london and beyond, oh, and a little dutch beaurocracy
21 march 2000

i feel compelled to start this missive with a classic example of how the dutch system works or doesn't work. i've been waiting for the right event to really capture the essence. here it is. gary has finally gotten his work permit but in order to officially be expatriates we both have to have a residence permit. cheryl, our relocation person, applied for us quite a while ago and we at last got our appointment with the foreign police. when cheryl submitted the paperwork, she correctly stated that we have a domestic partnership and are not legally married. somehow it came up incorrectly in the computer, imagine that. we thought we should fix it right then to avoid any future backlash. well, the woman who was processing this didn't feel like being very cooperative that day and so she insisted we would need to go to the american consulate to get an affadavit and then we had to take that to the hague, which is another city altogether. long story short we went to the embassy and had to swear under oath that we were not married. we have now officially taken our non marriage vows in case any of you were losing sleep over that. the man at the embassy was chuckling and told us that "this is something that the dutch invented". we continue to have a good laugh over this because what other reaction could we have. we have yet to traipse on over to the hague to complete the process. nutty, huh?

on to more interesting accounts. gary has been working very hard and has been in england more than home these last two weeks. the upside is, of course, that i've been able to fly over the last two weekends. we decided to go on a london marathon and i have to say the more you do, the more there is to do. it is truly an amazing city, especially for theatre lovers. that would be us. i have been wanting to see the matthew bourne production of "swan lake" for some time. it was closing day and completely sold out. gary had a good feeling about scoring some tickets by standing in the returns "queue"; i was reluctant. no one seemed to know what was happening with the "returns queue" and people were jumping the queue which really got gary a little hot under the collar. the english are serious about queuing, the dutch have no concept of it, they just push randomly. anyway, i was losing faith and wanted to forget the whole thing and go get tickets for "fosse", which we knew were available. just then they decided to release what i think were house seats and since we were at the head of the queue we snagged them, {for a price} but they were excellent seats, 7th row center. the performance was something very special and it is really a piece of theatre that just happens to be completely danced. the story has many layers and is beautifully developed. but of course the most mesmerizing thing about it is the all male swan corps. what power, and in no way comic, to see a group of male swans. the energy was blowing the roof off and at the end the choreographer, matthew bourne himself, came out and told us that it was the last time the three original cast members would dance together. they had been performing since 1995! we were overcome with emotion; it really touched us. but it didn't stop there.... just so happened that mr. bourne had written a book and would be signing copies! i rarely feel the need to be a groupie but we had to do it and so we bought the book, shook his hand, and gary took my picture with him. and so our brush with greatness.... now we can appear on david letterman.

the day was young; that was a matinee and we were off to another theatre to see the drama, "side man". i love watching great actors, did i mention that? the play is about jazz musicians, their music and personal lives and carries a great sense of sadness with it, watching those who love the arts struggle to make a living at it. i love seeing plays like this because the focus is on the actor and not on anything external.

that was saturday and on sunday the theatres are all dark. it turned out to be a beautiful and very springlike day so we thought we would sign up for the "charles dickens walk". our guide knew everything there was to know about dickens and by the end i wanted to read all of his books! we got to see parts of london we never would have found on our own; the afternoon was a real treat. unfortunately the dickens house was closed on sunday, next time. on monday we weren't quite as lucky. there are many of these london walks to choose from and we thought it would be fun to try the "alfred hitchcock walk". it's really all in the guide, and this woman was a loser, CAPITAL L. she mostly talked about herself, had us going on buses and the underground all over the city and we had to tune her out for most of the tour. there was only one other couple with us and they were weird, too, so finally we said we had to go and just left before it was over. why do i have the feeling she would have kept talking {about herself} for the entire afternoon? she seemed surprised that we wanted to leave. clueless, i say. as i mentioned, it's all in the guide.

not to worry, we still had time for a nice lunch, a stroll, a coffee, and "fosse". at last. i was in musical theatre heaven. what can i say, it was the best ensemble dancing i've ever seen and the voices weren't too shabby either. there is just something about the fosse style that i love, love, love!! his choreography is really something to see live and in large amounts. i hope those people can still walk after the run of the show, it's hard work!!

our second weekend in england was unplannd as gary was expecting to come home. but since he had to be back on monday, he insisted i go there. i really like those short flights, by the way. since he already had rented a car,we thought we would explore the english countryside. it is definitely spring in that land! i have never seen so many daffodils anywhere, anytime. on saturday we drove to oxford. incidentally, the whole driving on the other side of the road is very weird, not to mention the steering wheel being reversed, too. contrary to popular belief, oxford is not just one university. it is many colleges that make up one of the prettiest towns around. it's one thing to see one building of gothic architecture; it's quite another matter seeing a whole town of buildings in this incredible style. these structures are so old and i think all the colleges were originally religious based as they all seem to have cloisters and chapels, etc. matter of fact, we sat in on an evening service, evensong. we weren't allowed into the actual chapel but had a good view from the "lobby" where they had chairs set up. the choir was all boys and men and i found myself very caught up in the music. something out of another century. this is one of the reasons i've wanted to come to europe for a long time-it's very old and i seem to be fascinated by things from long ago and far away. i forgot to mention that we had high tea earlier. could be a dangerous habit to get into on a daily basis. i have a new appreciation for scones.

since this was a totally spontaneous excursion, we hadn't booked a hotel and we thought we'd better buy a book on bed and breakfast inns for a reference. leave it to gary, he found us a wonderful place and got us there in the dark. he is amazing with a map, i am continually impressed by his ability. one thing unique to england is their way of wording things. for example, we were on these small country roads and we saw a sign that said "failed road". what, exactly does that mean? we don't know. it sounded ominous but got us where we needed to be. the place dated back to the 16th century, a real find. we took a short walk through the area next morning and i'm pretty sure i saw my dream house! hard to believe london is part of the same country. we spent sunday driving through the rolling hills, wondering if it could be any greener. the english countryside is magnificent and i did see my first castle along the way. well, what was left of it anyway. there it was, a 13th century castle surrounded by a group of kids eating lunch and a woman sitting on a blanket talking on her cell phone. interesting picture.

we stopped at henley on thames, a rather popular tourist spot, for lunch. a lovely little town, right on the thames river. now these english pubs are hit and miss in terms of food. this one was nothing to rave about except for the local mates drinking the day away. i'm not talking the low brow type, but the guys in ties sipping white wine. they were very entertaining and you just know they're there every sunday doing the very same thing. gary was chatting with one of them and all of a sudden the guy was rambling on about the politics of britain. time to go, and i gave gary a quick pinch as a hint to move on. didn't really want to go there, know what i mean?

so onto another charming town off the beaten path to spend the night. we arrived at our b&b during daylight and had time for a walk up to the ridge. perfect walking weather sans the altitude. i feel alot more in shape when i walk these days. the town of bledlow, where we were, has two attractions, a church and a 16th century pub, where we had a suprisingly good dinner. it was quiet, scenic, and just what we wanted. it was great to have the option of getting out of the city for 2 days; i've forgotten how invigorating it can be. i told gary i think i could live in england, no problem. he assured me that the winters are horrible but i haven't seen any evidence of it so far. who knew we would have to go to england, which has its share of dreary weather, to see the sun! big surprise- when i got back to amsterdam today it was warm and sunny. maybe spring is here......?

i am now delirious and must go to bed. i hope this makes sense as i've been fighting sleep for the last several paragraphs. by the way, gary is still in england but with any luck he will be home wednesday. our furniture and clothes have made it so its really starting to feel like home, at least for now.

cheers,

with love and write soon,

deb