Chapter 18

It has been a long time since I have written my update, sorry. Here I am now. I have just watched the Queen's funeral and the processions leading up to the grand finale over the last few days. Nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. A life well-lived; she made a promise to serve throughout her life, and that she did with integrity, dedication, and cleverness. She loved Canada and visited here 22 times during her life. Of all the various facets of her personality, I have heard that her humour, wit, and love of God shone through her life and reign which lasted for 70 years, as the longest reigning monarch in British history. The death of Queen Elizabeth will be a moment in history where one will be able to recall where they were when they heard the news of her passing for years to come. As for me, I was in a grocery store in Vancouver and received the news. Without even thinking, I shed a tear and felt a loss. Goodbye Queen Elizabeth, thank you!

Thus, it might be a fitting time to regale my stories from England as I have just returned from there, a week before she died. This trip to England represented our very first international pet-sit and my initial footsteps on English soil. My ancestors are from the U.K. and I have all of the island nation covered except for Wales; my dad's ancestry is from Ireland, my mother's side of the family is from England, and my former marriage partner is from Scotland. It was quite simply, time for me to go. England has certainly intrigued me and I have so many images and memories: vast amounts of history, mesmerizing architecture, and the multiculturalism in London. The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Tower Bridge, I strolled by them all. These sites have been permanently cemented in my mind after the last twelve days or so. I wish to return to the U.K. at some point as I have only just begun my journey to see it all.

We had four pet-sits in the U.K. taking us from historic cities and towns to the west of London, to the rolling hills of Yorkshire, and to the vibrant international city of London itself. We were able to live like a local in various locations. Allow me to relay my adventures.

We landed at Heathrow on August the 6th after a seven-and-a-half-hour flight from Toronto, with no sign of COVID protocols at the airport. Only that we wore masks on the airplane, otherwise, there was no mention of the pandemic in London. We directly got on an inter-city bus followed by another to finally arrive in the market town of Thame, with a population of 12,500 people, about 50 miles from London. (For some unknown reason, English traffic signs were all in imperial measurements despite the country being on the metric system.) This place was crawling with medieval historical buildings and a vibrant main street. There was a potpourri of Georgian, Tudor, and Victorian buildings throughout the 800-year-plus market town. Pubs were everywhere, to the tune of sixty in this one small town, some of which were housed in historic buildings; we made sure to pop into a few of them for the historical value and of course, a pint of cold brew. Robin Gibb, one of the famous Bee Gees is buried in a church cemetery in Thame; his wife still lives nearby the cemetery. We visited his gravesite adorned with flowers and found someone sitting graveside with her earplugs in. I wondered if she was listening to his music as she sat in contemplation. This town was full of character; complete with cobblestone roadways, an 800-year-old market that continues to open weekly for customers, and within reach of the historic city of Oxford by bus.

As two of our pet-sits were in Thame, our dwellings ranged from an idyllic English cottage to a small cozy unit with a "catio" (cat patio). The first sit was with a very friendly older dog named Mack, who welcomed us into his home as we entered, having never met us before at the gorgeous English cottage. Later, after we had moved on to our next petsit across town we had a lovely garden dinner with Mack's owners. They were very much in love, even after 37 years of marriage. That was refreshing! The garden was very long in the backyard and took a while to walk from one end to the other. I’ll always remember this dreamy cottage setting. We then moved onto a pet-sit about fifteen minutes away from the first one for two cats in a very tiny place; little units as part of a housing complex with lots of different cultures living there. The quarters were a little cramped, but we did enjoy a "catio" for the first time. This was in essence a patio for the cats; enlarging the space somewhat. It was completely meshed in all around so the cats, Freyr and Runa, could run free outside while being confined. The woman whom we were pet-sitting for was a sales manager of a British Cannabis store. She left us some CBD products for our skin. Don't worry, we did not take up pot smoking. 😉

From Thame, the city of Oxford was a one-hour bus ride away. Oxford is like Thame on steroids with its streets lined with architecture and nicknamed "The City of Dreaming Spires". Upon arriving, I felt like I was entering Harry Potter land. While walking through the area of one of the oldest and most famous universities in the world, I could appreciate and view with wonder each building in front of me. I saw Oxford University's Bodleian Library which served as the Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter story. The streets, the buildings, and the atmosphere were all fascinating. In Rosemary's style, I did some of my classes with the historic backdrop of Oxford, and my students were appreciative to see the surroundings.

Off to the hills of Yorkshire by train to a refurbished stone barn where Duke the Dog welcomed us. Another of "man's best friends", Duke was a loveable, brown Pointer. He loved his walks in the great outdoors where he could wander and stake out a scent and follow it wherever it took him. The homeowner and her son took us to a local pub for a pint where we discussed the strategies for keeping giraffes from extinction as this was the son's Masters’ thesis topic. At last, we took the train to Bracknell, a regular little city outside of London. There we moved into a townhouse complex to look after Ruby the Queen Cat. She was the head of the household, and came and went as she pleased through the cat flap. She was one spoiled grandma; a prima donna in the cat world. This final pet-sit was for a woman who worked for the NHS (National Health Service) as a researcher in the lab. She went to Mauritius to cool down. England had record-breaking heat this summer and so much sunshine. Though not a good sign for the environment, we loved not seeing a drop of rain for almost our entire time in England.

During our visits to London, we saw plays, twice; first, Mamma Mia, and secondly, Come From Away. Both performances were amazing. The first one needs no introduction I am sure and the music was marvellous. We left the theatre singing every ABBA song we had heard. The second play is a true Canadian story that unfolded on September 11th, 2001, aka 9/11. The story is centred around a small town on the east coast of Canada, Gander, Newfoundland on that fateful day. The small town of approximately 11,000 people accepted 38 commercial passenger jets carrying about 6,500 passengers, caring for and feeding them for days while the planes were grounded. That was quite a feat! We would have liked to see more performances had our free time been more available. While walking around the city I was immersed in the multiculturalism of the city life, the traditions, the architecture, and the lush greenery of the parks. One day we were sitting at the memorial fountain built in honour of Princess Diana and we were informally interviewed by a man from the Netherlands. He was compiling views from the street on how Princess Diana was being remembered. He was very well versed in the life of Diana and shared some of his wisdom with us. We thought that he had been a news correspondent or a diplomat of sorts in the late 90s when all of this had happened. Our story and photo may have been hidden in the pages of a Dutch newspaper, though we will never know.

On one of our last days before returning to Canada, we visited Bath, a city known for its Roman-built baths, Georgian architecture, the iconic Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey, and Jane Austen country. It is also a UNESCO cultural site. Walking around this city of just under 200,000 people, the first word that comes to mind is awe-inspiring. This elegant town held an important spot in the history of wool making. The unique architecture and urban design are said to be thanks to the 18th and 19th-century visionaries who created a beautiful city, naturally connecting the environment with the buildings. We also met friends from Nagoya over High Tea, a fellow English teacher and her daughter (Rachel’s friend from middle school) and caught up with each other after ten years.

That's it, my written offering of August in England. I struggled to get anything written this time after such a long absence. However, now I have been catapulted into action after having watched the countless images from the United Kingdom unfold over the past two weeks. I want to stay in touch and be more connected as we move forward. The next chapter will focus on Vancouver, the mainland, where the mountains, sea, and city are on our doorstep.

Take care, everyone,

Love Rosemary 🌹