Travels with Charley - "The Sorting"

If you are at all familiar with the story of Harry Potter, you remember that the first order of business on their arrival at Hogwartz School, is to be "sorted" into groups. Sara and her sister, Hannah, were in charge of the children's program and they did a great job of "Sorting" the children.

The names of groups from the book were not used, probably because there were some that were less popular than others. The names they made up were imaginative and fun for everyone. After all, who would not want to be a "Fwooper", "Puffskin,"
or "Billywig"?

















In the book, the "sorting" is done by a magic talking hat. How could we expect anything less for our group? The kids were delighted and I don't think some of them quite figured out how it was done.

















Most of the kids had read all the "Harry Potter" books as well as having seen the movies...several times....so the interaction was great. It was really fun to hear them keeping each other honest on all the tiniest of details. The groups had small competitions which led to prize at the end. Everyone received a prize. but they did not weaken the contest by giving each group the same thing. My favorite competition was the "Good Manners" one.






When Sara or Hannah observed a child using especially good manners , the child's team earned a point. Holding the door for others, pouring water for the person seated next to you, asking politely to be excused. and a myraid of other manners we have always tried to drill into our children's heads, became predominant behaviors.

Not only were Sara and Hannah great with the children, they had the energy to wear the kids out before the grandparents took overand announced it was absolutely bedtime so they would be able to carry on the next day.

After a cup of hot chocolate and a short time to read at night, Charlie was ready to sleep very soundly.

Travels with Charley - The Saxon Tower, Oxford, England

Road Scholar filled our days and evenings with varied literary and cultural activities but we did have a little free time. From the several church towers that offer good views of the city, we chose the Saxon Tower at the Parish Church of St. Michael at the North Gate. This tower dates from 1050, the oldest building in Oxford, and the only original portion of the church remaining. The church itself has been destroyed at various times, and has been rebuilt several times.









John Wesley preached from the 15th Century pulpit on 29 September 1726.









At least one of the stained glass windows dates from the 13th Century.

There is no charge to visit the church. There is a small fee to view the treasures in the tower and climb to the top.

Charlie could maneuver the many steps much more quickly than I.

There are six huge bells in the tower but ringing them would cause severe damage, so chimes are used instead.

For a few pence, a 19th Century clock mechanism will perform.

This is the door of the prison cell in which Archbishop Cranmer and Bishops Latimer and Ridley were held before they were burned at the stake on what is now called Broad Street. Their crime - refusing to convert to Roman Catholicism during the reign of Queen Mary in the 16th Century.

The cell was in Bocardo Prison which adjoined this church until it was demolished in 1771.

The stairs emerge on the roof of the tower for a commanding view of the city....

....and the street below.

Travels with Charley - Breakfast British Style

The breakfast buffet British style is always exciting on the first day. We have a choice of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and juices, much like an American buffet. The similarity begins to diverge from there. Sausage is rather like the American hot dog; English bacon resembles thin American ham; the eggs are generally hard fried but can be ordered poached or scrambled. Various breads, crescent rolls, and bagels are available with accompanying butter and jelly. The bread can be toasted in a vintage looking, but very serviceable, toasting machine. About the size of a bread-box, the machine has a small conveyor belt inside that runs the bread under a broiler and spits it out, partially toasted, down below. Running it through once is not quite toasted enough, but twice is a little too much. Other enticements are offered at breakfast as well. Cooked mushrooms, beans (look like pork and beans without the pork), and stewed plum tomatoes, all ostensibly to be served over the ever present triangles of fried bread. The children were happy to have various cereals, yogurt, and fruits.

Not only were the foods different, the table settings were much more formal, even in this casual dining room. Charlie got this photo of the "rules" and how to interpret the place settings. This was project in the children's group meeting.
I am quite sure many of the "rules" were not new to our munchkins, but they were reinforced by two lovely young ladies who worked well with the kids. Pleasing their mentors, as well as "earning house points" for a prize, the kids had some interesting conversations around the dining tables. Learning some culture in England.....priceless.

