A Wet and Wild Crossing

Today several of us got to experience the unpredictability of the North Sea first hand. Renee, Linda, Janet, Joyce, Deb, Merton and I set off this morning for Seahouses, a town on the North Sea where we knew that we could book a trip out to the Farne Islands. The weather was party cloudy with big puffy clouds and some sunshine. (The Farne Islands are outcroppings of rock in the North Sea. They are known for the birds that nest there each year, including puffins, cormorants, gulls, and terns. About 290 species have been recorded on the islands through the years of record keeping.)

The first adventure was the coastal route that the bus took. Very winding and narrow with lots of stops and starts, the ride to Seahouses took an hour and it proved to be a real test of motion sickness for the group, with some members barely passing the test.

Once in Seahouses, we were able to buy a ticket for a 2.5 hour boat trip that was leaving right away. The boat circles several of the Inner Farne islands so passengers can see the seals and birds, then it stops at one of the islands so the passengers can get off and spend an hour close up bird watching. The seals were having a lazy day on the rocks and the sea and the air were filled with birds, especially puffins. When they fly, puffins look like plump little bundles with wings that rotate at a high speed. On land, they look like plush toys. They waddle around, many with their mouths stuffed with small fish for their young, which are just leaving the burrows where they are hatched and stay for about 40 days. The island we were on is called Staples Island, and it was a lot of lichen covered rocks. Adventure number 2 occured when a couple of us fell, but the only damage seems to be a bruised toe and a dented lens sun shade.

Squalls could be seen in the distance all morning but we thought all was well as we boarded the boat for the return to Seahouses. Not so...about half way back, the wind came up and the skies opened with a hard driving rain that felt like needles. The boat was completely open, so we were subject to Mother Nature in all her glory for the rest of the trip. Luckily, all of us were fairly well prepared with warm clothes and rain gear, but as soon as we landed our thoughts turned to hot soup and a fireplace! We found the hot soup at the Bamburgh Castle Hotel, but the fireplace will have to wait for another day. It was certainly an adventure to remember and laugh about.

Raindrops, roses and castles

Today our pattern of unsettled weather continued. At 6:15 am there were brief glimpses of the sun but then the clouds rolled back in and light mist followed. During our mid morning tour of Alnwick Garden, the skies opened up briefly, and then a light rain continued for about 2/3's of the tour. Ian August guided the group around the garden for more than two hours as he discussed the garden project, which he has worked on with the Duchess of Northumberland for the past ten years. Phase 3 (the final phase) of the garden has been started, but 20 million pounds is needed so the fundraising continues. The cherry orchard which is part of Phase 3 will be spectacular--more than 350 trees have been planted and spring bulbs will be planted beneath the trees to provide additional visual interest. And even in the rain, the fragrance of the rose garden was very evident. An added bonus was that Ian was gracious enough to sign copies of his book for all who wanted. (See the link at the side to explore everything the Garden has to offer). We have free admission to the Garden for the length of the program--lucky us! I think that many of us are now inspired to see the Garden at every season of the year.

The afternoon found us being given a guided tour of the State Rooms of Alnwick Castle. Jim, head of Guide Services, gave a very engaging look at each of the rooms. He did an excellent job of making the Castle come alive through his anecdotes. The library was one of the high points for all of the teachers and media specialists in our group. Not only did we hear about rare books and first edition books that are in the collection, we got a glimpse of the room as a place where the Percy family gathers for relaxation when they are in residence during the winter months.

It's been quite a week. Some of our group are off to Scotland this weekend, while others will try to take a trip out to the Farne Islands tomorrow for puffin sightings--we'll see if the weather cooperatives. Sunday night we will host a showing of "Miss Potter" in our flat in preparation for our trip to the Lake District next week.

Adventures in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Off we went on the coach this morning, complete with sack lunch, to visit the Seven Stories Centre for Children's Literature in Newcastle. Because the coach company had a busy day today, the coach returned to Alnwick after dropping us off. After a morning of exploring Seven Stories,buying books (!), and enjoying lunch, we met our friend Glynn who toured us around Newcastle for over 4 hours. Part of the tour involved using the public coach system, which was an adventure all by itself. Getting 17 people on and off public transport presents its own unique set of challenges, but by the last bus (we used 4 in all), everyone was quite good at it.

