Archive for the 'Uncategorized' category

The Henley Royal Regatta, 2008

July 13, 2008 10:25 pm

End of a Fours' RaceKevin and I returned last week from England where we attended the first three days of the five day Henley Royal Regatta. The HRR is a rowing event held every year since 1839 on the River Thames by the gorgeous village, Henley-on-Thames. Races take place over a course of 1 mile, 550 yards, and end just short of the Henley Bridge.

There are many areas from where one can view the races along the river, but the prime real estate is in the Stewards’ Enclosure adjacent to the last part of the course and the finish line. Because Kevin is a member of the Staple Gunned?Stewards’ Enclosure, that is from where we view the proceedings. This was our sixth year in a row together, and who knows how many times Kevin has been sans moi. He said his first visit was sometime in the 70’s, and he has been almost every year since the early 1980’s. We have a reunion there every year with Kevin’s superb godfather, Michael, and his adorable Danish wife, Christina. Also joining our group for the third year in a row is Dom & Hilary, our friends from San Francisco (by way of Wales for Dom) who now live in Zurich with “the cutest baby in the world” – Bryn. Michael, also a member of the Stewards’ Enclosure, attended his first HRH in the 1940’s.

The weather was lovely this year. It only rained two of the three days, but I didn’t have to wear my Wellington’s even once. I certainly couldn’t say that about the previous five years, where at times I had to tromp through mud and wrap myself in a blanket to keep from freezing to death.

School JacketsI must confess, I didn’t see much of the races this year. It’s always more of a fun peacock parade for me, with the men just as showy as the women, especially in the Stewards’ Enclosure. It’s known for strict enforcement of its dress code. Men are required to wear a “lounge suit, blazer and flannels, or evening dress, and a tie”. Women are required to wear a dress or skirt that covers their knees, and are “strongly encouraged to wear a hat”. Anyone not suitably dressed can be refused entry, no matter their prestige in rowing or elsewhere. The fashion police are everywhere there, looking for those knobby knees …

Check out Photos for some good hats and old school jackets!

Ruth

David Returns from Visit to the United States

April 21, 2008 9:53 am

DavidI’m loaning him my copy of French Women Don’t Get Fat …

Ruth

An excellent evening en Français

February 21, 2008 1:24 pm

LabelAn excellent evening last night. We had two of our French friends round for dinner and spent the whole evening speaking French (well, they did, we spoke Franglais). I opened one of my last three remaining “good” wines, I’ve had them for seven or eight years. This was a Neibaum-Coppola Merlot 1999. It was excellent, full of fruit, a great bouquet, wonderfully mature, smooth – a great wine.

Our friends brought along a Christmas present they had received. It was called La Clef du Vin (the key of wine). It is an amazing. It is made by Screwpull and it ages wine! It is a long metal rod that you dip into you glass or bottle of wine. Each one second dip ages the wine by one year. It doesn’t significantly change the bouquet but it does change the taste. You can use it to determine how long to keep your wines in your cellar. If you have a case of wine, open one bottle, pour a glass and then start ageing your glass of wine, one year at a time. The flavour will improve with each year and then it will drop off, that is the maximum age for the wine. Amazing but it seems to work. It can also be used in restaurants to improve your glass of young wine and add a few years to it. The only link I can find is to the French site.

Kevin

Once upon a time …

January 7, 2008 7:06 pm

IMG_1716… in a land far far away – to be precise, San Francisco – a California lady, Ruth, met a London gentleman, Kevin, in a photography class. They became friends, then they fell in love. They climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro; they eloped to London to get married at the Chelsea Registry Office; then they returned to their home in the Bay Area. There, a most holy Saint of the Universal Life Church, David, invested with the powers conferred upon him by the Internet, married them again before their friends and family.

Life was good, but there was trouble in paradise. Ruth and Kevin decided to flee their evil ruler and settle in a strange land, a land once ruled by Romans, by popes, and by kings – Provence. This blog will follow them on their journey through life together in Provence and beyond, and will offer their fearless observations on existence in this most peculiar universe. They also hope from time to time to have Foreign Correspondents post their contributions.

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2007 1:24 pm
Climbing above the lake

Happy New Year, tout le monde. Here we are at a lake in St. Remy de Provence on the penultimate day of the year. We are spending today, New Year’s Eve, trying to get our new blog up and running in time for January 1, 2008. Wish us Bonne Chance!