After a five AM alarm, a beautiful pink sunrise/full moon combo sky, a long check-in line, a frisky pat down, a four plus hour flight, a nice chat with a seatmate, and a race through Ben Gurion airport to be among the first of my flight to get through passport control, I'm back in the place I call home on this Tuesday evening. I've unpacked. My charming man is cooking us some pasta and I'm sipping red wine. England was just the sort of remedy I needed after so much time in the almost-desert that is Palestine. The weather was cool to cold to freezing, and always damp. The resulting lushness and green was an exciting change from the barren landscape I've been used to looking at. The Autumn colors were resplendent as well.
The polite, orderly, calm, and English-speaking people were likewise a balm for me. An old man called me "stroppy" in a good-natured, teasing way (I think -- everything seems good-natured and teasing when said in an English accent) when I asked if I could share the lap pool with him at the gym. Calli showed me a wonderful time, treating me to a trip to the Peaks District, a Thai massage, and lots of hugs, dancing, and making up new almost-sounds-like lyrics to pop songs ("you give me sexy elephant, sweet elephant..." can anyone guess what song?) We had a lovely time catching up between packing intervals. I met Calli just after her move to Norwich, and now have witnessed her wrap up life in Norwich and start a new life in a cozy London flat just across the street from the Thames.
On top of everything, Calli (who I should call Super Calli, because she's earned it) dug deep and found time and energy to shoot a wedding in the midst of moving house. Did I mention that we both caught colds at the same time just days after I arrived? In spite of everything, we had a fun time shooting the wedding and the scenery. I mostly got wide-angle shots, and played with Charming's camera. Calli took a simply delicious shot of bride and groom Debbie and John that she posted on her photography facebook page. They are a special and very friendly couple who invited guests to an innocent "engagement party" that turned out to be a wedding. Surprise! Here's Calli's shot:
The day before the wedding, we went out into the cold, amped up on Vitamin C, Zinc, and possibly some British medication called "Day Nurse" and drove around enjoying the scenery in the Sheffield area. I was entranced by a massive estate that I don't remember the name of. What's important is that it played Pemberley Hall in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.
Thanks for the memories, Super Calli. You did it!
