Trip to England

Dear Family and Friends,

When the announcement was made to the kids that we were moving to France over a year ago, there was much weeping and wailing in the Onstott household. Joe and Julie tried to calm fears by highlighting some of the advantages of living in Europe, including visiting new countries, learning a new language, and taking a plane ride over the ocean. When these enticements failed to produce the desired result, Joe told the kids that when the new Harry Potter film came out, they could see it in England where it was filmed. This past week, the time came to fulfill the bargain, so we grabbed the kids’ Harry Potter wands and robes, some clothes, and a few snacks and set off for England.



On the drive up, we stopped at a cathedral in Reims, which is one of the five largest churches in France.

In addition to its intricate gothic architecture, the cathedral is well known for being a stopping place for Marc Chagall, a famous French artist who created some of its stained glass windows, and Joan of Arc, who attended a coronation there in 1429 as part of her exploits to free France from the English.

Rather than taking the ferry from Dunkurque as we had done in the past, we decided to try the Eurotunnel train that runs beneath the English Channel. As it turned out, we ended up waiting in line with a large line of Ferraris behind us and an Austin Martin in front of us. The boys, including Joe, thought this was very exciting.

At the appointed time, we drove our car onto a specially designed rail car and then remained in our vehicle for the short 35 minute crossing. Though there wasn’t much to see, but we all enjoyed speculating about what was above us.

Once in England, we drove a short distance to East Sussex to see Bodiam Castle. Built in 1385 to protect the countryside from French invasion during the Hundred Years’ War, Bodiam is encircled by a large moat and has all of the other defenses one would expect to see on a traditional English castle, including murder holes (places to pour boiling tar), tall towers and slits for shooting arrows.

Nathaniel and Elyse got to find out what it was like to get put in the stocks. Julie and Joe thought this might be an effective alternative to “time out”, but sadly the stocks were not on the gift shop inventory.

Much of the interior of the castle was destroyed during an English civil war in about 1641.

All of the towers remain intact and it is possible to ascend the spiral staircases and get a good view of the courtyard and English countryside.

Joe bought each of the boys a plastic sword. Sir Nicolas the Brave, Sir Nathaniel the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir Nicolas, and Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Picture (Joe), engaged in many gripping duels in the ensuing days.

That evening, we spent the night in a very nice bed-and-breakfast in the coastal city of Hastings. Our room was located on the top floor and overlooked the old city and its many chimneys. After a very filling English-style breakfast, we went downtown and Joe peaked into some of the old antique stores.

We drove back to East Sussex in the afternoon to visit the former home of Rudyard Kipling, the author of the Jungle Book, Just So Stories, much of the ideas for Cub Scouting, and the poem If. The house, originally constructed in 1634, had friendly, elderly guides who were eager to share their knowledge of the Kipling’s life. There were also many interesting treasures to see, including objects he collected from his travels around the world, engravings from his family’s time in India, and original drawings of Mowgli and the other Jungle Book characters. Joe particularly loved the study, which included Kipling’s writing desk, a large library of old books, and an assortment of exotic treasures.

In addition to the house itself, we enjoyed strolling around the grounds and visiting a working mill.

The kids' favorite part of the day was playing in the adjacent picnic area that was equipped with a small log fort, bridges, and a chest of toys.

We then drove to London to attend the London Temple. We also liked walking around the extensive grounds and watching the planes preparing to land at near-by Gatwick Airport.



The following afternoon, we all went to see the 6th installment of Harry Potter. Unfortunately, all of the English kids were still in school during the 2:00 showing and the kids were the only ones dressed up for the movie. Julie tried to cover Nathaniel’s eyes during the scary parts, but Nathaniel resisted by saying “if you cover my eyes, I won’t be able to point my want at the bad guys.”



Sadly, the time came for us to leave warm and comfortable England and head for home. Nevertheless, we made one final stop on the way home in the French city of Laon to see another example of gothic architecture.



The Laon cathedral was built in 1230 and is known for its location on the top of a hill, having six towers, and for its peculiar statues of oxen on top of the towers.

Cheers,

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel