I believe I have mentioned that I love to go to the United Kingdom. I do not want any of the wonderful people that I have met there to, for a moment, believe that I am less than thrilled to see them when I am there or that the time I get to spend over there is not wonderful. But the truth is that I love getting home and spending time here.
My old friends, my home, my car, and my dog are all here. As much as I love going across the Atlantic to the home of the Full English Breakfast, it is nice to wake up, brew coffee, check my email, and take the dog for an early morning walk in the park. I mean really nice! There is nothing like the reaction I get from Saga when I come through the door after a trip.
That is not to say that I want all my friends from the pub to act like Saga; jump up, wag their tales, whimper with utter joy, and cover me in kisses when I walk through the door. (Well, okay, a couple of you maybe… but you'll have to guess who you are!)
I arrived late last night. It was a lovely night. There were a sky full of stars, and it was a warm and placid night. The clemency of the weather almost made-up for the fact that my plane was late and that my luggage was delayed. I got back home and schlepped the luggage in; threw a pair of jeans and a shirt in the laundry for today and collapsed. It was then that Saga decided to let me know that she had to go out. We took a long, starlit march through the park. She wanted to go play with the coyotes. I think not!
Oh well, It is time for me to get to work.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 28-March-2005 – Lakewood, Colorado
27 March 2005
Happy Easter!
There are advantages to showing-up at the airport really early! I arrived at the counter about three hours before my flight this morning and was told that because the flight was overbooked, they had only center seats for me on the flight. The woman behind the counted took one look at me and said that she could probably do better and handed me a boarding pass but told me to check at the counter when I got there.
I got there and there was another boarding pass waiting. They bumped me up to executive class plus. It is not quite business class, but it is quite nice here!
I have my own video screen with games on it… not that I am planning on taking advantage of that. I have three books with me for the flight. I have a wider seat… they are six across in this area instead of nine across in coach. But the best part is that I have a good three inches more leg room than I would have back behind the blue curtain! I walked back there (doing a circuit walk of the plane to stretch my legs) a while back and it is exactly as I remember it from my trip to the UK.
Well, I finished one of the books I brought with me and am sure I will finish the second somewhere along the southern coast of Greenland. I think I may watch one of the movie offerings when they start again. Ninety minutes down, seven hours to go!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 27-March-2005 – Somewhere over the Atlantic
I got there and there was another boarding pass waiting. They bumped me up to executive class plus. It is not quite business class, but it is quite nice here!
I have my own video screen with games on it… not that I am planning on taking advantage of that. I have three books with me for the flight. I have a wider seat… they are six across in this area instead of nine across in coach. But the best part is that I have a good three inches more leg room than I would have back behind the blue curtain! I walked back there (doing a circuit walk of the plane to stretch my legs) a while back and it is exactly as I remember it from my trip to the UK.
Well, I finished one of the books I brought with me and am sure I will finish the second somewhere along the southern coast of Greenland. I think I may watch one of the movie offerings when they start again. Ninety minutes down, seven hours to go!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 27-March-2005 – Somewhere over the Atlantic
26 March 2005
Dr. Who
Yes, the cult classic is back!
Some friends from the pub invited me into Richmond to watch the premier this evening with them. Never the one to show-up empty handed, I brought some cheeses, some crackers, and some bread. It was a lovely evening.
We chatted for a while, about old music, old episodes of Dr. Who and American television. It was wonderful. Around 19:00, we turned on the Television to watch the show. It is more compact than the old episodes I remember. The show this evening had the entire problem resolved in 45 minutes as opposed to the old four-part episodes with cliffhangers at the end of the first three and the wrap-up on the fourth week.
I like it. The TARDIS is updated and the reaction when Rose walks into it for the first time is, perhaps, the best acted reaction that I have ever seen. Where as most side-kicks look around in awe when they first walk in, Rose walked in, did a wonderful double-take; she then backed out of the TARDIS in terror, ran around the callbox outside telegraphing beautifully how perplexed she was that it was bigger on the inside then on the outside. She runs back in only when being chased by a creature.
Afterward we talked about our thoughts on the new Doctor and how the updates played. It was late when I headed home. My host graciously offered to walk me to the bus stop but I am independent, and with the light rain that is now falling, I thanked him for the offer and we parted on the walk outside his home.
I am now on the bus for the 45-minute ride back to Hampton Court a noisy altercation was occurring at the last stop and a (Drunk? Stoned? Just fricking obnoxious?) person just stormed onto the bus. She flipped off her (Friend? Lover? Enemy? John?) person who she was arguing with and then stomped to the back of the bus where she has been sitting and kicking things noisily. The elderly couple across the aisle and I keep exchanging glances… What next?
Well, I guess I will sign-off now. I am on my way back to the hotel to pack. The time changes to GMT Summer Time tonight so I lose an hour this weekend. I lose another next weekend in Denver! Isn't travel fun?
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 26-March-2005 – Somewhere along the Thames, United Kingdom
Some friends from the pub invited me into Richmond to watch the premier this evening with them. Never the one to show-up empty handed, I brought some cheeses, some crackers, and some bread. It was a lovely evening.
We chatted for a while, about old music, old episodes of Dr. Who and American television. It was wonderful. Around 19:00, we turned on the Television to watch the show. It is more compact than the old episodes I remember. The show this evening had the entire problem resolved in 45 minutes as opposed to the old four-part episodes with cliffhangers at the end of the first three and the wrap-up on the fourth week.
