Together at Last

Sorry we've been MIA for so long. We just got back to London Monday morning. We had a wonderful trip home. Thank you to everyone who came out to see us--we miss you already!

The big news today is that the cats have arrived!!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after four agonizing months the Ramsburgs have been reunited in our new home. Sadie and Jovi are exploring the place as I type and, surprisingly, they seem to be okay. I think the intermediate move to my parents' house helped a lot- it kind of prepared them for the journey.

In other news--we had our first rehearsal last night for Below 14th and it went really well. I'm very excited about the cast. I also had my first meeting for the Showcase on Monday afternoon. I was a bit loopy from the flight but it too went well and I look forward to my first rehearsal with the actors on Saturday. That's all for now--I'm sure you will receive updates on the cats in days to come (ie. Sadie has already developed a British accent, etc.)

Football, Pubs, and Electricity

Hi - John Ramsburg comin at ya.

I've had a quite the week living it up as a bachelor.

I saw Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Apollo Theater - Same cast as NYC - Wow! It's one of those shows that can be a little long winded but still good if the actors aren't on their game, or up to par. Everyone brought their A game - even if Ms Turner sounded like she was fighting the miserable cold that has been spreading around London. For those interested, the Apollo Theater was also the West End home of The Norman Conquests in 1974.

I daresay I have found our "local" - there is a pub 2 blocks off the High street that meets my requirements - at least it did on Wed when I went to watch the football match. It's small, but offers areas to go hang out and be away from the crowd. And like most respectable places in our neighborhood, they have picnic tables and gas heat lamps if you want to chill out under the stars.

I think I'm close to having an actual football team that I support - I mentioned this to Jamie and she retorted - "Name two players". Of course, I could only name one and the stadium. So now I read the sports section of the daily papers. Anyway it's the Arsenal Gunners. Watching on a small TV at the pub I felt somehow involved with the other 3 guys watching the match. Not like Thanks for Dinner involved, more of a camaraderie. Of course, I seemed to have a picked a decent, yet often mediocre team. They would be perfect in Philly. There were even some missed goal opportunities that I - I, John Tuba Ramsburg, recognized! To quote the guy next to me, "the chair I'm sitting in could've scored that time". We had to watch the small TV because a more popular game was on the big screens. I felt like the sole Bengals fan at Down the Hatch.

I've been to Greenwich for dinner and drinks. I had the observatory pointed out to me on our way to the Trafalgar Pub. Greenwich observatory is where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) comes from. Apparently Greenwich time taunted the other times into submission. We ate tapas at a place more known for its hot male twin owners than for the food, then stayed up all night and argued about music at Myke's flat. The next morning I was treated to a home cooked fry-up, complete with Myke in sunglasses because his head hurt. I was fine, oddly enough. Myke did manage to set the absinthe and his counter on fire at 3AM, which I observed with an odd bemused detachment. He's a chef - he put it out with a frying pan. Smart dude.

I went back to Old Street to the Drunken Monkey - and boy were there lots of drunken monkeys. DJ was good, but turned up way to loud. I guess I wasn't his target audience.

Other news, I now row at the max resistance - I even rowed 2000 meters in 8:47 the other night! I know - exciting!

Hope everyone has a happy Easter and/or Passover.
Off to bed - To Sleep! To sleep!

John's Birthday Weekend

Hi Kids! It's John. Sorry I didn't get to write sooner. This is a long one.

First off, thanks to everyone who successfully navigated the postal system, telephone exchanges, and the internet to wish me a happy birthday. I especially enjoyed giving Brian race results 8 AM Sunday morning - it was 11:00 PM in LA! WHAT A COUNTRY. We actually turned our clocks ahead one week earlier than the US.

I'm putting a link to our pictures at the bottom of this so you too can see what we saw.

Thursday:
Work. My boss was in town all week. Thursday afternoon Ben (the guy who actually works for me - I'm in charge of somebody?!) buys me a nice chocolate mousse cake that we share with the rest of the support team and throw back a glass of champagne or two. This office has a good Birthday policy.

We decide to go meet up with Myke and Steve and some other folks they work with up by Sherlock Holmes' house. Good times - we then had sushi and sake. Myke ordered our food - it took him 15 minutes. I challenged him to a rock paper scissors duel for the fish egg roll. I won (or lost, as some may say) - I actually enjoyed it.

Friday:
Wake up, get out of bed, drag a comb across my head.
Make our way to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and pickup our Vauxhaul Corsa - 1.4L Automatic. A) I can barely drive manual B) I don't want to open the door when attempting to shift
I proceed to crap my pants.
OK - So I've driven in New York City - I actually like driving in New York City.
London is like taking the worst of Richmond drivers and slapping them in New York City aggression. So as opposed to everyone being aggressive (New York) they are aggressively stupid. For example, someone zipped past me just to make a 3 point turn in the middle of the friggen road!

Jamie, Magellan that she is, gets us through the city and onto the highway system.
We take our time, pulling over at the various road service stops - 3 major companies run these places - Welcome Break, Moto, and Roadside something.
They are so friggen clean! They also have slot machines.

