Update from London...

So many things to tell ... and questions to ask...

First of all, girls: Where is (the heck) ZULU? 

Second: Did hell freeze over? I leave the country, and Mizzou starts winning. How long can it last? 

Well, I assume you all are up on the headlines from the U.K. Will we get bombed during the G20 next week? Will you buy the latest documentary on Jade Goody's life? 

I admit -- I had to google Jade Goody to figure out who she was. Duh. She's the former Big Brother contestant who recently passed away from Cervical Cancer. It was pretty sad, the collector magazine editions were on news stands before she actually died. I caught myself watching her 2 hour wedding special one night about a week ago. I followed it up with Paris Hilton's British Best Friend. What have I become? (Actually - Paris's BBF is pretty good - the best part is when Paris says: "Oh, I hate this!" Then she cries....real tears. The magic of television. 

Oh well. 

On the other hand, I'm on the straight and narrow when it comes to building my empire: The first money I made here, was actually due to horse racing. I bet on Kauto Star - the favorite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Now, I didn't really want to go with the favorite -- however, after consulting my friend and horse racing expert -- Ryan Tate -- I decided that since Denman had some health issues -- Kauto Star was the best one to go with. If only I'd gone with my pick of the top three: Kauto Star, Denman, and Exotic Dancer -- I might have a fortune to rival Paris. Exotic Dancer was a long shot -- and I was made fun of for suggesting that pick. But, the horse danced it's way into the third spot.  Next time I will stick with my instincts. 

Okay so, my new friend Dip, took me to bet on the races -- my first bookie experience. (I had no idea it was so easy!)

 Afterwards, we talked sports and he explained, that just like in the U.S. much of the hoopla has as much to do with the characters involved -- almost more so than which team actually ends up winning. 

I thought I would be a fan of the soccer/football team: Manchester United. Until, Dip described to me that rooting for Manchester United was the equivalent of cheering on the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox -- upon which I decided I'd rather go to hell -- so I don't know who I will cheer for. Chelsea perhaps? 

I don't know. Quite frankly -- it's all very confusing to me still -- but I'm learning. I just buy up all the papers and spread them out and compare articles. 

I recently joined the local Rotary chapter in London. It's quite a bit different than Cape West Rotary that I belonged to at home. It's me, and about twenty of the nicest established British men you'd ever want to meet. Anyway, last week they asked me to explain the rules of baseball. To my delight -- I aced this test. 

They also asked me to explain American Football. To that, I simply said just watch for who clobbers who -- or who dances a jig at one end of the field. Basically, the team with the most dancing, and least amount of players being carried out on stretchers will win. Very simple sport, it is. 

Other than that, my life includes an entire new cast of characters. Look for more stories about them -- the cross-walk lady with the nose ring that must be in her 70's that does little dances for the kids when they cross is one of my favorites. 

The dog walker from Canada is another -- yesterday I saw him in the Common (that's code for the park) with about 12 dogs at once! They all get along! Even the Brits dogs are very civilized. 

Oh! I almost forgot -- last week we went to Jamie Oliver's Recipease store nearby. It's awesome! My friend, Chad Fryman, would LOVE this. You get to go in, select recipes, prepare them at the store, and then you take them home to cook them! We made salmon, pork en croute, desserts, curry...it was amazing and a ton of fun. Apparently, Jamie's been in several times. The store - which is painted pink - is on my way home from the bus -- and so I stick my head almost everyday (sometimes more than once) and do a sweep just to see if Jamie is there! I have yet to see him -- but if I do, I will add him to my celebrity sightings: Clive Owen, and Alan Rickman, to date. (I still think it's odd that I saw my most famous Brit, Paul McCartney in Santa Fe last August, and not in London. )

Oh well -- that's about it for now -- I have to go scratch off my lotto tickets -- 70,000 pounds at stake tonight -- 

Then, I watch my favorite BBC program: Come Dine With Me. I highly recommend googling that show. 

I'll let you know what happens. 

I generally refer to it as the happiest place on earth....