I like it. The TARDIS is updated and the reaction when Rose walks into it for the first time is, perhaps, the best acted reaction that I have ever seen. Where as most side-kicks look around in awe when they first walk in, Rose walked in, did a wonderful double-take; she then backed out of the TARDIS in terror, ran around the callbox outside telegraphing beautifully how perplexed she was that it was bigger on the inside then on the outside. She runs back in only when being chased by a creature.
Afterward we talked about our thoughts on the new Doctor and how the updates played. It was late when I headed home. My host graciously offered to walk me to the bus stop but I am independent, and with the light rain that is now falling, I thanked him for the offer and we parted on the walk outside his home.
I am now on the bus for the 45-minute ride back to Hampton Court a noisy altercation was occurring at the last stop and a (Drunk? Stoned? Just fricking obnoxious?) person just stormed onto the bus. She flipped off her (Friend? Lover? Enemy? John?) person who she was arguing with and then stomped to the back of the bus where she has been sitting and kicking things noisily. The elderly couple across the aisle and I keep exchanging glances… What next?
Well, I guess I will sign-off now. I am on my way back to the hotel to pack. The time changes to GMT Summer Time tonight so I lose an hour this weekend. I lose another next weekend in Denver! Isn't travel fun?
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 26-March-2005 – Somewhere along the Thames, United Kingdom
25 March 2005
Bank Holiday
Today is a bank holiday here in the UK. It is Good Friday.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are! I have been up since 06:00 (because I am in the habit now) and have worked on some paperwork and documentation that I needed to complete before returning.
It is almost noon so I am thinking of taking off and heading over to The Kings Arms for a bite of lunch and then head into town for some sight seeing. It is my last weekend in the UK and I need to do something to celebrate and to make the memories last.
Have a great day!
Don Bergquist – 25-March-2005 – Hampton Court, United Kingdom
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are! I have been up since 06:00 (because I am in the habit now) and have worked on some paperwork and documentation that I needed to complete before returning.
It is almost noon so I am thinking of taking off and heading over to The Kings Arms for a bite of lunch and then head into town for some sight seeing. It is my last weekend in the UK and I need to do something to celebrate and to make the memories last.
Have a great day!
Don Bergquist – 25-March-2005 – Hampton Court, United Kingdom
24 March 2005
Curry Dinner
There are three things I have learned this trip.
1) It is obligatory to have at least one curry dinner whilst in England.
2) All curry is not created equal.
3) The pictures taken in low light by my PDA leave something to be desired.
On the last issue, the food looks much more appetizing than it appears in the pictures at the link above. Also, I do not appear that pasty usually. Oh, and you can tell how off the pictures are… the shirt I am wearing in this picture and the picture that is currently in my profile (to the right).
Dinner at The Rose
That being said, last night I had my obligatory curry dinner at The Rose here in Thames Ditton. I am told that curry is now the number one ethnic food in the UK. It is rapidly replacing meat pies (such as steak and kidney pie) as the national dish.
The conversation was good, we talked very little business and had a good time. The curry itself, sad to say, was uninspiring. It was all good, but the dish spiced with chili was not very spicy, the one that was in the cream sauce was a bit too sweet, and the one that was based on lamb was a bit greasy. Good thing the conversation was sparkling… it saved the meal.
Tomorrow is a bank holiday here. I will be going to the palace for a tour this weekend and then packing for my return trip and watching Dr. Who on Saturday. I will post my entries upon return to the states next week. Have a great weekend!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 24-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
1) It is obligatory to have at least one curry dinner whilst in England.
2) All curry is not created equal.
3) The pictures taken in low light by my PDA leave something to be desired.
On the last issue, the food looks much more appetizing than it appears in the pictures at the link above. Also, I do not appear that pasty usually. Oh, and you can tell how off the pictures are… the shirt I am wearing in this picture and the picture that is currently in my profile (to the right).
Dinner at The Rose
That being said, last night I had my obligatory curry dinner at The Rose here in Thames Ditton. I am told that curry is now the number one ethnic food in the UK. It is rapidly replacing meat pies (such as steak and kidney pie) as the national dish.
The conversation was good, we talked very little business and had a good time. The curry itself, sad to say, was uninspiring. It was all good, but the dish spiced with chili was not very spicy, the one that was in the cream sauce was a bit too sweet, and the one that was based on lamb was a bit greasy. Good thing the conversation was sparkling… it saved the meal.
Tomorrow is a bank holiday here. I will be going to the palace for a tour this weekend and then packing for my return trip and watching Dr. Who on Saturday. I will post my entries upon return to the states next week. Have a great weekend!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 24-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
23 March 2005
Sunset Over the Thames
Last night as I was entering the palace grounds on my way home to the hotel, I chanced to look behind me (up the Thames) and noticed that the sun had come from behind the clouds. It was a nice sunset. Unfortunately, all I had with me was my PDA which takes fair but not really good pictures.
Sunset Over the Thames
It puts me in mind of the fact that tomorrow is the last day I will be here testing on the current project. We have had great luck on the testing and the project is due to be finished on-time. Since Friday is a holiday here I will not be able to post an entry after tomorrow’s until I return home. I will, however, write them and load them up as soon as I can. So keep checking back.
It will be a good weekend here. There is a bank holiday on both Friday and Monday so we will be having a long weekend. There is a fun faire being held at the palace grounds (ell, actually in a park across the street from the palace but…) in Hampton Court, and I am going to be visiting the palace again on Friday or Saturday.
Saturday night I have been invited over to the home of one of my friends from the pub to watch the first episode of the new Dr. Who series that is starting on BBC 1, and when I return to my hotel afterward it is to pack and prepare to head to the airport.