After 6 hours of slow driving (silly me - I thought the speed limit was 55, not 70. No signs) we arrive in Shrewsberry and check in at 164, our Bed and Breakfast. Famished, we strike out for the nearest food. Conveniently, it's 3 doors down at a pub called The Dun Cow (it has its own bus stop). After dinner, we walk into the main part of town by crossing the English Bridge. We settle on a pub called The Old Lion Tap. We could've been in New Jersey, except for the accents. It was Kaeroke (sp?) night and a going away party - makes for the best of times!
Song selections included:
-The Most beautiful Girl in the World
-Uncle Mark and Steph's wedding song
-Hero (actually sung well by a young guy who was definitely getting some later)
-and FAME
I drank Landlord beer, which was good.
There was a crazy amount of security for this place. I guess they have crowd control problems - fighting over the mic or something.

We left shortly after Fame for reasons most would understand.
Saturday -
Big English Breakfast and PRESENTS!!
Jamie got me a bottle of 15 year old Glennfiddich Scotch because I'm awesome AND a printed and bound photobook of The Local Seven from 2004-2005.
She's awesome.
Off to find Arthur!
Quick Background - I am huge Arthur buff. Nerd some may say. Not as bad as I once was - no talking dragons this time around. Anyway, I decided my birthday trip should be to where Arthur was supposed to be, if he were a real person. I did some digging, found Shrewsberry had a massive tourism site for Finding King Arthur, and then Jamie found a book supporting Shropshire as the area in which the "real" Arthur lived. This book makes a pretty strong case that Arthur was actually the title of the local king in the area just after the Romans abandoned Britain. His name was Owain and is listed in a genealogy of local Kings.

First Stop - Wroxter or Vivicorium
Wroxter was the 4th Largest Roman City in Britain. Immediately after the Romans left there is evidence of brief decay, and then a resurgence of about 50-100 years - the only city to do so. About the same period Owain was in charge.

It was pretty cool, the actual wall of the Baths is still standing, and they've rebuilt the hypocaust tiles and excavated some supporting walls to give you an idea of the size of the building. It was so cool - you stand on what was essentially the covered sidewalk, marked by a gravel pathway, of the great yapping Way, the road to London which now lies under a small unmarked country lane. Across the street is the Forum, but it is now simply private farm land. Lots of moments that make you realize that few things are permanent in life happened on this trip.

The lovely English Heritage stewards convinced us to sign up for the annual membership - national guide book included - so now we can get into any national heritage site for FREE (aside from our dues)

Finished with the Romans, we move onto The Wrekin.

The Wrekin
After driving around utilizing 3 different maps, we ask for directions. Jamie got us so close, but apparently we had to drive through 3 unmarked villages and make a left at the biggest cow pie.
The Wrekin is a big hill/small mountain with a 2 mile circular path to the summit. Owain's daughter in law is said to have watched Wroxter burn from the fortifications on the Wrekin's Summit. We park and commence what we think will be a leisurely hike. Covered in mud and slightly out of breath, we reach the summit. No wait, not yet, just a little further up that hill (rinse, repeat).

AWESOME VIEW. Well worth it. Jamie and I decided that these people are tough - All ages and abilities are walking up the Wreking with us. Old ladies, guys on bikes, little kids. I just wanted nap watching them.

We depart and head for Hawkstone Park & Folies (HPF)
HPF is listed on the Arthur map for three reasons -
1. A small roman cup was found in a statue in part of the park called the Grotto (an old roman mine) in 1920 - some scholars (scholarticians?) claim it may have been the inspiration for the Grail. Which is crap, but I won't get into that here. You already think I'm a nerd.
2. There's and animated Arthur - who would pass that up?
3. HPF obviously made a generous contribution to the map company

HPF is one of the worlds first Theme parks - created in the Victorian age to generate income on an otherwise worthless piece of mountainside. Features such as the the Dragon Walk -a big muddy path Jamie and I tried to walk, but were forced to go back when we realized it was mostly knee deep mud, the Jungle Path, the Grotto, the Awful Precipice, etc must have been a great novelty 125 years ago. I can just picture proper English gentry with their wives and friends, "What what? The Dragons Path, how devilishly clever! Humph humph!"

We were about to abandon this crazy park when Jamie saw signs for the Grotto. To get there, we had to cross the Swiss Bridge over a deep ravine. Again, I crapped my pants. I'm not the best with heights.

We enter the grotto and hear a strange, amplified voice! We hurry over to find the fabled animated Arthur! However, it was not an animitronic Arthur a la the Hall of Presidents in Disneyland ("I am Abraham Lincoln!"). Simply a mannequin with a bad wig, some signs, and a looped video of some guy's head telling you the story of Lancelot and Gawain defeating the giants of the Red Castle. The disembodied head in the TV (think Jambie from Pee-Wee's play house) is the animated Arthur.
This actually did make the 45 minute hike worth it. Check out the pictures for the comedy that was HPF.


