Musings from the Midlands--Sabbatical 2013 at the University of Warwick, UK

Where to start?  Don't know.  How to start?  Don't know.  When to start?  Now.

Henry and I arrived safely at Heathrow early Friday morning, on August 2, 2013, or as "they" say just about everywhere except the U.S., 2 August 2013.  The plane ride was comfortably smooth.  Indeed, as we were moving along above the clouds, it felt as if we were on a long-haul train, without the extra noise of a train, but with big, poofy clouds as the scenery we were passing. 

With Henry as the designated driver and me as the designated navigator (with help from a British speaking GPS), we made it all the way to the University of Warwick on the wrong side of the street.  When Henry went to pick up the rented car while I stood guard over the 5 pieces of luggage (yes, 3 were mine), he went to the "right" side of the car, only to see the steering wheel on the other "right" side of the car.  The delay on the GPS, slight though it was, was sometimes too long to permit pinpoint turns at all the directed locations, especially in the many roundabouts (both small and very large (with as many as 6 exits and the same number of entrances)) and with too much information provided on each road sign.  By the time I could read through the listed route names and numbers, we'd be past the proper turn!  No big deal that we ended up going about 15 miles toward London (east) before we managed to proceed in the northwest direction toward Coventry and Birmingham.  The important thing was that we neither caused any accidents nor broke any driving laws that we know of!

The British are a bit schizophrenic about this right and left business.  Yes, the driver's side is on the right, rather than the left side of the car, but they drive on the left side of the street.  Sorry, no right turns on red in this country.  While walking, people do not seem to follow the same rules as cars.  It would make sense that pedestrians walking in one direction would have others walking in the opposite direction pass them on their respective right shoulders.  So far, I have not found that to be the case with any consistency at all.  However, in a two-floor Walmart-like store called Wilkinson, I did find the up and down escalators to be situated like the roads.  And, interestingly, the flushing mechanisms on toilets are on the right, rather than the left, side of the tank.  However, just to make things a bit more confusing, the toilet tank in our flat is "AC/DC" in that holes are available for setting the flushing mechanism on the right or left side.  As a result, when my eye catches the silver colored circular hole plug on the left, I instinctively move toward the left to flush.

While the British have made some attempt to reconcile themselves to metric units (certainly much more so than in the U.S.), they still have their "pounds" rather than euros and sometimes "pounds" rather than kilograms.  Actually, the grocery stores in which we have been often list both pounds and grams for fresh, open stock produce, but they do it haphazardly--grams for this item, pounds for that.  They are also inconsistent at the gasoline pump--the listed prices are per liter (or rather, "litre"), but the measurements in the car, as well as on highway signs, are in miles and miles per gallon.  Go figure.

We're not learning a totally new language here, but sometimes we could use some subtitles while trying to understand what the Brits are saying.  Bubbles, like the ones in cartoons, would also help.  It's the accent that's more of a problem than the words or expressions themselves.  But, here are some new ones for us--While driving from Heathrow to the West Midlands, we passed a highway sign that read, "Congestion Use Hard Shoulder".  Presumably, drivers should make use of the shoulder when the highway is busy.  No one was using it while we were on the road.  Several years ago, while in San Diego, my father, a New Yorker, was pulled over by the Highway Patrol for doing just what the British sign invites its drivers to do.  He managed to avoid getting a ticket when he explained to the officer that this is what New York drivers do when there is a lot of traffic (I've seen this in practice in New York, but I've never seen a formal invitation to do so there!)  The university offers an exercise class at the sports facility called "legs, bums & tums" (I might just have to try that one!).  When I signed up for a gym membership, I was required to attend an "induction" at which one of the staff members reviewed how to work the various pieces of gym equipment.  By the way, this university sport "centre" is so connected that one can not only watch television while on the treadmills, but one can also use Facebook, Google, and otherwise surf the net!  I have enough trouble just walking and chewing gum at the same time.  Besides, I thought exercise was a way to clear one's brain, not muddle it up!  And speaking of muddle, I played tennis this morning (indoors, in the middle of the summer, and it wasn't even raining!) with a weekly tennis program called "Fit for 50's".  When the tennis pro wanted everyone to switch partners and opponents, she announced, "Let's 'muddle' it up!"  With their fine British accents fit for Wimbledon, the players announced the score as "deeuce" and "advontage".  Later on in the day, assisting us with getting a few more items for our university "flat", the housing coordinators were able to "scrump" ("steal") some pieces of furniture, including a "grotty" ("grody") coffee table for the "lounge" ("living room" (small though ours is)).  Since rain is such a staple here, I am surprised I haven't heard more names for rain, just as the Eskimos have 50 or so names for snow.  After I responded to one of the tennis players' question about San Diego weather, he said, "We have very consistent weather as well.  It's rain, then rain, then rain, then rain".

