Hello from Horsham

There is a sheep on my desk.   He's very cute and  his name is apparently Lord Sussex  (Minty to his friends).  Lord Sussex guards the door to our room at the South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, England, should we not want to be disturbed.  He has become great friends with Frank Sinatrat and Lionel Messi, two stuffed creatures who made the trip with me as stowaways.  My daughter Kelly and her wonderfully fey friend Anne-Geri started the flat stanley variant with these two dudes when Frankie got left behind in Tennessee on one of Kelly's visit, and Lionel found his way to San Diego somehow.  It's diverting.  They each have their own page on Facebook... Frankie and Lionel, I mean... though the girls do as well, I believe.

Those who know me know I hate the process of travel.  I like being in other places, I just abhor what one must do to get there.  Here are a few observations, born of my 18 hour trek from Tullahoma to Worsham.

   1.   It's the pits living an hour and a half from the airport.  I grew up in the suburbs of  Detroit, and spent most of my life not 15 minutes from the airport.  I took it for granted.  What a dope.  Living in Tullahoma means that every trip begins with a trip.

   2.  American Eagle mega-sucks.  People were not meant to be shipped like parcels. (Actually, packages are treated with more care and respect than American Eagle passengers.)   If we are going to be treated like baggage, we should be charged as baggage.  Fortunately, the flight from Nashville to Chicago was under 1.5 hours. Even so, it was bruising.

   3.  The flight from Chicago to Heathrow lasted almost seven hours.  The seats were comfortable and conformable to the average human body.  Didn't help ME much, but most aboard seemed to have no trouble fully reclining and nodding off.   I couldn't manage it, so decided to play with my Nintendo and/or read.  All was well until they turned off the lights.  No probs- MOVIE TIME!    Except... the "entertainment" system had gone belly up.  Seven hours is a long time to be sleepless and diversionless in a chair traveling 30,000 feet in the air at 700 mph... all you are left to do is dwell on the fact that YOU ARE IN A CHAIR TRAVELING 30,000 FEET IN THE AIR AT 700mph!! 

4.  Deplaning at 6:30 AM UK time (while you are still on 12:30 am CST) is bad enough but at Heathrow, you are then treated to a mile forced march to baggage claim and customs, followed by a half-mile trek to the exit.

Now the good news:
We were met by a chaffeur and driven to Horsham in a Mercedes. Such luxury.

We were deposited here.

Don't you just hate roughing it?  The South Lodge Hotel, Lower Beeding, Nr Horsham, West Sussex sits on 96 acres with spectacular gardens renown for its camellias.  The largest and oldest Camellia in England is said to reside here.  December, of course, is not the best time to enjoy the garden, but the hotel itself is a treat.  It's an old manor house with fantastic woodwork and plastering and is everything you expect from British luxury from everything you have seen on the BBC.    The restaurant is named for the famous Camellias.  the South Lodge is considered a "small" hotel because it only has 45 rooms to let. Imagine owning a house with 45 bedrooms- it must have been wonderful being rich.  (What do I mean "must have been"? )

We had a lovely breakfast, tucked in for a nap, and then joined the Cubic contingent in the bar for a wee drinkie and then repaired to the dining room for an  amazing meal.  So much for day one.

Day two, Dave went off with the Cubes and I gave in to jet lag.  When I awoke, it was 3 in the afternoon.  The bed and pillows here are just wonderful.  I haven't slept this comfortably in years.  I had a lovely dinner (alone) in the room as Dave is here on business, after all.  I picked a good day to doze, though, as it rained heavily all day and I left me Wellies at home.

England is such a lovely place.  I wish you all were here.  The OLM is definitely going to have to plan an excursion to London soon, while we all can still walk :)

Off for a Pimm's cup.  Ta ta!