Hints of Spring

Hints of Spring

These Victoria Gardens are just below the Royal Crescent in Bath overlooking the entire city.

The flowers are beginning to become radiantly colorful.

Even the walkway outside our flat is lined with evidences of the spring which are upon us.

Splashes of colorful crocuses are a welcome surprise as they push through the grass along walkways. (It's interesting how the English plant patches of flowers in their lawns). Lining the entrance roads to Solihull, we see daffodils beginning to bloom.

The daffodils are pushing...

Malcolm and the 'sick' day

Recently Malcolm Adcock (as well as others) has been struggling with a nasty cold and congestion. Though delighted to welcome him back to the office, we decided we needed a bit of "extra" protection to ward off the "bug" which seems to hang on for weeks! Joyce is the one on the left with the 'cute' nose just in case you didn't recognize my 'schnoz!'

Malcolm at the fountain laughing at our silly antics.

175th Anniversary Commemoration at Benbow Farm

Wilford Woodruff preached in this barn 175 years ago. Converting 599 of the 600 United Brethren who resided in the beautiful Malvern Hills, the Benbow Farm is now owned by the gracious Manning family who are friends to the Church and its members. John and Jane Benbow were 'baptised' on 6 March 1840. (Notice the British spelling as well as the date where the day always appears first without punctuation). Highlights of the commemoration included a special video from Elder Holland (who has family ties to the Benbows) followed by several speakers who addressed the generational significance of this historical Church event.

Louise Manning and Elder Jones visit before the event. More than sixty attended in what is affectionately called 'the preaching barn' by the Manning family.

Sister Labutti and Sister Jones prepare for the service. Joyce gave the invocation while Sister Labutti (a current missionary in the area and a direct descendent of one of the United Brethren converts) spoke and accompanied a choir with her harp.

The Town Crier vigorously opened the commemoration with a call to meeting and a greeting to the participants.

Elder Holland recounts his experiences at the Benbow Farm and Pond as a young missionary and as a member of the Area Presidency some twenty-five years later. The Benbow experience is a major part of the early convert stories of the Twelve Apostles sent to England by the Prophet Joseph in the midst of challenges faced by the young Church in America.

The pastoral Malvern hills are beginning to green and the sheep are about to be shorn in the next few weeks as the weather begins to warm ever so slightly.

'WHOA, GO' and 'GO, WHOA'

Our crossing guard just next to the 'roundabout' on School Road waves and greets us each day on our way to the office.

But before we receive the charming greetings from the crossing guard we risk our lives at the corner of Haslucks Green Road and Green Lane. As you can see by the 30 MPH speed warning sign(just above the grey car) which is almost always lit, most of the traffic is going a wee bit above that speed. Combine the speed with a hill, a blind corner, a vehicle with absolutely no power as it delays accelerating and the fact that we have to turn right... what do you get? Fright in its most fundamental form. Every morning you get Joyce looking left and Dan looking right to avoid the oncoming, speeding cars. Joyce will either say, "WHOA" or "GO" to indicate I should press my foot through the floor boards to 'beg' the Meriva to move. Occasionally, I get a "WHOA" followed immediately by a "GO!" Or I hear a fearful "GO" followed quickly by a "WHOA!" Needless to say, our morning prayers include petitions for safety while traveling as 'our hearts are in our throats' on a number of occasions while traveling to the office. Thank goodness for the wonderful British drivers who are watchful and courteous.


Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury and Lacock

John Wood Sr and his son, John Wood Jr were the principal architects of Bath. Wood Sr.  designed these homes called The Circular which form an entire circle around a lovely courtyard. The honey-coloured (originally white) stone was quarried by Ralph Allen's masons and was used on all the great houses in Bath.

View of Bath from the garden of the Paradise Hotel where we stayed... truly a break in Paradise.

The Royal Crescent was designed by John Wood the younger and is comprised of nearly 30 homes currently worth about five million GBP each and considered Grade I Heritage buildings meaning they have to look exactly like they did when initially constructed. Some of these have changes made by the Victorians (as opposed to their original Georgian owners). Current owners cannot modify or update anything on the exterior.

The Georgian architecture of The Circular and The Royal Crescent included elements of the Greek columns on each floor.

Doric, Ionic and Corinthian with Acorns on top of the building. Add windows that became smaller on each floor... pretty eclectic, huh?  

The Roman Baths (yes, from 2000 years ago) gave rise to the city due to the warm mineral waters cherished by the 'ultra-clean Romans.'  Later the Bath Cathedral in the background was started, but the medieval church ran out of money. The citizens of Bath rallied 'round the half-built structure and looted every stone from it. Queen Elizabeth was so concerned that she instituted a national tax to build churches due to the devastation and the Cathedral was magnificently rebuilt.

Jane Austen wrote about the daily activities in the Assembly Rooms of Bath. These rooms were the social centre of the the community (and perhaps England during some times of the year) and were controlled by 'Beau' Nash, the Master  of Ceremonies, who effectively ran Bath by his social rules.
Nash became the benevolent dictator of the Assembly Room with its balls, tea rooms, gambling and eventual 'civilising' (British spelling) of the entire community of Bath.

The river Avon courses through the centre of Bath and the old city was connected with new sections of Bath in 1774 by the Pulteney Bridge. The bridge is functional as it houses shops which paid for its construction and it continues to support a dozen or so small 'tea shops.'

