The silence is over

Hi all.

It's been a breakneck two weeks. My friend Timmy arrived on the 27th, and I just dropped him off at a lovely Gatwick Hotel tonight. Between then and now, we did the following:

1. Drove around the English countryside saying "BAAAA RAM U" to every sheep we saw.
2. Ate bangers and mash, butterbean cassoulet, chicken balti, lamb madras, a couple of specialty currys, lots of garlic naan (and 2 chipatis each), steak and guiness pie, luxury fish pie, salad, pizza, pasta, some gelato, and fish and chips from a chippie that fried it FRESH when we walked in. Oh, and we drank rose wine and bourbon cocktails and I think we even fit in a bottle of red and a bottle of white, too.
3. We went to Woburn Abbey (an historic manor just about 15 minutes south of here), and toured the house. The Marquis(es) of Bedford tend to breed a prominent foreheads and uni-brows into their lineage, and things aren't looking up for them since the current lord seems to have married a sister/first-cousin. Ah, the follies of the aristocracy.
4. Toured the Woburn Safari Park. Saw lions, tigers, and bears, as well as elephants, rhinos, antelope, giraffes, and a host of other creatures all from the comfort of my Audi. You actually drive around the park, and the animals are RIGHT THERE. (Best to heed the "stay in vehicle"signs.) There was even a monkey sitting on the roof of a car ahead of us. Oh. And we learned that rhinos mark their territory with poo.
5. Walked lots around London, some of which was in tights and heels for me,so my feet and knees are telling a sad tale tonight.
   
6. Ate bitchin' dim sum in Chinatown, and messed the table up something fierce. It looked like a table for five year olds at a birthday party by the time we were done. (Need to work on those chopstick skills, I think.)
7. Stopped in the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Modern for some free art. (FYI to my artsy pals, there's a Frida Kahlo show going up next week and it's on through October. Book your ticket now, and I'll treat to the show.)
8. Rode the eye. Man that thing's high.
9. Saw Theatre of Blood starring Jim Broadbent at the National Theatre. Brian Dennehy was two rows up and to our right. Did not embarrass Tim by approaching Mr. D to compliment his Willie Lohman, though I really wanted to.
   
10. Tried to see Billy Elliott, the hottest ticket in town, but there was a screw up and the box office lost our tickets. Rats.
11. Rode the tube next to THE worst breath I've ever smelled, bar none. Seriously, this guy smelled like he'd had compost for lunch with a sewage cocktail. Talk about ketosis...there's something rotting in his gut.
12. Chewed a lot of gum and mints in a paranoid frenzy after that.
13. Drove around the Cotswolds looking at pretty little villages, and toured a Norman church in Cirencester. Oh. And went to the big Chalk Horse at Uffington, where we got to walk in a big sheep field and see the place where St. George allegedly slew said dragon.
14. Did a little stroll around Oxford looking at spires.
15. Planted garden pots and hanging baskets and mowed the lawn.
16. Changed a light bulb that I can't reach, weeded the garden beds, and changed the slip covers (Tim-only activities.)
17. Walked around the centre at Milton Keynes.
18. Went to Lush, where Timmy cleaned out the store.
19. Stopped in Dover to view the White Cliffs. They are, indeed, white.
20. Talked and laughed and slept in and watched bad tv.

It was a very good week.