2005

 

 

 

The Wood family wishes you ALL a

 

 

 

                     Leslie

 

 

Requesting Pictures

I am working on a Family DVD and would appreciate any pictures, especially of Grandpa Gil. There is space available on my website

http://groups.msn.com/DeanFamilyScrapbook/friendsampfamily.msnw

 

Thank you!

Audrey

Lynn

 Lynn has been in bed since yesterday morning after a bad spell and
has kept the oxygen on.  Carlos stayed with him last night till about 3 am
this morning till someone else got up/  They have him on some other
medicine with the mophine which makes him drowsey.  Carlos sounds ok now
but was shocked at first of the week.  Love Mom Darlene

Greetings from London

 

I received an update from Greg.  He's entertaining to read whether you know him or not, so I'm posting his letter here to share with everyone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, I've been living in Europe now for three weeks, and I can hardly believe it. It seems like only a few days ago I was living in a hotel in little ol' Chertsey wondering when the time would come when I would have a flat all my own to go home to every night. Oh, wait a second, it was a few days ago that I was wondering that. That's right, I got to live in a hotel for TWO WEEKS! For those of you that haven't tried it, I don't recommend it. The novelty of having my bed made for me every morning is now completely gone.

I must admit though, I do miss the full English breakfast every morning...nothing like a cooked pig's bladder with baked beans and Marmite(tm) to start off one's morning. But seriously, I jest, the food was truly delicious and there was a lot to choose from, which is more than I can say about the selection of television stations. Cricket anyone? No? Football, rugby, or golf? I'm not complaining really, who goes to another country to watch television anyway?

Over all I had a pleasant stay at the hotel.

So, you might be wondering what it's like to live in England. For those of you that have never been to Europe, at least the places in Europe that I've been, you can't quite shake the feeling that you're living in a WWII movie. Many of the buildings are made of brick and are covered in either moss, dirt, spray paint, or a combination of all three. This is especially true of the train stations. I had no idea what to expect when I started hunting for a flat. I had pretty good luck with estate agents and had found a place within the first week of my being there. I would have been able to move in right away if it weren't for that little problem of not having a bank account here in England. Oh yeah, and that wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for that other little thing about needing a permanent address before they'll let you have a bank account. I think I got it all squared away now. I moved into the flat on Monday night and it's wonderful. It's a fully furnished flat in Addlestone, Surrey. Hardwood floors, a dining room table, couch, bed, dressers, wardrobe, microwave, fridge, washer/dryer, and a perfect spot to sit next to the window and strum the guitar.

And now to the hands-down, absolute, no-doubt-about-it, best part of the move so far - Tiffany came to London the second weekend I was here! I met her at Heathrow and we rode the bus to Feltham and then the train back into Chertsey. We managed to squeeze in an incredible amount of sight-seeing in London on Saturday. The train to London goes right through Addlestone, where I live, and Chertsey, where I work, which is very convenient.

On Sunday we rode the train out to Salisbury and took a bus tour out to Stonehenge and back through Salisbury. The

cathedral at Salisbury is easily one of the most impressive buildings I've ever been into and Stonehenge is even more awesome than I'd imagined. In the cathedral they have one of only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a nearly 800 year document which a lot of modern law and much of the US constitution was based on. Incredible.

Well, there's probably a lot more to tell, and probably a lot more people wishing I would shut up. Everybody know that my door is always open. Flights over here are very reasonable and I'm always up for company provided I'm not off in some other country for the weekend. For instance, don't come the second to the last weekend in August, because I will be in Paris. Also, don't come the next weekend because I will be in Denmark. Gotta love it! But when you DO come, once you get to Heathrow it's a snap to get to my flat by train. I can meet you at the train station and tell you how to get to just about wherever you want to go for the weekend, and of course you can stay at my flat. I miss you all very much and can't wait to get together to watch a movie, go out to dinner, go dancing, make out, go drinking, or go for a walk, depending on which of you are reading this at the moment.

Last but certainly not least, I leave you with this bit of useful information for your own visit to England:

- The most important tip I can offer is do not, under any circumstances, try to determine how much you just spent on that meal in US dollars. In fact, don't convert any prices into US dollars. You will be sorry and you may starve by the end of your visit.

- Black Pudding: If you're curious, try it and don't ask.

- Get in on the left side of the car. You will fail to do this, there is no doubt about it. In fact, I'm so sure, here's a new tip - get used to hearing "you wanna drive?" in a sarcastic voice followed by mocking laughter.

- Black Pudding: on second thought, just stay away (hint: I mentioned it by key ingredient earlier in this letter. hint: it's not Marmite(tm).)

- If you're drunk, and you have to get home, and the train is the only transportation that you can afford, you probably take it. Also, being drunk and being on a train is on par with eating a grand slam breakfast at Denny's before going deep-ocean fishing for salmon. I guess the tip here is either a) don't catch the last train back from London, or b) be mindful of who you sit next to on the train

- Hint: it's not baked beans, either

- Go with Guinness, it's always cold.

- Chips = French Fries

- Not having a British accent helps you tremendously when delivering the line "I'm sorry, I was told that I could buy a ticket from you once I had boarded the train." This tip comes with a free bonus tip - keep track of who you tell this to, it only works once per attendant, and the fine is small, but impressive (especially if you failed to follow the first tip).

That's all I have for now. I miss you all and hope to see you soon!

Love and hugs for everyone...

Cheers,

Greg

Holiday Messages

 

 

Best Wishes For This Holiday Season

And For The New Year,

From The Wood Family