Punting

 Saturday we went to Cambridge--us and about a million other people. The city was just to the point of being overwhelming for me at this stage of the trip. We wanted to do the punting, since that is the quintessential Cambridge activity, plus, it's the only way to see the backs of the colleges. ( A punt, in case you don't know, is a lot like a gondolier. Maneuvering it is harder than it looks, evidenced by the number of amateurs who were all over the place, turning the river into an afternoon of bumper-punts.) We had the good sense to NOT try it ourselves and paid for a "chauffered" boat along with two young English couples, 26-28 years old, who were quite prepared! They popped the Prosecco and Coronas just as the boat started to move. It was great fun, but the punt jams were nonstop to the point that you had to give up trying to hear the tour guide and go with the moment of laughing at the silly folks trying to maneuver these boats on their own, feeling quite safe with our competent punter, even if we couldn't understand a word of what he was trying to tell us.Other than the punting, we really didn't give the city its due. It was just too much at this point.

Random Thursday

I think I'm wearing down; I'm ready to be home. Nothing against anything here, I'm just missing my routine, my hubby, my cat, cooking, all that. Maybe three weeks would have been enough. I've jokingly said I feel like I'm in electronic rehab -- no television, no texting, no phone -- and as sad as it may be, I look forward to sitting down and watching one of my recorded TV shows. I also look forward to air conditioning!

I took myself out to breakfast today to a sweet cafe called The Pantry. I ordered homemade muesli with yogurt and honey, plus a pot of Earl Grey. The tea here really is better. It really is. I just couldn't go for one of the pub breakfasts advertised on the sidewalks -- eggs, beans (as in pork n beans), mushrooms and sausages. Just couldn't do it.

The big news items in these slow news times are (1) Simon Cowell fathering a child with his friend's wife and (2) Prince Charles wearing the same suit to at least seven of his past "events." How do they know it's the same suit, you ask? It seems the suit is patched, or repaired as they say, it's front and center, bottom left side. He bumped into fresh paint on one of his trips and it was fixed by placing a patching over the area. Maybe he's doing his part for the economy. Another newsy bit was about the zero-hour contracts that employees at Buckingham Palace have. No guaranteed number of hours; calling employees in on short notice, etc. And they can't take another job if they are under the contract. Sounds ludicrous to me. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

I went into a Marks & Spencer store today. This one has clothes in the front half of the store, and groceries in the back half. A fairly large area, actually, for food, and it's good food too. An interesting combo.

I picked this item up, thinking it was probably a Shiraz candle. It is not, in fact, a candle, but a (plastic) glass of Shiraz, sealed with plastic on top, available for purchase. Right there, next to the shoe wipes. Do not look for this on the grocery shelves in Tulsa!



And my last thought for this post is why would they announce the Jane Austen currency note four years ahead of when it will circulated? What a tease! I was all set to scoop some up for friends.