After about 14 hours of being in transit, Matthew and I arrived in Bradford. So far, I've met one of the two
Reverend Pauls who are to be our local contact people. This Paul, the very Reverend Paul
Bilton, is an Anglican Cannon, serving the parish of St.
Wilfreds and lives in the adjoining parsonage with his marvelous wife Ruth, who is a caterer. They keep bees and chickens. We also met Tim in the flesh for the first time. He's sort of the mediator between the
Pauls and
MVS. He lives in Northern Ireland and just hopped over to give us a proper
welcome. We live in two flats on Walker Av, which is right off of Necropolis Road--and shockingly the home to the oldest public cemeteries in the city. Glen, one of the
MVSers from this unit last year, is still around and has been showing us around via long walks. I've had several spots of tea, gone for two curries, but no crumpets to speak of. I've visited the A&E(our ER--auspicious beginning, no? not to worry, nothing serious) and also the public library. Rode one
double decker bus and have almost got the knack of looking the right way when crossing the street. I have tried
Marmite. We played with a bunch of British children at community run "after-school" (school hasn't started yet) programme. I possibly remember about 5 names, but I'm glad they aren't here to test me. I have learned that "paper towels" are referred to as "the kitchen roll," and the kitchen counter is the work surface.
With everyday that goes trotting past, my outlook brightens. Things are starting to feel more comfortable. We haven't yet moved in properly; I'm really looking forward to that--decorating, restocking the kitchens--not living out of a suitcase. That being the case, I haven't taken many photos of the flats yet (sorry Mom)--just wait to they are a bit more livable. I also didn't want to go around Bradford with a camera and be labeled a tourist on my first week here--I'll shatter my reputation on a later day. Here are a few pics just to tide you over:
a cuppa
fancy a cuppa your Majesty?
pinky out!
tea or
coffee?
Honey from Paul
Bilton's bees and, you guessed it,
Marmite--the popular yeast spread.
a cuppa
fancy a cuppa your Majesty?
pinky out!
tea or coffee?
Honey from Paul Bilton's bees and, you guessed it, Marmite--the popular yeast spread.
4 comments:
i love that the picture of you sipping tea could have been taken in any number of european countries we visited this summer, as you are clad in your trusty green cardigan and trendy 2 euro scarf. :)
glad to hear things are going well. i love you!
I am so glad things are working out for you in England, and isn't Tim F great, I spent a weekend with him in N. Ireland when I spent my summer there. Oh and of course the other big question, what did you think of the Marmite? Yummy or gross?
spread very thin and with baked beans on toast, a good addition is marmite. that's what i can handle thus far--your oppinion on the stuff?
My own opinion of marmite is in the negative catagory, but that is probably because I tried it right after trying regular toast and jam, so I found it to be rather off-putting. But I have decided not to write it off entirely yet, maybe someday I will change my mind :)
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