I'm catching up on my blogging this morning. It's such a lovely, quiet day!
Maybe you think that with all this traveling to the Ozarks, I'd forgotten about England. LOL Oh ye of little faith!
No, I'm diligently gearing things up for my trip in May. I have the structure around what I want to do, but not too many details. I'm doing my best to keep things as open as possible to allowing me to spontaneously visit places, hike, visit friends, or whatever!
But, that doesn't mean I don't *think* about the UK. A lot. Yes, the grass may always be greener, but when you live in a place where one-legged men stand in front of the convenience store dropping their trousers or sirens wail every fifteen minutes... you honestly need something to daydream about.
My mom thinks I can find prettier sights here in the US and doesn't know why I want to travel so far to see what I see and do what I do. All I can respond is that ... I have the bug.
And, one of my greatest joys is to share that bug with others! I have lived and traveled in the UK a lot over the years. Thanks to my friend Sharon Williams , I finally overcame my fear and pushed myself to sign on with University of Texas Informal Classes. October 27th was my third class on the North of England.
Mom came along (thanks for schlepping some of the course material, mom!) and we spent a good three hours talking with the few folks who showed up on a Saturday morning for the course.
My classes are a mixture of history, cultural anomalies, travel destinations and tips, logistics, and a breathtaking look at the North of England through David Dimbeby's "A Picture of Britain" BBC tv series as well as a personal compilation video from some of my trips.
The best part of the class, to me, is to hear what the attendees have to say. The questions they ask, or the tips they give me that I may not have thought of before!
I mentioned to this class that no one knows all there is to know about Austin. How much less can I know about Great Britain? What I *can* tell you is that I lived there, I travel there as frequently as possible, and that I will research and respond to any questions they might have.
There was a person in one class who wanted to know how big the Lake District National Park was! I didn't have that on the tip of my tongue. I now know it's 900 square miles and the largest national park in England and Wales. See?
Another student told me that the Venn diagram I was using wasn't correct and that India was not a commonwealth nation. Someone in the class pointed out that India *was* in the Commonwealth of Nations. Just not the Commonwealth Realm.
So, yes, I learn as I go. And maybe someday, I'll know *everything* there is to know about 1 square foot of England... but that, my friends, will take me a lifetime!
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