Happy 400th Birthday John Milton

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed,
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God, I thence
Invoke thy aid to my advent'rous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above th' Aonian mount, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.
And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all temples th' upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for thou know'st; thou from the first
Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast abyss
And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support,
That to the highth of this great argument
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.

John Milton
From Book I of Paradise Lost: Milton invokes his poetic muse, and states his purpose for the epic

9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that's reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.

something I saw at The Real Kidd's


Four places that I go to over and over:
Food Lion
Work
Gold Hill Market
Bojangles

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Sally
PSP
Chad
Parents

Four of my favorite places to eat:
Outback
red Robin
Lone Star
Q-Shack

Four places I would rather be right now:
Home on the couch
Any pub in England
a porch on a beach cabin
the mountains

Four TV shows I watch over and over:
Judge Joe
Heroes
Seinfeld
MASH

Four unusual things in the room I’m in:
70 years of yearbooks
altoids minis
me
sootherbs


Four concerts I’ve been to:
Ben Folds
Mercury Rev
Yo La Tengo
Radiohead

Four things on my calendar:
nothing

Four fears:
fear itself

Four unusual things in my purse or wallet:
money

Four chores I hate doing:
I hate doing all of them, come see my house

Four favorite animals:
cats
dogs
*update - miniature goats


Four speed dials on my cell phone:
do not use speed dials

Four places I have called home:
Creedmoor
Benson
Greensboro
Durham


Four websites (not blogs) I visit:
USA Today
cnn.com
fark.com


Four people who have been in my car:
sally
psp
gene
Dad

Four things I am wearing:
khakis
socks
black shirt
hiking shoes

Four things I am looking forward to:
rest
sleep
the end of the week
yesterday

Four favorite types of candy:
Snickers
Zero bar
Milkyway
butterfinger

Four sports teams you like:
Carolina Panthers
Duke
Indy Colts
NY Giants

Four things found in your fridge:
cheeseburger
grape jelly
baking soda
vitamin water

Four rituals (not just a task) you do every day:
check email
check phone messages
play World of Warcraft
read newspaper

Four things currently within reach:
water bottle
cell phone
sootherbs
coffee cup

Four things you know how to cook (not bake or grill):
bacon
burgers
old fashioned mac and cheese
chicken and dumplings

Tuesday November 4th

I voted.
I really miss George Carlin and Tim Russert

friday flowers

They still will not get off my damn lawn

Bullets

• Spring and Summer went too fast.
• I adopted two kitties, Martha and Lola. Martha is Lola's mama.
• Sally and I went to see Ben Folds in concert. Excellent as always. Now, for one night only, Ben Folds Five will be putting on a show in Chapel Hill and we cannot go. Me, cause I work that night..Sally, well she shattered her right knee-cap a few weeks ago and really cannot get around that well. She fell at work almost 3 weeks ago. Had surgery to repair the knee-cap and tendon(s) which were cut by bone pieces from the break. Spent Saturday night and most of yesterday with her as a just in case but she can get along rather well, better than I think she gives herself credit for. She wears out easily so just getting ready to go somewhere really takes it out of her. She will not be able to drive for 2-3 months.
• Went to the wedding of two friends in Indiana in middle July. Drove out there, 9 hour trip or so. Got to see parts of the US I had never seen before. New iPod provided excellent soundtrack. I got lost immediately entering Bloomington but after an hour or so I knew my way around. Got to see Bloomington, IA and Indiana University campus. The campus is scattered with gardens, paths, and a creek right through the middle of campus. I think I may have seen 1/4 of the campus. Would like to go back to see it again someday. The wedding was very nice. A handbell choir performed which I really liked. The reception was cool with excellent food, excellent whisky, good music. I also got to geek out with fellow librarians about all things comic books, sci-fi, Buffy-verse and music. Pictures of my trip are on my flickr site. There is a link to it on the sidebar.
• New iPod was put through laundry this weekend at Sally's house. That is the second one I have washed at her house.
• Thinking about going to Ireland next Spring with group from where I work. Need to figure out if I can afford it. Hopefully Sally can go as well. If I do not go with the group, will still plan a trip to UK. Really want to see Scotland so planning more time in northern parts of UK.
• Am I back? I am not sure. I was looking for a picture of me from the beards post and read a bunch of my old posts and it got me nostalgic. We shall see.

