Quiz Night Champions!

I just got back from the office bi-annual Quiz Night. It was held in the Red Room, a super-cheap pub in the basement of the office (how sweet is that!). Quiz Nights are a British pub tradition - I think we should have these in Canada. After being behind the table next to us for the whole night, we surged through in the last round to claim first prize! My team has won the last 3 times in a row so I was just happy not to have broken their winning streak. It was lots of fun and I even managed to contribute a few answers (like spelling supercalifragilisticexpialidocious). My team has asked me to join them again next time. It's so nice to be accepted! :)

Sorry, no pictures. I think my camera's broken. :(

Country Walk #2: Hassock - Lewes

I went on my second country walk, this time to near Brighton about an hour away from London. Although the leaves don't turn to such a large variety of brilliant colours as they do in Canada (I'm told that this is because England doesn't have such a quick frost), it's still beautiful to be walking in the crisp autumn air.



We passed a man who was standing at the edge of a field/forested hunting area. His job was to try and herd the partridges back into the area if they came his way. There were man scattered all around the border and we could hear the gunshots in the distance. It was a little scary to hear them if you ask me, but I guess hunting is a long English tradition.



We visited this old English church that had old paintings on the inside walls, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture. Here's the front of the church though. It's quite common to have a small graveyard on the grounds of the church.



And a small Remembrance Day display...

First CTC bike ride

I went on my first CTC (a cycling club) bike ride today. It was a newcomer ride, so it was at a very relaxed pace, without much traffic and quite flat. We had a beautiful day for it - sunny all day which is rare. It was so great to be outside in the sunshine, riding along the Thames. We ended up cycling 20 miles which, because we were going so slowly, was pretty easy to do. But when I got home, I pretty much passed out on my couch! I guess it had taken more out of me than I thought. Or maybe it's a blood sugar thing? We had eaten lunch just 2 hours before I got home though. I guess I'm just not used to endurance activities. Anyway, it was great to get some exercise and I'll definitely be going on some more CTC rides.


I was at the meeting point waiting for others to arrive for the ride and look who came trotting by - the guards for Buckingham Palace. It must have been time for the Changing of the Guard. It's so crazy the stuff that is "normal" when living in London.



Here's the Thames. We cycled on the South bank all the way to Kew Gardens which is in the west of London. The view was nice and relaxing with lots of people out walking, jogging and cycling.


We even passed a rowing competition! (It's so British!)

The English Countryside

Last Sunday, a couple of colleagues and I went on an all-day walk in the country. We followed one of the walks in the Country Walks book published by Time Out, which I fully intend to purchase so for anyone visiting me, I highly suggest we go on one of these walks so you can experience the amazing beauty of the English countryside.

We caught an early train from Victoria Station that took 45 minutes to take us to Borough Green. It drizzled rain almost all day, but I still had a great time. I'm SO glad we did this. It was just what I needed - fresh air, nature, and some good exercise. And I kind of like the rain anyway.

In England, they have ancestral paths that cut through people's property, and the people who own the property aren't allowed to prevent this. Our walk went along some of these ancestral paths. Some properties were very welcoming - we used their handy wood step to climb over their short fence and then it was just open field. And others were less welcoming, with fences on either side of the narrow path.

We walked through apple orchards with ripe apples falling off the trees, through wide open fields with flocks of sheep calmly grazing, past horses wearing rain-aprons, and down streets with storybook houses and beautiful English style "wild" gardens.




And past this mansion owned by a super-rich Arab, the book says.


I think he owns this "modest" garden too. It's crazy how rich some of the people in England are, but at the same time, it's great to be able to see this beauty and walk through it. You haven't really seen England if you haven't been to the idyllic English countryside, I say.


We walked around all day, only stopping for some lunch (and to try and dry off a little) before taking a train back from Seven Oaks. What an amazing day!