My OperaNo Missing Dukes but Maybe Some Heritage Found
Saturday, August 12, 2006 7:12:12 PM
Hey, I made it home. Had a bit of a party at O'Neill's in Heathrow prior to getting on the plane. On Thursday afternoon, Cat issued a global ban on employee air travel and despite all the media buzz about staying away from the airports, things went very smoothly. It was so refreshing to be in a British Airport under high security as opposed to an airport policed by the TSA Nazis in the USA. Everyone was very efficient, and polite, almost to the point of being apologetic, mixed with the typical British humour. One of the security guys reminding people in the security line up that they could not take mobile phones through security was joking that you could pick them up on Ebay later that evening. The TSA clowns are on such a power trip and try so hard to intimidate everyone....Augh
But enough of that. I woke up Wednesday morning and it was a glorious day in North East England. Eddie was on a road trip to Hungary earlier in the week and the weather wasn't great, but he must have been hard on the hairspray and fluorocarbons Tuesday night. Since I didn't have to go to the shop until noon, I decided to go for a run, and do some exploring. I should probably start by clarifying what I mean by running. It is actually called the Fat Guy Shuffle, which consists of getting suited up in all the fancy running clothes that Ali and Kelly bought me. I look like an athlete until I start to move. Unfortunately my running style resembles that of a bowlegged penguin trying to achieve takeoff velocity, which rapidly dispels any athletic notions a bystander might have.
I went for a shuffle along the River Wear. There is a place called Cox Green, pictured here,which I passed through. The trails along the river are quite picturesque. On my arrival in Cox Green, I stopped to talk to a couple of locals, in the hope that they were missing a Duke or Earl or Lord of the Manor or some other such royalty, wherby I would be restored to my rightful place in Society. They informed me that they were unaware of any missing Lord, and if there was one, he would be in a great deal of debt. I did discover that Cox Green was the site of a shipyard, with 2 slips. The last boat they launched was in 1864. It seems they still have one not quite completed.
On looking at the boat club, I decided that perhaps there was something about this being an ancestral home, as my luck with boats would fit in well here.
Until now I have assumed it was just my lack of Mechanical Kharma that or somehow I have offended a God responsible for certain mechanical functions but maybe it is deeper than that. I have put my boat close to water 3 times this year. It has moved under it's own power once. We towed the boat to Penticton in June, it didn't run. We borrowed Jimmy and Paula's but it wouldn't start - dead battery. Mine ran once this year in the Pitt, and bouyed by that sucess, we tried again, but on my second time out the alternator siezed and we had to catch a ride with Troy.
Just down the river from Cox Green is a place called FatField. Fatfield was the home of Girdle Cake Cottage, which was renowned through the 19th century for it's confectionaries. Having been told that I might suffer from Cake retention (an afliction very similar to water retention), I am wondering if this too is a sign that my ancestry can be traced back to here.
Off to Green Lake today for family vacation. Just to ensure a high level of frustration, I am taking the boat and motorcycles.
Cheers
Bryan
But enough of that. I woke up Wednesday morning and it was a glorious day in North East England. Eddie was on a road trip to Hungary earlier in the week and the weather wasn't great, but he must have been hard on the hairspray and fluorocarbons Tuesday night. Since I didn't have to go to the shop until noon, I decided to go for a run, and do some exploring. I should probably start by clarifying what I mean by running. It is actually called the Fat Guy Shuffle, which consists of getting suited up in all the fancy running clothes that Ali and Kelly bought me. I look like an athlete until I start to move. Unfortunately my running style resembles that of a bowlegged penguin trying to achieve takeoff velocity, which rapidly dispels any athletic notions a bystander might have.
I went for a shuffle along the River Wear. There is a place called Cox Green, pictured here,which I passed through. The trails along the river are quite picturesque. On my arrival in Cox Green, I stopped to talk to a couple of locals, in the hope that they were missing a Duke or Earl or Lord of the Manor or some other such royalty, wherby I would be restored to my rightful place in Society. They informed me that they were unaware of any missing Lord, and if there was one, he would be in a great deal of debt. I did discover that Cox Green was the site of a shipyard, with 2 slips. The last boat they launched was in 1864. It seems they still have one not quite completed. On looking at the boat club, I decided that perhaps there was something about this being an ancestral home, as my luck with boats would fit in well here.
Until now I have assumed it was just my lack of Mechanical Kharma that or somehow I have offended a God responsible for certain mechanical functions but maybe it is deeper than that. I have put my boat close to water 3 times this year. It has moved under it's own power once. We towed the boat to Penticton in June, it didn't run. We borrowed Jimmy and Paula's but it wouldn't start - dead battery. Mine ran once this year in the Pitt, and bouyed by that sucess, we tried again, but on my second time out the alternator siezed and we had to catch a ride with Troy.
Just down the river from Cox Green is a place called FatField. Fatfield was the home of Girdle Cake Cottage, which was renowned through the 19th century for it's confectionaries. Having been told that I might suffer from Cake retention (an afliction very similar to water retention), I am wondering if this too is a sign that my ancestry can be traced back to here.
Off to Green Lake today for family vacation. Just to ensure a high level of frustration, I am taking the boat and motorcycles.
Cheers
Bryan
