September 20, 2004: Greetings from across the big blue wet thing!

Wow, I have been crazy busy, so I’m just going to do a day-by-day blow-by-blow here. Thursday the 16th: Arrived in Manchester, picked up by Gareth (the boyfriend) and his dad. Drove straight to Scarborough (of famed Simon and Garfunkel crooning, yes there is a fair) so Gareth could register at university and attend his first lecture. I met his housemates - Craig, Rob and Wiggy, who are all lovely. Dealt with my cell phone, which is now uber cool and is used very practically and non-fiendishly. Friday the 17th: Tralomped about Scarborough town centre taking care of business, and then in the afternoon went for a casual non-errand walk around Scarborough. Went to Scarborough Castle and down to St. Mary’s where Anne Bronte is buried, which is a very tiring walk as it was mostly uphill but amazingly beautiful both in scenery and history. St. Mary’s was actually originally a post to defend York, but they were defeated by the armies of Harald Hardraada in 1066 (yes, it’s that old) which changed the course of English history by allowing William the Conqueror to invade from the South. Anyways, later that night we went to the Scarborough Jazz Festival which was awesome. The first two bands were very standard, first was like the Buena Vista Social Club, second was like Diana Krall, so just, good nice nothing out of the ordinary jazz. Third was the wow band. Dennis Rollins’ Badbone & Co. (CD is called “Make Your Move” buy it!) Dennis Rollins, the leader of the band, plays trombone like whoa. He is playing while dancing and jumping around, it really is a sight to see. His music is very new age/acid/smooth jazz, real easy to listen to. Saturday the 18th: Had my first real English Breakfast (mega yummy) at this cool café called The Cats Whiskers with communal tables, nice waitresses, and Lavazza coffees. Later, Gareth and I took the bus and train via the Moors and Whitby to Middlesbrough to see his Mum. That bus ride literally takes my breath away – the heather covered moors, free range sheep who think the middle of the road is the best place to graze, and the random Anglo-Saxon burial mound (which will be researched and poked at!). Whitby is as beautiful as ever, and no words can describe it. A long train ride later left us a short walk away to Gareth’s mum’s home. There awaiting us was some hot chocolate and a lovely dinner. Sunday the 19th: We were dropped off at Redcar where Gareth’s grandparents live to have Sunday dinner at a restaurant out in the Moors. I had the traditional Yorkshire fare – roast beef in gravy with Yorkshire puddings, mashed potato, roasted potato, carrots, cauliflower, and peas. This was then finished off with treacle tart in cream which can only be described as a custard tart with golden gooey stuff *everywhere* in whipping cream that has yet to be whipped. I want to meet someone who can polish off one of these things in one sitting, not to mention after a Sunday dinner! We then went back to the grandparents’ house to visit with Gareth’s dad and step-mom, who kept popping in and out as they were in the area to look for homes. His grandparents then took us back to Scarborough. Later that night, I attended my first pub quiz, and our team, the Double Bacon Cheeseburgers, did pretty well. We finished 4th, but we needed at least 3rd to win tokens for pints at the pub. See, in England, worthless knowledge is worth at least a pint, and often some money! After the pub quiz, I had my first British doner kebab (American translation: Gyro) but these are usually eaten after one has drunk too much and I was staggeringly sober. The British think these are good to help hangovers, but I think they’re just tasty which everyone else seemed to find curious. Monday and Tuesday, the 20th and 21st: Opened up a bank account at HSBC sort of, we’ll see how this goes. Kept running errands around Scarborough town centre, boring blah. Taking care of myself and getting set up seems to be the occupation of my time at the moment. Also, watching dumb game shows is topping the list. Example of one today called Memory Bank: on the TV is a lady and a fill-in-the-blank with the letters “KNG RTHR.” Lady says, “This legendary character sat round the round table with knights during the days of chivalry. If you can guess who this is by filling in the missing vowels, call *number*” a few minutes later “We’re going to give you a hint by showing you where the vowels are.” On the screen: K_NG _RTH_R. Later, “okay, one last hint and then we’ll take our callers.” K_NG ARTH_R. I’m serious here. This is part of a game show. And if you get it right, you get £500 which is like $750! It’s really almost embarrassing. Anyways, this is the first night I’ve had internet access and boy does it feel good. Sorry this email is so long, but I’ve really been busy and had far too much fun! Curry Count: 4 or 5 as of tonight. I think my veins are starting to turn yellow with curry. Alcohol Count: 3 – that’s two glasses of wine with dinner on separate nights and one half pint of lager and lime for Sunday Dinner. I’ve realized I’m a lightweight and really cheap, which is good as far as my health/weight/wallet is concerned. Hope everyone is doing well! Email me! With ripped calves from all of the walking, -Emily.

Above: A traditional English breakfast Below: The view from Gareth's front door, an average town view.

Links!

Scarborough Castle

Anne Bronte

Left: Whitby, a quaint fishing village on the north-east coast.  Seen is the back end of the shambles and on the hill, the church and the ruins of Whitby Abbey.

Archieves