From the England Files....Part 1 (London)
Below is a quick account of our week-long trip to London.
The trip started out with a delightful Virgin Airlines flight. We used about 1,500,000,000 miles accumulated through several decades of collecting to upgrade our seats to first class - or as the Virgin people call it - "upper class."
The beginning of that journey starts at the Virgin "clubhouse" at JFK where Amie, Ginger and I enjoyed a light breakfast before making our way to the plane.
The seats in first class on Virgin are pretty insane. They are roughly 15 square feet bigger than the studio apartment Amie and I lived in for 4 years. Ginger - though instantly spoiled by the first-class experience for the rest of her life - was a champ and slept nearly the whole way.
Upon arriving in London - the boys and I headed out to "the pub" to watch "the game." I realized quickly that most male experiences here revolve around drinking beer at "the pub" and watching "football." I also came to theorize that while there seems to be many pubs in England - they are all so alike that they are really just fragments of one central organism known as "the pub." In any case - a town where you cannot walk three feet without walking into a non-velvet-roped mellow place of drinking and eating...is a place for me.
We did our best to stir up some trouble in hopes of experiencing a true British football hooligan thrown-down session but alas - the Londoners were just too cordial and dismissed our angry, drunk, pugilistic aggression as "jolly good American fun."
After the game...the boys and I decided to go to a more "posh" pub in hopes of seeing some "posh toddies". A "posh toddy" is a stylish, good looking lady of London. We did log and study several posh toddies during our stay at the posh pub and decided our work there was more important than returning home to the wives - at least temporarily.
Encouraged by the lack of "static" from the girls' camp (ie - they had left us alone all day) - we made a pact to not go home until one of them called us. They eventually called and we eventually (dutifully) went home.
On the way home we discovered that Michael J. Fox and Doc Brown have made a home in London as evidenced by the silver DeLorian parked outside their "flat" - no sign of Biff or Loraine but i imagine they were simply off at "the pub" watching "the game"...
Upon arrival back at the house - there was some confusion over where to sleep and whom was sleeping with whom...we more or less squared it away though....mostly...
The next few days were marked with several baby-worship sessions. Here we have Sarah giving Alice the good news that she will be abducting her from her lunatic parents and taking her back to the United States where she can expect to have a proper upbringing....free from having to live next door to 198o's comedy-science fiction movie stars and the rigors of living up to the "posh toddy" ideal....
Alice Walker displaying one of her typical fits of British angry baby rage....
Shawn- who found out that he is known in these parts as a Ginger-Minge (it has to do with his red hair) spent some time with his fellow Ginger-haired companion...
Ryan and Sarah inspected Ginger for any signs of culture shock....
Alice grabbed a glass of Shiraz, lit some candles and jumped into the bath to decompress after a hard day at the office...
Ginger single-handedly tried to expand the surface area of the tub to create a more generous amount of space for her and Alice. Her attempt - though courageous and distinctively American in its unilateral directness - ultimately failed.
"Hey Alice...pass me a beer would you?....and maybe one of those 'biscuits' or whatever you call the little cookies we get at tea time?.....thanks man."
Alice - in a desperate attempt to prove her athletic prowess to her newest friend - defied gravity momentarily and did a Kung-fu round house kick Matrix-style before landing gracefully back on her bedding.
Ginger - eager to follow in the footsteps of Marilyn Monroe and Lindsay Lohan - posed seductively for the camera wearing only her Hollywood smile...
Alice in bubbleland...
Amie decided the middle of a baby stroll in Notting Hill would be an ideal time to break out "the robot."
The full gang minus Emily (behind the camera) chowing down for some dinner..
Reluctant to take our word that there was "nothing to see in London at night at the pubs"...the ladies got done up and headed off to perform their own cultural survey of the male equivalent of a "posh toddy"...
Rather than merely watch "the game" on the tube...we got a chance to see "the game" live when Ben took us to a Chelsea vs. Wigan match.
Shawn thought it wise to don the local team's colors and therefore procured a slightly effiminate, yet sensibly stylish Chelsea scarf...
As far as we could tell, Wigan is sort of the Kansas City Royals of the British Football Premier League...so we decided to root for them secretly even though they were not the home team. Ryan was especially taken by their goalie - who made a save that Ryan (a professional journalist who has spent a portion of his career covering sports) described as "the most amazing athletic feat I have ever seen." In light of Ryan's hero-worship - I created the below "Ode to Chris Kirkland" to commemorate the magical moment...
Ben and I toasted Wigan's great quasi-victory (they tied...but they suck....so that was good...for them) at "the pub" after "the game"...
Ryan - showing off his shiny new Wigan jersey - started to sing the Wigan national anthem until Shawn rammed a pint of hummus in his face to silence him...
Look kids....big ben...parliament...
The London "Eye"....aka Really Big Ferris Wheel...
A passerby congratulated Shawn and I on our beautiful baby and for having the courage to raise a child in this intolerant world...
Then Amie got jealous and jumped in to reclaim her maternal position...
Daddy and Ginger taking in the pre-"Eye" scenary...
Some shots from the "roof of London"...
Ginger and mommy...all smiles...all the time...
Ginger - worried that the Eye might be "too much" for her younger friend....tried to grab hold of Alice to sooth her nerves.
Once she established a firm grip....Ginger struck a look of total calm and ease....while Alice - on the other hand - was clearly unable to control her sheer terror at being so high in the air...clearly....
The ladies of London...
Mr. and Mrs. Smiles...
