To Musicals and Adopted Aunts

It has been a flurry of activity since the others arrived and little time to report! But there are two big events that deserve telling.

A couple days before they arrived I met up with Aunty Jenny again and she pre-birthday treated me to a show. Unfortunately the show she had planned was sold out until February, or something crazy like that! But, she said we could go to the theatre and see if we could get returned tickets. So we arrived and the very kind ticket lady said she would wait for us to come back from getting cash from down the road (make sure you go the right direction, google maps saved us again) before putting out the returns sign for us to stand behind, so incidentally we were the first in line! A first for a Bell (and a Smith?)! We did get very nice returned tickets to "War Horse" and managed to run across the road for a very quick panini supper making it to our seats in perfect time, 3 minutes before show start. My kind of timing. War Horse was an incredible show based on a book and following the story of a horse and the boy who owned him, set in the second world war. The horses and other animals were puppets but were so realistic that very soon you forgot they were! Amazing.

On my birthday we met up with Jenny again for milkshakes at Harrods - in remembrance of our last meeting all together over Harrods milkshakes six years ago. The ice-cream place has since moved from the first floor and we spent the first 30 mintues going on shaky memories of the place - high stools, bright colours, lots of sweets in the vicinity - searching for it. We did find it, complete with high stools and bright colours, though the candy shop it used to be next to is now a pizza place with a Italian singing chef, or a chef singing Italian, at least. Jed and I split a Baccio, translation: a huge, decadent chocolate, hazelnut, vanilla ice cream dish. Wow. After that a walk to burn off some of our decadence to meet up with Mary and Martin for a quick dinner at Wasabis - a Japanese fast food type place where we eagerly piled sushi and rice dishes on our plates - before heading off to see "Wicked". We were a little worried when it first began having splashed out on these tickets (I was especially worried because the boys had been most uncertain about it and I had chosen the show) not really sure what to expect but the music was fantastic and the story was very clever, and remarkably thought-provoking. The lead actress was amazing and we've been talking about her and her singing and acting ever since. So, no disappointment whatsoever. In fact, if anyone would like to buy us the music... :)

All in all, two wonderful highlights of these last few days: musicals and adopted aunts.

Guensey...first impressions

Before coming to Guernsey I read (or rather listened to on audiobook) the novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book I would definitely recommend. Despite those who sneer at the title, it is informative and gives serious insight into island life during and after WWII. Guernsey and its neighbouring island, Jersey, (and one more island in the English Channel I think) were the only English territories occupied by the Germans during the war.
And yes, Guernsey and Jersey cows are from these islands. They produce all their own milk, cream and cheese.

The island is beautiful - blue-green sea and large cliffs with tossing waves, healthy looking lawns, lots of victorian-style houses, winding roads and stone brick streets. I had a cream tea today (tea accompanied by a large scone, butter, jam and cream) at the Cobo Tea Room, a small little restaurant on the coast with a window facing the sea.

My impressions of the island? Tiny roads!!They seem far too small for two lanes but the Guernsey divers are trained from infancy (or somewhere close I'm sure) to navigate and squeeze past oncoming traffic. And the drivers are very considerate of one another, constantly letting other cars filter into the traffic ahead of them and patiently waiting while someone expertly reverses into their driveway or parking space from the middle of the road. I think the population size (about 65 000 people in total) must contribute to this general feeling of consideration and trust...There is this thing called "the hedge trust" where people will place their home-grown veges (or eggs or chopped wood) in boxes on the hedges around their houses with the price painted on the side of the box, and anyone walking by who wants some of the said produce will (and is expected to) take and leave the right payment. Or maybe the small population size contributes to works as a policing system itself; if you misbehave in public someone you know, or someone who knows your parents or teacher or vicar, is likely to report you.

Dad's Contribution on Sunday Evening

Jokingly I asked mom if maybe this blog was possibly hers and mine!  Even Beks seems to have dried up.  Oh well.  To those outside the Bell family who read this, sorry it is lots of Zim news.