It has been a productive trip but I am looking forward to getting home. I wonder if Saga has missed me…
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 23-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
Sunset Over the Thames
It puts me in mind of the fact that tomorrow is the last day I will be here testing on the current project. We have had great luck on the testing and the project is due to be finished on-time. Since Friday is a holiday here I will not be able to post an entry after tomorrow’s until I return home. I will, however, write them and load them up as soon as I can. So keep checking back.
It will be a good weekend here. There is a bank holiday on both Friday and Monday so we will be having a long weekend. There is a fun faire being held at the palace grounds (ell, actually in a park across the street from the palace but…) in Hampton Court, and I am going to be visiting the palace again on Friday or Saturday.
Saturday night I have been invited over to the home of one of my friends from the pub to watch the first episode of the new Dr. Who series that is starting on BBC 1, and when I return to my hotel afterward it is to pack and prepare to head to the airport.
It has been a productive trip but I am looking forward to getting home. I wonder if Saga has missed me…
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 23-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
22 March 2005
The Motorways
It is raining and miserable today. It is good to note that people here drive no better in the rain than people everywhere else that I have lived. I have no idea why a little water falling from the sky seems to completely flummox some people. Do they forget how to drive? Or is it, perhaps, that they think that with the rain falling nobody will see the stupid things that they do?
I guess that this tirade was rough-on by my trip to Basingstoke this morning. I had a morning full of meetings to attend in our office in Basingstoke, a trip, I am led to understand should have taken us about half the time we actually took to get there. The traffic on the A309 from Thames Ditton to Hampton Court Palace was bumper-to-bumper and absolutely crawled. We turned south on the A309 at Hampton Court and went to the A3 motorway to head east into Basingstoke. Once on the motorway, it was a fairly easy trip, but getting to the motorway was a real trial.
I did, however, learn some interesting things this week about the motorways. They are approximately the same age as the Interstate system in the United States and contrary to the theory that I had developed last year on my first visit here, there is some rhyme or reason to the striping on the motorways. It is not as intuitive (I believe) than the striping on US highways, but it is, nonetheless, there. Here is a brief primer of what I have learned:
1) The striping between lanes going the same direction (the white lines on US Highways) is narrower than the striping between lanes going in opposite directions.
2) The striping that runs between lanes going in opposite directions is thick.
3) Like in the US, where there are two lines between lanes present, you cannot cross the line if there is a solid line on your side of the double set.
4) The length and frequency of the lines between lanes has a meaning. If the lines are close together and long, you are meant to give way (yield to the opposite lane) when crossing the line. If they are far apart and short, they are only an indication that you have two lanes and that they are both headed the same direction.
So, all you foreigners out there, be sure to bring a ruler with you if you plan on driving over here… you’ll need it!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 22-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
I guess that this tirade was rough-on by my trip to Basingstoke this morning. I had a morning full of meetings to attend in our office in Basingstoke, a trip, I am led to understand should have taken us about half the time we actually took to get there. The traffic on the A309 from Thames Ditton to Hampton Court Palace was bumper-to-bumper and absolutely crawled. We turned south on the A309 at Hampton Court and went to the A3 motorway to head east into Basingstoke. Once on the motorway, it was a fairly easy trip, but getting to the motorway was a real trial.
I did, however, learn some interesting things this week about the motorways. They are approximately the same age as the Interstate system in the United States and contrary to the theory that I had developed last year on my first visit here, there is some rhyme or reason to the striping on the motorways. It is not as intuitive (I believe) than the striping on US highways, but it is, nonetheless, there. Here is a brief primer of what I have learned:
1) The striping between lanes going the same direction (the white lines on US Highways) is narrower than the striping between lanes going in opposite directions.
2) The striping that runs between lanes going in opposite directions is thick.
3) Like in the US, where there are two lines between lanes present, you cannot cross the line if there is a solid line on your side of the double set.
4) The length and frequency of the lines between lanes has a meaning. If the lines are close together and long, you are meant to give way (yield to the opposite lane) when crossing the line. If they are far apart and short, they are only an indication that you have two lanes and that they are both headed the same direction.
So, all you foreigners out there, be sure to bring a ruler with you if you plan on driving over here… you’ll need it!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 22-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
21 March 2005
Staying Up Late
This weekend, my friend the publican and his wife had their going away party. I think that it is partly because I am in the wrong time zone and party because I was up discussing politics, but for some reason I was up ‘til well after 01:00 each evening this weekend. Even last night I was up late… this is so unlike me. Luckily, I slept like the dead when I did get to bed so I was able to recover and keep going.
I do remember when I could stay up ‘til all hours every night. In the early days of my career, I remember being in the television studio until the wee-small hours. But then, I guess I got to go home and sleep all day when I did that!
I did a lot of walking this weekend. Looking for a book to read on the plane, and looking around London. It was fun but tiring. My trip here is now half over and I am beginning to realize that to do all the things I want to do I will have to burn the candle at both ends.
By the way, for those of you who are Dr. Who fans, There is a new series of Dr. Who starting this Saturday. You know I’ll be watching BBC this Saturday night!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 21-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
I do remember when I could stay up ‘til all hours every night. In the early days of my career, I remember being in the television studio until the wee-small hours. But then, I guess I got to go home and sleep all day when I did that!
I did a lot of walking this weekend. Looking for a book to read on the plane, and looking around London. It was fun but tiring. My trip here is now half over and I am beginning to realize that to do all the things I want to do I will have to burn the candle at both ends.
