Update from Lee & Karen

The Ireland consortium has had a setback. Everyone is fine but some snags need to be sorted out. Once things are resolved, I expect a lot of whiskey and pints will be shared. In the meantime, we will try to keep you entertained by sharing antics of the Arnold's.

We arrived in London Thursday morning and spent a few hours getting reacquainted with UK driving. One trip down the M4 was plenty so, after a nap and shower, we then resorted to taking the 485 bus from Hammersmith to Barnes, overcome by intense nostalgia. We had a wonderful reunion with Marian and Andy, punctuated by political analyses from both sides of the pond and catching up on our lives. Afterwards, we escorted Jo and Colin to their polling place followed by a lovely dinner and conversation at Olympic on Church Road. As Jo pointed out, it was like opening the book up to the page where we left off. And, Colin explained to me that my hip issue is not a medical problem. Apparently, it's an engineering problem--a new perspective for me to consider. We intended to be awake to witness MAMIL (middle aged men in lycra) commuting to the City on bicycles, as Londoners have really embraced cycling to work over the last decade. However, my body refused to rise so, I will have to leave the image of Colin in Lycra to my imagination. 

Party sign in Barnes

Very passionate conservatives 

Side street in Hammersmith

Friday, June 9, 2017

Drove north. Countryside is spectacular here! I could sit and stare at it the way I do the ocean. It's stunning! Checked out Roman Fort ruins in Housesteads and we are now tucked in at the Railway Hotel in Haydon Bridge. We had a fantastic dinner and made a few friends in the pub downstairs. Our room is literally right above the pub. We can hear the music clearly and smell the food. When Lee checked in, the barkeep asked him his name and then pulled a set of keys out of a metal box from behind the bar. No ID requested. Love it!