Letters From London: Viewing the Fourth from London

It has been very interesting to, once again, experience the 4^th of July in the country from whom we (Americans) fought and won our independence. It is a slightly touchy subject, in that, the War of Independence is never mentioned. However, the Brits are very aware that the 4^th of July is a special and important day for us. We both worked hard in the temple on that day and pretended that nothing was happening at home. Except, President Johnson (our temple president) did bring a large box of Salt Water Taffy, made in Salt Lake City to the canteen (cafeteria) for us Americans to enjoy. Thank you Pres. Johnson!

But, we did experience the fourth through facebook. We enjoyed watching the small videos and looking at all the pictures of many celebrations, picnics, swimming pools, fireworks and family gatherings. Facebook has been a lifesaver to us missionaries who are living far from home. The Lord knew He would need great armies of young and old to carry forward His work, so He had someone invent the computer, along with e-mails, and facebook, twitter, and blogs, etc.

I have found that I have to get up early in the morning to use this laptop to write my blog. Niel can be found sitting at his computer from the time we finish our temple shift to whenever he decides to go to bed, which is usually quite late.

For him, it’s almost like being home and at his office, doing what he knows best. I guess it’s a “comfort” thing for him. Therefore, I find it hard to get our blog done in a timely manner, sorry.

We did take a quick trip to a small town called, Westerham (pronounced: Westrhm). We went there to see a statue that was given to England for their aid in WWII by the country of Yugoslavia. I thought it was a very well done piece of sculpture.

We also visited the local church (Church of England), which was very old. The graveyard was the best we’ve seen.

The weather has indeed turned to summer here, which means it is warm and humid. I actually had sweat dripping off the end of my nose, as we were the coordinators in the Baptistry last week. They have no A/C in that area of the temple and for some reason the room which holds the large font is stifling and extremely humid. Sadly, humidity and I don’t mix. I remember my boys describing their humid days on their missions and how soaking wet they were most of the time. I can relate to that too. I must say that we had more than usual attendance at the Baptistry, so we kept busy and I had Niel carry around a face towel to dry off with. I had one stashed away too. It helped.

This “prep” day, we ventured back to Chartwell for one last visit. That is one place I will forever miss. It was owned by the Winston Churchill family, and is now part of the English National Trust. The gardens and surrounding fields etc. are a delight to visit. Today we wanted to see the kitchen gardens and just walk around the estate. We visited a WWII bomb crater too. The pictures we took just don’t do it justice. Glad we decided to go there and experience good old Winston’s lodgings and gardens one last time.

Sister missionaries on P-Day

Black swan

Bomb crater (missed by a mile!)

Art Studio at Chartwell

2 Beauties at Chartwell Gardens

Mrs. Churchill's flower and vegetable garden

An old field maple at the end of it's life

Standing alone in beauty

What the fox missed

Lone fisherman at Chartwell

There is Beauty All Around!

We were told to also visit the local museum and found it to be full of all kinds of things. Someone had done a good job of collecting it all. Loved it.

Mom and the Littlefield's visit the Horsham Town Museum

We are trying to put together a trip to the “Cotswolds” soon. So plan on lots of beautiful pictures. It is a pristine part of the country (right in the middle) that has been kept as it was in the 1700 and 1800’s. Something to look forward to.

Hope July is going to be a great, if not sweltering hot, month. Everyone, take care and stay as cool and possible.