By the way, for those of you who are Dr. Who fans, There is a new series of Dr. Who starting this Saturday. You know I’ll be watching BBC this Saturday night!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 21-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
20 March 2005
Bushy Park
Two days could not be more different! (I guess they could, but it was a better start to the piece if I practice a bit of exaggeration. )
A Tropical Path in the Woodland Gardens
The day dawned a bit cold and overcast. Not actually cold enough to want to wear a jacket, but cold enough to want to wear a sweatshirt as I took my morning walk. The overcast does have its advantages, though. It is perfec lighting for some portraiture. Of course, my portraits will be of the flora in the gardens, but still...
Today I visited a secret of the people in the know. A hidden treasure right in the middle of Surrey! Last night at the pub, one of my acquaintances suggested that I go to the Woodland Gardens in Bushy Park. The hotel I am staying in (at least the main building of it) backs onto Bushy Park. The Mews (where my room is) actually backs onto The Wilderness.
He gave me directions and suggested that I go early (before the crowds… not that it was ever really crowded.) So right after breakfast this morning, I grabbed my cameras and headed over to the park and sought-out the woodland gardens. What a find!
There are lovely wooded paths that wind through woodlands under planted with daffodils; gnarled and knotted trees that remind me of mangroves (although they are not growing in knee-deep water) and the biggest surprise of all, a walk through what is essentially, a tropical garden. Be sure to follow the link and see all the pictures from this lovely corner of Surrey!
I took pictures of the Palmettos and Spanish Bayonets, the Azaleas, and the Primroses. There are also animals; ducks, foxes, pheasants, and swans. I hope you can enjoy the pictures and get a feeling of the gardens. But, let’s keep this a secret! I would hate to have everyone know about this place. It would ruin it to be packed.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 20-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
A Tropical Path in the Woodland Gardens
The day dawned a bit cold and overcast. Not actually cold enough to want to wear a jacket, but cold enough to want to wear a sweatshirt as I took my morning walk. The overcast does have its advantages, though. It is perfec lighting for some portraiture. Of course, my portraits will be of the flora in the gardens, but still...
Today I visited a secret of the people in the know. A hidden treasure right in the middle of Surrey! Last night at the pub, one of my acquaintances suggested that I go to the Woodland Gardens in Bushy Park. The hotel I am staying in (at least the main building of it) backs onto Bushy Park. The Mews (where my room is) actually backs onto The Wilderness.
He gave me directions and suggested that I go early (before the crowds… not that it was ever really crowded.) So right after breakfast this morning, I grabbed my cameras and headed over to the park and sought-out the woodland gardens. What a find!
There are lovely wooded paths that wind through woodlands under planted with daffodils; gnarled and knotted trees that remind me of mangroves (although they are not growing in knee-deep water) and the biggest surprise of all, a walk through what is essentially, a tropical garden. Be sure to follow the link and see all the pictures from this lovely corner of Surrey!
I took pictures of the Palmettos and Spanish Bayonets, the Azaleas, and the Primroses. There are also animals; ducks, foxes, pheasants, and swans. I hope you can enjoy the pictures and get a feeling of the gardens. But, let’s keep this a secret! I would hate to have everyone know about this place. It would ruin it to be packed.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 20-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
19 March 2005
Walking to Work
I decided today to take you to work with me. I know that there is a slight problem with this in that you cannot actually walk to work with me, but I have a solution! I am going to take a picture every hundred steps along the way from my hotel, the Lion Gate Hotel in Hampton Court, to the offices of Harris Corporation in the Ferry Works, Thames Ditton.
Ferry Works at Thames Ditton
In the pictures (at the link above) you will see a number of shots taken along the way to the office. When I set-out, I had intended to take a picture every 100 steps. Unfortunately, I think I forgot to take one every 100 steps and I got distracted going through The Wilderness and wanted to take some pictures.
Today was absolutely gorgeous! It was bright and sunny and about sixty-five. The outside tables at the King’s Arms pub were already full as I walked past it on the way through the Lion Gate.
I stopped to take a picture of the tracks as they cross summer road because I liked the way the disappeared off into the distance. It was a busy day at the sport ground with a bunch of the local kids playing soccer or rugby or something.
That being said, it is off to the office.
On the way to the office we start-out crossing the yard at The Mews at the Lion Gate Inn in Hampton Court. The day is sunny and warm and the sky is absolutely blue and clear. Rounding the wall around The Mews courtyard, we get to the Lion Gate. I took a number of pictures of the columns and the gate before entering The Wilderness.
By the way, you’ll notice in a number of these pictures some vignetting. Unfortunately, this is caused by the inclusion of three filters that I had on the front of the camera. I should have taken one of them off, but I didn’t see the vignetting as I was taking the pictures. Oh well.
Ferry Works at Thames Ditton
In the pictures (at the link above) you will see a number of shots taken along the way to the office. When I set-out, I had intended to take a picture every 100 steps. Unfortunately, I think I forgot to take one every 100 steps and I got distracted going through The Wilderness and wanted to take some pictures.
Today was absolutely gorgeous! It was bright and sunny and about sixty-five. The outside tables at the King’s Arms pub were already full as I walked past it on the way through the Lion Gate.
I stopped to take a picture of the tracks as they cross summer road because I liked the way the disappeared off into the distance. It was a busy day at the sport ground with a bunch of the local kids playing soccer or rugby or something.
That being said, it is off to the office.