I'm talking about Target. They have it all, really. Where else can you enjoy Starbucks, designer knock-offs at 75% off, and the dollar spot. Generally on Fridays, my mother and Aunt Laura get off work early -- and we meet at Target around noon. I enjoy a coffee, and if my family is feeling generous (despite the fact I am a 29 year old professional) I usually walk away with some little treat....a new shirt, shampoo, tooth paste....it doesn't matter, gifts are always welcome. To some, it's just a trip for discount shopping -- but to my family Target = Quality Time. 

As I chatted with my mother online yesterday, she suggested I think about all the things I miss, or  wish I could implant in the United Kingdom. Because, there will be no Target trip for me today. About the time they are looking at the clearance racks and Easter stuff that's surely already out - I will be out getting a lesson how to bet on the Cheltenham Horse Races. 

To begin, obviously I miss Target. We do not have Target. But, we do have TK Maxx with Cafe Nero right next door -- it comes close, but there's no Momma Joyce and Aunt Laura (and usually Nurse Carmen from their office) so, it can not compare. 

Other Elements -- well, I miss Elements. Elements is my salon. That being said to my stylist of many years, Linda: I miss you greatly. My hair looks like crud. While there are many fabulous salons, a poor journalist can not afford the pricey treatments. However, I still have my beloved Bumble and Bumble products - which they do sell here (Praise God). But this is the issue -- my Chi Iron doesn't work here. It's set up for a U.S. outlet -- and even with an adapter the voltage is too high, the iron would get too hot -- thus, melting my hair, possibly causing and explosion, and inevitably causing a blaze that could burn down the flat and cause my death or deportation from Europe. 

But that's not all -- outlets are not allowed in bathrooms here due to the fear of electric shock. So, picture this -- me trying to blow dry my hair in the kitchen with foreign objects. Thus, ending up looking like I was electrocuted anyway. 

Now, thankfully the standards of 'done' for hair in England are a bit different. The more natural look is 'in'. And, that's good because by the time I walk two miles to where ever I'm going after my attempts at straightening my curly hair -- it looks like a big fuzz ball anyway (that's with or without the London Rain.) 

Further, I miss my gym. I miss Health Point and mostly it's the staff I miss. I miss Body Step with Laura on Thursday at noon. I miss being greeted by Rachel, and April when I walk in. I miss talks on the stepper with Nan and Jess. I miss Psycho Cycle class on Friday mornings with Amy and Lori. I miss Alicia, and Lane, and everybody there that I became very close to. 

That being said, my new gym, Wandsworth Common, the nearby park is nice. There, neighborhood dogs have taken the place of trainers -- I know the dogs names but I'm not sure of some of the people yet. 

While I do not miss my car (which is a lovely 05 Escape and still for sale), I do miss my books on Cd. 

I miss Barnes and Noble and the staff there that had my Hot Cinnamon Tea ready before I got in the door practically. Naturally, there is no shortage of tea in England -- however, there's no Suzanne, and all the other girls who used to make my tea, and my day. 

Ah, and it happens every spring. I realize right now, I am missing March Madness -- and more importantly -- all the talk of early baseball season. I am seriously counting on some good updates from home.  As always, I remain loyal to the St. Louis Cardinals, despite how many games they win or lose. (Or, as in previous seasons -- have blown for them by some closer who is over paid, over hyped, and consistently under delivers.) 

However, I am getting and education in Sports of Europe -- Football (Soccer), Cricket, Rugby, and Horse Racing. 

And of course, there's a certain Heartland Hospitality that does not exist anywhere else - where a handshake can feel more like a warm hug -- instead of like a salute. 

I adore Europe. I am usually right at home no matter where I go -- but there's some things you just can't duplicate. 

So mom and Laura and Carmen, enjoy Target today. Buy me a shirt and an early Easter surprise. I'll be looking for the package to arrive in the mail in a few days! 

Choose Your Own Adventure: Public Transportation

Any photographer I worked with at KFVS would probably say I am bad at directions. To that, I say they never had to take down many instructions from the lovely people of the Heartland when directing us to their location. Usually they went something like this:

 "Okay, do you know where Main Street is in East Twiddle Doo? Okay, well there won't be a sign anyway. So, just head on down the interstate and get off at the first exit there -- you coming down 60? 55? County Road 418? Well, it doesn't matter. Just take the main drag there and you'll come to a drug store on the corner. Not the one with the red sign, the one with the yellow one. Right, next to the unmarked post office, and the police station that still has the fire station sign hanging on it. Right. Make a left there and take that road until it feels like you're making a right. Good. Right. Correct. Right. Okay. Now, you're going to see a barn on the left side of the road, opposite a big orange shed that sorta looks red. Take a right there at at the third cow pasture...the one with the milk cows....right, correct ... oh wait, I've lost the connection....." 

