Since I have been in London, I've joined a bible study at HTB, my church here. They are called Pastorates, since a pastor heads each one. Our pastor, Jamie, is
my age as are most of the members. The theme of the weekend was Kingdoms and Jesus as the Supreme Ruler. The group is so fun, and very diverse. We have members from Australia, South Africa, China, and the States... and England of course! This weekend, we all headed out to the country near Basingstoke, southern England close to the coast, for a holiday in nature with Jesus. Here in the city, we don't get much "nature" time, so seeing the rolling farmlands, trees, and being able to play "football" and cricket just out on the lawn was really enjoyable. We definitely took advantage of the good weather, too! Both days were sunny and warm.
I showed up to the place we would stay thinking that English camping meant staying in a small cottage, and it was a MANOR home of the Coleman's Mustard family! Absolutely beautiful, and it was surrounded by rolling fields with sheep and forest. The Earl and his wife stay on the other side of the house, and our church uses the rest for retreats and such. It is called the Malshanger House.
On Saturday I woke up early and went for a 4 mile run, stopping along the road to enjoy the view. There are entire fields of this bright yellow flower, and from afar it looks like a field of sunshine/lake of BRIGHT yellow water. I've never seen anything like it! It is a weed that spreads over entire fields of grass. The English seem to find it annoying, but I thought it was beautiful.
We had breakfast, did a crossword (found out that a stinging plant is a "nettle"! It's a British thing) and tossed around my nerf "American Football", then had a bible study session and some worship time. The afternoon was full of games outside. They taught me how to play Cricket! As I was the only American, the rest already knew how to play.
We wandered back behind the Manor and found a tire swing and a rope ladder leading up a willowy,
thick tree. I climbed up and immediately regretted it as I hate feeling like I'm going to fall! We made it back down safely and continued through the forested area along the path until it circled back around. They pointed out the nettles to me- leaved plants with pointy ends that apparently really hurt. There is another plant that grows near it that eases the sting if you rub it over your skin. After going a lifetime without hearing the word "nettle" I probably heard it fifty times that day (and it was a little ironic it showed up in the crossword first). After a full day in the sun, we made what I now know to be Pimm's! It is so delicious. It has Pimm's liquor, lemonade, strawberries, cucumber,
oranges, mint leaves and a little bit of sugar. They explained to me that it is a British drink. (I feel that I've learned a lot about being British over the weekend!)
We took out the speakers to play some music, pulled some chairs onto the lawn, and had a few drinks and crisps for a proper afternoon snack!
We moved the music inside and cracked open some wine to make dinner. A feast of ravioli pasta, garlic bread, and salad with Plum Crumble had been pre-prepared for us and it was so good!
After a late meal, we settled in to the den for some games. We played murder- an alternative game to what most of you in America know- instead of
winking while you sit in a circle we would walk around the house and the murderer would come up and say, "Go die in the kitchen." Which made it even funnier! The rest of the "undead" would try to figure out who the killer was before they could kill everyone else. We also tapped into our inner-child and played a few games of hide and seek! It was the perfect house, we couldn't resist.
We woke up this morning, made breakfast, cleaned up and had one last session before heading back to London. This weekend has been so refreshing and fun- it has definitely been one of the nicest weekends I've had here thus far!
Til next time.. cheers mates!
Carly
Katie and Beth got to make the trip over the pond! I mainly worked on thesis crap, but they got to explore together. They bunked up here, so it was fun to get to have coffee and tea in the mornings and chat before they went out on adventures during the day. We went to the new musical Matilda and it was so fun! I thought the props, transitions, and lighting was especially cool. On their last night in town we went to dinner in Soho and then took a bottle of wine to the steps in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and watched the skyline and fountain. It was perfect! I am so glad they got to come and experience this fab city. 
