Scotch Eggs And Whitby, Yorkshire, England -- For The Archives -- November 18, 2022

 

Of the thirty years and one day in the USAF, perhaps the most memorable was the time I spent in Yorkshire, England, between 2002 and 2004. 

But in all that time, I never came across Scotch eggs, and now, two days ago, I had my first Scotch eggs, in north Texas of all places. Wow. 

From wiki:

Other claims include the name coming from a nickname used by Londoners who lived around Wellington Barracks after Officers of the Scots Guards stationed there, and who developed a taste for the snack.

According to Culinary Delights of Yorkshire, they originated in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, in the 19th century, and were originally covered in fish paste rather than sausage meat. 

Wellington Barracks: 

Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards battalions on public duties in that area. The building is located about three hundred yards from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to reach the palace very quickly in an emergency, and lies between Birdcage Walk and Petty France. Three companies are based at the barracks, as well as all of the Foot Guards bands and the regimental headquarters.

Whitby, Yorkshire, England: wiki.

• one Saturday, I hiked the English coast from Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby;
• the Whitby Abbey
• St Hilda
• Easter
• Dracula
• jet: I got a "jet" cross for our daughter Laura; priceless; the memories;
• Its attraction as a tourist destination is enhanced by the proximity of the high ground of the North York Moors national park and the heritage coastline and by association with the horror novel Dracula. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.

Scotch eggs: link here.

• along with the "right" Scotch, my Saturday brunch
• Thirsty Lion
• eleven of them across the US
• only eleven
• another one soon to come to north Ft Worth 
• strictest confidence; don't tell anyone
  
• one of the eleven "owns" Denver"
• one of the other eleven: one minute -- by foot -- from my house.

Grammar -- October 1, 2022

 There's a present tense.

And a past (past perfect) tense.

And there's an imperfect (past imperfect) tense.

But no tense for a past event still very much alive in the present tense. 

2002 to 2006 live on in my mind every, every day. 

I can't shake it and it's killing me.

Tonight is / was perfect walking weather. Wow, wow, wow, how wonderful it was to take day-long, and late-evening, midnight walks with Pat.

Just Want To Be In Your Arms Again -- August 4, 2022

 Maybe a good night for a martini. Or two.

Not A Day Goes By That I Don't Think Of You -- July 30, 2022

I hope you are doing well. That's all I can write tonight.

You would be happy to know that I don't feel a day older than 40. LOL.

Forever Indebted To You -- June 26, 2022

Link here.

Wow, I miss you tonight.

Right Down The Line, Gerry Rafferty

Julie Christie in "Far From The Madding Crowd" -- May 22, 2022

 When I see Julie Christi in Far From the Madding Crowd, I see Pat.

Poolside At A Luxury Hotel -- May 21, 2022

I'm poolside at a luxury hotel, martini, watching Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship on Hulu. Only one thing would make it better: to have Pat poolside with me.

My significant other will not come to the pool. Won't spend time outside in the cool of the evening. Mosquitoes. Or other bugs. I didn't notice a single bug last night. 

It's 87° -- and with the humidity -- feels like 93°.

It will cool off the next few days; in fact, it gets very cool tomorrow, and then get very warm again. It will cool off significantly tonight. 

But, back to the pool.

It always amazes me but the pool is frequently empty. Just now, three attractive 16-year-old women have gotten into the pool. Don't see this often. Not complaining.

A 30-something woman just showed up.

Last night I was out at the pool until around 10:00 p.m. A gorgeous evening. If I had all the money in the world, I would finance a 5-star restaurant poolside. Six tables. Free for those with deluxe rooms and reservations required, of course. 

I would also have the largest apartment available overlooking the pool. Some of the units are very, very large with a very long balcony. If we're still here several years from now, I may just do that. 

Impossible to articulate how beautiful the evening was last night.

Book: The Shores of Bohemia: A Cape Cod Story, 1910 - 1960, John Taylor Williams, c. 2022. Another book my significant other won't read. I don't know if Pat would read it but she would enjoy hearing about it. 

Another young 20-something just arrived. She was here yesterday. Hard to believe they are unaccompanied.

Happy Birthday -- Posted May 18, 2022

Dream last night: we saw each other for one last time.

Most difficult dream I've had in years. 

Then this morning, coincidentally, a reminder popped up in my e-mail that it's your birthday June 1. 

I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You -- April 17, 2022

 Home alone. Easter Sunday.

Enjoying a wonderful English breakfast. The ones we  enjoyed almost every Sunday. 

Great memories.

And then this song popped up on YouTube rotation.

And it all came flowing back. 

You said it would take eight years. 

It's been seventeen? 

Do you realize how long seventeen years is? 

It's three years short of a military career. It's one's entire first seventeen years of life. I have less than seventeen years to live, no doubt. It's two years longer than the total number of years I've been retired. It's too damned long.

Love.

Visits To MHS, June, 2002 -- September, 2004

From my journal;

    Visits to MHS:

• 1 Jun 2002 -- 19 Aug 2002
• Oct 2002 -- the visit that changed everything and changed nothing
• Nov 2002
• Mar 2003
• Aug 2003
• Jan 2004 -- was this the last time I saw Pat? If so, on this visit, I saw her for one hour despite being at MHS for one to two weeks. We knew it would be our last visit. It was incredibly painful. 
• (Pat’s last day at MHS:  May 16, 2004; probably 30 days home leave; first day in Australia ~ 16 Jun or 16 Jul 04)
• Sep 2004: this, too, would have been a painful visit since she was no longer there.
  

        I need to confirm these dates. I never did confirm those dates but probably quite accurate. 

From 2000 to 2007 May and I lived in San Antonio. I was the Surgeon General for Air Intelligence Agency, headquartered at the large air base on the southwest side of San Antonio. 

"9/11" was September 11, 2000.

My first visit to Menwith Hill Station was in the summer of 2002. 

I stayed at the Wellington Inn, about a 30-minute walk down the hill from MHS.

Pat lived in a detached home on an open area, overlooking a most incredibly beautiful valley of the River Nidd.

I Can't Help If If I'm Still In Love With You, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris

Someone Once Told Me ..... February 7, 2022

 .... it took eight years to get over an unrequited love. 

Not true. Has it been seventeen years? 

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. And the memories seem stronger than ever. 

Google maps, satellite photos, and street views of Yorkshire bring back bittersweet memories.

I haven't changed a bit ... except normal aging process and "slow" at that.