suchnone #377 Farewell to England

I called PSP before leaving Haslingden to find out he was sick. He had some kind of cold, was worn out and miserable. We had planned to go to a New Year's Eve Party but it looked like it would be put on hold. In fact it was. I started to feel bad myself or it could have been from being worn out from almost 3 weeks of traveling. Also. I was getting nervous about my flight back and more at hand was how long it would take for me to get to the airport during the construction on the railways. Anyway...We spent New Year's at the apartment. I had a few beers and we watched the end of the year quiz and a few movies. Very relaxed. I did some grocery shopping one of the days I was there while PSP slept. On New Year's Day we walked around the area they live, went to a few pubs that he wanted to show me before I left. I have a few pints and a nice pubmeal. We called it an early evening as the next day would be my travel day back to London.

I had even planned ahead. I bought a reserved seat ticket, it was less than an open time one and I would have a seat. But thanks to the construction my seat was next to the bathrooms at the front of the railcar I was riding and it was not even the railcar I was assigned to. After 1 hour and a half of this, finally was able to sit for the last hour or so of the trip to near Gatwick. I had reservations at a nice inn/pub near the airport than provided free transport back and forth from the airport. It was maybe 10 min from the airport. I arrived at the house, checked in and proceeded to lay on the bed and watch BBC until evening meal. I had another fish and chips with guinness and went to bed and sort of slept.

The next morning I awoke, had breakfast, checked my email and got my ride to the airport. It took about 30 min to check in and then 3 hours waiting. I looked for some of the whiskey Eoh's fiance(now husband as of March 8th) had recommended but I got confused and did not buy anything.

As we were boarding the snow began. It was very fine but you could see the flakes as the plane began to take off. Flight was a little better than the one over. I watched Transformers and then some History Channel's history of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and Christmas ornaments.

We landed at the same time as 2 other international flights. It only took me 15 min to get into England but an hour and a half to get back into the US. I knew things were bad when I heard one of the flightcrew say " I have never seen it like this before." Finally got through the line and met Sally's Mother who took me home. I checked to make sure things were ok at the house and went to Sally's for the weekend.

Here are some pictures from those last days.




















It was a great trip and one day I will get back over there. I know that have at least one place I can stay and maybe two depending on how long PSP and his wife stay there. I really want to see Scotland and Ireland and to a lesser extent Wales and so many other place in England itself: Nottingham, Stonehenge, Bath, Liverpool etc. i am sort of planning the trip in my head. Hey, you have to start somewhere. Also, I have told next time I go, she goes. Her college roommate lives on Kent.

On another note, I think this blog is coming to an end. I find myself with less and less to say. A lot of people say it, but really my life is boring. And to be honest, I am just repeating things that I really would rather not repeat. So, thank you everyone for coming by and making my life so much more richer. Thanks to my old friends Chad and Julie who got me blogging in the first place. And thank to Wil Wheaton and Magazine Man for inspiration and some damn fine writing.
And to Anne, Joie, Vi, CSG and all the others that have come over the past years, it is not a goodbye but a see you soon.

serene

suchnone #376 What do I have on my TV?

Here is a little meme that Vi came up with. It is called what is on my TV. Here is the picture:



As you can see, I have another TV on my TV. It is a long story but here goes. A few years back I was watching Napoleon Dynamite and my DVD player started "acting up" well it was my Playstation2 but it works as a DVD player as well. The movies would static out but the sound was perfect. So, I go buy a DVD player and the same thing happens. I had no clue what was wrong. Finally, I found in tiny print in the DVD manual, that if the cables connect the DVD player to the TV go through a VCR, the DVD is scramble making copying impossible. I use my VCR as a antenna so I could not stop using the VCR. So, I got one of my older TVs and hooked the DVD player up to it. So in all, I have a VCR, another TV, 4 videos and a container of breath mints on my TV.

