Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Happy Boxing Day!

I'm not sure if that's really what you say, but it sounds better than Merry Boxing Day!

Before we came to England, we had no idea what Boxing Day really was or where the name came from. For all we knew, it could have been...
a. The day you step into the boxing ring with your "favorite" relatives after too much family togetherness.
b. The day to duke it out with fellow shoppers in an attempt to box up those after-Christmas sales.
c. The day you box up Christmas dinner leftovers to take to the elderly or poor.

While they might all be legitimate answers, we found out that the answer is suppose to be C. In reality, I think it's a combination of B and C :)

For us, it was none of the above. We're selfish with our leftovers and wouldn't know who to give them to even if we wanted to. We went into York expecting some better-than-usual prices in the stores and found that almost all of them were still closed from Christmas—we were lucky to find a place open for lunch. The place was virtually deserted. Apparently the really big shopping day is tomorrow. Maybe Boxing Day is just a good time to beat your pillow into shape for a good, long post-Christmas nap :)

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all from London, York, and everything in between!

Today we picked up Stephanie and Greg from the airport in London and welcomed them to England with a rainy 4 hour drive up to York and day-old, pre-packaged sandwiches in a rest stop parking lot.



It's not because we're unusually cruel, but because EVERYTHING is closed on Christmas day—all public transport, almost all restaurants. We saw some random coffee shops that were open and were happy to find the rest stop bathrooms open.

We had a nice Christmas dinner with traditional British "crackers." They look like a toilet paper tube wrapped like a big piece of candy. You pull on both ends and they pop open, making a loud noise and releasing a paper crown you wear during dinner, a piece of paper with a joke, and a random gift (small plastic picture frame, bottle opener, key chain, small tool set).

Here's a great post-dinner photo of us in our crowns in front of our fake tree. Yes, we broke down and bought a cheap fake tree. We're not giving up on the real thing, but we are going to use this one every other year when we travel for Christmas so we don't leave a big stick of kindling in our house. We didn't really plan for it and didn't bring enough ornaments so we made origami stars and cranes.



Later we broke the law by eating mince pies for desert (click on this link for the archived post of ridiculous English laws). We hope you're all having a festive day!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas Eve!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas Eve from London!



We came down to London Saturday to visit briefly with Pat's parents and sister as they passed through on their way to Germany. Tomorrow we pick up Greg and Stephanie from Gatwick airport to take them back to York with us. So today we were on our own, being complete tourists in England's capital. We took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour around town to see all the big sites (more to come on all of that later).

We hope that all of you are enjoying your family gatherings on this festive day. We miss you all.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Daylight Robbery

On the eve of the shortest day of the year, I can tell you that it's dark here in York. According to the BBC, the sun set at 3:42 today. As if the residents of York needed more darkness in their lives, I ran across this ridiculous York fact on the internet and had to take another look at the buildings to investigate...

Ever wondered why, when wandering round the old buildings of York, there are some buildings with bricked up windows? Well in ancient times, the government decided to implement a window tax based on the amount of windows in your house. People who couldn’t afford to pay the tax or didn’t want to pay, bricked up windows so that the tax wasn’t applicable. This is where the term Day Light Robbery came from.

Apparently this tax lasted from 1690-1851. It replaced an even more ridiculous tax based on the number of fireplaces in your house. The window tax was seen as less intrusive since windows could be counted from the outside, but it resulted in endless games with the tax man i.e. unbricking windows after he left, camouflaging them, and even creating fake windows just to confuse things.









Now, it's hard to know why some of these windows were bricked up. Was it because of fire codes? Was it a product of remodeling? Did they just need more wall space? Or was it really the tax? Hard to say. Either way, it seems cruel to deprive people of light when there's so little available.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Helmsley Castle & Rievaulx Carols

Last Sunday we took a trip out to Rievaulx Abbey to hear some Christmas carols. On the way, we decided to take in the town of Helmsley and its castle.

There has been a castle of some kind on the site since 1120. The first version was started by the Norman baron Walter Espec aka Walter the Woodpecker—ironic nickname since he was said to be of "gigantic stature." The Woodpecker also donated a portion of his land nearby to the monks who founded Rievaulx Abbey.

Later on, the castle was home to the Lords of Helmsley and was used as the capital, or law-making center, of their lands. Most of the visible parts of the castle are medieval and part of the west tower is an Elizabethan mansion.



We thought the most incredible part was the earthworks around the castle. It would have required a pretty impressive amount of manpower and, from what I remember, it was the earliest part of construction. There is some debate on whether or not it was ever used as a moat, but it seems doubtful. Not only is there a big ditch outside of the heavily fortified barbicans (aka entrances)...


