Garden Party

August 24, 2009

I awoke the next morning to catcalls of "lazy bones" and worse from my host and hostess. Sheesh, you'd have thought I slept until mid-morning! Okay, I did, but still! All was forgiven as soon as it was announced they had laid in a supply of "streaky bacon" for me! How can you not adore people who don't just cook for you, but cook the things you love? Funny, isn't it, that everyone remembers my 30-day long bitch session about not finding real bacon in the UK in 2002 until our final afternoon there. Ha, I want them to remember - it means good bacon wherever I go in the world.
The Tent erectors arrived and I let Lee and Ray see to them while I munched my crisp bacon and toast, and sipped the heavenly imported Folgers coffee. Shortly thereafter, Bias came strolling down the drive. What a treat it was to see him again! After prolonged greetings and more catching up, and getting to meet Harry, I helped Lee clean the kitchen, and we put Ray and Bias in charge of The Tent while we set out for our afternoon in Kingston Upon Thames. Though we had discussed having a day in London, activities just didn't permit an entire day away from home. Kingston was the next best thing, situated right on the river and offering just about anything one could want in the way of shopping and food. Lee had packages to mail, and I set foot in a UK post office for the first time. It's really not all that different than the ones here, except they also offer banking services and currency exchange...and, it was located inside a drug store. I had a nice little chat with my British counterpart, who expressed delight at meeting an American postal worker (I don't see many people who delight in that fact at home!).
In the main part of town was the market area, and an indoor mall that could've been anywhere. Same shops, different names. We wandered back toward the waterfront and picked a nice cafe right on the river's edge to have our lattes and cheesecake. Yum!

Kingston is a mix of very old and very new. Near our bus stop was the Coronation Stone, where the kings of the 10th century were crowned, while the area where we had our coffee was surrounded by ultra-modern apartments costing millions of GBP.

The bus ride passed quickly, and our walk through the 'hood was at a leisurely pace. By this time, leisurely was the best pace I could muster. Things at home were still bustling - the marquee guys were finishing up for the day, and promised to be back at mid-morning on Tuesday to complete the interior. The repairman was in the shop attending to the Kawasaki Mule (affectionately referred to by its owner as The Green Goddess), which had flatly refused to start the previous day. Bias was puttering around with hard drives and other various electronic pieces, sorting out gear with expert ease. Ray was in the greenhouse, gathering herbs for the evening meal.

The repairman wasn't having much luck - at least until Lee came along. His opinion was that Miss Goddess would have to be taken away but Lee's presence seemed to cause a change of heart in the vehicle, and it sprang to life, raring to go. Lovely, because it got me a tour of the property, which is magnificent.
If you know where to look, Ray's biography is still on the Moody Blues website, and it mentions that he's an excellent cook. Without getting into my personal feelings on the fact you *have to know where to look* to find his bio, I'll just say that whomever wrote that line knew what he/she was talking about! Dinner was leftover roast beef, and a dish famous in Moody history, but heretofore untried by me - Bubble & Squeak. Had Ray not been a musician, he not only could've been a toolmaker, he could've been a chef.
We lingered at the table, just talking, but it wasn't long before the ducks started making their presence known. We'd wondered how Lucy the fox would react to the marquee sitting directly on top of her usual dinner spot, but it didn't seem to bother her. Her meal was served on the opposite side of the terrace, and she found it with no trouble at all.
Lucy is well-known in the neighborhood, for her penchant for shoes. Not pairs of shoes, just one shoe from many different pairs. Expensive shoes. And gloves. And hats. Visitors and workmen on the property are advised not to leave anything lying around that they can't afford to lose. We joked about her turning up at the party dressed to the nines.

Wildlife fed, Lee and I tidied up the kitchen, while Ray made some phone calls. Bias, an avid reader, was thoroughly engrossed in his latest book whenever there were a few minutes to spare. We settled again in the most comfortable lounge, Lee and I talking long after the guys had gone to bed. Maggie and Gabe were due to arrive the next morning, so we didn't stay up quite as late as Sunday night.

TUESDAY