And the rain held off until we were walking from the bus stop to Glynn's home, where he and his wife Sue had kindly invited us all to dinner. It was a fantastic array of homemade traditional British food enjoyed by all. The "puddings" were especially popular. Even though we have been gone from home only a few days, it seemed as though everyone enjoyed being in a home atmosphere again. All in all, it was a lovely day!

Tomorrow it's off to the Alnwick Gardens and then a tour of the Castle. Hopefully the rain of this evening will be cleared out. See pictures below!

Learn All About Alnwick Day...

Today we got down to work, starting with classroom time.(I should say that almost everyone made it to class at the designated hour. The ghosts and gremlins of the Castle apparently played havoc with one alarm clock during the night!!) We discussed young adult author David Almond. I found out how much fun it is to have a group of avid readers and book lovers as students. When the small groups got together to discuss an Almond book of their choice, it was hard to gain control of the class again. Some of the terms that we came up with as a group to describe his writing were: eerie, spiritual, past/present, and puzzling!

This afternoon, Philip Deakin, local history and archaeology guru, presented on the changes that Alnwick has experienced over the years. He showed us slides of old photos and postcards spiced with his dry British humor. This evening, Christine Mitchell and her son-in law Paul toured the group around Alnwick in their Dreadnaught Bus Company's vintage 1957 double decker bus. It was the perfect complement to Philip's talk because after viewing the slides, we got to see everything for real as it exists today.

An optional excursion was a trip out for afternoon tea after the lecture today. Fourteen of us went to Granny's Tea Room and enjoyed treats, including hot chocolate with the works, chocolate fudge cake, cherry cake and of course tea. And we still managed to squeeze in dinner only 2 hours later.

Now we're all resting up for the trip to Newcastle tomorrow, which will involve adventure with public transportation. More about that tomorrow night. See pictures at the bottom of the post--maybe I'll get them moved into the blog one of these times.

We Have Arrived!

The adventure officially began yesterday noontime at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport when the gang gathered. Despite some misgivings about the reliability of air service, all went very well. The flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam left on time, and arrived early thanks to a tail wind of over 100 mph at times. The short flight from Amsterdam to Newcastle was smooth and quick. The coach was waiting at the Newcastle airport, so we piled on our bodies and lots of luggage. Our coach driver was kind enough to drive us into Alnwick the "back way" so we could see our home for the next 2.5 weeks from the most scenic vantage point. After check in and key assignment, the most difficult task was keeping awake. Merton and I had suggested that 9:00 pm was the first time anyone should consider sleeping, but we suspect there may have been a wee bit of napping going on behind the scenes, despite out best efforts to keep everyone awake. After a photo walk and a short tour of town tonight, I think that it might be an early lights out for everyone!

One nice surprise today was that everyone got an international cell phone phone to use for the program. It should only cost around 8 pence (about 16 cents) to call friends and family in the US.

I've added some pictures that appear at the bottom of the blog--I'm too tired to try to figure out how to integrate them into the actual post. More tomorrow.

"From Toad Hall to Pooh Corner"

Just wanted to give you a heads up on one of the exhibits that we will be seeing at the Seven Stories Centre in Newcastle next Thursday. It's called "From Toad Hall to Pooh Corner" and it will explore The Wind the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. The exhibit just opened today and it will run through the next year, so we will see it in brand spanking new condition. See the link at the right to get a sneak peek.

Eva Ibbotson Continued

There are many places, especially those mentioned in The Beasts of Clawstone Castle, that you will soon be seeing with your own eyes. And we do have a field trip scheduled to see the "Wild White Cattle" which will be a treat. Joyce's comment to the first post about Eva being a person who does not suffer fools lightly is right on. If you click on the name of this posting, you will be taken to a website featuring a 40 minute podcast of an Eva Ibbotson interview. There is also some written narrative that gives a flavor of her personality. Eva is a great storyteller, and I think that J.K. Rowling is in her debt! I am just finishing up Which Witch and I have to force myself to put it down because I need to get my grading done.