Mass #4

My goodness. Monday has come around. Kathy was tutoring and I was glad to have a blobby day. I still wasn't 100% after my vomiting spree the previous night. I relaxed on the outdoor swing and read and dozed. Lovely! I also chatted to some of the parents who had come with their kids for tutoring. And I did manage to get to the local shops to have a wax. It was very interesting. Whilst my lips of course will remain sealed, I do have full details of the life story of Cara, my beautician. I asked not one question but did not need to!
Tuesday. Kathy and I drove into the outskirts of Boston, parked the car and took the subway into the city. Or it may have been a train and then the subway - I can't really remember. The weather had packed up again but were were made of tough stuff. It seemed that the best option for seeing the city was a Trolley Tour. Trolley, as in (think Judy Garland)
Clang,clang, clang went the trolley,
Ding, ding, ding went the bell ... Lovely!
There are Duck Tours which have amphibious vehicles so you get a bit of a trip on the river as well, but we were feeling wet enough at that stage so opted for the trolley. A qualification for the drivers apparently being the ability to endlessly crack very bad jokes. But I guess it's good that they are at least animated. We went round once, then hopped out at Fenway Park.

I quite like sports stadiums myself, (yes yes, I have school cert Latin and I know that it should be stadia, but that sounds like pretentious bunkum to me), but on the whole when I visit one, especially in the States, I feel as if I am there on behalf of Hayden. Who has actually, in his younger days, done an overseas trip just to check out stadiums! He loves American sport - mainly baseball and football I think. So we bought our tickets for the tour. The organisation was dreadful when you think that they do this many times a day, day in day out, all year round! There was no place to wait and we just followed a crowd and shambled over the road hoping for the best. There would have been over a hundred people in our group, but apparently that's normal. So, once again I ask - why was it so badly organised? We were supposed to get photos taken too, but I got directed to sit somewhere else and missed out. It didn't really matter, but it was weird.

The young man, Dave, who was our guide was actually very good and a natural teller of tales and I enjoyed listening to him. We walked round a bit more and that was it. We found out that usually there is a video as well. Don't know what was going on really.
Anyway, I liked being at the home of the Red Sox. And I ate a hot dog outside the stadium like all good Red Sox fans should.
Well, I don't know if I am a fan or not, but I suppose I am now! The souvenir shop was overwhelming and really expensive, so we ended up buying nothing.
Next Trolley Stop - Cheers! I had no idea what to order and the barman suggested a beer. I managed about 3 sips. I quite like that light coloured beer, whatever it is, but this drink was not my cup of tea at all. (Get that little play on words there?) I also had a slice of Boston Cream Pie, just to say I had. A tad stale and disappointing, I have to say!
This was the day of Michael Jackson's memorial concert, or funeral, or whatever it was. All the TVs in Cheers had it on and most people were watching it. I wasn't, but never mind. Anyway, it was quite cool being in the bar that provided the inspiration for the TV series. Although there was a bit of confusion as there is also a bar downstairs, and both that bar and the one on street level claim to be 'The' Cheers. Duzzin madda!

And so back to the Trolley, and we did another loop or two. At various times it was pelting down with rain so being inside was a good idea. We had thought we might walk in the Rose Kennedy Rose Gardens, and go to one or two other places as well, but it was just too wet.
And so we got the subway back to the car and tootled off home. I liked Boston and would like to go another time, as there is obviously so much more to see!

Mass #3

We had a very early start on Sunday as we were off to Cape Cod. Now does that just conjure up a magical picture in your mind or what? It certainly did for me.

"If you spend an evening you'll want to stay,
Watching the moonlight on Old Cape Cod Bay.
You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Cod."

Well, that song is a regular head voice of mine. And here I was, off to Cape Cod! It seemed like quite a long drive, partly I think because there isn't really anything to see apart from trees on the side of the roads. We went to Falmouth and then doubled back and went to Plymouth, having collected Kathy and Roger's son Brett en route. Our first historic object to view was Plymouth Rock, where the pilgrims first set foot in their new country.
It's supposedly the real thing, and has an interesting past, having been chipped away at, moved, dropped and broken.... So now it is securely caged in!





