We're NOT Going up with Jimmy and Willy

So, the annoying/amusing song that my wife and many others in the city have been singing/chanting is "We're going up... with Jimmy and Willy", a reference to Cambridge United's head and assistant coaches and the team playing for promotion to the League.

Well, United lost Sunday 1-0. Time to change the lyrics. Maybe "We're going up...next year with Jimmy" (Willy is a scout turned assistant coach so no big loss to the song!)

Here's a quick photoalbum of the big game (the videos only seem to work on some computers) and I'll post more when the house guests are gone--jt


Sad but still United proud

Are you ready for some (English) football?

Today's the day. The rain of the past few days is gone and the sky is a brilliant blue. A nice contrast for the Amber Army about to invade London--a few pubs open at 11am so some folks will be heading down on the 10am train even though kickoff is at 4pm. The British version of tail-gating, I guess. I've enjoyed watching Cambridge this week gear up for the big game. It's been the front page story on the Cambridge Evening News twice and the paper put out a 12 page special section on Thursday. When I went to pick up my tickets that day, there was a TV crew interviewing people standing in line. And everyone there was buying United t-shirts, flags, banners, etc. --I had to buy a few things as well, of course. The online fan forums are going crazy as people urge everyone to out-sing, out-chant and out-cheer the Exeter fans. It's a interesting mix of NFL football fanaticism and college football enthusiasm--the Aggies out there might be interested to hear all the discussion of the crowd being the 12th Man today. I watched the FA cup on TV yesterday and those fans must have had about 5,000 flags. It will be fun to 20,000 people bouncing--I learned this week that the Bounce Bounce chant is not an old English tradition--it may even be unique to the U's here in the UK. The chap who pounds the drums for United recently went to South America and saw that at soccer matches there, people started counting down--10,9, 8....and then started bouncing. He decided that would be a family-friendly cheer for United--many of the English football songs/cheers are laced with profanity--and so adapted it to "Bounce Bounce Amber Army Bounce Bounce". The first Bounce Bounce was only at a September game. KT and I will be wearing our Bounce Bounce shirts today--The U's are Going Up!--JT

Bottled Up

The house is getting quite full. Our friend and freelance writer Christy, who just spent a month in Berlin, dropped in last weekend on her way back to the U.S. and leaves next week. Today, the new magazine intern arrived and is staying with us as she seeks an apartment. Monday, John B, our Vienna correspondent, and his girlfriend arrive for few days. We think we have enough pillows, towels, and beds for all!

In any case, over the past two weeks, it has been gorgeous here in Cambridge. So we walked around the city with Christy over the weekend. One stop Saturday was at an art gallery called Kettle's Yard, which is hosting an exhibition called Beyond Measure on art and science. We went to hear a talk by Alan Bennett, a veteran glassblower. Bennett started making scientific instruments but soon grew curious about Klein bottles, a three-dimensional version of a Moebius strip--the bottle has one continuous surface with no edges. With good humor, Bennett explained how he made more and more complicated Klein bottles and other objects. At the right is one of his more spectacular examples-three Klein bottles, one inside another. Here's a very nice article on the math and background of Klein bottles. Among mathematicians Bennett has become a bit of a celebrity--his work even was written up in Scientific American. While it was a beautiful sunny day, the hour spent in the stuffy gallery room was well worth it--it's always inspiring to hear someone who follows their passion and curiosity.--JT

Trip Report: The Lake District (Part 2)

Back in March, we left you in the middle our week-long Lake District trip--If you need a recap, here's part one and here's the photoalbum.

So, where were we....Tuesday we headed to Bowness-on-Windermere to catch the ferry across the lake. The lake is only 11 miles long so it's not that big of a deal to drive around it. By why do that when you can pay 3 quid to take a ferry? Once on the west side of the lake, we headed to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's Lake District home from 1905. The famous author of The Tales of Peter Rabbit wrote many of her subsequent books in the house (right) and so fell in love with the area that she bought up plots to protect against development. (Rene Zellewegger played the author in the recent movie Miss Potter and the house's gift shop had the movie on its TV) This is where we learned about the restrictions on building in the national park; the village looks much the same as it did when Potter lived there.

After that it was on to Grizedale Forest, for a 4-mile jaunt--what we would call "hike," what most others call "walk,--through a gorgeous forest. Throughout the trail we followed were many large sculptures (top picture)--this site indicates we didn't come close to seeing them all. We enjoyed our walk and left fairly exhausted. We headed north to the small village of Hawkshead, which we fell in love with. A quick walk (doesn't take but 15 minutes to walk around, and that includes stopping in 3 shops), and a quick half pint at the Kings Arms, and we were on our way to our next destination: The Drunken Duck Inn. Gorgeous venue, lovely bar, beautiful restaurant, OK food. Remember, we're tough customers when it comes to fine dining. I'll take sausage and mash, fish and chips, or a cheeseburger in a pub any day of the week and be beyond content, but starch my napkin and the food better be other-worldly. They definitely make the effort and the food was beautiful to look at, but it was at the expense of taste. Still, though, it was gorgeous.

