of joy.
While we were waiting, we saw some teams take their warm up rides, including Peter Sagan, in blue, from Slovakia.  I’m not sure if he was the green jersey winner from this year’s Tour de France or if he was a stage (multiple stage?) winner – but he was up there anyway.



At 10:00 they were off.  We saw them moments later, with the Spanish team at the front of the line.  I didn’t notice as they were going by, but there were Turkish riders in the group.  I don’t think any of them finished.  Poor #63, the Russian had a problem with his bike right away.  We cheered him on once he got back on a new bike.




By 10:10 the excitement was over.  With over 5 hours to kill before the race returned from the hills, I set out for the Tate.  I walked down Grosvenor Place, across Victoria Street to Vauxhall Bridge Road before catching a bus to take me down to the Thames where I would take a left to get to the museum.  There, my misunderstanding of Olympic themed exhibits continued.  I thought I read that they had an exhibit of Olympic posters.  I was thinking of the even posters going back awhile.  But no.  Instead, there were six or seven little “posters” that were inspired by Olympic events.  Only one or two of them did I make the connection.  Most of them were too abstract for me.  Sigh.
I did venture upstairs and saw a mother and child sculpture that made my trip to the museum worthwhile. 



After exiting the building, I headed north on Millbank.  It is another section of road that I had explored last year.  I started the Red Wenlock and Mandeville statue hunt in the Victoria Tower Gardens, just north of the Lambeth Bridge.  The first one I came across was the A-Z Wenlock.  A map dude – love it!



Then the Victorian Wenlock



The Household Cavalry Mandeville


And the Westminster Abbey Wenlock.



Seeing the inside of Westminster Abbey was on my list of musts this year.  So I exited the Gardens, crossed Millbank, walked past the Jewel Tower and went into Westminster Abbey.   What a building.  I’ve seen the inside only when watching events there on TV.  Totally different in person.  It is cramped, a bit claustrophobic with tombs and statuary, yet beautiful and serene at the same time.  I was there long enough to participate in one of the hourly prayers.  I heard the bells when I was sitting on a bench along the Cloister Garth.  I was moved by the wear on the stone steps, the scuffed quality of the floor and the intimate nature of the building that is inspiring so much so that I saw nuns taking photos in the allowed areas.




With time to kill before heading back to see the race finish, I headed across the Westminster Bridge and around County Hall.  I started on the Thames side of the building and walked clockwise around.  The area was packed.  I had a hard time taking pictures of the mascots without having small children or family groups present in my photo.  First up – Union Flag Mandeville.


Followed by Underwater Wenlock


Then Big Ben Wenlock



And the last of this group was another plain Wenlock.  To get the last group, I walked to the south side of Westminster Bridge and went down to the Thames level by the St. Thomas Hospital.  The area was almost people free.  A few people were sitting on the benches along the river, and there were one or two families taking photos with the mascots, but not nearly the numbers that I had seen earlier in the day.  I was able to document the Ceremonial Speaker Wenlock



Tourist Mandeville


Doctor Wenlock


Lambeth Palace Mandeville



And finally, the Garden Wenlock.



Even though I wore my running shoes today, something I swore I would not do because it makes me look like the American tourist that I am, my feet were starting to hurt.  I crossed over the Thames via the Lambeth Bridge and caught the #507 bus to Victoria.  I retraced my steps from this morning and went back to Constitution Hill and stood right next to the 1km to go sign and waited an hour for the racers to return.


I wasn’t right up against the barrier, so I had other people in front of me.  My pictures aren’t the best.  The racers were moving so fast and the focus of my camera seemed to be on the far side of the road, not on the closest racers.  But I did get a shot of the Gold Medal Winner from Kazakhstan, Alexandr Vinokurov. 


After the first two riders flew past us, the other riders went by in a blink. 



Then the straggles went by, people thought that all the riders had passed and they started jumping the barriers to have their pictures taken under the 1 km banner.  But wait – there’s more!  Finally, the rest of the last riders went by.  It was exciting and fun to be part of the crowd.  I walked back up Piccadilly to Shepherd Market and had dinner at Sofra.  I had a delicious meal, the small mix platter -- a taste of six dishes.  I wiped my plate clean with a tasty flatbread.  I completed my meal with a pot of Turkish tea and baklava.  What a great way to end the day.