Becoming British: Part I

This is the first part of a series on becoming British, that is, on acquiring the true markers of the Brits, so to live amongst them incognito. This first part has to do with the defining element of life here: one's football (soccer) team.


Aston Villa shield: the Lion, Rarr.

After much reflection and fasting, I've decided to support Aston Villa. That's right, I'm now what they call a 'Villan'. The reasons are simple. One: Villa is an old team, one of the founding twelve of 1888. Two: they're close to us, just a couple hours' drive away in Birmingham. Three: they're manager, Martin O'Neil, is a good coach and a neat guy. And four: they're good, darned good.


Villa Park in 1948, 70 years after the team was founded.

What this means in practice is that I'm now opposed to our arch rival, Birmingham City. When this name is mentioned, I become visibly angry and say bad things about them, really bad things--about their mothers, their breeding, and of course about their working-class accent. But our rivalry, I'm told, is not as bad as with other teams, so I don't stab, shoot, or generally maim them.


My guys doing their thing.

What Have We Been Up To?

Hello Everyone!

Boy, it's been too long since we've tried being organized and kept our blog up to date! I have so many photos and stories to post! We want to thank you all for checking this site on occasion, looking for updates! Hopefully we can remedy our "blogless symptoms"! I thought I'd jot down a few fun things we've been doing these days!

1. Driving! - AJ and I acquired a fun, little Citroen AX car and been having a blast with our newfound freedom! Not to disappoint the Colorado blood that now runs through us, I often demand at least one good "walk" a weekend. AJ found a great book on walks around the Bristol area, ranging from 5 miles to 25 miles. We've tackled about 8 so far...and we have been inspired by the England countryside! If any friends or family make it here for a visit, no doubt we'll want to drag you along on one of these ventures!

2. Fly-Tying! - AJ just joined the local fly-tying guild that meets on Wednesday nights. He tells me that he is one of the youngest attendees! It's a known fact that fly-fishing is an "older man's" sport here. Ahhh well! An early start is never harmful, I suppose!

3. Running! - Okay, I must admit...I am having a BLAST here! I joined the Great Western Runners days after we arrived here, and I just can't get enough. If I can explain, the enthusiasm for running here seems to surpass even that in Colorado...which is a BOLD statement! It's incredible! Folks are very serious about their running. Formal practice is available almost every day of the week, if you're up for it and every weekend has between 3 to 10 available races in the area. The cross country season just ended, with the last race this past Saturday here in Bristol at Blaise Castle. It was awesome! I think I scared AJ when I appeared to be in "La La Land" at the finish. It was a little warmer outside, I think. Ahh well, it was a successful race! AJ and I have our eyes set on the Brisol 10k coming up and then the Welsh Castle Relay in June! Lots of fun!

4. School/Work! - Nothing too exciting to report on this front, except good progress and good work, I suppose! AJ is flourishing under his "mentorship" program here at Trinity College. He's made a permanent home down in the basement of the college library and even has "his seat". Next year's freshman ought to beware...they better not sit in his spot! Ha.Ha. Work is going great for me, too! They give me so much responsibility that it's almost scary! I had a blast working on a hydraulic modelling job and was even summoned for meeting with the client in Glasgow & Edinburgh, Scotland! Boy, I was enamored with the sites, the accent (way strong!), and the scenery!

5. Church! - AJ and I are truly enjoying our Bible Study that meets every Thursday. Contrary to our experience with Honeymooners at Little Bible Chapel, we are about half the age of the next youngest attendees! Ha.Ha. There is great wisdom to gain from that, for sure! We've learned a lot and have enjoyed the engaging conversations and study.

I suppose I should sign off here and attend to my responsibilities here at work! Thanks for reading and we hope to be in touch sooner than later!

AJ & Andie

P.S. We're looking forward to our grand U.S. adventure in mid-April! We'll be in CO from Wed. April 16th - Fri. April 20th and WI from Thu. April 3rd - Fri. April 11th. Cheers!