On the way to the office we start-out crossing the yard at The Mews at the Lion Gate Inn in Hampton Court. The day is sunny and warm and the sky is absolutely blue and clear. Rounding the wall around The Mews courtyard, we get to the Lion Gate. I took a number of pictures of the columns and the gate before entering The Wilderness.
By the way, you’ll notice in a number of these pictures some vignetting. Unfortunately, this is caused by the inclusion of three filters that I had on the front of the camera. I should have taken one of them off, but I didn’t see the vignetting as I was taking the pictures. Oh well.
As mentioned, I decided to take some time and some pictures in The Wilderness before continuing on to the office so there are a number of pictures of the daffodils and other flowers in the garden. I also took a number of self portraits. I am not really happy with any of them, but I decided when I started this blog that I would upload all the photos I am taking – even the bad ones – so that you could see the process of taking pictures the way I do. Having tarried a while, I continue south, through the tilting yard and past the castle itself.
Spring in Bloom
I am assuming that the ball-shaped foreign vegetation growing high in some of the trees on the palace grounds is mistletoe.
Exiting the castle grounds on the south side, I walk along the Thames River for a short piece, and then turn left and walk along the A309 though East Molesey to Summer Road. This stretch is a bit the longest, most boring stretch of the walk.
Once on Summer Road, I head east back toward the Thames and into the village of Thames Ditton. I walk past the narrow street with too many cars parked on them and up to the Ferry Works, where the office is located. The Ferry Works is in an old factory that at the turn of the last century was in the business of making parts for the ferries that ran all up-and-down the Thames. There is a cool view of the roofline that shows the serrated line of the roof with the huge banks of windows.
On the way back, I spotted something that took me aback. If this is what it appears to be, it is the largest Spanish Bayonet that I have ever seen! I had not expected to see tropical plants in England; I had thought this was a temperate climate rather than a tropical one. Well, it is lunchtime and I am off to the pub for a bight and then into Surbiton for some shopping. More on this gorgeous weekend tomorrow.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 19-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
Spring in Bloom
I am assuming that the ball-shaped foreign vegetation growing high in some of the trees on the palace grounds is mistletoe.
Exiting the castle grounds on the south side, I walk along the Thames River for a short piece, and then turn left and walk along the A309 though East Molesey to Summer Road. This stretch is a bit the longest, most boring stretch of the walk.
Once on Summer Road, I head east back toward the Thames and into the village of Thames Ditton. I walk past the narrow street with too many cars parked on them and up to the Ferry Works, where the office is located. The Ferry Works is in an old factory that at the turn of the last century was in the business of making parts for the ferries that ran all up-and-down the Thames. There is a cool view of the roofline that shows the serrated line of the roof with the huge banks of windows.
On the way back, I spotted something that took me aback. If this is what it appears to be, it is the largest Spanish Bayonet that I have ever seen! I had not expected to see tropical plants in England; I had thought this was a temperate climate rather than a tropical one. Well, it is lunchtime and I am off to the pub for a bight and then into Surbiton for some shopping. More on this gorgeous weekend tomorrow.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 19-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
18 March 2005
A Fine Spring Day
It is a fine spring day in the United Kingdom. At least it is in my little corner of it!
At lunch time, I strolled across Thames Ditton along the church walk and admired the beauty of the daffodils and the crocuses in the church yard. They spring from everywhere! Headstones sprout out of patches of yellow, white and purple. The graves take on a festive rather than an oppressive feel. It is vastly different than that foggy evening that I almost killed myself on the statuary overhanging the path.
I took the long way through the church walk to the Village Bakery to get a bacon and brie sandwich on a grilled baguette. (Yum! Grilled cheese made with Brie!) It being a nice day, I was in no particular hurry to return to the office, so rather than heading straight back to the office along the main road, I took the church walk back as well and decided to eat in the memorial garden.
This was, apparently, also the day that the local kindergarten decided to have their Easter Egg Hunt! The church walk was packed with munchkin-sized children all gathered around an occasional adult headed for the memorial garden. It was at this point that I leaned an interesting fact. The children were filing past two-by-two, holding hands so that nobody could wander off unnoticed. As one of the couplets in the line passed me, a little curly-headed brunette child wearing an actual red riding hood (yes, just like in all the children’s books) was telling her companion child that “When you die, you become a statue.”
“A what?” asked her teacher who would have been just outside of comfortable hearing range.
“A statue.” Responded the little girl. “That is why there are so many statues in the church yard.”
The teacher could stifle her chuckles only a bit better than I could. I was still chuckling as I entered the memorial garden. Here I dug-out the sandwich and soda that I had brought for lunch. About a minute later, the entire class entered the yard.
The memorial garden is a beautiful, walled-in space that is incredibly tranquil. I went there a couple times in the fall, when I was last here. I can see that it is a far nicer place to pass a lunch hour on such a fine spring day.
The children were darling! They each had half of a paper Easter Egg clutched in their little hand. On a signal from one of the teachers, they ran around the garden looking for the half of the egg that matched the one they carried. It was obvious that this concept was a bit advanced for a couple of the children. More than one of them fled back past me on the walk to show their teacher that they had “found their egg” even though it was so obvious that they had the wrong half of the egg that I could spot it from across the garden where I sat.
One or two of the children approached me and asked it I was sitting on their Easter Egg. When I responded that I wasn’t, their teacher admonished them to not bug me and allow me to eat my lunch. After finishing my lunch, I went back to the office to get my PDA and take some pictures of this fine day in the garden. It was a beautiful lunch hour. I am hoping the fair weather holds.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are! Don Bergquist – 18-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
At lunch time, I strolled across Thames Ditton along the church walk and admired the beauty of the daffodils and the crocuses in the church yard. They spring from everywhere! Headstones sprout out of patches of yellow, white and purple. The graves take on a festive rather than an oppressive feel. It is vastly different than that foggy evening that I almost killed myself on the statuary overhanging the path.