...but there's also a serious ditch inside the entry around the entire plateau the castle sits on. The idea of running up and down those things would sure make me think twice about storming the castle :)


The 3-story west tower contained the bedrooms for the Lord's family and his guests. You can see some of their fireplaces here. The rooms were accessed by a spiral staircase and the slotted doorways on the left are bathrooms (a slightly more sophisticated version of a port-o-let). The diminishing window sizes correspond with rooms of diminishing importance i.e. if you're the Lord's family, you get the big windows on the ground floor. If you're his second-cousin's brother-in-law, you get the shortie windows in the attic.


The Elizabethan mansion is an addition to the side of the west tower. In the best preserved parts, you can see some of the original details of the plaster ceiling and carved wood paneling. Ornate, but spartan.


We weren't expecting much from this castle which is why we hadn't stopped before, but we were very impressed. Besides our feet and hands being numb, we had a good time. They called for sun, but we sure didn't see it. We walked out of the castle and wondered through the small market town of Helmsley next door. It's very picturesque and would have been even more enjoyable if it had been warmer.



Then we headed to Rievaulx for Christmas carols (for more info on Rievaulx, click on this link for the archived post). It was nice atmosphere and we were surprised by a whole band playing in the nave of the old abbey.


Some carols we knew, some we didn't. We stayed for a couple of songs or until our feet were numb, then stopped inside for some hot tea and went back out again to meet some local inhabitants.


It was nice to be out and about again. We're looking forward to longer days and warmer temperatures :)

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Minster pictures & fun facts

Well, we've already been through a wordy explanation summarizing the long history of the Minster so I'll skip that. (If you missed it, click on this link for the archived post)

The front or western end. Notice the central heart-shaped stain glass window aka the heart of Yorkshire.


The view inside from the west entrance or western end of the nave. The quire and altar are separated from the nave—you can see the screen cutting across the nave below.


The view inside the quire.


The main entrance on the south side.


The view inside from the south entrance or southern side of the transept.


The Chapter House. This is an octagonal room where high-ranking dudes meet to talk—they all have permanent assigned seats around the perimeter. Right now it's set up for Christmas music events because the acoustics are so good.




Other photogenic details:








I did dig up some interesting facts about the Minster...

•One of the Minster stain glass windows dating from 1320 shows a cock reading and a monkey's funeral. (Can't say I've noticed it, but will definitely be looking next time I'm there)

•The Archbishop of York is appointed by the crown to be head of the Church of England in the Northern Province. His title is Primate of England. (Does this have something to do with the monkey?!)

•York Minster has its own Police Force - one of only two cathedrals in the world to do so. (Bet I can guess the other one)

•York-born actress Judi Dench is the patron of the Friends of York Minster. (There's also a "Dame Judi Dench" walk down by the River Ouse in her honor)

•The Minster has 128 stained glass windows, containing around 2 million separate pieces of glass. It has the largest collection of medieval stained glass in England. (I believe that. The pieces are so small and there's so much lead, you hardly get credit for glass being there at all. During WWII, they took apart the 80 of the most important windows and re-installed after–talk about some time-consuming work. They decided to do restoration at the same time and it took 20 years to get them back to their original places. Some of the medieval stain glass is very impressive–the colors are still incredibly vibrant. Even today, people aren't sure how they made such intense and lasting reds and blues with materials they had at hand–the formula has been lost.)

•The Rose Window has red and and white roses celebrating the end of the War of the Roses after a marriage in the Minster uniting the two warring families of York and Lancaster. (I can't think of a more appropriate reason for a rose window. Believe it or not, the War of the Roses is still alive and well here from a competitive standpoint i.e. sports. Think Elder vs. Moeller, but add in death, a 500yr. history, and an actual reason for the tension. Our cultural lady said we should never bring red roses to someone (York's city emblem is a white rose). It makes a political statement I don't quite understand. I think I would just stick with yellow–the coward's color.)


•The central tower weighs 16,000 tons (It started sinking because of its weight and bad foundations. It led to major repair work to stop it from imploding, which would have taken the whole thing down.)

•It has suffered nine serious fires since its construction–this averages out to one fire every 140 years (Some arson, some lightning. It has a wood roof that always does it in.)

Friday, December 14, 2007

Happy 30th STEPHANIE!!



In honor of the big 3-0, we decided to trek to the highest point in York to wish you a happy birthday. 275 dizzying spiral stairs later, we were at the top of the Minster's central tower only to realize that it's caged in worse than Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence. Since that aesthetic didn't match the occasion, we took the photo on the way back down while being yelled out by an unseen loudspeaker that we needed to keep moving (thanks to CCTV, there are eyes everywhere in England).

