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.