Spring Time in the Church Yard
…and speaking of statuary, I have to impart the wisdom I gained today at lunch. Out of the mouths of babes!I took the long way through the church walk to the Village Bakery to get a bacon and brie sandwich on a grilled baguette. (Yum! Grilled cheese made with Brie!) It being a nice day, I was in no particular hurry to return to the office, so rather than heading straight back to the office along the main road, I took the church walk back as well and decided to eat in the memorial garden.
This was, apparently, also the day that the local kindergarten decided to have their Easter Egg Hunt! The church walk was packed with munchkin-sized children all gathered around an occasional adult headed for the memorial garden. It was at this point that I leaned an interesting fact. The children were filing past two-by-two, holding hands so that nobody could wander off unnoticed. As one of the couplets in the line passed me, a little curly-headed brunette child wearing an actual red riding hood (yes, just like in all the children’s books) was telling her companion child that “When you die, you become a statue.”
“A what?” asked her teacher who would have been just outside of comfortable hearing range.
“A statue.” Responded the little girl. “That is why there are so many statues in the church yard.”
The teacher could stifle her chuckles only a bit better than I could. I was still chuckling as I entered the memorial garden. Here I dug-out the sandwich and soda that I had brought for lunch. About a minute later, the entire class entered the yard.
The memorial garden is a beautiful, walled-in space that is incredibly tranquil. I went there a couple times in the fall, when I was last here. I can see that it is a far nicer place to pass a lunch hour on such a fine spring day.
The children were darling! They each had half of a paper Easter Egg clutched in their little hand. On a signal from one of the teachers, they ran around the garden looking for the half of the egg that matched the one they carried. It was obvious that this concept was a bit advanced for a couple of the children. More than one of them fled back past me on the walk to show their teacher that they had “found their egg” even though it was so obvious that they had the wrong half of the egg that I could spot it from across the garden where I sat.
One or two of the children approached me and asked it I was sitting on their Easter Egg. When I responded that I wasn’t, their teacher admonished them to not bug me and allow me to eat my lunch. After finishing my lunch, I went back to the office to get my PDA and take some pictures of this fine day in the garden. It was a beautiful lunch hour. I am hoping the fair weather holds.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are! Don Bergquist – 18-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
17 March 2005
Tourists and Travelers
It's hard not to have a concept of what a tourist is when you grow-up in South Florida. Tourists are those annoying strangers who do not have the foggiest notion of how to drive, navigate, or speak so they can be understood. They generally have no idea how to behave in (what passes for) polite society in Miami. Didn’t they have mothers? This misbehaving in public was something that my mother would never tolerate. When we were growing up we would behave because we knew there would be hell to pay if we didn’t behave in public. Even if Mom wasn’t there when we acted-up, she’d find out and we’d have to answer to mother eventually.
It is not hard to imagine what the tourists must think of those of us lucky enough to live in a tourist Mecca. Those who are not envious of us for getting to live in paradise must think we're hopelessly provincial for believing that this hot, humid, swampy home of the flying cockroach called the "Palmetto Bug" is paradise! This also gives one some insight into what the locals must be thinking about you when you're the tourist.
It's this last lesson that has guided my behavior during my travels on business. For the majority of the last fifteen years, I've been a business traveler. I comfort myself by remembering that there is a difference between a tourist and a business traveler. If you doubt me, take a look around the next time you're at the airport. You’ll be able to tell the business travelers from the tourist at a glance. The business travelers are the ones that are at home in their element. They are doing one of two things; working or relaxing. The tourists are not as comfortable in this environment. They are either excited to get to their destination or regretting that they have to leave. They tend to sit there wishing that the plane were at the gate, or boarding, or taking off… The business traveler accepts the fact that the travel schedule is more-or-less a work of fiction and is intended only as a basic guess as to when (and if) you might be traveling.
Granted, the business traveler is not faultless. Some are inconsiderate bastards who think they have a right to carry the whole of their belongings onto airplanes. They shove six or seven of their carry-on bags into the overhead bins so that nobody else has room, they put their computer cases in the seats that seem to be empty (because they were when they got on the plane) and then act put-out that they have to move their crap when the occupant of that seat makes it onto the plane… but these are not the business travelers that I want to consider. I am certain that these idiots have their own private circle of Hell prepared for them… one which is hopefully somewhere out on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare perhaps.
The other place that you will immediately be able to tell the business traveler (the nice ones at least) from the tourist is in a restaurant. The business traveler is there to eat. The tourist is there to “experience the local flavor.” Now, that is not to say that the business traveler doesn’t appreciate the regional differences between place A and place B, it means only that this is not the primary reason he left place A for place B. It is either this reason or just the fact that I have witnessed the bad behavior of so many tourists that leads me to try and be cool at all times when not at home.
The reason for this entry in my blog was that the subject of feeling out of one’s element was the topic of discussion at the pub last night. One of the patrons picked-up on my being an American and noted that until I had spoken to him (and he heard the accent) he’d had no idea that I was a foreigner. He said the he could usually spot a foreigner at a hundred paces because they usually seemed so out of their element.
