We started school today! I made a lot of friends with the girls in my class. My favorites so far are Kaitlin, Leah and Casey. They came over to us as soon as we got there to say Hi.
My teacher's name is Ms. Masters, and she's very nice. The children say their prayers before"dinner" (lunch) and before we leave school - but in Welsh. The teacher taught me a few colours in Welsh. One I haven't forgotten is "gwyth" - green. I don't even know if I spelled it right. For dinner we had two choices - cheese rolled up in a tortilla or noodles with meat sauce. I had the noodles.
We got to play outside a lot, despite the weather being cold and drizzly. For all of the kids reading this - they call Freeze Tag "Stuck in the Mud" and soccer "football" and football "rugby". It sort of confused me at first.
I miss all of my family at church dearly, and all of my friends from school. I will send you post-cards with lots of love.
Margaret
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
more photos
We've added more photos to our Picasa album which you can find at: http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix
We spent Saturday in Chester doing some shopping and sightseeing. We happened to arrive during the Midsummer festival and saw a charming parade. People make elaborate costumes and wear them year to year. We also attended choral evensong at the cathedral, one of our favorite services. The choir (twelve girls and six men) did a fantastic job, though few were in attendance. We also enjoyed the Roman amphitheater and a walk on the walls of the city. After supper we went back to the cathedral for a concert by the Chester Philharmonic.On Sunday we led the service at St. Mary's Church in Brymbo, a lovely 19th century church on a hill overlooking the valley. After a lovely roast beef dinner we were off to St. Asaph for the diocesan conference. The girls went with a family from church to an indoor activity center and had a great time.
Monday we were off to Llangollen, a nearby village that hosts the annual Internation Eisteddfod, a musical competition that brings choirs and musicians from all over the world. We rode on the Llangollen steam railroad and walked over the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, an engineering marvel constructed by Thomas Telford. Completed in 1805 it carries the Llangollen canal 126 feet over the River Dee. You can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontcysyllte_Aqueduct.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Photos
There's so much to tell about our trip so far and it's only been a few days. We led our first service this morning at St. Mary's Church in Brymbo, part of our two-point parish which also includes All Saints' Southsea. We also attended a diocesan conference (convention) an hour away at St. Asaph Cathedral, the smallest cathedral in Britain (and very lovely). We have met so many lovely people and have toured (so far) Wrexham, Mold, and Chester. We are gradually settling in and finding our way around the area.
You can see lots of photos of our first few days by clicking here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix
You can see lots of photos of our first few days by clicking here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix
First Update from Wales-- June 20
So sorry we haven't checked in until now. We've had a terrible time getting connected to the internet. We've had a lovely time so far--lots to update. Here's the first information dump:
From Emily: Friday, June 20:
TODAY WE WENT TO THE WELSH SCHOOL WHERE WE ARE STARTING ON WEDNESDAY.NEXT WE HAD A PICNIC AND AFTER THAT,WE WENT ON A HIKE.AFTER THAT WE GOT A TOUR OF THE CHURCH WE ARE GOING TO TOMARROW.AFTER THAT WE HAD DINNER ON THE PORCH.THEN WE FED THE FISH.BUT WE SAW THAT THE FISH WERE TANGLED UP IN THE NET.SO MOM GOT KNIFE AND CAREFULLY CUT IT LOOSE.
EMILY
From Margaret: Friday, June 20, 2008
Since our Internet wasn’t working that well, we had to miss a few days. Sorry about the wait…
Today we had an interview with the principal of St. Mary’s School. We will be starting school this Wednesday and we have uniforms at the ready! There are a variety of uniforms at the school, actually. Some kids have dresses like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, while others have dark navy blue trousers. We are hoping to get a sweat-shirt from the school with their crest on it. We will be going to school on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for a few weeks.
We also toured St. Mary’s Church today. It is basically your normal, Victorian church. It’s definitely bigger than All Saints, our other church; so big that they have a microphone on the Altar! It has a graveyard in the back (large) and it has lots of grass (also large). After touring the beautiful church we went to a library, not far away from where we live. We got our own library cards, which will be a very nice souvenir. It’s very nice and quiet, and we enjoyed every minute. I am discovering that England has a variety of different books than America!
When we came home we saw lots of kids playing around! We made a new friend, Katie, who just turned 6. She has a little brother, Aled, who is almost 4. She lives right across the street and Emily will have a friend even before school starts. We saw a couple of girls who look my age and I hope I’ll get to meet them soon.
Bye! Margaret
From Susan
I’ve been trying to get a sense of “home” here in Moss, and it’s not been that hard. My body-clock adjusted right away by getting me up at 6 a.m. each morning. The first morning I went for a walk around the neighborhood. There are some nice panoramic views of the valleys in several directions. Our road, and house, are called “Bryn” which means Hill in Welsh, and we really are on a relatively high spot. The house itself is over 100 years old, with ceilings at least 9 feet high. We’re getting used to the British types of showers (not so great), electric appliances (very fast, probably due to the higher voltage) and supermarkets (it’s interesting what sorts of things are like, and unlike, ours. And pretty much everything costs more).
