Photo Phriday

I dreamed of Africa.

Having lived in a place where you woke up every morning to gentle sound of bells on the necks of sheep and looking out your window to see the French Alps, you wonder what could be more beautiful. This is a question that people have asked my wife and I. It is a question we ask ourselves. What is the most beautiful place you've ever been too?

It is a difficult question to answer for we have been blessed to see many magnificent places. It may be the shear magnitude of a mountain, or the barrenness of a sweeping moor. We've walked along the rugged coast of the Irish Sea and along the quiet waterfront of an North Sea inlet at a time when there was 20 hours of daylight. We've walked the dusty roads of Uganda and the sidewalks of the Champs Elysees. This does not account for the many spectacular places we've seen right here in our country and our state.

But still, the question remains. What is the most beautiful place you've ever been too? My wife will tell you Switzerland. I would answer, Zimbabwe.

When we arrived in Harare, it was like other African cities I had been to. But once you leave the city, then it becomes the place that dreams are made of; my dreams at least. I had dreamed of what Africa would be and one day, while on a safari east of Harare, I saw it. I saw a landscape that said, "I am Africa."

Yes, I once dreamed of Africa. Now, I simply dream of Africa. I dream of time that I may get to return to Zimbabwe. To ride in the back of a truck out onto the savannah and witness the variety of wildlife found there. To walk through the grass and get nearly get close enough to a giraffe to touch it.To ride on the back of an elephant again and to sip tea in the shade of a koppie. These are things I dream of.

I dream of Africa.

Photo Phriday

In England a bus has two levels; you know, the double-decker bus that we are familiar with. A coach is one level, or what we in the States call a bus. In in 1995, prior to moving there the following year, Gerrie and I took a trip to London and Paris. It was a great two weeks. We spent a few days staying in and touring London, then took the EuroStar to Paris for a few days. Then it was back to London and some tours outside the city.

One of these was a coach trip to Cornwall, or as it is sometimes referred to as, the West Country. This began my wife's love affair with the region. She adores Cornwall and in particular, Port Isaac. She dreams that someday we'll return to England and have a chance to visit Port Isaac again and stay at a little B&B that she enjoys. I can't blame her. I too enjoy Cornwall and spent a few weeks during the Summer of '97 there while on tour with Godspell and I hope to make it back someday. The ruggedness of the coasts and the sweeping barrenness of the moors is its own special beauty. And the food? Nothing like a Steak & Stilton Cornish Pasty followed with a nice cream tea. But more on that some other time.

On this particular visit we went as far west as you can go, to Land's End. It is at the southwest most tip of England on the Penwith Peninsula. There is a small settlement there catering mostly to the tourist trade. The nearest village/town/city of an any import is Penzance which is 8 miles away. You may recall that Gilbert and Sullivan had something to do with Penzance.

Photo Phriday

I love the month of August! I love the month of August for two particular reasons. One, my wife was born in August and two, I married my wife in August. In fact, we will celebrate our 20th Anniversary on the 30th. I can still remember it as though it was yesterday. It was a quaint gathering of 175 of our closest friends. My mother handled the catering. My son stood as my Best Man and my daughter was the Maid of Honor. It was an outdoor wedding, candles floating in the pool, and my bride came down the aisle, escorted by her son, to Flower Duet from Leo Delibes opera, Lakme. Instead of writing a vow that I would stumble through, I had In My Life by The Beatles played; my song for her.

Nearly twenty years ago.

I want to celebrate the month of August by sharing a few photos and stories of our life together. We'll begin with a photograph of two countries.

In the Fall of 1996, Gerrie and I took part in what was known as the Reconciliation Walk. The Reconciliation Walk was a prayer walk tracing the routes of the First Crusade. The purpose of the Walk was to pray for forgiveness for the atrocities committed in the name of Christ during the Crusade and when possible, share a message of peace with Muslims we may encounter along the way.

Gerrie and I, along with other members of our missionary training team, walked over a 1,000 miles during our ten weeks on the road. We began in Dijon, France and ended in Bari, Italy. We crossed three mountain ranges; the Jura Mountains, the Alps and Apennine Mountains. The photograph above is of Gerrie and I at Great St. Bernard Pass. The pass is at 8,100 feet above sea level. In the photograph we are standing in Switzerland and over our shoulders, the buildings in the distance, is Italy. We spent the night in the Hospice there, which has been receiving guests since around 1050, including Napoleon in 1800. The road he used to cross? Built by the Romans. The morning the photograph was taken, October 5th, we would come through the pass and enter Italy spending our first night in a monastery in Saint-Oyen.