Tea!

Did I ever mention how much the English LOVE their tea? Ha.Ha. AJ and I have to admit that we’ve jumped on the bandwagon, too! I usually end the day consuming at least 4 mugs of tea at work. As feared, my teeth are not as pearly white as they used to be! Ughh!

Last December, AJ and I helped move our dear, newly married friends Dave and Emma into their first home. Before work could begin, an electric kettle was found in the stash to brew some tea! Here’s Dave, Eddy, and Jimmy taking a break after moving the couches!

Not to be outdone, here we are with my mug. As you can see, AJ is pondering the joys of tea…

Bridgend Cross Country Race!

Running has been a BLAST here in England! When the running club I joined in September invited me to run on their cross country team for the season, I was thrilled! So far, I’ve participated in five races, with locations ranging from Wales to Exmouth (south coast). Supposedly, cross country is a “winter” sport here in England, and with that comes MUD!

In one particular race (Bridgend, Wales), the mud was so thick and so sloppy that it was almost a joke! (It didn’t help that I left my running spikes in the U.S.!) I wish I had carried my camera during the race to document the adventure! We were greeted with frosty, gusty winds at the start, then a downpour of rain for most of the race, with pelting hail greeting us at the finish! Whoa, that stuff is painful! We did capture a few photos minutes after the race…great memories!

Here’s Cat, Lucy, and I! How did they manage to stay so clean?!? Ha.Ha.

My shoes were only 1 month old prior to the race…sparkly white, no more!


Here’s 67 year old Audrey racing home to the finish! What an inspiration!

A close-up of the backside damage! Yikes!

The frigid streams made for a great make-shift shower for scores of runners like me! Brrrrr!!

Here’s a picture of the start of the men’s race…check out that mud!

I have to say that joining Great Western Runners has been one of the best experiences of my time here in England! I always look forward to the hard Wednesday night runs and the racing adventures! There are just too many memories to describe! Coach Antczak would be proud to hear that I am signed up to run the 10th leg of the “Welsh Castle Relay” race this June! The two-day race starts on the northern border of Wales and ends at the Cardiff Castle in the south! I’d like to think of it as an affordable way to see all of Wales! Ha.Ha.

Amusing Signs!

Living in England has been amusing these past 5 months! From 80's fashions and high boots, to narrow roads (so narrow you have to pull over for others to go by!), tiny refrigerators, uniformed children (even toddlers!), to different names for things (for instance, what we call “bangs” for hair, they call “fringe”, and what we call "desserts", they call "puddings"). Our cultural differences are always a topic of comical discussion! AJ was inspired to have a dedicated blog segment to some of the funny signs hanging around. We’ve captured a few on film for your amusement!

A common sign posted on electrical stations…no room for imagination on this one!

The company I work for has had a number of break-ins this past fall. In an effort to ward off potential thieves, a manager decided to post 20 of these signs around the building to scare them off! The problem is that it’s obvious our building sits on a tight piece of land…where would these (friendly) dogs be hiding? Hmmmm….

I thought this was kind of cute!

You will find this hilarious sign in parks around Bristol. AJ thought the doggie looked ferocious!

Our personal favorite! Can you believe this one? Would you be insulted if you were elderly?! Wow!

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY AJ!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all our friends and family who remembered AJ's birthday on December 20th, whether by email, post, or by phone! He absolutely LOVED hearing from you all! It was especially treasured because he spent his birthday (AND Christmas AND New Year's) sick with the flu, and later pneumonia. Yuck! It's been a tough two weeks for him. Hopefully he'll be up and running here soon (literally)!

I came home from work on my lunch hour and found AJ like this on his birthday! This is just before the full-force of the flu/pneumonia kicked in.

You may recognize the book in his hand...Harry Potter, Book 7! AJ "discovered" the joys of the Harry Potter series and ripped through all 7 books in less than 2 months. He was so thankful that he didn't have to wait a year between books, like our dear friends Aaron & Ellie!