Back to the Grind

We are safely back in Blighty, and man, is it cold here. It's no colder than when we left, but after four days of walking around in 90-degree heat and hazy humidity, a cold March spring is a bit of a shock. Then again, it's also refreshing, and Dave is much happier with this kind of weather.

The flight was very smooth, though I saw no grand pianos, no martini bars and no Lee Grant. We couldn't even go upstairs, which was reserved for business class. For all I know they had a swimming pool up there.

I read my remaining magazines and about half of "The Moonstone." It's going to take me forever to read that book, which is hugely thick and has print so tiny it looks like aphids crawling across the page. I've had to resort to a pair of my stepsister's old reading glasses to make heads or tails of it. I've taken to using these reading glasses now and then, when faced with small print, though usually I can still get away without them and I prefer not to use them. I want to keep my corneas limber for as many years as possible!

I also watched a fun movie, "Fuku-Chan of the Fukufuku Flats." It was a quirky, youthful comedy, a bit like a Japanese version of "Napoleon Dynamite." I don't know what its international distribution is like but if you get a chance to watch it, check it out.

Now Dave and I have a houseguest -- our friend David, who arrived in England last night from the U.S. A history buff, he'll be using our house as a home base while he attends events celebrating the reinterment of King Richard III in Leicester. (Remember, the English king whose body was recently found beneath a parking lot?) I'm going to tag along on one of his trips to Leicester this weekend. Meanwhile, it's back to work today for me and Dave!

(Photo: A guy waiting for the train in Colindale, north London. Love the hair!)