I guess that this makes me feel good to seem so comfortable in my surroundings. On my last visit I witnessed (what I considered to be) the reason for the “Ugly American” stereotype when a family from New England came into the pub and spend most of the time complaining about this and that. They even complained (albeit mildly) at the fact that the first pub they entered upon arriving in the UK was entirely full of Americans. (It’s true. The two women working at the time were both expatriates, and I was there on business from the states. Until the locals started showing up a bit later on, there was nobody in the pub but the publican who was not from the United States. ) It was embarrassing but I am informed that the Americans are nice compared to the French or the Germans.
I heard a good observation during the conversation at the pub last night; the difference between a tourist and a business traveler is that the tourist expects to have a great time when they are traveling. They think it is their right to have a good time and they're often disappointed. Thebusiness traveler, on the other hand, travels and if they have a good time, they consider it a bonus. For this reason, tourists are a pain in the ass and business travelers are a pleasure to deal with. I think this may be an oversimplification, but I hope that I am a business traveler (by this definition) even when I am on vacation. I think this is the way to travel… it is the experience you are after! Good or bad you can take something away from every experience so when you travel.
For those of you who act like the tourists as defined by the gang at the pub remember, you may have to answer to your mother some day so behave yourself!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 17-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
It is not hard to imagine what the tourists must think of those of us lucky enough to live in a tourist Mecca. Those who are not envious of us for getting to live in paradise must think we're hopelessly provincial for believing that this hot, humid, swampy home of the flying cockroach called the "Palmetto Bug" is paradise! This also gives one some insight into what the locals must be thinking about you when you're the tourist.
It's this last lesson that has guided my behavior during my travels on business. For the majority of the last fifteen years, I've been a business traveler. I comfort myself by remembering that there is a difference between a tourist and a business traveler. If you doubt me, take a look around the next time you're at the airport. You’ll be able to tell the business travelers from the tourist at a glance. The business travelers are the ones that are at home in their element. They are doing one of two things; working or relaxing. The tourists are not as comfortable in this environment. They are either excited to get to their destination or regretting that they have to leave. They tend to sit there wishing that the plane were at the gate, or boarding, or taking off… The business traveler accepts the fact that the travel schedule is more-or-less a work of fiction and is intended only as a basic guess as to when (and if) you might be traveling.
Granted, the business traveler is not faultless. Some are inconsiderate bastards who think they have a right to carry the whole of their belongings onto airplanes. They shove six or seven of their carry-on bags into the overhead bins so that nobody else has room, they put their computer cases in the seats that seem to be empty (because they were when they got on the plane) and then act put-out that they have to move their crap when the occupant of that seat makes it onto the plane… but these are not the business travelers that I want to consider. I am certain that these idiots have their own private circle of Hell prepared for them… one which is hopefully somewhere out on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare perhaps.
The other place that you will immediately be able to tell the business traveler (the nice ones at least) from the tourist is in a restaurant. The business traveler is there to eat. The tourist is there to “experience the local flavor.” Now, that is not to say that the business traveler doesn’t appreciate the regional differences between place A and place B, it means only that this is not the primary reason he left place A for place B. It is either this reason or just the fact that I have witnessed the bad behavior of so many tourists that leads me to try and be cool at all times when not at home.
The reason for this entry in my blog was that the subject of feeling out of one’s element was the topic of discussion at the pub last night. One of the patrons picked-up on my being an American and noted that until I had spoken to him (and he heard the accent) he’d had no idea that I was a foreigner. He said the he could usually spot a foreigner at a hundred paces because they usually seemed so out of their element.
I guess that this makes me feel good to seem so comfortable in my surroundings. On my last visit I witnessed (what I considered to be) the reason for the “Ugly American” stereotype when a family from New England came into the pub and spend most of the time complaining about this and that. They even complained (albeit mildly) at the fact that the first pub they entered upon arriving in the UK was entirely full of Americans. (It’s true. The two women working at the time were both expatriates, and I was there on business from the states. Until the locals started showing up a bit later on, there was nobody in the pub but the publican who was not from the United States. ) It was embarrassing but I am informed that the Americans are nice compared to the French or the Germans.
I heard a good observation during the conversation at the pub last night; the difference between a tourist and a business traveler is that the tourist expects to have a great time when they are traveling. They think it is their right to have a good time and they're often disappointed. Thebusiness traveler, on the other hand, travels and if they have a good time, they consider it a bonus. For this reason, tourists are a pain in the ass and business travelers are a pleasure to deal with. I think this may be an oversimplification, but I hope that I am a business traveler (by this definition) even when I am on vacation. I think this is the way to travel… it is the experience you are after! Good or bad you can take something away from every experience so when you travel.
For those of you who act like the tourists as defined by the gang at the pub remember, you may have to answer to your mother some day so behave yourself!
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 17-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
16 March 2005
Small World
You've probably heard it said that it's a small world. I'm here to tell you that it's all a matter of perspective. As someone who has not yet lost the crick in my back from trying to sleep through a ten-hour flight to get here, I can say that I think it is a fairly large world. Small plane, large world!
But when the planets from the solar system get together on the celestial playground Earth might tower over that wimp, Mercury, and let's not even talk about Pluto! Why, even that kid next door, Mars, could take him no problem. But just go and tell those big brothers and there will be trouble. The big kids from the neighborhood on the other side of the asteroid tracks show up, and we'd better have a care! Heck, even Neptune could take on all the kids from our block (and send our twin sister, Venus running home in tears) with one ring tied behind his back!
While imagining some grand celestial playground is fun, I'm fairly certain that most people who use that expression are using it in its more figurative sense as an expression of surprise at a seemingly chance meeting under unexpected circumstances; such as the meeting that happened yesterday at lunch in a small restaurant here in Thames Ditton.