Just off the phone from Josh who with Jed and Beks have apparently had a very pleasant day with the Richards family.  A morning at a National Trust house, lunch, an afternoon of board games and then train from Guildford at about 7:30pm

Our Zim day (sorry non Bell people) has been very pleasant, combined service this morning, Cantata presentation and then Hebrews 2 again.  A quiet lunch, just mom and I and then tea with family at Susie followed by the Northside Carol Service.  Mike and Ange were there with their dad and glad to see us.  They will come back for us probably Tuesday night until after Christmas.

No news from Rach, it would be great if she could connect with Mrs Cowan in Guernsey, an elderly CBC member who was delighted to meet Josh last Christmas.  I know she would love to meet Rach.

Well, the Club World Championship is on, Barcelona vs Santos of Brazil, Barcelona are my European team so back to watch that.

And hope that, maybe, someone, sometime ......

Mum's contribution on Sat morning

+Its a cool overcast day in the great land of Zimbabwe, I am sitting in the lounge on our huwai internet which is working wonderfully. I have just come home from shopping and have just committed my first act of rebellion in a long time and bought a .....turkey!! The Mbweni's are giving us one, but I have a longing for a store bought one!

I am sitting surrounded by a granny with her nose in a book having spent hours on a puzzle and packing her things to move to Sue today. Whoo hoo, we sleep again, ( see previous blog concerning JR2 and midnight wanderings by Granny). Oh I am also surrounded by 2 sleeping kittens, one on the computer table, one on the sofa by granny, JR 2 at granny's feet and Saku as well. Poor Bingley is locked out as he is rather muddy and I resent the references to his femininity, he looks wonderful and flea, not flee free!

The mood for Christmas is coming on a bit slower than usual, however having bought dried fruit, ie raisins, mixed cake fruit this morning and I am about to attempt a proper fruit cake, just need to get brandy from Granny when we drop jr2 at Jenny Kirk., I am getting in the mood. The
Christmas decorations are not up yet, but I will put up just a few to get in the mood and wait for the rest when Mike and Ang are here.

What else, I am new at this, so be patient with me. The pool is looking wonderful blue and clear due to the new pump installed by Uncle Graham, Dad and George. Swimming is great, yesterday dad and I had a date to swim in the lovely water, fortun. I went at lunch time and almost collapsed in a heap after just , wait for it,... 10 laps!!!!!!!!!So sad, but we had a thunder storm so our swim in the evening was canceled.

Thus ends the first blog by the oldest member of the Bell family!

Gender tempering at 23 Sherwood - Bingley is a GIRL!

Well, nothing so exciting as West End "Wicked", Harrod's shakes, pizza man singing or Rachie's finger freezing but let me tell you what has happened in the Bell home at home.  MOM HAS TURNED BINGLEY INTO A GIRL!  She took him to the vet to get his flees removed, and said she would ask for a hair cut and wash as well.  And she brought him back as a girl.
 Grief, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH OUR DOG?  He is the prettiest, sweetest, cutest, most cuddly little .......... (I am not longer sure) now.  Of course, there are some among us, who might say that becoming a girl is a vast improvement for any male.

Rachie off to Guernsey tonight for a few days.  Travel well.

I wish I could be there to sing!

The subject says it all!  Beks, may you have a wonderful day, which is a taste of an increasingly wonderful life.  As I said in my email to you (among other things too gushy to put on a blog) how can you not enjoy the day today, with all that is planned and with the marvelous people with whom it is planned.

I joined in the Green Christmas by drinking my morning tea (at 5am!  Who ever wanted animals!) in our Ireland mug.

Hardwick Green full of Bells once more

Reunion at Heathrow - Jed, the final of the four, arrives

It seems that we Bells tend to travel in packs and descend on our hosts in a flurry of noise and general good humour! It was a long haul for Josh and I, neither of us having slept much these past two weeks and having slept little or not at all on the plane. Beks was there at 7am, smiling to meet us and we shared rusks and coffee at the airport while we waited for Jed's plane to come in. When it did and the necessary hugs and grins were shared, we sat down for more coffee to wait for uncle D who was finishing up a tennis match... After 3 hour naps we all feel much less like zombies and had a lovely evening with Becky Lamb - highlights of the night include rum-raisin ice-cream that actually tastes like rum! (you should try the american version), a highly intellectual game of Pondscum...uncle D won, and now of course the greatest highlight for us all; bed. Goodnight!