Sanborns taking in the scenery...
The trip started out with a delightful Virgin Airlines flight. We used about 1,500,000,000 miles accumulated through several decades of collecting to upgrade our seats to first class - or as the Virgin people call it - "upper class."
The beginning of that journey starts at the Virgin "clubhouse" at JFK where Amie, Ginger and I enjoyed a light breakfast before making our way to the plane.
The seats in first class on Virgin are pretty insane. They are roughly 15 square feet bigger than the studio apartment Amie and I lived in for 4 years. Ginger - though instantly spoiled by the first-class experience for the rest of her life - was a champ and slept nearly the whole way.
Upon arriving in London - the boys and I headed out to "the pub" to watch "the game." I realized quickly that most male experiences here revolve around drinking beer at "the pub" and watching "football." I also came to theorize that while there seems to be many pubs in England - they are all so alike that they are really just fragments of one central organism known as "the pub." In any case - a town where you cannot walk three feet without walking into a non-velvet-roped mellow place of drinking and eating...is a place for me.
We did our best to stir up some trouble in hopes of experiencing a true British football hooligan thrown-down session but alas - the Londoners were just too cordial and dismissed our angry, drunk, pugilistic aggression as "jolly good American fun."
After the game...the boys and I decided to go to a more "posh" pub in hopes of seeing some "posh toddies". A "posh toddy" is a stylish, good looking lady of London. We did log and study several posh toddies during our stay at the posh pub and decided our work there was more important than returning home to the wives - at least temporarily.
Encouraged by the lack of "static" from the girls' camp (ie - they had left us alone all day) - we made a pact to not go home until one of them called us. They eventually called and we eventually (dutifully) went home.
On the way home we discovered that Michael J. Fox and Doc Brown have made a home in London as evidenced by the silver DeLorian parked outside their "flat" - no sign of Biff or Loraine but i imagine they were simply off at "the pub" watching "the game"...
Upon arrival back at the house - there was some confusion over where to sleep and whom was sleeping with whom...we more or less squared it away though....mostly...
The next few days were marked with several baby-worship sessions. Here we have Sarah giving Alice the good news that she will be abducting her from her lunatic parents and taking her back to the United States where she can expect to have a proper upbringing....free from having to live next door to 198o's comedy-science fiction movie stars and the rigors of living up to the "posh toddy" ideal....
Alice Walker displaying one of her typical fits of British angry baby rage....
Shawn- who found out that he is known in these parts as a Ginger-Minge (it has to do with his red hair) spent some time with his fellow Ginger-haired companion...
Ryan and Sarah inspected Ginger for any signs of culture shock....
Alice grabbed a glass of Shiraz, lit some candles and jumped into the bath to decompress after a hard day at the office...
Ginger single-handedly tried to expand the surface area of the tub to create a more generous amount of space for her and Alice. Her attempt - though courageous and distinctively American in its unilateral directness - ultimately failed.
"Hey Alice...pass me a beer would you?....and maybe one of those 'biscuits' or whatever you call the little cookies we get at tea time?.....thanks man."
Alice - in a desperate attempt to prove her athletic prowess to her newest friend - defied gravity momentarily and did a Kung-fu round house kick Matrix-style before landing gracefully back on her bedding.
Ginger - eager to follow in the footsteps of Marilyn Monroe and Lindsay Lohan - posed seductively for the camera wearing only her Hollywood smile...
Alice in bubbleland...
Amie decided the middle of a baby stroll in Notting Hill would be an ideal time to break out "the robot."
The full gang minus Emily (behind the camera) chowing down for some dinner..
Reluctant to take our word that there was "nothing to see in London at night at the pubs"...the ladies got done up and headed off to perform their own cultural survey of the male equivalent of a "posh toddy"...
Rather than merely watch "the game" on the tube...we got a chance to see "the game" live when Ben took us to a Chelsea vs. Wigan match.
Shawn thought it wise to don the local team's colors and therefore procured a slightly effiminate, yet sensibly stylish Chelsea scarf...
As far as we could tell, Wigan is sort of the Kansas City Royals of the British Football Premier League...so we decided to root for them secretly even though they were not the home team. Ryan was especially taken by their goalie - who made a save that Ryan (a professional journalist who has spent a portion of his career covering sports) described as "the most amazing athletic feat I have ever seen." In light of Ryan's hero-worship - I created the below "Ode to Chris Kirkland" to commemorate the magical moment...
Ben and I toasted Wigan's great quasi-victory (they tied...but they suck....so that was good...for them) at "the pub" after "the game"...
Ryan - showing off his shiny new Wigan jersey - started to sing the Wigan national anthem until Shawn rammed a pint of hummus in his face to silence him...
Look kids....big ben...parliament...
The London "Eye"....aka Really Big Ferris Wheel...
A passerby congratulated Shawn and I on our beautiful baby and for having the courage to raise a child in this intolerant world...
Then Amie got jealous and jumped in to reclaim her maternal position...
Daddy and Ginger taking in the pre-"Eye" scenary...
Some shots from the "roof of London"...
Ginger and mommy...all smiles...all the time...
Ginger - worried that the Eye might be "too much" for her younger friend....tried to grab hold of Alice to sooth her nerves.
Once she established a firm grip....Ginger struck a look of total calm and ease....while Alice - on the other hand - was clearly unable to control her sheer terror at being so high in the air...clearly....
The ladies of London...
Mr. and Mrs. Smiles...
Sanborns taking in the scenery...
Comments