Thames Ditton is small! As I have noted before, it is a small hamlet (…or is it village? Apparently there is a distinction that I am not quite clear on…) about half-an-hour to forty-five minutes south and west of London by train. You can walk across Thames Ditton in ten minutes. (I know… I have!) Were you to live here it would be pretty likely that you would know a goodly portion of the village population; by site if not by name. The United States by contrast, is big. About 3.5 million square miles with a population approaching three billion people… It would take considerably more than ten minutes to walk across – even at a relatively narrow part. And you can just forget about knowing everybody!
That is why I found it strange when, at lunch yesterday, the owner of the restaurant (who recognized me from my last trip here) absolutely lit up when she saw me and welcomed me back. She then offered to introduce me to an American couple eating in the restaurant at the same time.
“This is Mark and Bev.” She said, introducing the couple. “They’re from the states too; South Carolina. Do you know each other?”
Here’s the weird part. I of course would have had a better chance of hitting the Power Ball last week (Which I haven’t checked yet so who knows!) than of having known these randomly selected South Carolinians, but the connection was there! Their first question whether I was the man from the American couple living on the island in the Thames behind the Ferry Works. (My office is in the Ferry Works. If you look at the pictures taken from my office window last month showing the Thames, the footbridge goes from the mainland on the right to the island on the left.) Later in our chat, they said that they were from Mount Pleasant. Well, they said Charleston, but when I asked “What part? I have friends who live in the historic district.” They admitted that it was actually Mount Pleasant, across the harbor. I admitted of knowing the area, having a client that I once visited there on business and passing through it each year on my way to my friends’ Beach House at Debordieu Colony.
“We know Debbie-Dew!” they exclaimed.
I explained where my friends from Charleston live, just by the Harris Teeter near the downtown area. They explained that they had lived on Wentworth Street which is in that general area until they had their children and had to move to a bigger house. My friends live on Wentworth! They did not know the Colonel and his wife, but they apparently lived within a couple blocks of each other for a couple years.
My point, I guess is that it is strange and inexplicable how two random people who happen to be in this country for completely different reasons can meet by chance, coming from such a large and diverse place as the United States, and end-up having such a chance common bond. I guess it is a small world after all!
I’m almost afraid to meet the American couple that is living on the island in the Thames that is right outside my office window. They might be my parents or something equally strange and inexplicable.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 16-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
But when the planets from the solar system get together on the celestial playground Earth might tower over that wimp, Mercury, and let's not even talk about Pluto! Why, even that kid next door, Mars, could take him no problem. But just go and tell those big brothers and there will be trouble. The big kids from the neighborhood on the other side of the asteroid tracks show up, and we'd better have a care! Heck, even Neptune could take on all the kids from our block (and send our twin sister, Venus running home in tears) with one ring tied behind his back!
While imagining some grand celestial playground is fun, I'm fairly certain that most people who use that expression are using it in its more figurative sense as an expression of surprise at a seemingly chance meeting under unexpected circumstances; such as the meeting that happened yesterday at lunch in a small restaurant here in Thames Ditton.
Thames Ditton is small! As I have noted before, it is a small hamlet (…or is it village? Apparently there is a distinction that I am not quite clear on…) about half-an-hour to forty-five minutes south and west of London by train. You can walk across Thames Ditton in ten minutes. (I know… I have!) Were you to live here it would be pretty likely that you would know a goodly portion of the village population; by site if not by name. The United States by contrast, is big. About 3.5 million square miles with a population approaching three billion people… It would take considerably more than ten minutes to walk across – even at a relatively narrow part. And you can just forget about knowing everybody!
That is why I found it strange when, at lunch yesterday, the owner of the restaurant (who recognized me from my last trip here) absolutely lit up when she saw me and welcomed me back. She then offered to introduce me to an American couple eating in the restaurant at the same time.
“This is Mark and Bev.” She said, introducing the couple. “They’re from the states too; South Carolina. Do you know each other?”
Here’s the weird part. I of course would have had a better chance of hitting the Power Ball last week (Which I haven’t checked yet so who knows!) than of having known these randomly selected South Carolinians, but the connection was there! Their first question whether I was the man from the American couple living on the island in the Thames behind the Ferry Works. (My office is in the Ferry Works. If you look at the pictures taken from my office window last month showing the Thames, the footbridge goes from the mainland on the right to the island on the left.) Later in our chat, they said that they were from Mount Pleasant. Well, they said Charleston, but when I asked “What part? I have friends who live in the historic district.” They admitted that it was actually Mount Pleasant, across the harbor. I admitted of knowing the area, having a client that I once visited there on business and passing through it each year on my way to my friends’ Beach House at Debordieu Colony.
“We know Debbie-Dew!” they exclaimed.
I explained where my friends from Charleston live, just by the Harris Teeter near the downtown area. They explained that they had lived on Wentworth Street which is in that general area until they had their children and had to move to a bigger house. My friends live on Wentworth! They did not know the Colonel and his wife, but they apparently lived within a couple blocks of each other for a couple years.
My point, I guess is that it is strange and inexplicable how two random people who happen to be in this country for completely different reasons can meet by chance, coming from such a large and diverse place as the United States, and end-up having such a chance common bond. I guess it is a small world after all!
I’m almost afraid to meet the American couple that is living on the island in the Thames that is right outside my office window. They might be my parents or something equally strange and inexplicable.
I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are!
Don Bergquist – 16-March-2005 – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
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