Once again there was someone there to talk about it. (Everywhere we went in the States there were guides to interact with you and talk about whatever it was they were looking after or promoting. They were usually in costume and playing a part. I know that it's a way of having people around to keep an eye on things, but it's extremely well done I have to say.)
We then went on board the Mayflower.
Not the orginal, but a replica built about 50 years ago and sailed to Plymouth in 1957 as part of an international good-will project. Once again costumed role players were there, telling the story of the original voyage. I was most taken with one young woman.
I watched her for quite some time while she interacted with some young kids and answered their questions, totally in character. You could see the kids being really drawn into the history of the boat. It was just great.
We had a bit of a wander round and then watched the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. All the local fishing boats and some others were decked out in bunting - there's that word again - I like it! - and they sailed in convoy past a wharf and were blessed by someone. Not sure who really!
We also went on board some Tall Ships which were in port. They were interesting enough, although it seemed to me that they were there to promote their religious beliefs. They seemed to be owned and manned by religious groups who just sailed round the world asking for donations! (Do not write to the editor! I may have got that wrong! :-)But it did seem like quite a nice way to earn a living!)
We had a late lunch/early tea of seafood at the family's favourite seafood restaurant and after dropping Brett off we headed back home. There was a lot of traffic but in general it flowed pretty smoothly.
And the only bit to add is that I woke in the night and was VERY sick! I can't remember when I last vomited - probably more than 20 years ago. I dunno. But I sure made up for it. I just couldn't stop beng sick and it was really horrible. And apart from everything else, my muscles ached and ached for days afterwards. Yuk! I have to assume that it was the oysters I had at the restaurant, although it was a very busy restaurant with a rapid turnover of food, so one would have thought things would be fresh. But there you go.

Mass #2

On the Saturday Kathy and I wet to the Lexington and Concord areas. There is a huge amount of history in all of New England - the birth of the nation occurred here really.
We firstly went to the Minute Man visitor centre. The Minute Man is the general term used for the local soldiers during the American Revolution. Basically, they were all geared up so that they could respond to a call to arms and gather together in a minute. At the visitor centre we watched a video which was really excellent. It was more than just a video - it appeared to be almost like a hologram, with a 'real' soldier talking to us. And different parts the room lit up as they featured in the story. Oh, I can't explain it properly, but believe me, it was most impressive, and it certainly explained the start of the American Revolution very well. Who fired the first shot? Aha - we will never know.
We then got swept into an interactive thing which turned out to be learning how to fire a musket and to march. We were The Awkward Squad.
In fact, the young woman in charge told us that we were one of the best groups she had had - fast learners! I wasn't all that slick with the musket, (and in fact felt a bit of a dipstick playing with guns when I really don't like them - even pretend ones) but I was a whiz at the marching! You should have seen our wheels! Lol. After that we went along the road to a house which used to be a tavern and is (and was) situated on the road that the troops used during the Revolution.
Another costumed chap (a Minute Man) talked to us about the Revolution and he and a colleague showed us how to fire a real musket. (The Awkward Squad had wooden guns, fortunately!) He was really interesting.
Next stop Concord, and Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott.
Speaking as someone who loved Little Women and always wanted to be Jo, I was really chuffed to visit here. We had a guided tour and it was really interesting. (How many times have I said that??) But it really was. The house was surprisingly spacious and light with a writing desk for Louisa which her father had built for her - normally girls were not encouraged to 'work' as such. She mixed with some interesting thinkers and scholars of the day, and for more info you could check on Google, which will save me plagiarising anything!
Kathy and I then went back to Lexington to visit the National Heritage Museum which promised much but unfortunately delivered very little. In fact it is hard to relate the advertising flyer to the actual museum. There was very little to see, and not only that, but the cafe where we planned to have lunch was closed, despite the flyer saying it would be open. Oh well.....
So we went to Starbucks in Lexington instead and I had a very nice smoothie. And probably some food but I can't remember. It's true!