From Saint-Oyen, we spent the next 6 to 8 weeks walking through Italy. Not the Italy of the travel books, but the Italy of the Italians. The small towns and villages that no one cares to visit. Sometimes we had wonderful accommodation, meaning that the floor was clean where we'd throw your sleeping bag. Sometimes we'd make it through the night and then pray that our next stop would be better. But good or bad, hot or cold, rain or snow, it was an experience that neither of us will ever forget.

Years have passed since those days and I am not nearly in the shape I was then. But on occasion, I dream about our Walk and I'd like to think I could do it again someday.

I love the month of August! It is my anniversary month. It has been a wonderful adventure! And it will continue to be for as long as we both shall live.

Photo Phriday

You'll recall that last week I shared how Gerrie and I had a bit of a reunion in Oxford. I also mentioned our deep appreciation for the writings of C. S. Lewis and our desire to seek out the haunts of Lewis during his tenure at Oxford University. We were especially interested in visiting places where he and his friends gathered.

His friends were called the Inklings, and among the places they gathered was The Eagle and Child.

The Eagle and Child, affectionately known as the "Bird and Baby", is found at 49 St. Giles in Oxford. Their history claims that public house sat on this site since 1650. In addition to sometimes meeting in Lewis's rooms at Magdalen College, Lewis and his friends would meet in the Rabbit Room of the pub on Tuesday mornings during the term. The bar keep informed us that they would usually gather at 11:00 a.m.

The Inklings were an informal group; "neither a club nor a literary society" as Warnie once said, but it did meet to discuss literature. In fact, Inkling member J.R.R. Tolkien first read excerpts of The Lord of the Rings at the gatherings. C.S. Lewis, in turn, shared readings from his Out of the Silent Planet and parts of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Today the room looks much as it did during the 1930s and 1940s. The literary connection and history of the room is noted with photographs of members of the group and sheet of paper with the signatures of Lewis, Tolkien, and others saying that they had drunk to the landlord's health.

During our time there, we enjoyed a meal (I had Fish & Chips no doubt) and spent time looking about the room. Once finished, we took a while to sit quietly and write. We both kept journals and being in this place, with the memories of the men who once met here stirring around us, we could not let an opportunity to write escape us.

There are many things I miss about our life in England. I miss our friends, our work and mission and how simple life seemed to be. I also miss being a place filled where I am surrounded by history. In fact the very road we lived on, the Watling Street (A5), was built by the Romans. Hundreds of years before we lived there, Roman troops would march along the road towards the northwest.

I miss being there.

Next up? I don't know. Perhaps we'll stay in England or cross the Channel and visit Paris. Or maybe we'll go further afield. Africa perhaps?

Photo Phriday

My wife had just returned from having spent six weeks in India. I was just coming off the road from having toured England in the musical "Godspell". It was time to take a small vacation to rest and get away from our small flat. We decided to take the train to Oxford.

It was an easy trip to remember. As we came down the stairs from our flat for our taxi to the railway station, we heard that Diana, Princess of Wales had been in an automobile accident in Paris. The thought, at the time, was that she had been killed in the accident but this was not confirmed yet. By the time we arrived in Oxford the news had confirmed her death and the flags of the nation had been lowered by half. I share this only to put things in a time.

Among the many interests that my wife and I share is a deep appreciation for the writings of C.S. Lewis. Not only his works of fantasy and science fiction, The Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy, but also his spiritual writings. The apologist works such as Mere Christianity or the Screwtape Letters. We thought, with the journey to Oxford, we would make it a sort of Lewis Pilgrimage. We'd visit Magdalen College and seek out the pub where he and the Inklings would gather. We also wanted to visit The Kilns; the home that he shared with his brother Warnie in the Headington Quarry area. Near the home is the church, Holy Trinity Church, where he worshipped and where he is buried.

Us standing just outside the hedges at The Kilns.

Our time in Oxford was very restful. We took a room at a small bed and breakfast near the Lewis home. For a few days it was quiet and we enjoyed our walks, our reading and the refreshing that comes with not being quite so busy. Then we had to return to the real world. But we did so with a greater appreciation for Lewis and his surroundings.

Note: in a few weeks, perhaps next Friday, I'll share a bit more of the visit. In particular, to a small room, in a building found on St. Giles.

Photo Phriday

When we were not in the Midlands, more often than not, you'd find us London. We would stay at a friends flat in the City of Westminster; roughly 5-10 minutes walk from the Abbey. Some days we'd have a nice fish and chip from the corner 'chippie' on Strutton Ground then walk over and spend a nice afternoon in St. James' Park. Others would find us at the National Gallery or listening to classical quartets in Covent Garden.

