Living in London

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We went to Ireland for a luxurious four-day Easter holiday. We were also celebrating the sale of our home in California, so went all out. We flew into Cork and had a driver take us to Sheen Falls Lodge in the west of County Kerry, a very beautiful spot near the little town of Kenmare.

We relaxed, read, ate very well, and walked about a million miles through a beautiful and remote countryside. Here are some photos that don’t begin to capture the serenity of this special place.

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We have a peaceful retreat planned on the west coast of Ireland for the Easter weekend.

It turns out that the Easter holiday is a big deal in Europe. In the U.K. both Good Friday and Easter Monday are “bank holidays” which means everyone has a four day weekend and many people travel. We decided to try to beat the crowd for our trip to Ireland and leave on Thursday. Good grief. It’s been many years since we have been on a non-business airline (Aer Lingus), flying on a non-business day (roughly equivalent to the day before Thanksgiving in the U.S.).

Tempers flared, carry-on bags had to be removed to the hold, and both boarding and disembarking took forever. Of approximately 150 seats, there were no less than 30 adults holding infants, and every one of them were squalling. Basically every seat was filled—and some were filled with two people. Aer Lingus even has a special seatbelt for use when a child is on your lap—it hooks around the kid and to your seatbelt. The munchkin belt was something we had never seen before in our hundreds of thousands of airline miles. Perhaps this is a cue that Aer Lingus may be, um, a bit too Catholic-family oriented for our future travel needs. There’s a Monty Python skit in here somewhere, but we were so desperate to disembark in Cork, we left it on the plane!

Photo Credit: Iowa Beef Council

We have discovered that a roast, with all the trimmings, is a Sunday tradition here in the UK. In a recent survey 42% of Britons said that the Sunday roast would be one of the things they would miss most if they had to live abroad.

Linda and I decided to immerse ourselves in this heritage and sample the local restaurants for the traditional fare on Sunday afternoon. Yesterday we ventured out to a place called The Med Kitchen on Kensington Church Street. Although the service was excellent, the food was dismal. The beef was very tough and the carrots were a little too crunchy. The rest of the vegetables left a little to be desired. Strike one for adopting this particular tradition.

We will try two more restaurants in search of a delectable Sunday roast dinner. Stay tuned for further reports. (Don't even think about expecting us to cook this traditional meals ourselves! We are not that traditional.)

The following excerpt from the North Country Web offers some fascinating background on this long standing tradition.

In the distant past the village serfs who worked the land were held in bondage by the Squire. In other words, they were held in a form of slavery and not freemen able to roam at will. When called by the King, the landowners would rally their serfs to the King's Colours.

During the week the Serfs worked for the Squire for six days while Sunday, the Sabbath, was a day of rest. After the morning church service, the men would assemble in a field by the Squire's hall and practice with the sword, musket, pike & long bow to be ready to fight the enemy of the King.

After much battling and target practice the serfs were rewarded with the King's payment, which was several mugs of ale at the Tavern followed by a feast of oxen roasted upon the spit. This was how the traditional Sunday Roast, that the British still enjoy, originated.

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I came home to find another memo under our door from the Kensington Green management staff.

It would appear that there have been complaints of noisy children and it is time to do something about it. As a result, the management is considering adopting the same bylaws as the local city government. The memo is to warn us that they are, in fact, considering such drastic action.

Here is the full text of the memo.

Re: Noise Nuisance: Children's Ball Games, etc.

The issue of unsupervised children playing ball games, etc. has again been brought to my attention as a cause of considerable annoyance to many residents. I am obliged to remind those tenants with children that, under the terms of their lease, all residents are entitled to a peaceful existence on the Estate.

My Security staff have expressed concern regarding children playing on skate boards and roller blades, not only on the roads of the Estate but also in front of the exit of the underground car park. Damage is also being caused to shrubs in the gardens and to the sprinkler system by children playing football games nearby.

I would advise you that KGML are considering adopting the same bylaws as the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea for the playing of games in gardens and squares. These rules apply to residents and tenants alike whether on long or short term occupancy leases. All estate agents and residents will be advised of the new rules when they are put in place (emphasize mine)

Regrettably these changes have become necessary due to the irresponsible attitude of certain residents who have repeatedly ignored requests to ensure that their children are supervised. These new rules will also put an end to the extremely time-consuming task currently being undertaken by the Estate's Security team in trying to locate the residents in question when these, all too frequent, incidents occur.

Your support in this matter would be much appreciated.

I just returned to London after a four night stay in Berkeley. I was attending another of the quarterly meetings of the Haas Alumni Board.

With so many trips back and forth to California I have finally achieved Premier Executive status on United Airlines. If you are going to fly, then it is best to fly a lot. Airports and planes can be highly stressful. However, if you fly a lot, then you reach Premier status where the perks are enough to make the experience tolerable, if not enjoyable. Of course, with so many flights, there are plenty of miles to spend on upgrades as well. Business Class on long flights is a treat. Never mind the improved meals, it's the extra personal space and the ability to sleep fully reclined that turns a 10 hour ordeal into a quick jaunt across the pond.

Business Class, it's the only way to fly!

Not only are the British and American accents very distinct, a new study by a Berkeley professor, has shown that your smile can reveal your roots.

An article published recently in the London Times, reports that the British smile by pulling their lips back and upwards and exposing their lower teeth. Americans, on the other hand, are more likely to simply part their lips and stretch the corners of their mouths. Also from the article:

He found the British were also more likely to raise their cheeks when they smile, showing the crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes. This produces a more sincere, hard-to-fake smile.

By contrast, Keltner found most Americans had the far less expressive “Pan-Am smile”, named after the defunct airline’s gesture of welcome. This depends only on the zygomaticus major corner-tightening muscle and has also been called the “Botox smile” because, like the cosmetic treatment, it leaves the muscles at the corners of the eyes motionless.

You can read the full article here.