Wednesday was the day I was sure I'd get to do nothing but read, but instead we went and did a few things. We drove to Staveley to and had lunch at the Eagle and Child (OK, this is the one pub lunch we probably didn't earn, but it was so tasty -- Cumberland sausage for JT and chicken and mushroom pie for me -- mmm.) We bought a bike rack at the fancy bike store. From there we went on to Grasmere, another picturesque village. This one has two claims to fame--William Wordsworth (his home, grave are there--and a museum now, of course) and its celebrated gingerbread . We visited the grave and enjoyed the gingerbread (kind of like homemade graham crackers but sweet) A trip back through Kendal so I could buy a book I had been looking for.

So, failing at doing nothing on Wednesday, I thought Thursday's forecast of constant rain would keep us in for the day. Apparently, though, you don't ever have to be right about the weather to be a meteorologist around here. After a couple hours of early-morning rain, the clouds gave way to gorgeous sunshine. So, we set out on what was supposed to be a quick walk up the big hill behind our cottage. Once we got to the top, we were energized by the walk and the weather and thought we'd keep going and make a big loop. Somewhere a long the way, though, we lost the path and ended up wandering for a total of two and a half hours. We had a good time, though, and met some funny sheep.

After lunch, we headed to Sizergh Castle, where the Strickland family has lived for about 750 years--and several family members continue to reside there. Dinner was a long-planned return to the Watermill Inn, and once again it did not disappoint. We came home and when we got out of the car, looked up and saw an infinite number of stars in the relative darkness of this remote area. It was a nice way to bring our little trip to a close. We're already thinking about a return trip, and how it could easily be a weekend jaunt, particularly if we don't get caught in a 20-mile backup on the M6 like we did this time.

Off to Wembley!

The U's did it! Tuesday night was the home match of the 2 game semi-finals and after getting lucky enough to tie Burton at their home, Cambridge United just needed a win at our home to move on to the brand new Wembley Stadium for a match to determine if the team is promoted to exalted "League" status. All the tickets available to Cambridge fans sold out and Burton brought about 700 away fans so almost 7500 people packed Abbey stadium and were already singing when I arrived about 20 minutes before kick-off. KT was running a bit late--in fact, she missed the first goal. United scored within 30 seconds to send the fans into a frenzy. Burton soon tied the match, however, and dominated the first half--only our excellent goalkeeper kept the score 1-1. The second half was a different story as United played much better and finally went ahead on a fluke goal--a winger kicked what he admitted was intended to be a pass and it kept floating right over their goalie's arms. Bedlam. As the minutes ticked down, the crowd noise grew until everyone let out a sigh of relief when the whistle blew. And then the celebration started, including an impressive "pitch invasion" that saw fans stream onto the field and dance with players (Ok, so we eventually worked our way down to the field just to enjoy the moment--KT went first, not me).

Here's a Youtube link to highlights of the game for the few who care besides me!

Perhaps more amusing is this video of fans celebrating on the field. It includes the famous "Bounce Bounce Amber Army chant" that rocked the stadium throughout the match.

Now to buy tickets for the Sunday May 18 Wembley match--Cambridge sold nearly 10,000 tickets yesterday in the first 8 hours. Go U's! --jt

Beyond Reach

Click here for full photo album of the ride to Reach and Ely

I rode 50 miles and I didn't even win the wheelbarrow of booze? Oh well, it was a great bank holiday nonetheless.

As previous posts will attest, KT and I are enjoying cycling. And this past weekend, on the Monday bank holiday, we went on our longest rides yet, and our first group ride. For the past few years, the Cambridge Cycling Campaign has organized a 20 mile roundtrip ride to the small village of Reach, which has been holding its annual fair in May for the past 808 (!) years. The ride was scheduled to leave at 10am and arrive in Reach by noon, just in time for the opening ceremonies--the Mayor of Cambridge and other VIPs and official dress in traditional garb, sing God Save the Queen and throw newly minted pennies to the masses (to represent the rich giving money to the poor). Most on the ride would spend 2 hours at the fair and then head back to Cambridge, but a few hardy souls would cut their fair visit short to continue onto Ely--where some could train home and others could ride back for a 50 mile overall round trip. KT was happy to go the Reach (she even bought a new bike!) but I seriously wanted to do that long ride, though I had never gone such a distance.

The day was glorious and 80-100 riders gathered at the starting point--including young kids and grandparents. KT and I looked at each other, slightly embarrassed at being nervous about the "long" ride. We chatted a bit with one couple who had a kid along with them and the husband said his motivation was to get to Reach and win the "wheelbarrow of booze". Hmm, this is what England considers a family-friendly fair?