Then there were occasions when we'd take the train and visit Stratford-upon-Avon for a few days relaxation and take in a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. There were trips to Oxford or further out, to the West Country to my wife's favorite seaside village of Port Isaac.

But as I mentioned a few weeks ago, The Beatles have been a part of life for lo these many years. I visited Abbey Road and hastily made my way across the road. But, if Abbey Road was the end, then there was a beginning and I needed to experience that as well. One weekend we visited a friend living just outside of Liverpool and being this close begged for a drive into the city and a visit to Mathew Street.

Located at No. 10 Mathew Street is the Cavern Club. The Cavern opened on January 16, 1957. A little over four years later, on February 9, 1961, The Beatles played their first lunchtime gig on the cramped stage of the club. The band went on to play 292 shows in the cellar with the last one being on August 3, 1963 shortly following the recording of She Loves You. By this time the group had become too popular for the already overly crowded club. The group made a promise to return, but this never happened while they were together. The promise was fulfilled in part on December 14, 1999 when Paul McCartney played his last show of the old millennium in the club.

Also found along the street is a statue of John Lennon, a la the 1975 Rock 'n' Roll album, leaning against the wall. A little further along, at No. 31, is The Beatle Shop. It is a great little basement shop selling all manner of Beatles music, art and other items. Not too far away is the Adelphi Hotel. Gerrie and I stopped for tea here, but anyone watching the Free As A Bird video from The Anthology, may recall the lobby. A lovely place.

I have not been one for completions in all that I do. The work stuff, yes, but not everything. It is my way of combating my tendencies towards perfectionism. Concerning Liverpool, my pilgrimage is not complete. Someday I hope to return to visit the barber selling photographs on Penny Lane or to find out if anything is real in Strawberry Fields. But until that day, I have the memory of standing on the stage at the Cavern. Of sitting there, leaning against the wall, enjoying a pint and thinking about all the great music that came out of this cellar.

Photo Phriday

During my trips to Paris, and when time allowed, I loved visiting Shakespeare and Company.

Shakespeare and Company is a bookstore that opened as a lending library in 1919 by Sylvia Beach. The shop has a storied history. It was a regular gathering place for members of The Lost Generation during the time between wars. The with the occupation of Paris during World War II, the shop closed. Beach secreted her books away in a vacant apartment during the occupation. These books were later liberated from their hiding place by Ernest Hemingway.

Following Beach's death in 1951, another English-language bookstore adopted the name Shakespeare and Company. This shop, operated by George Whitman, strived to carry on the traditions of Beach's shop and became host to many of the writers of the Beat Generation. The downstairs with its shelves and tables overflowing with books was host to public readings, while the upstairs, complete with sleeping quarters, provided a place for writers to live and work.

Why Shakespeare and Company? I first learned of the shop while watching a travelogue. My wife and I, having spent our honeymoon in Paris, were planning a return trip in '95. So I bought a few books and watched a view videos to prepare. While watching I learned that the current location of the shop at 37 Rue de la Bucherie is within Kilometer Zero for France. The marker is located in the square of the main entrance to Notre Dame. When you purchase a book from Shakespeare and Company you can have the inside page stamped, indicating that the book comes from the shop inside Kilometer Zero. Being a collector, of sorts, I had to have book stamped. So one day while we were out walking and we visited the shop. I purchased a copy of W. Somerset Maugham's The Narrow Corner for 55 Francs and had it stamped.

We then went a few doors up and found an outdoor table with a view of Notre Dame. We had glass of wine, a plate of cheese, and talked about how nice the day was.

Gerrie and I are now planning to travel to London and Paris in October 2012. I hope to find time to visit this wonderful little shop, find a really good read, and add to my memories of one of my favorite cities in the world.

Photo Phriday

My wife and I were driving home from having seen Cars 2 this past Saturday. A good film but it will not (in my opinion) rank among the best of Pixar. Still, a good film and Pixar still tells a good story and creates stunning digital scenery. But I digress. We were driving home and our talk turned to favorites and the subject of favorite bands came up. That is one of the easiest questions I will ever have to answer. My favorite band is The Beatles!

While we lived in England, my mother and sister flew over for a two week visit. This was shortly after the funeral for Diana: Princess of Wales. It was their first time in England and we planned to as much as we could during their stay. My wife and my mother took a trip to West Country for a few days and my sister and I took the EuroStar to Paris for a few days. But prior to these trips, my sister and I took a Beatle walking tour. This, along with a number of other tours, are conducted by a The Original London Walks.