Travels with Charlie - The Ghost Forest

Charlie and I arrived at Heathrow about 6:30 AM and were in the heart of Oxford by 11 AM. We had a quick brunch at the Giraffe Cafe before taking a taxi to our hotel. Charlie had a hearty meal of three huge pancakes, divided by thickly sliced bananas and topped with blueberry conserve. He took a photo before devouring the lot.

You almost get a 36 hour day when you cross the International Date Line from West to East. The overwhelming desire to take a long nap on arrival is best suppressed to avoid, or at least recover more quickly, from jet lag. Charlie's energy was flagging, but I coerced him into a walk downtown to explore our surroundings.

The display of massive tree trunks and roots out side the Museum of Natural History caught our eyes right away. Entitled Ghost Forest, the display of tree roots and portions of giant trees were from a commercially logged primary rain forest in Western Africa. Artist, Angela Palmer, brought the display to Europe "as ambassadors for all rain forest trees and to highlight the alarming depletion of the world's natural resources. Today, a tropical rain forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every 4 seconds. An area the size of Belgium is lost every year."

A nice long walk in the crisp air of Oxford, England and an early bedtime serve to prepare us for the beginning of our program on the next day.

Travels with Charlie- Austin to England

Two years ago, Em and I traveled to Oxford, England, for a literary based tour with ElderHostel. In July this year, Charlie and I made the same trip. I was a bit worried I would be bored since the basis of the trip, with its focus on Harry Potter, had not changed much, but there were enough differences to make it interesting. I just knew that Charlie would love the program, and he really did!

First, the name of the company has changed to Road Scholar and age limits have been dropped. The main group was still composed of grandparents and their grandchildren, but there were a few different relationships - aunt, friend, etc. The children were 9-11 years old, but Charlie, aged 12, was not bothered by the age difference. Being a little older actually gave him some of the advantages of maturity. He was a great traveling companion and the whole experience was quite different from a boy's viewpoint.

TranAtlantic flights are never fun, but Charlie took advantage of the opportunity to have uninterrupted TV time on tiny screens embedded in the seat ahead of each passenger. I, on the other hand, lamented the fact we could not fly first-class where the seats actually made into comfortable looking bed-like modules. Of course, the front and back of the plane arrived at the same time and since there was no big corporation funding our trip, we managed quite happily.

Immigration was a nightmare with several, fully-loaded, aircraft arriving at the same time. Charlie and I enjoyed the opportunity to do some people watching, a great wait-time "sport." I was entranced by a man in a kilt, not the first I have ever seen, but certainly the most unusual. The kilt appeared to be a pair of khaki pants down to the hips, complete with belt loops, pockets, etc. Just below the pockets in back, the pleated kilt / skirt(?) began, and continued to the knees, leaving hairy legs exposed. He topped it off with an ordinary shirt, black socks and a kind of sandal. The man appeared quite comfortable in his attire.

I took Charlie out of the U.S. with no problem, but the English authorities were stricter. I had to show proof that I had his parents permission for him to travel with me. They also questioned Charlie. He can normally be heard several blocks away, but in front of this British symbol of authority who occupied a stool making him even taller than normal, Charlie was all shrugs and mumbles. We were eventually passed on with a friendly smile.

Getting to London was the simple part of our travels. Just hop a plane in Austin, change in Houston, and get off at Heathrow many hours later. Now we had to rely on my searches of the internet to make our way to Oxford. As it turned out, this was not a difficult task. We walked a short distance to the bus terminal and took a comfortale, air-conditioned bus right into the heart of Oxford. The kindly driver was soft-spoken and helpful. We bought our tickets right on the bus, luggage was loaded in the hole below, and we were off to Oxford.

Charlie and I shared a similar thought later when we were discussing a lady we had seen at the bus depot. She was older, thin, somewhat eccentric looking, and appeared to have stepped right out of "My Fair Lady." She wore a vintage. ruffled trimmed, chiffon-like dress and sported a wide, vintage, flower trimmed hat. Underneath the hat was a nightcap and peeking out from under the calf length frock, was either pajamas or colorful tights. Both Charlie and I had ached to get a photo but chose not to invade the woman's privacy.