St Patrick's Day and Other Americana

 

I have discovered that my wooden cottage used to be the caretaker’s cottage of what is technically still known as the Friedheim Estate, the main house of which is just a few yards away. Both were built in the 1860s initially for a wealthy industrialist called King whose main house was Kingscote,  one of the big mansions on Bellevue Avenue. The main house has suffered a bit, with all the fancy balconies in the front stripped away, although it still looks pretty good from the rear. Its back porch looking out through the trees at the sea like mine is particularly attractive It’s now six condos, but they all seem very quiet at the moment and I wonder if in effect they are summer flats for New Yorkers. In fact the only chap I see is today’s  caretaker who welcomed me back and I think it was probably he who recently shovelled away all my snow.

Both the big house and my little cottage are basically wood-framed, just like our old house in Meopham. This is still the general pattern of houses in Newport and when I go out for my constitutional a little down the road I have been keeping an eye on one being built. First up goes the frame, then wooden walling covered in a weather proof membrane, then some battens and finally on will go the weather-boarding and the roof. As far as I can see its being built at quite a clip by just by three people, and it looks different every time I pass it, several times a week. Fascinating to watch. One of the striking thing about all the neighbourhoods in Newport and Middletown is that nearly all the houses are  individual and different from one another, with very few estates of any sort, so there’s enormous variety. This makes just walking around quite interesting. That’s as well of course, because very few of them have what we would call proper gardens except for a very brief time in late spring and high summer.

I suppose the weather rules them out, even though the winters have  been quite mild recently. At the moment a few daffodil plants are beginning to emerge, but that’s about it. I also spotted a cousin of my old enemy in Bellevue Avenue, a rat with a tail, sitting on my front porch. But fortunately I think my roof here is more secure.

It's not related of course but the green colour of the membrane to the house which I see being built seems very appropriate at the moment because this weekend was the one for the St Patrick’s day parade. I didn’t actually go to it because I had a work meeting that Sunday afternoon where my friend John and I scoffed a cream tea from June Love’s English bakery, drinking Queen Anne tea (which he gets from somewhere) and making use of Devon clotted cream (which is actually made in Wiltshire, Malmesbury I think) while we were planning the completion of a joint book which I expect to be my last academic one.

Back to the point, the Friedheim estate is in Ward 5 of Newport, which I gathered some time ago was said to be ‘Irish.’  I can’t say I had really noticed but certainly this weekend there were Irish tricolours all over the place and I spotted things like the little shamrocks on a stone seat on Harrison Avenue where I sometimes perch for a breather after a very long walk. I know that Boston prides itself on being Irish but hadn’t realised that bits of Newport were too. It’s evidence of just how tribal Americans are- something that maybe helps explain their very high level of support for the local baseball team, however little interest they may have in sport. It also supports their devotion to the state they live in and the widespread suspicion there is of Washington and Federal government.

Some things don’t change but some things sadly do. I have mourned the departure of the 4^th Street Diner at the roundabout nearest the College, a year or so ago which I have frequented every now and again since the 1970s. Looking like an aluminium rail carriage it was pure Americana, 1950s style, its departure much lamented by traditionalists. That left only one other such place on Thames Street (pronounced of course like it looks) – Gary’s. But now that’s gone too. Instead there are the multitude of snazzy cafes and restaurants, catering for all manner of tastes and always crowded even as now outside the tourist season. Americans take their food very seriously and will think nothing of driving quite a long way in order to pick up a particular kind of bagel. Perhaps that accounts for the high level of obesity.

Unsurprisingly, the food is pretty good generally. In fact I went out last week with some colleagues and students to the ‘Oyster bar’ on Thames street where I had the best ‘baked cod’ I’ve had for years. This was in very strong contrast with a wiener schnitzel which several of us had on last week’s trip to Boston. The occasion was to wander around the USS Constitution once again. The schnitzel was hardly recognisable as such, so tough it was very difficult to cut. Since we were eating early (even by American standards where a 1730 start is by no means unusual) and had little time before rushing up to the monument on Bunker’s Hill and then heading for the dockyard, we didn’t have time to remonstrate. Other than that the Boston trip was as much fun as ever. The evening contrast of the ship against the Boston skyline in late evening was worth a pic I thought.

