Banner Adventures No.1

We got down to Oswego to stay with friends the night before our plane to
England. We hadn't seen these folks in several years and it was sweet
re-connecting. Oswego is a really far west suburb of Chicago, some 46 miles
to downtown, yet people do make the commute. We had a great dinner and good
conversation with them, and our friend Chuck took us to O’Hare the nest day.
We got on the plane (only half full; can you believe it?)...we were feeling
very thankful. We might actually get some sleep!(smile)

Ah, twas not to be! There was a mechanical problem and we had a five hour
delay while they towed that plane out and wheeled in a replacement. So, our
4:18PM flight actually left at 9:30PM! But we still had thankful hearts! In
our new plane they didn't add new passengers and each of us got to spread
out and actually got 4-5 hours of sleep! Boy, does that make a difference!

We arrived in London about 10:30AM local time, met my oldest son after a
tube (subway) ride and we took off on a train for a 3 hour ride to Exeter
where Earl (my 36 year old) and his younger sis Katelyn (age 25 tomorrow!)
are attending the University of Exeter, she in Critical Global Politics (an
MA) and he in Classics (a PhD). We stayed at Katelyn's flat last night, got
a good nights sleep and no jet lag...hooray! Then, today, we took a bus to
Chagford (a 20 mile bus ride that took one hour....the roads are basically
one lane, and, if a car comes the other direction, everyone stops and the one
closest to a wider spot in the road goes back to that spot and lets the
other one through...amazing!). Chagford is a small village in the west of
England in a county called Devon. We got to our cottage where we will stay
for 3 weeks; it is utterly charming and our hosts are wonderful people. We
are so blessed! It even has WIFI!!!(SMILE) We has a great local veggie
dinner and will go to bed early. This area is called the Moors; green, hilly
and very old (like the Driftless, no glacier moved across the
land......gorgeous)!

More soon....Love, David




Banner Adventure No. 2

To pick up from last time, we are here in windy, cold, beautiful Devon,
England to celebrate the birthdays of Katelyn (25), Earl (36), and Katya
(34), all within two weeks of each other. Yesterday, we cooked a great
dinner for Katelyn and toasted her well-being. Then the next day we walked
over to Katya and Earl's place (about 1/2 hour walk from here) and had a
delicious feast to celebrate Katya's return home from Jamaica where hse was
teaching pottery to some indigenous Jamaicans as sponsored by her university
THE PRINCE'S SCHOOL OF TRADITIONAL ARTS (yes, Prince Charles). Her PhD
program is in Sacred Geometry and she uses it to produce the most amazing
pottery.

The next day we walked into the town of Chagford, an utterly charming town
of 2000, about an hours walk from the charming cottage where we are
staying. We did some shopping; organic foods are plentiful over here. There
is a great little coffee shop, a baker, a deli, a grocery store, a fish and
meat shop, etc....quite lovely. BTW, our hosts are wonderful people and they
have gone on vacation for 4 days and have given us the run of their home as
well as our cottage....what sweet and trusting people!The landscape here is
breathtaking. hilly, and verdant'.... a horse is chomping grass outside the
window........


More later....DB


Banner Adventures No. 3

We have now finished 6 days in England...what a ride! Weather-wise, it has
been wet, cold and rainy...all of a sudden, sunny and warm...70 degrees
today! We walked into our nearest town , Chagford yesterday and the day
before...it is approx. 4-5 miles of up and down hills, bigger hills that the
Driftless. My calves are very sore!!These roads are hysterical...one lane!
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, not only do you have to remember to
drive on the left side of the road but, there is hardly any road at all!
Tomorrow, i pick up the rental car in Exeter (1 1/2 hours away) so that
should be interesting. Earl (my son) and his darling wife, Katya, live about
two miles from here on the way to Chagford; we have been having l  late night
dinners with them…..starting at 9PM....very European. The food is good and
local; veggies and meats all organic. In Europe, they are really hip to
pesticides and GMO products (which have been banned).They have a wonderful
organic restaurant and grocery in Chagford, where I have enjoyed a fine
cappucino.

Chagford, like Viroqua, is small and progressive. They have the necessities;
bank, restaurants, hardware store, grocery, veggie shop, deli, dairy store
(WITH ORGANIC MILK AND CHEESE). The people are super friendly. Today I went
for a long hike up to a megalithic stone circle called Scorhill...on the way,
I saw a fine Englishman who had a story; he had been an investment banker in
London, saw the crash coming, and moved to Devon where he builds custom
furniture...sound familiar? I also walked up the Kest Tor, a huge rock
formation thousands of years old. This place is so beautiful.

Tomorrow the contingents from all over the world start arriving! Katya's
brother Kira, age 24, arrives tomorrow afternoon from Moscow, Russia, my son
Chris comes tomorrow night from Chicago, and Katya's parents come on
Saturday from Veronezh, Russia.....we are going from quiet and mellow to
boisterous!