Far more fascinating to me than these words and expressions is the lack of any requirement to sign a "waiver of liability" at either the sport centre or the tennis centre.  The staff at the tennis centre simply accepted my payment for the clinic. The sport centre was rather more formal.  I had to read and sign what they called a "Warwick Lifestyle Health Commitment Statement".  It was so polite and unlike what one would be required to sign in the U.S.  It began:  "As an individual you are responsible for your health.  The management and team within this organisation are committed to helping you use every opportunity to enjoy the facilities that we offer our customers.  With this in mind, we have carefully considered what we can reasonably expect of each other."  It then proceeded with "our commitment to you", followed by "your commitment to us", and added, "This statement is for guidance only.  It is not a legally binding agreement between you and us and does not create any obligation which you or we must meet."  Much more civilised (definitely appropriate to use British spelling here, as this concept is so un-American) than the American waiver, which has one sign away rights that cannot be waived in many states, even with a signed waiver.  After listing a set of rules concerning "Warwick Lifestyle Etiquette", the signer of the form declares:

·         "I wish to participate in activities within Warwick Lifestyle Facilities."

·         "I agree to abide by the Warwick Lifestyle Rules of Use which I have read."

I gladly signed the form.  As my sister, Judi, knows all too well, I regularly make changes in the waiver forms we are required to sign when we go skiing together.  I prefer not waiving my right to sue for the negligent or wrongful acts or omissions of the ski area owners and operators.  Sometimes the changes get noticed, sometimes not.

By now, you are probably wondering what happened to the pictures.  I'm still getting used to my new camera, but here goes:

Coventry--The University of Warwick is located in the city of Coventry, not the city of Warwick. We've made several trips to Coventry on the bus, mostly to "get sorted" (British expression) with a British bank account.  No success on that yet, but we're closer.  More on that later. Coventry is known for it's bombed out St. Michael's Cathedral:

In November 1940, the Luftwaffe took care of the entire Cathedral except for the spire. A couple of additional Coventry highlights:

Actually, Coventry has some very pretty sections, with a number of pedestrian only areas and lots of colorful flowers and narrow, cobbled streets.

The day after we arrived, Henry arranged for dinner at a Michelin one-star restaurant (Mallory Court Hotel) near Leammington Spa.  The setting, the ambiance, the service, and the food were outstanding, a far cry from the boring, bland food for which the Brits are stereotypically known.

Before we returned the rental car, Henry picked out another restaurant from the Michelin Red Guide, which happened to be in a town called Bridgnorth (no, not Northbridge), in Shropshire. He chose the restaurant without considering what the town or the surrounding countryside would be like. It turned out that, before we took off on this rainy day, Henry neglected to check to make sure the restaurant was open.  Nevertheless, and indeed, part of the fun, was exploring away from the main highways and ending up in this cute, medieval town, with castle ruins, a lovely castle garden, and a "high town" and "low town" connected by a funicular. We ended up having "pies and a pint" at the White Lion, a local pub dating back to the 1640's. It felt surreal sitting in the pub, as this is "home" for the next four months!

Now that we no longer have the rental car, we are far less mobile, but the walk from our flat to the main part of the campus includes a lovely stroll through a wooded area, and the campus itself has some very attractive landscaping.