London Blog

Saturday, December 4, 2010

More November Pictures

England the first of November at the London Temple Grounds. The sun is shinning and you can see the beautiful fall colors. If you go to the temple now, the grounds are full of snow.

Elder Little in Kingston Market Place. They just opened the German Market and turned on the Christmas lights.

I thought this was a new statue they had put up in the shopping area of Kingston. But he was very much alive. I took his picture and he took his hat off for me to put money in the bucket below him.

Yes, that is beef hanging out in the middle of the outdoor market.

Elder Little at the London National Archives. Yes, he is cold and the pond is frozen over. We see the birds trying to walk on the ice. It is quite funny!

London - Bitterly Cold November

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Mission President's Home. President and Sister Shamo are really great people and very kind to the Sr. Missionaries

The down town Kingston Market place. During the Christmas season a German Market is here with all types of food, bread and items from all over the world.

The first of November a Day of Remembrance is set aside to honor all the Military Services. They show great respect for their service men and women. We could learn much from this.

Elder and Sister Little at the Wandsworth Common Stake Center where we attend church.

Well, we have been in the UK for over a year and last winter was the coldest in 30 years and this November is the coldest in 25 years. We woke up Monday morning with snow on the ground and -2. November as had its challenges and many rewards. First of all, Larry's tests came back showing that he has had a TIA, but is doing better with the medicine that they gave him. November is when the British people honor the soldiers that have been in previous wars and the war that is going on now. The first Sunday of the month is Rememberance Sunday. Every one wears poppies and they lay wreaths on the soldies graves . I watched a program on Saturday evening which was at the Royal Albert Hall. The music and words spoken were very touching as they honored all the Military Services of the UK. Queen Elizabeth attended the service. At the London National Archives we had 2 min of silence to honor them. Sunday at church before our Sunday school class the bishop said a few words and then there was 2 min of silence. We had Thanksgiving dinner at our mission President and Sister Shamo's home with all the Sr. Missionaries. We have a new group of Sr. Missionaries and they are really sharp. The Visitor Center at the London Temple is really doing well, plus they are going to re-due the Hyde Park Chapel in London for the 1012 Olympics. People in England really like doing genealogy and the London Family History Center at Hyde Park Chapel is busy. Our assignment at the London National Archives is going very well as we are 75% done. We are all pushing to be finished by the end of January 2011. We went to down town Kingston to see the Christmas lights and see the German Market and Craft Show. Today Saturday, we went to the Market Place to see the chocolate fair. We got to taste the samples of the different chocolates, the chocolate over here is wonderful. We are grateful for the opportunity we have had to serve in the London England South Mission. We have worked with wonderful Sr. Missionaries and as a team have been able to accomplish much. The people of London have been very helpful and the country is very beautiful and green.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

London Oct 2010

This is the Kingston Bridge with a Long Boat going under. People live on these boats all year. We see many along the River Thames in Kingston.

This is the village of Arundel. It is very quaint. The butcher shop had the meat in the window and the bakery had their bread in baskets.

As we were walking around the grounds of Arundel Castle, we saw this spider web in a tree. They have some big spiders.

This is a view of the old part of the castle. They have really kept this castle up. We walked to the top of the key and looked out over the valley. You can see that fall is beginning to come to England plus the cold weather.

The previous posting had Arundel Cast which is one of the longest inhabited country houses in England. The Earl that is living here now, moved his family in 1985. They have five children.

Oct in London

More from London

This plant was on the beach at Hastings.

Beautiful sunset at Hastings a beautiful beach town.

Note the beach is large pebble type rocks. You can't go barefoot on it but people have their beach chairs and were out flying kites. You can see the Roman influence. A top of the hill behind the building is ruins of a castle. I think there must be a castle in everyother town.

At the town of Battle we visited the site of the Battle of Hastings. Here people were dressed in period costumes and making food from that era.

This is the site where the battle was fought. Duke William of Normandy conquered the King of England and became the new King. He built an Abbey to honor those and the King Harold that had died in this great battle. To our delight there were wild blackberry bushes all along the grounds of the battle field. We all enjoyed them.

We received a letter from Jake's 2nd grade class and have had a visitor Flat Stanley. We have been showing him around London and the Kingston area. We took him into London on the underground tube and he saw the play "War Horse". We met all the London South Sr. Missionaries and went out to dinner, walked around the market place. Saw where they filmed My Fair Lady, and then headed for the play. Everyone enjoyed the outing and meeting all the new Sr. Missionaries. We have been here the longest. The other Sr. couples that were here when we came a year ago have gone home. Some served 2 years and other 18 months. They were all great missionaries.

Sept & Oct In London

Two boats waiting for the Teddington Locks to open up so they can continue on the River Thames

A small pleasure boat waiting for the lock to fill up.

You can see how low the boat gets in the lock waiting for the other side to open.

The Teddington locks are about 2 miles from our Kingston apartment. We walked down there an enjoyed watching the boats. It was a Bank Holiday so there were many people on bikes along the footpath.

Another view of the River Thames before we got to the locks. There are really a lot of boats that go up and down the river. Many people live on long boats the year-around.

Well, time flies when you are having fun! We can't believe that we have been on our mission for one year. We are in our last 6 months and sure it will go fast. The Sr. Missionaries at the London Archives have done a great job. We are 1/2 through our 2nd project. If we keep going it will been done by the end of February. We have been assured that the archives have more for us to do. Besides imaging pictures we have taken trips around Kingston and on the train to see the Arundel Castle. With all the rain we have been having once again England has become beautiful and green. But, with the days getting shorter we are also finding the weather is getting cold. It has been in the low 50's and when winds blows it is quite cold. We had a little bit of sunshine today and it is most welcomed. I have been working with Sister Anna Maire Carta in putting together the Wandsworth Common Relief Society Visiting Teaching program. We have tried to update all the records as it hasn't been done for about 2 years. We finally made some progress and handed over to the R.S. President the new list. We spend about a month working on it. Sister Carta is going to school and she would come to our apartment Sunday afternoon. She would spend about 1 1/2 hours traveling by bus to get here and then leave around 8:00 p.m. for another hour on the bus to get home. She is an amazing young sister and loves the gospel so much. She is very dedicated to her call. We have had fun working together. She made super for one Sunday evening and it was so good. She is from Italy the Island of Saldana.