Gary Gygax 1938-2008

Full story

More info

Wizards of the Coast release

Co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, I cannot describe what he has contributed to my life. Basically years and years of good times, great friends and many many dice rolls. Hope there is plenty of Mt Dew and Doritos waiting for you.

suchnone #375 Days 11-14 Manchester and Haslingden

The train to Manchester did not leave till 1pm but I had some shopping to do so left PSP's around 10:30 to get to downtown Birmingham. My friend Eoh who is getting married in just under 3 weeks was in need of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Selfridges has an America food market including a place to get these deep-fried confections that I could live. I grew up with Krispy Kreme and as much as the variety of Dunkin Donuts is incredible and Tim Horton's does rock, Krispy Kreme will always be my favorite. So, I make it to Selfridges in plenty of time and get in line for the doughnuts. I waited maybe 10 minutes until I was there to order. They gave everyone who stood in line a free hot doughnut and as he was handing me the doughnut he asked if this was my first time eating one.

I said: "No not by a long shot. In fact I grew up a few hours from the original store in Winston Salem, NC."

His eyes grew big and he said "Let me get my manager."

So I explained to her where I grew up and that I was 37 years old and that I had been eating these doughnuts all of my life and she says:

"Hold on." and goes and gets her cellphone and takes a picture of me. I do not know why she did that but oh well. So I got my dozen doughnuts and headed to the train station. December 27th was the first day back to work for many folks after holidays and the day they had decided to do track work all over England. The rest of my time in England would see longer waits and more people on the trains than I saw before. But in this case, I was able to catch an earlier train to Manchester but with the delays it ended up that I was only 30 minutes earlier than was planned. I waited around the station waiting for Eoh and her fiance who I have not named but I guess I should, lets call him Aci for no other reason that is sounds cool. Anyway, we finally met up and started making our way to the carpark.

Ends up the 27th is the busy shopping day in Manchester so traffic and people were everywhere plus it was almost rush hour by the time we left the carpark so it took us about an hour to get to Haslingden which is only 30 min or so from Manchester. All I know it was a much shorter trip on the way back to the train station for my trip back to Birmingham.

We made a stop for some groceries and headed to Aci's house. We also stopped by his parent's house for a cup of tea and to talk about the wedding.

It was cold and rainy and would stay that way for my stay there but we had a great time. I had bought some whiskey for him but could not remember if it was whiskey he collected. Ended up it was and he was very excited to introduce me to the world of whiskey. I had a whiskey phase back in college but until now had not had any whiskey that was incredible. After dinner of mac and cheese, we broke out the whiskey. First the Kentucky bourbon whiskey I got for them. Then a Scotch and finally an Irish whiskey that I can still taste the smoky overtones to this day. Found out later it is imported to NC and I can pick up bottle at my local ABC store. On a side note, I will be having a few glasses of if to celebrate their wedding since I cannot go to it in March.

Well, what was planned to be a relaxing few days of hanging out ended up being fast paced. What I mean, is that all of his Aci's friends were supposed to be out of town for the holiday. In the middle of out 48hr Trivial Pursuit Game, the first of many phone calls and visits started. In the end I met all of their friends except 2. On Friday we went into downtown Haslingden for some food for the meals for that day. We also stopped by the Library where Eoh volunteers. It is in a nice old building built from the same stone as Nelson's Column is made of in Trafalgar Square. Stopped by the butcher for meat pies for lunch and roast for the evening meal. The rest of the day was spent playing Trivial Pursuit and drinking pints. After roast for dinner we went to Aci's favorite local pub where we drink local real ales and played crazy eights or was it go fish, anyway...We had a table by the fireplace so after a rainy cold walk it was nice to be in front of the fire. A few of their friends showed up so we did not have to walk back to the house in the cold and I swear I saw a few snow flakes that evening.

Saturday we spent the day in Manchester. It was cold and sort of rainy and we saw a few more flakes that day but all in all a nice day.

Below are a few pictures of the places we went.


Manchester Christmas Decoration



John Ryland Library


Manchester Municipal Library



Manchester Museum


Thirsty Scholar Pub



Manchester Christmas Lights

We had shepherd's pie for dinner that night and a few more of their friends came over and we listed to music, drank a few pints, some more whiskey but the highlight of the evening was one of Aci's friends teaching him to play a few Britney Spears' songs and Wonderwall by Oasis. Just great stuff.

