Beachy Head

How about this for some scenery? We went to Beachy Head, part of the southern coast that is made of the same chalk as the famous white cliffs of Dover. It's closer to us, and somewhat more dramatic as there are ALMOST NO BARRIERS BETWEEN YOU AND THE EDGE. Glen loved it as I grabbed onto the kids until they had no flesh left on their limbs. Of course, it's the #3 spot in the world to end things yourself (Golden Gate bridge is #2) so it's at once breathtakingly beautiful and macabre. The winds were amazing and we had a great day. We also visited a colleague from U Sussex in Eastbourne in a neighborhood very much like Charles Village. We are off to explore the continent a lot in the next month. We leave for Belgium on Saturday, and I've just been invited to give a paper in Copenhagen the week after that. Then, Greece!

Did you celebrate October 14th?

If you didn't you are obviously not tuned into the anniversary of the Norman Conquest, October 14, 1066. Thanks to a tip from a colleague, we went to Battle to see where the actual battle took place (sort of -- after 950 years things do shift). Better yet -- reenactors! They were awesome and the kids were mesmerized, especially Robert. These people are like Civil War reenactors, but with rabbit roasted on an open fire (no kidding) and lots of mead! They camp out there the entire weekend in primitive tents and sleep on animal skins. They practice all year round to do the simulated hand to hand combat with knives, swords, spears, bow & arrow, and sometimes they even shoot this stuff on horses. We had great weather too!

Memo to Obama: The NHS Does Work!

Unfortunately, we had the opportunity to test the National Health Service today. Robert was up half the night complaining about his ear hurting ("put water on it" he kept imploring). Since we are veterans at this, I knew we had to have an antibiotic ASAP. I called the NHS surgery near us at 8:30, got through immediately, made an appointment for 9:50, waited about 15 minutes, saw the fantastic doctor who was impressed that given how bad the infection was that Robert hadn't complained before today, got a prescription for amoxicillin, and left the office. On the way out, well, we just walked out! No exit paperwork (well, no bills), so that's that. We walked one block down the hill to the Boots chemists, gave him the prescription (free of course since Robert is 5 or less), and by 10:45 we had medication in hand and in the boy. I honestly cannot say it has ever worked like that for me in the states. Plus the medicine tastes like bananas, so he's a happy guy.

This past weekend, we went to Arundel where my Sussex sponsor lives and toured the famous castle there. http://www.arundelcastle.org/_pages/03_visitor_info.htm shows pictures and tells the story of the Dukes of Norfolk. And Queen Victoria stayed there for two days once in the 1840s and you would think this was as important as making peace in the world. Anyway, the other nifty thing is that the family actually lives there and the Castle is only open until November 1, so we are glad to have seen it now. Here's to healthy ears and more touring!