At The Queens Head

Afternoon break at Queens Head pub. Ann Boleyn's head to be specific, which had recently been removed when this pub opened. So sentimental, these Brits.

The main difference between the pub then and now: Wi-Fi.

Some Wednesday Photos

The walk to Robin's night class on the Brunel campus takes us past this DayCare next to a major road. It's after school hours and a fox wanders nonchalantly through the school yard. Where's Winston when you need him?

If you wait too long to trim tree branches from the school yard fence, they're really hard to remove. 

Signage in the UK can be confusing. But some symbology is universal and the message is clear no matter where you're from. This sign, for example, that means "Run Children! A UFO has landed!" 

We grabbed a quick bite for dinner in The Hub (the Brunel campus pub) before Robin's class. We got to see probably the world's worst pool players. 

The community garden we walk by every day is looking pretty good in the sections that aren't being ignored for the winter.

The overpass near our flat. The Metropolitan Line heads towards London's tube stations.

A side-street shortcut to the grocery store.

A splash of color. 

Late night Shakespeare stuff. Or maybe a Words With Friends game with her mother. Probably both.

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The Wonder Of It All

This drizzly morning, flatmate Maria and I took a walk in the rain to catch a bus to a second-hand store to buy four sturdy wooden chairs that will replace the four super-flimsy metal folding chairs that we're currently using. By "using" I actually mean "avoiding-like-the-London-plague." Especially after seeing one fold up in an unintentional way with Wally in it. Delivery is scheduled for Friday.

After whipping the chair project into shape we journeyed across the road to the Wonder Cafe for breakfast. It's a local favorite, meaning locals within a stone's throw. And the service is fast. "Your food often arrives at the table before you do" according to a local's endorsement. 

The food photo below should convince our ChicaGourmets foodie friends, Jim and Don, to put the Wonder Cafe on their "must experience" list. 

The Wonder Cafe. I wonder where that name comes from.  

I wonder if anyone who sees this display actually says "Wow, that looks good! And it's normal!" 

(And don't forget... it's fast!)

I wonder why it's not very busy, being a local favorite and all. We got lucky, I guess.

A customer at the order counter. I wonder if he's normal.

I'm starting to realize this place has the perfect name. 

Branding genius! 

Save The Date: Birthday Party!

I'm at least part Scots-Irish, my birthday is St. Patrick's Day (March 17), and I've never been to Ireland.

Ergo, we're having a birthday party on March 17 at Murphy's Bar in Killarney, Ireland. 

Robin and I will be staying in a double room, upstairs over the bar, for four nights, from March 15 

through March 18, returning to London on the 19th.

Family and friends welcome. Strangers are welcome too, since it's a pub. If you can find Killarney, you'll probably find Murphy's. Go the center of town. Look for a yellow, green, red, and blue building. 

Details later. 

Murphys includes Murphys Bar, Squires Bar, Lord Kenmares Restaurant, and upstairs accommodations.

In Memory of Robin's 102 Year-Old Grandmother

Photo taken in December 2011

Pauline Elizabeth Williams. Died January 22, 2012, age 102

Pauline Elizabeth was born on January 5, 1910, in Greenfield, Indiana, to Chauncy and Lula Gardner. In 1921, when Pauline was 12 years old (and a tomboy), her mother and father, two younger sisters, Grandpa Catt, Aunt Cora and Uncle Charley, and three cousins piled into three Model T Fords and made their slow way to Bell, California, near Los Angeles. It took six weeks to cross the country because the cars kept breaking down and mechanics were not always available. Gas cost 17 cents a gallon. Pauline was the only person brave enough to drive with Grandpa Catt, who used the sides of the mountains to slow down his car (this is probably where Pauline got her lifelong habit of fast driving). Pauline learned much later that the reason for the move was that her father was half Cherokee and he needed to get away from constant discrimination.

At 15 years old, Pauline met Wilford Williams at the Bell Friends Church. They dated for two years, married in 1927, then moved to Bakersfield, later to Berkeley, then to 610 Spokane Avenue in Albany, California, where they bought a brand-new home for $1500 and worried about paying that mortgage. By the time Pauline was 22 years old, she had a two-year-old, a one-year-old, and twins, all boys. She was proud of saying that they were all in bed by 6 p.m. every night, although there are many stories of naked boys running down the sidewalk, playing traffic cop in the street, nearly getting run over by trains, and getting locked in the trunks of cars.

Pauline and Wilford formed a group of friends that met almost every week to play cards, have dinner, or just chat. Pauline was part of the mothers' Twin Club, a sewing club, and helped plan most church socials. She played the piano and organ at the Friends Church in Berkeley. She worked at Union Oil during WWII and retired from Cutter Laboratory in 1975, then volunteered at Alta Bates Hospital gift shop for 15 years, and at Tele-Care for another 18 years. She is proud to have traveled to 13 countries and 43 states. She lived in the house on Spokane Avenue for 71 years, and every year hosted a Christmas Eve feast for her ever-growing family. One might stop by the house and find her on the roof fixing a leaky patch at age 76 or mowing the lawn at age 83. 

Pauline's second hip fracture at age 97 forced her to stop driving, and she moved in with her son Lloyd in Pittsburg, California (and for the next several years she constantly insisted that she wanted her driver's license back). No one remembers Pauline ever driving at the speed limit or below. At the age of 101, she complained that she needed to find a new doctor because this one couldn't find the reason why she was often tired.  

Pauline lived through the deaths of her husband Wilford, her sons Gerald, Merwyn, and Floyd, daughters-in-law Lyla and Jean, three sisters (Vivian, Frances, and Juanita), and her oldest grandchild, Jeffrey. She is survived by her son Lloyd and daughters-in-law Pat, Rita, and Janice, 15 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. Pauline wanted to be remembered as a very active person who helped others. She was in excellent health and mind until her very last days and passed away peacefully. 

May we all be so blessed.

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