I had a great time in Haslingden/Manchester and I want to go back sometime soon.

Next: Day 15-16 Last Days in Birmingham

suchnone #374

all my friends are married
every Tom and Dick and Harry
you must be strong
to go it alone
here's to the bachelors
and the bowery bums
and those who feel that they're the ones
who are better off without a wife

I like to sleep until the crack of noon
midnight howlin' at the moon
goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission
if I want to go out fishing
and I never have to ask for the keys

never been no Valentino
had a girl who lived in Reno
left me for a trumpet player
didn't get me down
he was wanted for assault
though he said it weren't his fault
well the coppers rode him right
out of town

I like to sleep until the crack of noon
midnight howlin' at the moon
goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission
if I want to go out fishing
and I never have to ask for the keys

selfish about my privacy
as long as I can be with me
we get along so well I can't believe
I love to chew the fat with folks
and listen to all your dirty jokes
I'm so thankful for these friends
I do receive

I like to sleep until the crack of noon
midnight howlin' at the moon
goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission
if I want to go out fishing
and I never have to ask for the keys

And now for these important messages

Vi and a few others are putting together a "blog book" with proceeds going to WarChild

Anyone is encouraged to submit.

For information follow the link above to Vi's blog or follow the link I will be putting on the right hand side of my blog.

suchnone #373 Day 8 Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day

I want to apologize for not updating more often the past week or so. Work and real life have been getting in the way.


Christmas was very relaxed. Christmas Eve we had chili or was it lasagna, it was one or the other as tradition for PSP and his wife on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We opened presents after breakfast I think and then watched Christmas movies (Elf, Polar Express and one other) and TV the rest of the day. To mix things up I had one beer and then drank Green Goblin ciders the rest of the day. By the way, every drink I have had from Wychwood Brewery is fantastic but I have yet to find any in the States.

Boxing Day was ridiculous. Why I agreed to go out first thing in the shopping I am not sure but we did get to see parts of Birmingham I really wanted to see. After shopping for a new coat for PSP we boarded the bus to go to the side of town where he works. It is there where the two towers that inspired Tolkien's Two Towers are located. They are on the same road, not too far from each other and just down the road from the church he attended as a young boy. One tower is Perrot's Folly and the second is part of the Birmingham Waterworks.


Perrot's Folly

Birmingham Waterworks Tower

On the way back to the apartment we stopped in at the local pub the Patrick Cavanaugh for a few pints before heading back to the flat for dinner, a few more pints and to watch the End of the Year News Quiz.



Birmingham and Moseley pictures

Next: Day 9 Travels to Manchester and Haslingden

suchnone #372 Day 7 Shopping in Birmingham

I just realized that the summary of my trip is taking as long or longer than my actual trip. Another case of real life getting in the way.

I had some last minute Christmas shopping to do so PSP and I headed to the Bullring in Birmingham to check out the stores and see what we could find. Needles to say two days before Christmas the area was packed and within 10 minutes I was ready to go. But, we had things to shop for so we pressed on. We decided to hit Selfridges since he had to pick up some cherry flavored vodka for his wife for Christmas. You can sample any of the liquors they have there so after 8 or so shots we were feeling mighty good. I also looked at the whiskeys for a present for my friends near Manchester. I would come back later to get it. We wandered around the mall, stopping at a few bookstores and a tea shop so I could pick up tea for several of my friends back home. Then we made our way to the German Christmas Street fair. Booths lined the street all the way to the city hall. There was food, beer, crafts, music, a merry go round and tons and tons of people. I found a nice nativity scene for my parents but could not find a christmas ornament of any kind.







