French Connection

Sylvie, Florence, the Teenagers and I go out to dinner

This past weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate a thirty year friendship that spans not only decades but also the distance of the Atlantic.  I've mentioned Sylvie Farnier before in my post about Christmas, since I had the pleasure of spending the holiday with her family in France.  This weekend Sylvie came to London and she brought her partner, Florence, her niece, nephew and Florence's two nieces.  It was a wonderful time!

Everyone managed a mix of English and French.  I was certainly the "weakest link", knowing only a few words of French, but fortunately the French contingent were strongly bilingual.  The teens had a great time getting to know one another.  Abbie had met Sylvie's niece and nephew several years ago but it was nice for them to renew their friendship.

 Trying on a some cool shades!

 It rained all weekend, but that didn't dampen our spirits!  We walked all over the city, shopping and exploring.

 The Teens on Carnaby Street.  

We hit every teen fashion mecca in the city.  While the rest of the shoppers headed for SuperDry, I went a more traditional route and visited Liberty's of London.  This historic building is beautiful inside and out!

The atrium inside Liberty's.  

 And while the shoppers were at TopShop, I was sitting in a cozy seat, enjoying a coffee and watching people dodge the rain!

 We also managed to do a few cultural things.  There was a great exhibit on Marilyn Monroe at the Getty Images Gallery.  Here's a photo of her dress from "Some Like it Hot".

 The inside of the Natural History museum was beautiful!  All of the ceiling tiles are painted with images of flora and fauna.

 The gemstone and minerals hall was spectacular!

Abbie and her hippo friend!  

We had a fantastic weekend, full of laughs and memories in the making.  At one point Sylvie and I looked over at the separate table at a restaurant and just watched as the five teens engaged in an animated discussion in both languages.  "This is what I hoped for, what I dream will happen, " she said.  I nodded, thinking that Sylvie and I were just a little older than the kids at the table when we first met in France because our fathers were colleagues.  How wonderful it was to see the friendship between our two families go another generation!

Chime In

Nether Heyford Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Sometimes it's the little things that I find delightful about living in a different country.  One of my favorite things in the village of Nether Heyford is the parish of St. Peter and St. Paul.  This 13th century church is located just down the footpath from my house.

I am a huge fan of "The Vicar of Dibley", and I was hopeful that Dawn French would be in residence on Sundays.  I have yet to hear Rev. Ann Slater belt out "It Shoulda Been Me", but the year's not over yet!  And on at least one occasion they served sherry after the service.  A great tradition that I think should be adopted by my Stateside Congregation!  This is also the church that the children of Bliss Charity go to for their Harvest Festival, Christmas Pageant and Easter service.

Ropes for the bells hang down into the church

 And one of my favorite parts of this ancient church is the bell tower and the beautiful bell ringing that I can hear from my house.  The bell tower houses six bells, the first one being installed in the 1600's.  The bell ringers practice every Friday night, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to climb the bell tower one evening.

Steps going up the bell tower - notice the wear!

The stone steps up to the bells are extremely steep.  They are worn from the centuries of use and the passage is narrow.  I climbed up the two stories to a landing that held the clock works for the huge chiming clock on the outside of the building.  Then I had to climb a wooden ladder to get to the loft where the bells were hung.

The wheels that turn the bells so that they chime.

These bells are HUGE! 

 I could only imagine what it would be like to see these bells in action.  They actually turn upside down and then swing forward!

Window in the tower

View of the stairs going down

 As hesitant as I was to climb the stairs, I was even more scared to go down!  It was incredibly steep!  I must admit, I actually went down some of the steps sitting down!  I'm not sure I have the stamina to be the person who winds the clock every day.

The record of the bell installations

The bell ringing crew in action

 Ian, the bell captain, was kind enough to give me a bell ringing lesson.  The ropes are high, I actually had to stand on a wooden box to reach the rope!

 I'm listening intently because I don't want to get hit with the rope, or taken up into the rafters!

 Abbie tries her bell ringing skills

View from the front of the church 

We had a wonderful evening climbing the tower, seeing the bells and trying our hand at ringing them.  It gave me a deeper appreciation for the beautiful music I often hear on Friday nights and Sunday mornings.