We hope you have a fantastic birthday!! Don't let the man keep you down :)

P.S. Here's the actual view from the top through the cage...

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Happy Birthday GRANDMA!!



We're wishing you a Happy Birthday from the Festival of Angels. It's a York street festival where they have ice sculptures, ice bars, Santa, and blow fake snow from the buildings to create a fun holiday atmosphere. The angels made us think of you... and of Archy. We hope Archy is treating you well and that you are having a great day. We wish you a healthy and happy year!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

deck the halls...

with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.



'Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.



Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.



Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.



Fast away the old year passes,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.



Hail the new, ye lads and lasses,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.



Sing we joyous, all together,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.



Heedless of the wind and weather,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

funny signs, part 3

While we're on the topic of over-the-top litigiousness, I thought I'd break out some more funny signs somewhat related to the topic...

The British are great at providing disclaimers. I would imagine the barristers (aka lawyers) were involved here.


Thanks for the warning before I die.
Does this buy them some time before they actually have to fix it? We've also seen a "weak bridge" sign. Luckily our car didn't fall through when we drove across.


The British don't exactly prevent you from making a stupid decision, they just provide you with the information you need to make the right one.


No physical barriers needed, the rest is up to you.


What can I say, it's a classic. In some cases it's painted even bigger on the platform and running continuously on loudspeakers. I'm surprised it's not in multiple languages all the way down the platform. I wonder how many people have fallen in?


This IS always a danger. Why aren't there more of these signs??

For the last installment of funny signs, click on the link for the archived post

Friday, December 7, 2007

a doggie bag

Ok, so the funny story about Pat's birthday dinner is that it was the first time I've ever had enough leftovers that bringing it home made sense so... I asked for a box to take it home in. From earlier discussions about the smaller portions over here and the absence of doggie bags in British society, Pat and I thought this might cause some confusion. The waitress wasn't immediately sure—she had to go consult. She came back and said they'd be happy to box it up as long as I was willing to sign a waiver from the Health & Safety department. We both laughed and I said "sure." So they brought me over a form and a pencil along with my leftovers and I signed away my right to sue them if the leftovers made me sick.

Pat and I got a good laugh about this on the way home. I guess this only happened because my leftovers contained seafood and they can't be held responsible for me putting it into the refrigerator properly and not poisoning myself. Still, it's pretty darn funny. Frankly I'm surprised the US hasn't thought of this one.

So I unwrapped my leftovers and discovered the unique packaging...


It's an old "Rollmop Herring" container (boneless fillets of herring rolled with sliced onion and packed in a marinade) that may have also been used for Tomato Compote, according to the handwritten label on the side, before my pasta leftovers found a home. I just hope it was washed out first—the idea of that combination makes me a little queasy.

I'll let you know if I get sick :)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Happy Birthday PAT!!



Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Patrick!
Happy Birthday to you!

For Pat's birthday, we walked to Loch Fyne, a really good seafood restaurant across town. He was having a mussels craving and wasn't disappointed. After dinner, we walked home in the rain. We really lucked out since it wasn't raining as bad as it was suppose to—today was a freakish 55 degrees and tomorrow's back to 45. Then Pat got to open his birthday presents... Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes—I know he appreciates it and they helped make his birthday special!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

the telly

TV in England is ok, despite lots of people I've heard slamming it. However, I have a high tolerance for repetition.

We have "freeview," or the absolute minimum set of channels. It's not exactly free. Everyone that has a TV pays a TV tax. The way I understand it, the money goes to the stations for better programming—like PBS. There's probably about 20 or so channels. They aren't necessarily all active at one time. Some are morning, some evening, etc. Some just replay shows that played in the last hour (in case you missed it). Some are just shopping channels.

A high percentage of the shows are US reruns. You can see Friends and Scrubs almost any time of night. In fact, one announcer introducing the "new" series The Class, written by the creators of Friends, said it "didn't need to be watched because, if it's anything like Friends, we will be playing it ad nauseum." Just before that they announced that this was the 80th time they had played that particular episode of Friends. I might be wrong about the 80, it might have been 800. Either way, you get the idea. At least they have a sense of humor about it.

You can watch Heroes, The Riches, What About Brian, The Class, ER, What About Earl, The Black Donnellys, the Simpsons, That 70s Show, etc. but they seem to go in spurts and don't play consistently. They play lots of US movies too. The best part is that the movies are uncut so I've seen scenes I've never seen before.