After shopping was done we made our way to the first of 3 pubs to spend the rest of the afternoon. The first one was getting ready to close so there was only 7 or so folks in there and I think they were regulars. They were singing 70s and 80s pop songs mixed in with irish folks songs( I think) and pretty much whatever came to their minds to sing. As they were leaving they all wished PSP and I a happy christmas and new year and shook our hands. I really liked the Turf in Oxford but there was something about this pub that really connected with me. So, catching the bus we headed back closer to Moseley for the second pub. A few pints later it was time to move on to the the pub near PSP's apartment. My memory is hazy, we may not have actually had a pint there that day but I am pretty sure we stopped in. We also stopped by the Drinksville to pick up more beer and some candy for after dinner. For dinner we went to a Nepali resturant just around the corner. I had tandori chicken which is similar to barbequed chicken in the states but with different spices as well as being soaked in yogurt. It was very tasty.

Birmingham pictures

Next Day 8 Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day

suchnone #371 Day 6 Stratford

Stratford was very cool and thank goodness it was not as cold as Oxford. But it did rain most of the day. Just that misty rain that can be annoying. It really is a tourist town dedicated to everything Shakespeare. All the shops are named for him or for a character in one of his plays or a line in one of his sonnets. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has done a great job in telling his story with a great museum and several houses in the area that he lived in or his children and grandchildren lived in. We took in 3 of the houses: his birthplace, which really is not where he was born but it is the house he grew up in, Nash's House and New Hall, - New Hall is his last house and where he died but while it was later destroyed, the original wall is still there. Nash's House was next door and was the house of Shakespeare's granddaughter first husband. The upstairs of Nash's House now holds a retrospective of the published works of Shakespeare from the First Folio up to those published in 2007. And finally we went to Hall's Croft, the house of Shakespeare's eldest daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall. The house also contains interesting medical artifacts and a first edition of his medical notes published in 1657. One room still contains original glass in its windows.

Now the stupidest thing we did on this trip was missing Shakespeare's burial site which was just two blocks from Hall's Croft.

We also made a stop by the Harvard House which was the house of the John Harvard's mother. Harvard University is named for him.

There was a nice garden behind Nash's House that had statues representing many of Shakespeare's plays. Below is a statue of Falstaff.











After walking around in the rain and sort of cool weather we decided we would have tea in a little place called Benson's. There were many places we could have had tea in Stratford but you see, PSP and myself grew up in a little town called Benson so it seemed appropriate. The tea and scones hit the spot.

To be honest I am not sure what we did after we got back to Birmingham. I am sure we had dinner which I think was leftover fish and chips for myself and soup for them. We may have watched a movie afterward but I am not sure. I know we watched A Christmas Story but just not sure what night we did.

Next - Day 7 Shopping in Birmingham

suchnone #370 Day 5 Oxford

I was more excited about going to Oxford than when I first landed in London. May have been since I was jet- laggless or maybe it was because I was in where Tolkien and Lewis lived, taught and wrote for most of their lives. On the downside it was the coldest day I was in England. Think it is right at or below freezing with a constant wind. We arrived midmorning and made our way to one of the bookstores to find a map of the town and other literature on the area. After two stops I found a nice pamphlet that gave a walking tour of the Tolkien and Lewis sites around Oxford. We could not do all of them due to the cold and some where in outlying areas of Oxford and the buses were not on a regular schedule, but we did see a good deal of Oxford. We went into three of the pubs that the Inklings frequented including the Eagle and Child and the Turf. The Inklings met once a week at the Eagle and Child and that was where Narnia and Middle Earth were first talked about and read. The Turf was where Tolkien and Lewis met on Mondays for mead since it was halfway from both of their respective colleges. The Turf was my second or first favorite pub, very homey, very warm and the food and pints were very good. The Turf is also the place where Bill Clinton did not inhale.
Some of the other highlights were: The Radcliffe Camera, a circular library in the middle of Oxford University, The Bridge of Sighs(replica of the one in Venice), Christ Church where the dining hall scenes of the Harry Potter movies are filmed.








That evening I had fish and chips from a local chip shop in Moseley called Atlantis. It was the best, it fed me for two meals. Two big meals. I did not get a chance to go back there. They had reduced hours due to the holidays. We capped the night off with a few more pints.