The stop that I looked forward to most on the tour was the chance to see Abbey Road Studios. Sure, we saw other landmarks: Paul McCartney's townhouse in Soho, the Indica Gallery, the Apple Headquarters on Savile Row (site of the famous rooftop concert), and others. But it was Abbey Road that I looked forward to most. Abbey Road - home to some of the most creative music ever composed and recorded.

The tour would not allow us to enter the building or to visit the studios, but I did manage to have a photo taken on the steps.

I completed the tour by making my walk across the Abbey Road Crosswalk. I made my sprint across sporting denim, as the late George Harrison did. I would have preferred to wear white while making my cross, in honor of my favorite Beatle, John Lennon, but sadly, my white suit was in Nuneaton at the time.

Sprint? Yes. You must bear in mind that the Metropolitan Police halted traffic during the photo shot for the Beatles. Fans making the pilgrim across Abbey Road must do so minding the traffic. Cars are were not obligated to stop, so you pick your moment, make sure that someone has a camera ready, then you set out.

I did.

"And in the end

The love you take

Is equal to the love you make."

Photo Phriday

"Adventure is out there!" This is one of my favorite lines in UP. Truth is, it is one of my favorite lines in any film I've seen. And that is a lot of film. "Adventure is out there!"

In the nearly twenty years that my wife and I have been married we have had our share of adventure. We have lived in Switzerland waking up with a view of the French Alps each morning. We walked and prayed for over a 1,000 miles through France, Switzerland and Italy sleeping in monasteries, convents, churches and once, in the same lodgings used by Napoleon at St. Bernard Pass. We've twice been to Africa; once to Uganda and the other to Zimbabwe, enjoying a short safari on a game preserve just outside of Harare during our time there. And as I have mentioned previously, we lived in England. It was in a small market town called Nuneaton. Nuneaton is in Warwickshire - "Shakespeare Country". It is about an hour and twenty minutes north of London by the fast train, and was the home of George Eliot.

While we lived in England we had the opportunity to travel some and over the next few weeks Photo Phriday will look at some of the adventures we've enjoyed during our life together.

Vindolanda

Found along Hadrian's Wall in the north of England, Vindolanda was Roman auxiliary fort. Construction of a fort on this site began in 122 AD. Gerrie and I visited the dig while on a trip with friends to Scotland.

"Adventure is out there!" As we prepare to begin our next twenty years together we are looking and working towards a few new adventures! Life is great!

Photo Phriday

My wife and I used to live in England. In Warwickshire actually; Shakespeare Country. But before we moved there, we took a holiday there in 1995. During that holiday we booked a coach trip to the West Country of Cornwall. This trip included a stop at Lands End; the western most point of the mainland along the Cornish coast.

I had a bit more hair in those days.

Photo Phriday

For the past three years we've had a family of robins making their nests in our backyard. Two years ago is was lodged in a space between our house and a climbing rose bush. Last year (and completely unaware) they made their home in our Japanese Maple near the back of the yard. This year they choose to nestle in some English Ivy we have climbing outside our kitchen window. This makes for nice entertainment while I am drinking my coffee in the morning or straightening up after dinner in the evening. Another benefit of this is being able to see that the babies have been hatched and are dutifully being attended to by their mother and father.

My photo for this Photo Phriday is of our three new house guests sleeping while mom is away gathering the next meal.

Photo Phriday

I have been known to take a few photographs while visiting the parks. But this past trip I tried to slow down a bit and not carry my regular compliment of cameras to the parks everyday. In fact, the first two days of our recent trip I only carried my Canon Vixia, figuring I could capture both video and stills as needed with a single camera. This was great. It meant my wife and I could walk through the parks, slowly, not having to worry about what my photographic agenda was. Frankly, I didn't have one. It was more important to simply enjoy being with "my heartbeat", my wife, and enjoy time in some of my favorite places on earth.

But while this was wonderful, it did mean I came home with fewer photographs than I thought I'd take. Photographs say, of, the Disney Dream. I was too busy having a great time to do what I would ordinarily do; take a lot of photographs. But this too was wonderful. I spent a great time with my wife and with good friends.

Still, there was one photograph I have been wanting to take for some time and kept missing it. The shot would pass me by and I'd be left standing there with my camera still nicely tucked away. But having the mindset of slowing down, and with two days in the parks following the cruise, I was determined to get the picture. I stopped and waited for the opportunity.

What is it you ask? Well, here it is.