My weekend in Coventry

This weekend, I went to stay with the Littlefords in Conventry. They actually live in Kenilworth, which is a cute little suburb of Coventry. Bianca has been living with them for the past month, and will continue to live with them until she leaves for Brazil on December 9. David Littleford is the president of the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club (my host club) and his wife Gill is so sweet! They're in their early 60s and have two children who are in their mid-thirties. The Littlefords are great, and really made me feel welcome. Kenilworth reminds me a little bit of Madison...a safe, small town with a good school district. Unlike Madison, however, Kenilworth is built around the ruins of a huge castle, Kenilworth Castle. On Friday night, Gill cooked fish (as in the kind that goes with chips), vegetables, and blueberry crumble. Fruit crumbles are popular desserts in England, and are very similar to what we call "cobbler." Also, the English very rarely use the word "dessert." They either say "sweet" or "pudding." Pudding can be anything from actual pudding to crumbles to cake! After dinner, we watched...TV! Hooray! I haven't gotten to watch TV since I've been here! Tooley and I have the British version of Netflix, so we mostly watch DVDs. I got to watch three episodes of "Friends," and I was in hog heaven! We also watched that new show "Brat Camp." Gill asked me if I thought children are worse in England or the U.S, and I told her that I think they're the same. Sure, we have crazy hoodlums in the U.S. that rob people and bring guns to school, but they have the exact same problem in England. In fact, on the BBC news, there was a report about how the schools are having an epidemic of bullies. At least three times a week we'll read in the paper about a girl getting stabbed in the eye in the lunch line, or a boy getting beat up after school, and even kids killing their classmates! We watched the England vs. Argentina football (soccer) match, which England won, and David and Gill told me about a baseball "match" that they went to in Seattle, which they said was "lovely." It was so cute hearing them talk about the pitcher throwing the ball to "that guy with the mask...what's he called...the catcher!" As you can see, baseball is NOT an English sport. On Saturday, we woke up and went to Leamington Spa to do a little bit of shopping. David and Gill went to Marks and Spencer (an upscale Wal-mart), and Bianca and I checked out some cute clothing stores. My absolute favorite stores in England are H&M, River Island, New Look, and Top Shop...SO CUTE! After we left Leamington Spa, we went home for lunch, and Bianca went to the theater with one of her friends who was in town for the afternoon. David, Gill, and I were supposed to work at the Rotary Disabled Sports Event, but they had too many people working, so they took me to see some old homes in Coventry. We went to Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House, which are old Elizabethan homes with gorgeous countryside. We walked around the grounds, and it was beautiful! Afterwards, we went to Melbicks, a popular lawn and garden center that was decorated for Christmas. By the time we arrived back at their house, Bianca was just getting home from the theater. Brian Russell and his partner Jean (they've been dating for 24 years but aren't married) came over, and we all went to a pub called The Anchor for a nice meal. Brian is the Vice President of the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club, and he and Jean have a daughter that's three years younger than me. I learned a new phrase..."getting your mickey." You can also say "taking your mickey." Tooley and I have heard it before, and it means getting a rise out of someone. That's the British humor for you...they like to try and get you riled up. If someone from England was "trying to get my mickey," they would make a joke about the Revolutionary War. The common joke here is "Do you know what they told the Queen when the war broke out against the colonies?" "No, what?" "Oh, it's nothing, just a skirmish on the outskirts of the Empire." Clever, huh? Funny story...I had to ask Gill what a faggot is, because it was on the menu! I had no clue what it could mean, and I was a little embarrassed about asking her, b/c it's such an un-P.C. term. Apparently, faggot means meatball. Good to know, huh? Today (Sunday), we watched the Remembrance Sunday celebration (I'll write more about that tomorrow), and had a delicious home-cooked lunch of chicken, parsnips, new potatoes, cauliflower and cheese, stuffing, and apple crumble. Bianca and I went walking around Kenilworth and checked out the castle, and then they brought me back to Stratford. It's nice being back! I started getting really homesick in Kenilworth...I think it was because I was staying in a real home with a family. It sure made me miss my home and family and friends! When I got back, Tooley told me that she had gotten really homesick this weekend, too, so we talked and feel much better now. I miss everyone from home, so please call or send me an email if you think about it! :) Tomorrow I'll write more about the weekend, because this post is already pretty long. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Me and Bianca before going to eat at The Anchor

Brian Russell, Jean, and David Littleford

Gill Littleford, me, and Bianca