Oxford Pictures
Next - Day 6 Stratford

suchnone #369 Day 4 Tower of London and off to Birmingham

I expected a hangover after all the pints of Guinness and London Pride from the night before but I did not have one. We were on a short schedule but knew we wanted to see the Tower of London before heading up to Birmingham. The Tower is just incredible and we had great weather, though it was cold, to see the Tower. Our Yeomen Warder guide was a lot of fun and told many stories about the Tower, its construction and the many lives that were lost over the years within its walls. It was not built as a prison, it was built to be the castle of William the Conqueror as a show of his power and might after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Originally built in 1078, many additions were added to secure the palace, with two sets of walls, many turrets and other Towers including:
The Bloody Tower
Beauchamp Tower
Bell Tower

and others.




Traitor's Gate is where the prisoners were brought for imprisonment, execution, torture or worse. Among those who climbed the stairs at Traitor's Gate are:

Anne Boleyn
Sir Thomas Moore
Elizabeth I
Sir Walter Raleigh



The main Tower itself contains a collection of arms and armor and a remnant of Roman Walls stands nearby. Also, the British Crown Jewels are located the Tower. Our Yeoman Warder assured us that they were the real thing and not to pay attention to the rumors that they were stored somewhere else. He said, If they are fake, why are we here?(we meaning the Yeoman Warders).









We left around 1pm after spending about 3 hours at the Tower of London. There was train and rail maintenance and we had been in the crowds the evening before so we decided to leave earlier than we originally planned so we did not go by the Tower Bridge or The Globe Theatre.

We had no problems on the train ride to Birmingham. The train was not even full and it was nice to relax for a little over an hour after walking the ground of the Tower. We got into Birmingham going towards 3:30 and we made our way through the Bullring(the main shopping area) to catch the bus to Moseley where PSP and his wife live. It is only a 30-45 bus ride depending on traffic and time of day. We arrived in Moseley, dropped our bags off at the apartment, went down to the local grocery for a few items, stopped by Drinksville, a nice beer and drink store in their neighborhood and then headed back to relax in their apartment.

Next: Oxford

nonesuch #368 Day 3 British Museum, British Library and Wesley House

I have a cold so that is why I have not updated since last week. I wanted to do an update a day about my trip but that just did not happen. Anyway, I am picking up on day three.
We did not need to wake up as early on the 3rd day. By then I had adjusted to the time change and the early sunsets and later sunrises. We ate breakfast and made our way to the train station to buy my ticket to Birmingham. The station was near the British Museum so it was not out of the way. I could have stayed in the Museum all day, well no, but for many days. We just did not have the time. Each room had something else I wanted to see. The highlights were, the Parthenon and the Rosetta Stone. Again, will not go into details but here are a few pictures that stood out for me.













British Museum Set

When I do go back to England, the British Museum will be one the first places I revisit and I will give myself an entire day or more to see as much as I can.

After 4 or so hours at the Museum we set out for the British Library. We were not allowed in the main part of the Library but they have a rare books room containing copies of Shakespeare's Folio, William Blake's diaries, the Beatles original lyric sheets(napkins, letter, poetry, diaries), and the Magna Carta. Pictures were not allowed in the room and I do not know why I only took one picture of the outside of the building but I did take a picture of the statue that is near the entrance.



My Father is a retired Methodist minister so the visit to the Wesley House was special. My Dad went to England in the 70's but I am not sure if they got to the Wesley House or not but below are few of the pictures I took there. John Wesley was the founder of Methodism and with his brother Charles who wrote some 9,000 hymns spread their "method" of worship.







Across the street from the Wesley house is a graveyard where at first I thought the Wesleys were buried. Just their Mother, Susannah is buried there but we found there were others buried in this little graveyard in the middle of the city. William Blake, John Bunyan(Pilgrim's Progress), The Cornwalls, and Daniel Defoe are all buried there.

The sun was setting and the graveyard was closing so we left out the other end and went into a pub for a few pints and some rest. After an hour or so, we headed back to our room at the hotel and then went to a nearby pub for some food and more pints. I had fish and chips and many pints of Guinness and London Pride. PSP had a veggie burger I think. It was our last night in London so we wanted to make the most of it. We wanted to close the pub down but that didn't happen but we were close.

Day 4 - Tower of London and off to Birmingham