You get the idea. Well -- I may not be good with directions but I sure know how to follow the Underground Map. I've always had this thing for number, color, and word association. Little did I know that would come in very handy during my adventures in London. 

Last week, I figured the only way I was going to get this down was to just get out there and do it. For the purposes of this exploration my game: Choose your Own Adventure: Public Transportation London was put into motion. 

So, armed with my Oyster Card for easy access - I just sat out picking places I wanted to go to and figuring out how to get there....Hyde Park, Notting Hill, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, The Imperial War Museum, Tate Modern....and more. 

If I got on the wrong train, I hopped off and turned around until I had it down. (All the while carrying my little book with the map in it -- carefully concealing it as to not be waving a red flag that I had no real idea what I was doing -- I highly recommend this strategy.)  I am now proud to say I almost have the map pretty well memorized. I can trouble shoot with the best of them. 

I even gave up my seat to a fellow American last week who were just delighted to be here visiting Europe for their anniversary. One note, I love to watch tourists on the tube. Many of them remind me of my parents -- carefully studying the map, appearing terrified, and looking to their husbands for help. In some cases, I could tell their husbands didn't have a clue where the train was going -- however, they did not dare as for help, as no self-respecting American man (or any photographer I've ever worked with as a reporters) would. 

And, to my credit -- I can even stand up when the train takes off without falling over. My wonderful photographer Rochelle would remember a few incidents when I feel out of the live truck or off a make-shift levee and thus, would find this hard to believe. (This could be possibly due to the fact I've been wearing my flat boots here, as opposed to my four inch heels.) 

Now, that brings me to the double-decker buses, where yesterday, I almost fell down the stairs as we came to a stop. No matter, I was able to save myself before plunging into a young child, and an elderly woman carrying shopping bags in front of me.

Buses, are a little more confusing because you have to pin down the number to the location they are going and there usually is no handy dandy map involved. That whole opposite side of the street to drive on gets me sometimes too. 

Cabs -- are the best yet -- I like to flag them down with my hot pink passport cover --- they are most helpful, however much more expensive.

Thus, if you ever find yourself in a large city with no clue how to get around - I highly recommend one of my favorite games: Choose Your Own Adventure - Public Transportation. 

Unlike navigating the Heartland -- if you get lost you truly have no one to blame but yourself. 

(** Note: My thanks to the wonderful local people of Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Western Kentucky who tried for years to direct me to their neck of the woods. I can neither confirm nor deny whether we were late or lost solely due to my sense of direction -- or so it would seem, lack there of. :-) ) 

A Few of My Favorite Things....

I thought I would post a few of my favorite things about London in the morning. 

1. The fact that since I don't work late, I actually see the morning. 

2. The children in their school uniforms (on their scooters of course.) And, on a side note, the lunch being cooked at the school up the street smells exactly like the cafeteria at my elementary school in Cape Girardeau - Charles C. Clippard -- and every other one in the U.S. for that matter!

3. Lots of dogs in the park -- and rarely a bark to be heard. Interesting. 

4. Cafe Americano

5. Watching the planes fly in to Heathrow ... they look like they will land on your head...I try to guess where they are coming from. 

6. All of the fresh markets of flowers, meats, and veggies on the streets! It's amazing --  like something out of the past. 

7. Trying to guess the weather pattern of the day .... sun, clouds, wind, rain, downpour, sprinkles, sun, light snow, sun, microburst. 

8. Forgetting that it's the middle of the night back home and resisting the urge to call and wake someone up anyway. 

9. The morning headlines -- currently football, the Cheltenham Festival, and the shootings in Ireland. Also sadly, the shootings in Germany. And, more interesting -- cardboard police officers in the U.K. I recommend checking that out. Pretty cool - and not much different from the random empty cop cars back home. 