More later, David

 

Banner Adventures No. 4

We picked up Kira at the train station on time and then went to rent a car for Diane and I for two weeks; we will need two cars (Katya’s and our) just to drive 9 people around! I am quickly getting used to driving  on the “wrong” side of the road! We stayed in Exeter and picked up my middle son, Chris also on time. Chris and Kira, despite the age difference (33 and 23), liked each other right away (An Enneagram aside; they are both 9’s!) Chris wanted to stay at Katelyn’s place in Exeter to hang out with his sis.We drove back to Chagford and to our respective house, then had a delicious veggie dinner cooked by my son Earl….topped off by a stunning rhubarb pie! We are eating well, that is for sure. Saturday  night, at around 9 PM, The Nosyrevs (Katya’s parents from Russia, Misha and Lena) arrived and we all stayed up very late catching up , laughing and loving being together. Sunday, we went into Exeter again, met Katelyn and Chris for lunch at a traditional English pub, walked around the “uni” (University of Exeter where both Katelyn and Earl go to school(, then walked around the old Norman and Roman walls near the uni…these walls were build in stages….Roman, Saxons and then Normans….we in the USA are SO young!

After returning to Chagford w/o Katelyn (she had to work at her bartending job), we all stayed up late again with the Nosyrevs playing Trivial Pursuit , eating great veggie fare cooked by Katya and Earl, and laughing a lot! We REALLY enjoy the Nosyrevs and they us, apparently.

Monday morning, we are going to drive into Chagford and pick up Katelyn at the noon bus………then we will al be together, all nine of us! Who knows what will happen next? There is talk of the Nosyrevs buying Katya a new car (hers has been in two wrecks and has a lot of miles on it) or maybe go to Cornwall. Stay tuned!

 

Love, David

 

Banner Adventures No. 5

 

Well, we are all together now...all 9 of us! The Nosyrevs from Russia (Misha,, Lena, Kira and Katya) and the Banners from the USA (David, Diane, Earl, Chris and Katelyn). This is the first time in 10+ years that all the Banners were in one geographic area and we are loving it! Our three kids just adore each other so it is very sweet. Yesterday was Katya's 33rd birthday so we took her out to dinner at Riverford Field Kitchen, a wonderful organic farm about an hours drive from our home here.(Note: Riverford is a huge organic farm and they sell veggies to London, some 200 miles from here; this is an operation on the scale of Organic Valley). We took the scenic route, over the moor (which is a huge area of rolling hills, many sheep and rams, horses and a wild, unspoiled look). I am doing a lot of driving these days and, believe it or not, am getting used to driving on the left side of the road. Lots of the roads in the moor are one lane, as I mentioned in an earlier post, and accidents are common coming round the curves ...yesterday we almost had one! A young couple was coming around a curve pretty fast, I saw him, we both slammed on our brakes and just barely averted a head-on collision!)That will pucker you up pretty good!(smile)

 

We all like the Nosyrevs very much and think they might be coming to Wisconsin someday soon. This morning, Katelyn went back to Exeter (one hour away where she needs to do some school work) and Kira returned to Moscow , where he is supervising a festival there....he is a theater management major of the Russian Academy of Arts and he would love to come stay with us and do an internship at APT or the Commonweal...I will see if I can't set that up for him).So, we are down to 7 of us!!! Today is windy and cold again so I think down-time is called for.

 

Love, David

 

Banner Adventures No. 6

 

Well, things are slowing down a bit now. Yesterday, the elder Nosyrevs left for Russia, preceded by their young son Kira in the morning. Then, Katelyn took the 10 AM bus from Chagford to Exeter so she could work at her bartending job at the Sorry Head Free House. So, now we are down to 5 of us; Katya and Earl, Diane and I, and my youngest son Chris from Chicago. Chris has been a real joy (he is an unflappable “9”!) but he has been a bit distracted because his long time girl friend Sophie’s mom is quite ill. She has rheumatoid vasculitis and is on a lot of steroids and other stuff. She is younger than both Diane or I, but in much poorer health, Sophie, being an only child, is quite concerned. So, today is Friday the 16th and Chris goes back on Monday to Chicago. They are uncertain about the future; they may have to put her mom, Mary, into assisted living in Austin, where she lives. This would entail Chris and Sophie moving down there to care for her. We will see how this all works.

Since we have slowed down a bit from the late dinners and constant partying with the Nosyrevs,  Earl , Katya, Chris and I went on a long walk into the moor yesterday (probably 4-5 miles) and saw two incredible stone circles from Neolithic times (estimated to be 4-5,000 years old). Diane wanted to stay behind and make us all a beautiful organic veggie dinner…which we all heartily consumed! Today, Diane and I drove over to a wonderful ,elegant inn called Gidleigh Park Hotel (incredible grounds, manicured with wonderful gardens)…just stunning but way out of our budget; the afternoon tea is 30 pounds per person ((about $120. for both of us)! So, we walked around and took a bunch of pictures. A quiet night at home tonight to give the children a break from us adults!

