Rugby Football

One of the biggest differences, I think, between the US and the UK, is the choice of sport. In the US, for the most part, you've got the big four--football, baseball, basketbally, and hockey. Soccer is trying it's hardest to gain a foothold, but it is neither violent enough nor fast paced enough to capture the American fanbase (and who wants a sport that can end in a 0-0 draw?). Over here, you've got football (soccer), cricket (cooler than it looks), and two types of Rugby. I don't know much about Rugby League, but I'm finding I quite enjoy Rugby Union. I've watched some on the telly (TV), with Guy providing instructions on rules and strategy and such, and I'm picking it up, slowly but surely.

So I decided that I wanted to see a game live. Tricky as the season is about over, but we just managed it yesterday. It was a gorgeous day out (feeling more like June or July than April--thank you, global warming) and it was good fun to watch it in person. I will brag a bit here: we wound up standing next to a sideline official, keeping stats and doing I don't know what else (he had a clip board and an official blazer) and at halftime he said to Guy (and not me insterestingly enough), that I seemed to have picked up the rules faster than some of the players. I was quite impressed with myself. :-)

Reflections/An update

Well, lots has happened since I last posted. We've successfully travailed through Lent, survived Holy Week, and enjoyed the joy of Easter. It's interesting, I know I've only done Holy Week/Easter twice so far (at least in a professional capacity), but in the last two years, different points in the week have been my favorite. Last year, I really enjoyed the Maundy Thursday service. It struck me in a particular way and, quite frankly, nearly moved me to tears. This year, however, I was particularly struck by Easter morning. I wonder why that is.

Lent itself was quite manic. With all the Lent stuff, it also happened that the spring round of meetings occurred at the same time. So most of Lent, I didn't know whether I was coming or going. However, toward the end of Lent, things settled a bit, and I got to do some exciting things. Jenny and I had a Ceilidh (folk dance) for our birthday. That was good fun. I went to a variety of concerts, comedians, and plays in locations ranging from London to Norwich. For my birthday, Guy took me to London on a 'mystery trip' (ie, I didn't know where we were going until the day...and where we went each part of the day was only revealed bit by bit), where we saw things such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Wesley's Chapel, and the longest running show on the West End--Agatha Christie's Mousetrap. It really was a fun day, so we decided to go back--this past Tuesday. Yesterday, we went to the north of Norfolk (the county I live in) and took a steam train across the countryside. I'm trying to squeeze all the goodness out of England that I can before I leave in a about two and a half months.

Yeah, I'm still planning to leave, though it isn't something I like to think about. Still no word on where I'm going (somewhere in Missouri, supposedly). Will let you know as soon as I can what the destination is. Though I do hear that the Cabinet is encoutering some difficulties this year.

That's really all for now. Webley, you are a conundrum I can't quite figure out. Webley is the Wesley House mascot (oh, yeah...Wesley foundations may very well cease to exist in the next year or two...at least in MO) but the introduction you gave me is very much tied to Band. Those two things did not meet up very often while I was at Truman, so you can understand my confusion. Thanks for the jogging my memory, though! I had almost forgotten the fireman and his family!