Massachusetts #1

OK. Photos are downloaded so here I go. On July 2 I got the train to Charles de Gaulle airport and after one of the most shambolic queueing systems I have come across I caught an Icelandair plane to Reykjavik. So I have now been to Iceland. Sort of! I am sure there are very good reasons to live there and indeed I am also sure that many people love it very much. However, from the air anyway, it was bleak, barren, drear, grey... We had left 45 minutes late from Paris so I didn't have very long to wait for my next flight. The reason we were late, incidentally, was because it was just like a madhouse at the airport. The pilot said he had never in his whole career as a pilot seen Charles de Gaulle airport so busy. So, leg 2. I sat beside a couple of nice chaps, which was just as well as our row of seats and one other were the only rows where the TVs didn't work! It was also quite exciting looking out of the window and seeing Greenland and icebergs. And then we flew over Canada which was really interesting and gave me quite a thrill. Amazing stuff.
And so to Boston. Kathy and Roger were there to meet me and off we went to Rutland, a small town about an hour away. I settled into their lovely house and it was time for bed! (Photo #1 is of Kathy in front of their house.)
On the Friday we went to a Warehouse kind of shop called Sams, and we also went to Shrewbury to another shop. We were getting things for the barbecue at night and also having a wee look round to see what we could see. :-) Then Kathy took me to Sterling which is the home of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Yes, the nursery rhyme was based on real people and events! Years ago, the town of Sterling erected a lamb statue to celebrate the birthplace of Mary Sawyer. In 1815, Mary was followed to the schoolhouse by her pet lamb. Her classmate, John Roulston, wrote the poem. In fact, a town in New Hampshire claims that a poet from their town really wrote the rhyme. I am not especially bothered one way or the other, but anyway, I have seen the lamb statue!
That night Kathy and Roger hosted a barbecue for the neighbours to celebrate July 4th. (On July 3rd. Because that's when the town fireworks were on!) Being that time of the year, by the way, there were American flags and loads of bunting everywhere. It looked great!


We had just got going with the barbecue when rain started pouring down with a vengeance. We moved inside, but were a bit worried that the fireworks might have been cancelled. Fortunately it all cleared up, and we had the bonus of a most incredibly beautiful rainbow. Two complete rainbows in fact, one inside the other. My photos just doesn't do it justice.
It was stunning.

So then we walked cross the road with our deckchairs and sat and watched the wonderful fireworks display which we could see above Kathy and Roger's house. And so ended Friday.

Update

Just so as you know I'm still here.... Or there, or wherever. :-) I'm staying with my friends Joan and Bill in Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders. Tonight I'm going with Joan to her Sweet Adelines chorus rehearsal - Forth Valley won the UK gold medal this year so are off to International next year. They are very good! I'm looking forward to having a listen tonight and who knows, I might even be able to join in one or two songs!
I love Scotland. Perhaps it's my Dunedin heritage - I can't be sure. But it just feels good being here, despite the grey skies and intermittent rain!
I'll be back.

Off again

I guess I could have been writing in my blog, but I haven't recently for two reasons. 1. I haven't been able to download my photos and photos and stories seem to go together and 2. I try not to hog Kathy's computer. I just grab a moment or two to check emails in case Paul McCartney has sent me a message.
But just a quick word. I have had a wonderful time here in Rutland, Massachusetts. It's an area rich in history and is so very interesting. Kathy and Roger have been wonderful hosts and I have covered a fair bit of territory - from Cape Cod in the south to Rockport in the north. And I've been to Boston and can report back to Hayden on Fenway Park - the Red Sox stadium! I went to Cheers as well! The weather has been pretty ordinary, but has come up trumps when we needed it to. I'll write in more detail when I'm back home and can add photos as well. Today I am flying out. I leave Boston and fly to Paris via Reyjavik in Iceland. I get into Paris at 6.30 am and have a whole day to fill in before flying to Edinburgh at night. I really need to blob in a hotel room somewhere and get some sleep but the hotels at the airport cost an arm and a leg. I could go into Paris for the day but there is nowhere to store my suitcase - for security reasons they don't store luggage any more. So we will see! Something will happen one way or another. It always does! :-)

Neil

I hope Jo won't mind me writing this. I just want to pay my respects to Neil Breingan who died this week. He was the husband of my good friend Jo, and I guess I've known him for more than 30 years. Highly intelligent, wise, keen sportsman, quiz champion, teacher, man with his own mind, garage sale king, real Nelson identity and family man. I really liked Neil and my heart goes out to Jo.
And just finally, the one thing that will always stick in my mind when I think of Neil is the wonderful blackboard work he had in his classrooms. It's difficult to explain just how amazing it was, but anyway, he used to prepare the whole board for each week and it was simply an exquisite work of art.
I was so sad to hear that Neil had died. Another good man gone much too soon.