Thursday we met our first group of parishioners, at the smaller All Saints congregation which has an 11 a.m. service each Thurs. followed by soup lunch. This was a very warm group who clearly enjoyed each other’s company, and made us feel right at home. Thursday evening, Eric and I were treated to a fundraising event at Eaton Park Hall, owned by the Duke of Westminster (not in attendance). Wow, what a place! We Americans are used to seeing manor houses on PBS; but here was the real thing, family portraits and all. The event (benefitting Alzheimer’s Disease programs) included music by two groups of high-school age musicians who were really excellent. Wish Margaret had been along.
What strikes me most is the sense of history, a building of generation upon generation that is mostly lacking in the USA. (We just haven’t been around long enough!) We climbed the bell tower of St. Giles’ Church in Wrexham, where Elihu Yale is buried; the tower was complete in 1525 and parts of the church are from the 1100’s. About 900 years of faithful Christians, gathering and giving and working for the building up of Christ’s Body; keeping a beautiful structure intact so that a fellow beneficiary of Yale’s generosity could come from America to be among the visitors.
Gratefully, Mother Susan
From Emily: Friday, June 20:
TODAY WE WENT TO THE WELSH SCHOOL WHERE WE ARE STARTING ON WEDNESDAY.NEXT WE HAD A PICNIC AND AFTER THAT,WE WENT ON A HIKE.AFTER THAT WE GOT A TOUR OF THE CHURCH WE ARE GOING TO TOMARROW.AFTER THAT WE HAD DINNER ON THE PORCH.THEN WE FED THE FISH.BUT WE SAW THAT THE FISH WERE TANGLED UP IN THE NET.SO MOM GOT KNIFE AND CAREFULLY CUT IT LOOSE.
EMILY
From Margaret: Friday, June 20, 2008
Since our Internet wasn’t working that well, we had to miss a few days. Sorry about the wait…
Today we had an interview with the principal of St. Mary’s School. We will be starting school this Wednesday and we have uniforms at the ready! There are a variety of uniforms at the school, actually. Some kids have dresses like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, while others have dark navy blue trousers. We are hoping to get a sweat-shirt from the school with their crest on it. We will be going to school on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for a few weeks.
We also toured St. Mary’s Church today. It is basically your normal, Victorian church. It’s definitely bigger than All Saints, our other church; so big that they have a microphone on the Altar! It has a graveyard in the back (large) and it has lots of grass (also large). After touring the beautiful church we went to a library, not far away from where we live. We got our own library cards, which will be a very nice souvenir. It’s very nice and quiet, and we enjoyed every minute. I am discovering that England has a variety of different books than America!
When we came home we saw lots of kids playing around! We made a new friend, Katie, who just turned 6. She has a little brother, Aled, who is almost 4. She lives right across the street and Emily will have a friend even before school starts. We saw a couple of girls who look my age and I hope I’ll get to meet them soon.
Bye! Margaret
From Susan
I’ve been trying to get a sense of “home” here in Moss, and it’s not been that hard. My body-clock adjusted right away by getting me up at 6 a.m. each morning. The first morning I went for a walk around the neighborhood. There are some nice panoramic views of the valleys in several directions. Our road, and house, are called “Bryn” which means Hill in Welsh, and we really are on a relatively high spot. The house itself is over 100 years old, with ceilings at least 9 feet high. We’re getting used to the British types of showers (not so great), electric appliances (very fast, probably due to the higher voltage) and supermarkets (it’s interesting what sorts of things are like, and unlike, ours. And pretty much everything costs more).
Thursday we met our first group of parishioners, at the smaller All Saints congregation which has an 11 a.m. service each Thurs. followed by soup lunch. This was a very warm group who clearly enjoyed each other’s company, and made us feel right at home. Thursday evening, Eric and I were treated to a fundraising event at Eaton Park Hall, owned by the Duke of Westminster (not in attendance). Wow, what a place! We Americans are used to seeing manor houses on PBS; but here was the real thing, family portraits and all. The event (benefitting Alzheimer’s Disease programs) included music by two groups of high-school age musicians who were really excellent. Wish Margaret had been along.
What strikes me most is the sense of history, a building of generation upon generation that is mostly lacking in the USA. (We just haven’t been around long enough!) We climbed the bell tower of St. Giles’ Church in Wrexham, where Elihu Yale is buried; the tower was complete in 1525 and parts of the church are from the 1100’s. About 900 years of faithful Christians, gathering and giving and working for the building up of Christ’s Body; keeping a beautiful structure intact so that a fellow beneficiary of Yale’s generosity could come from America to be among the visitors.
Gratefully, Mother Susan
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