The very best part is that there aren't nearly as many commercials—thanks in part to the TV tax I'm sure. When you're watching a US show, you can tell where they built a climax for a commercial and then you jump right into the next scene. It does make it harder for bathroom breaks on the rare occasion you haven't already seen the show.

The thing that probably sticks out the most is the lack of censoring and the frank talk. We've watched shows about body image where young British girls decide whether or not to get plastic surgery (in the US). They actually show the girls' breasts and skin. Not in a raunchy way, but to make a point. We've watched shows about properly fitting women into bras. Believe you me, I saw more kinds of breasts there than I've ever seen in a locker room, but I learned more about fit than I knew. We've seen shows about men trying to talk to other men about penis size, becoming comfortable with it, and the unrealistic "average" size our society dictates. The show ended with an art show where men took pictures of their penis to show how different they all are and change perceptions of "average." And yes, you saw plenty of penis'. We've watched a new British series based on the blog of a real London call girl. It's actually quite interesting, but would never be seen on US TV.

All and all I'm impressed. Some of these shows are honest, open and makes it feel like taboo things that are very much a part of us can be normal and that it can be good to talk about them. To learn and not to get turned on—so much for the "uptight" British.

Of course, not everything we've watched has involved sex and nakedness. As Pat says, we've become "Petrol Heads" (aka Gear Heads). Our new favorite British show is Top Gear. It has three hosts, who seem to fit the mold of Larry, Curly, and Moe, that talk about cars. How fast they go, how much they cost, handling, breakdowns, etc., but somehow they've made it entertaining even for me. They often do "challenges" involving cars. I think one of my favorite episodes was the one where they each had to create an amphibious vehicle that was able to drive a certain distance and then drop into the water around Dover and cross the Channel to France. My favorite part was the Moe character, who after several failed attempts in his own car/boat, had joined Larry in the winning car/boat. The winning car/boat started taking on water as they grew closer to France and things looked bad. As he bailed water, Moe said very plainly and glumly, "I'm a bit tired of sinking." I found it to be the funniest thing ever because it's such a profound statement about life AND a good example of dry British humor.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

York Markets

Every day is market day in York. They have a permanent space between Parliament Street and the Shambles dedicated to the Newgate Market.






I think that before I visited Europe and the UK, I had a romantic, idealized sense of what a true street market would be. In reality, it's fruit, veggies, flowers, candy, trinkets, purses, belts, underwear, bras, and socks. Even this might sound somewhat interesting, but the majority of the non-edible items are Big Lots kind of quality and make you suspicious of how long they'll work.


On the weekends (and Wednesdays—don't ask why) there are some nicer additions with genuine craftspeople or importers. There are some nice-quality Asian items, jewelry, Nepal-inspired merchandise, and Bolivian leather crafts (I may have gotten that wrong). That's more my kind of market.

Throughout the year, there are special market events that spread into Parliament Street and other squares throughout the city including the Big Green Market featuring sustainable goods, and numerous specialized food and farmers' markets. Every once in a while I see something really shocking like, say, dead birds hanging in a stall. I suppose, in this context, they're referred to as "fowl." Either way, I wasn't too excited about seeing Donald Duck with his feathers and beak still intact. I'm just glad to say I didn't encounter any little beaks peaking out of plastic bags as I wondered through the crowds.


Now that it's the Christmas season, the markets are going into high gear. The city organizes vendors to come at certain times. You have the Children's Christmas Fayre, the St. Nicholas Fayre, the Made in Yorkshire Christmas Craft Fayre, the German Christkindlesmarkt, Barley Hall's Christmas Fayres, and the Christmas Farmers' Market.

We went to the St. Nicholas Fayre this weekend to kick off our seasonal festivities. It was fun—much better than the Food Festival. We had a good time wandering around the different stalls, joining the mass of humanity as it inched its way forward. You have to go with patience. The booth set-up isn't conducive to the size of the crowds. You basically have to sit in line to wait to get a peak at what's inside each stall. As you rejoin the throng of people, you're shoulder to shoulder, back to front with every other person. Pat and I kicked each other several times (accidentally of course) and got run over by a bike and a pram (aka stroller). I just feel lucky to have escaped without accidentally kicking some elderly person's cane out from under them.


There are lots of street performers out at busy times like these which create a nice atmosphere. There was a group playing Christmas carols with bells which was really nice, violins, a guy playing We are the Champions on a trumpet (don't ask), and a couple of shows.

While we were there, we tried our first mince pie which was quite good. We also had a tasty eggnog latte (there are Starbucks everywhere—York has 3) and some warm sugared nuts (insert joke here). The food was actually better than the Food Festival too :) We're enjoying the season so far. Next weekend there's even more stuff going on.