10. Riding the big red bus on my 'choose your own adventure public transportation trip to the place of my choosing.' 

Stay tuned for my next blog on the science of getting around.... I knew my affinity number and color memorization would come in handy. The good old "Holly Brantley File" never ceases to amaze me!

Greetings from London....

Tonight, I have a few observations I'd like to share. 

First, I have a Solar Theory about what everyone here calls "Gloomy Old London." 

Now, it's often rainy and foggy. Which, I think has a certain charm. But, I've actually only watched it rain twice. And, not once have I actually been caught in the rain. In fact, I've seen the Bloody Sun almost every single day. 

Which, has lead me to come up with this theory: It started last week when I was running. It was a bit chilly, but if I could find a patch of sunlight -- it was very pleasant. So, I decided I'd just run towards the sun. (A bit of an analogy for life, perhaps.) Anyway, I couldn't get the sun to linger for more than a block -- even though there was not a cloud in the sky. 

Okay, to get to my point -- it seems to me the ancient monarchs, and architects of this brilliant city must have designed it in such a way that it only appears to be gloomy 90% of the time. This, I believe, they have managed through carefully constructing the blocks to shield the light -- and cast shadows in an attempt to keep others ( like myself ) from being drawn towards London's real charm. 

Now, observation number two: I call this the "Scooter Phenomenon." I am in an area with LOTS of moms and children. It's not unusual to see a pack of moms and kids about every twenty feet in the mornings. Along with the chorus of "mummy!" -- there's also the sound of squeaky wheels. Every kid (and some adults) has a scooter! And I'm not talking about kids that are nine or ten years old -- some of them, I'm pretty sure aren't even able to walk yet -- but there they go, racing after moms, dads, brothers, and sisters alike on their little scooters!! This is extremely entertaining. 

Observation number three....the secret to happiness??: Many pubs allow dogs ( and babies, for that matter.) It is my thought that if this was the case in the U.S., most people (and pets) would be in a much jollier mood 90% of the time. Make the pub an experience the whole family can enjoy -- and everything seems a little brighter! 

Do You Believe in Signs?

For two months before arriving in London - I woke up every morning and looked upon a unique painting. It is black and white, and shows Big Ben's clock tower on the right side -- On the left, a couple walks in the rain. The only color: a red phone booth. 

A very close friend bought that painting during his own London adventure -- created by a random man working along the Thames one afternoon. 

He knew what London meant to me, and allowed me to have it for inspiration. When my mom and I packed up my room last week -- it was put in a special place and I told my mother that it needed to be in the first care package overseas -- so that I could hang it on my own wall for continued inspiration. 

Well, Saturday morning I arrived safely in London. A nice bonus of relocating - my best friend lives here. When I walked into her flat -- what do I see? The exact same painting -- also done for her by a random man sitting by the Thames one afternoon -- little did I know it was channeling it's power between my dearest friends -- providing forces to get me across the big blue ocean. 

That being said, the streets of London are errily so familiar to me. And the weather, is awfully close to Missouri -- In fact I saw sunshine, clouds, rain, ridiculous wind, and an extreme drop in temperature all in one afternoon this Tuesday. 

Back to the airport, not only did my best friend pick me up -- she was accompanied by a wonderful British driver, Howard. Howard is employed by several neighborhood families. He was just fabulous! He even impressed me with some creative driving when the guy driving the van next to us was quite interested in the women in the back seat of his black European Sedan. I will have pictures up as soon as I can so that you all will get a better idea of why I feel Howard is more like a body guard than a driver! 

I already have several running paths down -- the best is to Chelsea Bridge and back -- which is beautiful at night. 

I have not had the same sort of tea twice. And, it is not unusual for moms to walk to the pub for an afternoon chat with their friends ... along with their babies and the family dog. (Fantastic country.) 

 I've got the whole 'looking left' thing down pretty well -- although, I did try to get into the wrong side of the car. 

Otherwise, television is a bit different -- everyone worships Bono -- though American Idol is still an event. 

Gosh, I could write forever...

Mostly -- I want to say thank you for everyone that signed my hideous purple blazer from hell - -- now it looks like a graffiti-ed easter egg --  thank you P.E..... you know who you are!!