Ride to Reach from dceditors on Vimeo.
(Hmm, until I can get the video embedded click on the Ride to Reach link above this line)

The ride to Reach turned out to be nice and easy. Even at leisurely pace, we were there well before noon--and most of the ride was on traffic-free bike paths. In Reach, the crowds were already streaming in and the beer tents were open! We soon saw the infamous wheelbarrow, with bottles of vodka, gin, the local pub's beer, and KT quickly bought 5 tickets (to support the school's swimming pool, of course!)--none were the winner sadly.



The crowd sang God save the Queen, pennies were tossed, kids danced around a traditional May pole, tents and stalls sold baked goods and fair food, and children in fairy tales costumes skipped around--all in all it was simply delightful. KT and I were amused because everyone was so stunned by the nice weather--it tends to rain on bank holidays and the Reach fair had been rained on the past 5 years

All too soon 1pm neared and I had to decide whether to press on to Ely. There will always be more fairs so why not. About 25 of us set off and biked another hour before a rest stop in the Wicken Fen, a protected nature site. Then it was another hour to Ely, much of it along the banks of the River Ouse--Ely's magnificent cathedral lured us on, even from many miles away. KT and I have visited Ely several times but we had never made it down to the pretty riverfront where we all parked our bikes and dispersed for tea, a pint, or ice cream--or all 3. A few people headed to the train station for the 15 minute ride home but nearly 20 of us started back to Cambridge around 4:30pm. We reached Reach once again around 6pm and stopped for another pint of beer (I see the appeal of English cycling now!) as we watched the fair being taken down--it had closed about 30 minutes before we returned. Then, with legs burning and back stiffening, we made the final dash for food home. Amazingly, the leader of the trip rode in flip-flops, carried a huge flag on his old rusty bike, and had a mammoth basket of food and other supplies weighing him down. And he never broke a sweat. Still, I was very proud I did the whole trip. Next year, however, I'm winning the darn wheelbarrow. --JT

On Going Home

If "home" is defined as "where my bunnies are" (anyone who knew me when I was 4 will get that), then Home is Cambridge. But where my parents are and where my grandparents are come pretty close, too. I've made two business trips to the U.S. in the last two months, one that included a trip to my parents' house in Texas and the other a trip to the family homestead in Wisconsin. Either of these trips could have been hard, like my trip last year, but I did what I could to simply enjoy every moment of each trip and savor the time with family.

But before I get all mooky and introspective, let's talk about what I found strange.

U.S. money is strange to me. Once upon a time I worked the register in a grocery store; I could do a till count as fast as the next person. But British money is all different sizes and hefts, so after being away from the U.S. dollars for a while, they feel strange in my hands.

People in the U.S. do not have washing machines in their kitchens! What a concept! As a corollary, I did two loads of laundry at my parents' house before 10 a.m. one day. That would take me six hours in England. (Although it's more fun doing laundry at Grandma's: Put it down the chute and it comes back up clean. Magic!)

People in the U.S. drive on the wrong side of the road. That statement will not give comfort to the people whose cars I drove on both trips. I have learned how to switch back and forth, but my default is going to be whatever I experienced last. I never did look to the left when crossing a street in Chicago. Fortunately, I escaped disaster.

And then there are the food things -- Chicago pizza, a good hot dog, Mexican food, barbeque, cheese curds, etc. I also didn't realize how much I missed a proper dill pickle. There's nothing more embarrassing than being at Big Important Meeting You Flew 4,000 Miles to Attend, biting into a cold, crisp dill spear during said meeting, uttering an audible, foodgasmic "Mmmm," and having your boss, who, naturally, is sitting right next to you, raise his eyebrows at you and ask, "Good pickle?"

As for the family visits, they were just great. In February, I savored time with my mom and dad as we went for a long drive or roamed about town. I listened to stories from Auntie M. and Grandpa R. about our family lineage. I got to see Maid of Honor's classroom and spend time with her gorgeous daughter. Last week, I dropped in on a family gathering to see cousins I haven't seen in 7 years, and my Grandma E., who I haven't seen since our wedding. I marveled at how grown up Cousin J. is, and went shopping with Auntie G. I went to coffee with Grandpa R. and sat next to one of my dad's high school teachers who told me I looked just like my dad. Grandma G. and I talked books, she showed me her photo albums from her England trips, and she ironed a shirt for my benefit so I could watch and learn how an expert does it.

I smiled at the flat farmland of Walworth County, Wisconsin, realizing it's not so different from England -- and that's probably why I feel so at home in Cambridge. It's hard to leave, but it's also really great to visit, whether it's Texas, Wisconsin, or anywhere. It's been nearly 5 years since I've visited Wisconsin and 20 years since I moved away from it, but no matter how old I get, Wisconsin will always be where I'm from.

The oldest of the Cousins Without Sisters.