And so I thought was a box of Early Grey I indulged myself with recently. I just couldn’t resist it. In comparison with the others, pretty good actually, but, my word,  expensive  !  

Snowy Stateside

 

I’m back in Newport and it really will, this time, be for the last long occasion. I’ve told my colleagues and notional bosses so and was able to lean on the expiry of my work permit in September as a partial excuse. They’ve accepted it though want to keep me on the books in some capacity or other. We shall see what that means. There were lots of reasons for wanting to ease up like this. Paradoxically one of them was how busy I was in my last UK stay December to the end of February. Much of it was just plain catching up on all the things that I would have done earlier had I been home – mainly domestic, house and garden maintenance, business matters, income tax, insurance, new car and hob, floods, things like that. So the UK ‘downtime’ in fact was all go, some pleasurable, but not all and I don’t fancy getting into that situation again !

Anyhow, Newport seems much as I left it back in November, except that there’s a lot of snow around. Definitely not porch sitting weather. For them its been largely a mild winter but we had 6-8 inches of snow last weekend some of which is still hanging about. I must say, though, that the Americans are well prepared for it. Many rental properties in New England have snow agreements which mean that people come round and clear your drive of snow automatically. My little cottage doesn’t have a drive, but all the same I heard someone shovelling away outside quite early that morning. Whoever it was had cleared a path across the grass to my car which was under a deep blanket of snow on the track that connects the various properties on this little estate. I was impressed – and also by the appearance of a lot of what looked like private cars and pick-ups, with snow-ploughs (or plows !) attached to their bumpers all doing their stuff. It shouldn’t do by all accounts, but somehow this free-wheeling country does get things done. Rather more expectedly, they do the same thing in College of course, hence this picture of my path from the carpark to my office. The blobs on the snow are Canada Geese who also leave their mark on the path, the grass, and everywhere else come to that. 

Since I’ve been back, I’ve slotted back into the way of things quite easily and was pleased to find that my Elective course is a sell-out and that I am operating ‘above capacity.’ This sounds a bit odd since it means there will be more work but it’s almost certainly going to be the last bit of sustained teaching I will ever do, so I wanted it to go well. We’ll see of course. But in the rush of things back home I simply forgot to attend the virtual Elective fair where one advertises one’s wares ( a typical example of the over-extension of the last few months). A colleague came to the rescue, told everyone I was on a plane from Singapore (which was nearly true) and stood in for me !

The packed downtime in the UK included a couple of splendid days staying with a former colleague at Dartmouth, where my naval associations all started all those years ago. They live on a steep hill  and I had a bedroom on the top third floor which had a fantastic view out over the river. Of course the whole place is full of happy associations with the early days of our marriage and the whole thing was a highly enjoyable trip down a veritable memory lane.

I also managed to fit in a crowded weekend seeing people. It started with my attending a presentation on Church art and the reformation at the Wiltshire Historic Churches group where I was tasked to write it up for newsletter. Then on to Maiden Bradley where I gave a short talk on the Ukraine War and answered questions for more than 2 hours. It was crowded and the money raised has paid for a rather super new tower door ! Sadly the picture is a pdf so I can't show it.

The following morning, after being very well treated by Pat and James, on to Hawkchurch for a short stay and general catch-up with Lo and Graham.  We went to Lyme Regis and I probably bored them both very much by saying that this was where Louisa fell down the steps in ‘Persuasion’ and things like that.

The only problem of course that the Cobb was heavily restored in 1825, long after Jane Austen would have seen it !  I treated them to fish and chips in the recommended quay-side pub so I hope they forgave me. The following morning after breakfast and a fun walk around Hawkchurch I went home. But true to the mission, dropped in to see Tony and Maya in Shaftesbury, and again was very hospitably treated. After I close down the Newport connection the aim the aim would be to do this sort of thing in a rather more leisurely way !

The last weekend before coming here was spent at Burgess Hill where the entire dynasty turned up for a final rally to keep me going until I can see them again in later June and July. It was great fun as always, and sent me off in good spirits.