Love, David

 

Banner Adventure No. 7

 

Yesterday, our son Chris returned to the states; he had a horrendous 5 hour layover in Toronto and he hopefully slept. I had to get up at 5:30Am to drive him to the train in time so a nap was in order! Last night, we had dinner with Earl and Katya. Earl is an excellent cook; he made fennel au gratin and a wonderful broccoli quiche. He whipped it up, literally in 15 minutes! Delicious! Then we watched an animated movie from a French animator called THE ILLUSIONIST. It was superb! However, another night going to bed at 1AM is taking its toll!(smile). Today will be easy; some sightseeing and lazing around.

 

We are getting together our travel plans. We leave Exeter on the 25th, fly to Denmark to see our dear friends David Mogensen and Leigh Jardine and return on the 29th(The day of the royal wedding). We got the last motel room, near Heathrow airport. Then, we fly to the USA on the 30th, arriving in Chicago at 3:45PM local time. We have some wonderful friends who are picking us up then and, after a good night’s sleep, we hope to get back up to Viroqua on the 1st. See you all then.

 

Love, David

 

Banner Adventures No. 8

Yesterday, as our time here in SW England draws to a close, we went on a short drive outside of Chagford to the” newest castle” in England…an early 2oth century castle built by a rich guy for is family…it has been turned into a tourist attraction now and is quite impressive in its huge stone grandeur and its lovely, manicured English gardens. Prior to that trip, we took Katelyn to the bus at Chagford at 3PM; she had to work that night. Last night, we watched a Russian film given to us by Earl and Katya called THE ISLAND….a dark, brooding film much like the land of Russia itself. Brilliantly executed and haunting in its effect, it tells the story of a Russian soldier, captured by the Germans in 1942, and made to shoot his friend so his life would be spared. This he does, ad lives for the next 40 years with tremendous guilt. Finally, one day (he now is a Russian Orthodox priest), he is asked to help a young woman who is apparently insane. He sees it differently; he sees her as being possessed by a demon and he exorcises it. In gratitude, the father of the young woman begins to talk to him, and, lo and behold, the father is his old friend who he had to shoot in 1942 (it was only a flesh wound to his arm). The burden of guilt is lifted and the old man is now free to die in peace.

This morning, we awoke to no electricity; they were working on it up the road with the utility. A harbinger of time to come? It came back on at noon and both of us realized how much we depend on electricity for our living experiences. A good lesson. We had a late lunch with Earl and Katya and I did a SKYPE session with my Integrity Circle group. It is a radiantly sunny and warm here now; I am guessing 80 degrees!!!

Love, David

 

 

Banner Adventures No. 9

 

On the 25th, we flew to Billund, Denmark to be with our friends Leigh Jardine and David Mogensen. David and his young son stayed with us for three months two years ago when he was trying to get a work permit (which didn’t happen). They are lovely people and Leigh, especially wanted us to visit….she is learning Danish but is still feeling quite socially isolated. Anyway, we got to Stansted airport by bus form London and checked in. Ryan Air, which is a so-called discount airline, is the way to get to Billund, which is a small regional airport far from Copenhagen. Anyway, we get there and they charged us 50 pounds each for our one bag to be checked (you are allowed ONE carry on bag of no more that 10 kilos) plus (get this!) they charged us 35 pounds each for our boarding passes……that is 150 pounds extra (around $280.) we got dinged! Turns out, that we could have lowered (but not eliminated) the fees by doing everything on line before the flight. Ah, well…live and learn! They advertised as the “low fare airline” and that is technically true…but, with all their extras, it ain’t cheap!

 

Anyway, David picked us up at the airport and we had a thrilling 4 days with the two of them! We hiked beautiful nature trails , walked along the river, saw David’s art studio (he is an accomplished artist), had dinner with David’s father Parashuta and his former partner Vishram (they are both ex-Rajneeshies from Oregon for those who remember that cult). Lovely people; we had a very spirited conversation about economics, politics and, yes, spirituality. We shopped at a resale shop where Leigh works, saw her school where she is learning Danish three times a week, and ate great organic food. Denmark has banned GMOs and you can find good food, coffee, etc. very easily. After our time there, we few back to England form Billund to Stansted (another drame with Ryanir; we had the bag to check but it was over 15 kilos so we had to stuff things from that bag into the other bag plus the two carry- ons to make all the weight limits; fortunately, we had a benevolent gal at the desk and she clued us in on how to do it. Otherwise, they would have dinged us for another 100 pounds!!!!(about $180.) We got on the plane, landed at Stansted and got on the bus from Stansted to Heathrow….getting there at 4PM. After a short nap, we got a cab to Ingrid’s.

 

 

Banner Adventures No.10

On out last night in England, April 29th (the day of the famous wedding!), we had dinner with one of Diane’s friends from the One Spirit Interfaith Ministry, Ingrid Scott. Ingrid is a very expansive, loving woman and she treated us royally (forgive the pun!). We had a scrumptious dinner with her and some of her friends then we watched re-runs of the wedding fol-der-ol. Ingrid is a wonderful., spiritually-awake, giving person and we really enjoyed her company.  We stayed at a motel near Heathrow. The next day, we took a flight from Heathrow to Chicago, got picked up by our friend from Oswego, spent the night with them, and drove back to Viroqua the next day, getting home on May 2nd. What a glorious time we had!!!

THE END