Baschurch
Baschurch is home to the Berths and the Berth Pool. Baschuch is identified in an old Welsh poem as the resting place of the Kings of Powys - so Owain should be buried here and Excalibur would have been cast into the Berth Pool.
We drive around in circles, but there are no signs! I figured there would be something as this is the most important site in my mind. Finally we stop and ask for directions at the Post Office.
Where's the Berth's? I ask
I am answered with a stare
The Berth Pool?
Hmmph.
You can't go there. He's asking about Ellis' farm Amy!
That's private land - you can't go there without permission.
Ok, thanks I say.

On our way out of town we actually pass the pool, but there is nowhere for us to stop. At least we got to see it.

We went back to the B&B , had some curry at Shamilima or somesuch, had my birthday cake and lie in bed watching tv for several hours.

Sunday - Ruins, Stone Circles, Hill Forts and Closed Castles
Another hearty English Breakfast and we set off for the Much Wenlock Priory
The Much Wenlock Priory, like all monastic institutions in England was closed down by Henry VIII. How does it relate to Arthur? Well, the crown jewels of the local kings were supposedly hidden there when they lost to the Anglo Saxons. Our Audio Tour was narrated by the last monk to live in the priory. He must have been very very old when he recorded it. There is also delightful topiary - at least there was until I started tearing the place apart looking for Arthur's crown Jewels. Jamie enjoyed the new lambs the most.
Stone Circle of Mitchell's Fold
It's possible the Sword in the Stone theory is based on an ancient custom of determining Kingship through battle. Such a sword fight would have been fought in a stone circle, the victor being named King. Off we go to the closest Stone Circle!

Jamie plots our course and presents two options. We take the smaller roads straight to the circle, or the highways in a more out of the way route. Recalling high school geometry, I select the most direct line, since it is the shortest.

OH MY GOD.
There's a section on the map called the Long Mynd that's on our way. We go through some more tiny villages following signs for the Long Mynd. The road is narrowing, and eventually there is a sign that says Long Mynd, an open gate, and extremely steep gradient.

The Long Mynd is a friggen mountain. The road is ONE LANE. ONE LANE. One side (mine oddly enough) is the sheer drop to your death, the other, the mountain. I didn't pack enough underpants for this trip.
There are several areas to pull over and allow oncoming traffic to pass and lots of "scenic views". I pick the one at the top, flat part - check the pictures.

We finally get down the mountain, and follow signs. Unfortunately the signs are for towns not marked on our maps, so since I'm an Eagle Scout we use an age old technique called dead reckoning - or also called guessing in a manner that convinces your wife you a right. The road turns to gravel, then dirt, then to ruts - also going back up the mountain. Then there is a locked gate blocking the road. Awesome. I get to drive in reverse back down this road for a good mile.

Finally we reach the stone circle. At that point the weather changes from sunny and brisk to freezing and hail. It didn't seem so bad, so we walk the 1/4 mile to the circle - that was so cool (besides huddling behind the stones for shelter) walking around a site so ancient and obviously sacred. Then we turned into the wind to go to the car. WOW. Check the picture of Jamie.

Powys Castle (the Red Castle)
We then head into Wales to check out a castle. We pulled over for a bathroom break at a restraunt, car wash, petrol station, grocery store combo. As we get back in, I mention that I'm hungry. Jamie offers to get me a pie (like chicken pot pie, not apple) like the guy in the car next to us. I look over and there is this large man shoving this pie into his mouth with both hands. A funny had to be there moment. We follow the signs to the Castle and pull into the car park. The nice parking attendant informs us the castle is closed and will not be open until the end of the month. So much for Wales!

Owestry Hill Fort - One of the best examples of an Iron Age Hill fort, complete with earthworks.
We take a secret back way to the hill fort since we missed the initial turn. We park and begin walking up the hill, reading the information signs - BTW - if you work for English Heritage, please use my dues to fix these signs. You can't read half of them anymore.

You don't comprehend the layout until you get slighlty above the fort and can see the layers of fortifications - ditches, embakments, etc. Owestry Hill Fort is where Owains last ruling descendant is thought to have lost the kingdom. I was hoping to see rebuilt circle huts, but it was just a flat field at the top. We circumvented the fort and headed for Whittingon castle.
Whittington Castle is the castle most commonly identified as the Grail Castle. It too was closed. Jamie and I missed it twice. "How do you miss a castle?" you may ask. Easy - it was behind scaffolding and in the middle of town. We were able to walk around parts of the castle not blocked off by construction fencing.

Back into town for dinner and more lounging about. This driving on the left wears you out!

Monday - I skipped the full English breakfast today - opted for scrambled eggs and toast.
We drove back to London - Jamie plotted a new course to the rental agency as we decided not to stop at the flat to drop off our things. She did a great job- recommend her to any explorers anytime. Being more comfortable, I drove the actual speed limit the whole way home.

Over 500 miles of driving and some great times. Jamie only had to say "ON THE LEFT" once!
This weekend goes up as one of the best birthdays ever.

Here's the link to the pictures - I hope this works. If not, let me know and I'll invite you to the ofoto gallery

PICTURES