Unbeknownst to me, my ties with England began some 20 years ago.
Let me stop right here and give a little background information to you all.
Picture this, the year was 2004 and my high school class had decided to take a senior trip to England.
Our trip was a lovely experience, and my first time out of the United States, so a very memorable time in my young life.
During our weeklong stay, we were mostly stationed in London, Stratford, and Oxford where we did all the main “touristy” things. We enjoyed spicy curries, traditional fish and chips, tea and scones, and some of the most delicious chocolates, breads, and sharp, white cheddar cheeses I had ever had!
Of all the treats, the hot tea and scones were my personal favorite.
You see, I am from the south, where we like our southern sweet tea, but my mom is from the North, so I had already learned to appreciate a “cuppa” hot tea from an early age. For those of you unfamiliar with a “cuppa” that is English slang for a hot black tea with milk and sugar. Delish! If you have not ever had the pleasure of trying a cuppa, go make a cup of hot tea right now. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Now if you really want to be posh, try adding a fresh English scone to the hot tea sipping experience…now that…that will tip it over the edge.
As a young woman, it was such a fancy, fine treat and a lovely experience to drink proper tea, poured from a proper tea pot, into a proper teacup. All the while, immersing myself in the English culture and beautiful English countryside. That was a dining experience, that was… and still is, hard to top in my opinion.
As we walked about the streets, my friends and I all appreciated the red phone boxes and letter boxes as well as the many double-decker buses and black cabs. Of course, we enjoyed seeing the iconic sites like Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the crown jewels, Shakespeare’s home, and Oxford University- to name but a few.
The history and age of the homes and buildings was mind boggling to American students. We thought a building of one hundred and fifty years was very old. We had no idea. Our idea of age was shattered, and our minds broadened, to the vast size and scale of the world.
~An Oxford Beginning~
When we visited Oxford University, we admired the peaceful, stone streets and beautiful ancient architecture. I loved seeing all the bicycles lined up on the streets and I remember wandering about in awe of the city’s beauty. As I walked in wonder, I suddenly spotted in the corner of my eye, a tree with pink flowers, and behind the pink buds was an old building with a unique twisted column that caught my eye. A proper barley twist building. I instinctively snapped a photograph and kept moving so as not to get separated from our group.
When I returned home to America, I almost immediately had this photograph of the proper barley twist building and lovely pink, flowering tree developed and printed. I just loved it that much. Whatever it was about this spot I may never know, but I know it captured my imagination, and unbeknownst to me then, “called” me back to it, at a later time in my life.
I loved the photograph so much that I framed the picture and brought it with me wherever I lived after our trip to England (my parent’s home, my college apartment(s), and my first teaching job.) It was always framed, and always on my bedroom wall beside me.
~An Oxford Revisit~
Fast forward ten years later to 2014, my now English husband, Craig, and I were dating, and I made a second trip over to England to see him and meet his family for the first time. I mentioned this photograph and we thought it would be fun to try and find the same spot. So, we planned our route, photograph in hand-and after a fair amount of searching-we finally found it! The spot…the enchanting spot.
A little different angle, a different tour guide, a different season, and a whole decade later … But sure enough, the very same spot. At the time (in 2004), I never could have imagined that ten years later, in 2014, I would find my way back to it! And even more amazing, was the fact that another three years later (2017), my Englishman Craig and I were married and living just an hour away from Oxford University- about to give birth to our first precious daughter…in-you guessed it-Oxford, England!
Life is surely an adventure! I wish I had written a note back in 2004 and hidden it to see if it was still there on my second visit in 2014 -now that would have been an awesome story to tell! (And while I didn’t leave a note there…I have left a few hidden notes in England, Wales, and America, but then that is another blog post!)
After we took the second photograph of my special Oxford spot, we went into a little, ancient café (small doors, short ceilings and charming, ripple glass windows). We had a lovely table in the upstairs portion of the café and enjoyed a lovely cuppa and scones with clotted cream.
It was the perfect ending to a perfect, fairy tale day. But also, the beginning of a wonderful story together.
*Photos Craig and I took on my second journey to Oxford and London.