This ancient hotel's roof tells the story of life's possibilities to the citizens of Bath. If one worked hard and was blessed you could have a humble cottage as illustrated by the roofline on the left. With a little more effort and fortune you could own a town home as seen in the box window just to the right of the cottage. With more work and blessings from God, you could possess a Manor Home (in the middle with the pitched roof and two stories of windows). Ultimately, through toil and massive good fortune you could own the castle located on the right of the hotel's roof. Interesting architecture throughout Bath...

It is a magnificent site to see and archeologists are still debating who, why, what and how these stones were brought to this site 8 miles from Salisbury. The wind made this day a very cold visit to the ancients...

It's almost impossible to believe that these 40 tonne (British spelling) rocks come from over 100 miles away and were first brought here 4500 years ago or before recorded history. The large bluestones could be as old as 3000 BC.

Salisbury and its Cathedral

The spire on the Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest in England. 

Joyce holding a copy of the Magna Carta at the Salisbury exhibition. Inside the display guests may see one of the four original documents still in existence. (Joyce holding a replica, with the original in the darkened tent behind her).

Elder and Sister Jolley as well as Dan just outside the Magna Carta exhibit.

The arches in the Salisbury Cathedral are magnificent.

Dan outside the Salisbury Cathedral which also has the oldest clock in the UK. Notice Dan on mobile (Cell Phone as we call them in the U.S.) answering Public Affairs questions.

Lacock (Wiltshire) is where Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Emma, and Cranford were partially filmed. It is preserved just is it was in the mid-1800s.

Joyce and Dan enjoyed the sun... a rare thing this past few months on the visit to this historic town.

Note the crooked wall and barn that Elder Jolley and Elder Jones are standing next to.

This country manor was actually a monastery and nunnery in medieval times and more recently provided some of the interior shots for Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore and Ron Weasley in the popular films.

Primary Activity and 'Mothering Day'

Joyce organised (British spelling) a Primary activity where the children framed letters for their mothers for 'Mothering Day.' She found the frames at a craft shop and the children decorated them with 3D sponge flowers and ladybugs, stickers and ribbons. The letters were very tender as each child, no matter what the age, expressed love and gratitude for their 'Mum.'

So, So Solihull

So historic
So beautiful
So convenient (airport, bus, train)
So upscale
So progressive
So friendly
So accesible

Solihull is home to the Land Rover production facility and headquarters.

There are beautiful homes and very fashionable gates on many of the mansions located in the town.

Our little block of flats (Eversleigh Court) has gates... not as fancy as those in this photo above.

Notice the front yards are almost all used for parking cars in the United Kingdom. Cars behind gates... English gardens (yards) are almost always behind the home.

The beautiful Solihull chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is conveniently located about two blocks from the High Street off Hampton Road.

High Street on Saturday (Main Street in the USA) is now completely pedestrian without the buses and cars.

Our favourite corner on High Street is the Flower Shop just across from the Touchwood Mall.

St Alphege's Church (1560) is the parish church whose construction contributed to the name of Solihull. According to legend, St Alphege's Church was positioned on a hill which was where the stiff red marl (loose, crumbly dirt) turned into a sticky mud in the wet weather. Thus 'soil hill' became known as Solihull and has since become one of the most prosperous towns in the English Midlands. In fact, it was named the "best place to live" in the United Kingdom last year.

Note the lack of flowers on the Solihull High Street lamp posts... Wait for another month and these will look like flowering trees.

The Merry-Go-Round in front of Marks & Spencers where President Hinckley would go to buy 'the best shirts in the world' according to those who remember visits to Solihull by that great prophet.

Humanitarian Auction on Red Nose Day

Alan Tong was a great Master of Ceremonies and Auctioneer. He got the very most out of each donation as he threatened to sing or continue to tell jokes until the item was sold!

Each year the British wear red for a day to raise funds for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day with charity auctions, donations, etc. We celebrate it just a bit differently by raising funds for the Church Humanitarian Aid. There were all kinds of donated items to auction and Dan bought every single 'chocolate' treat. He even outbid Joyce on several Cadbury Chocolate Easter Egg boxes!

Alan trying to auction his jalapeño bread with few takers until he started telling jokes. Then the bidding was furiously engaged... not for the bread, but to stop the jokes!

Everyone wore red on Red Nose Day. Pictured: Pauline from Church magazines and Sisters Banner and Russell in front of the auction table.

Note the donation trail of all our spare change that will go to Humanitarian Aid for the Church. Those in the office raised over 110 GBP to be donated for aid in the Europe Area.

Great Britain National Public Affairs Council Conference - 14 March 2015

Leaders from throughout the UK traveled great distances. Preparation for the day includes Dan as the technological guru, photographer, and creator of the 2014 Year-in-Review Video.

Elder Herbertson delivers a most inspirational message as he explains multiple evidences of the "hastening" of the work in Great Britain.

Martin Cook, the National Director of Public Affairs for Great Britain, did an outstanding job preparing the agenda. With his inspired vision the day was a grand success.

Joyce and Sisters Banner and Russell attend to hospitality by greeting at the door

as well as presenting a tasty continental breakfast later followed by a beautiful luncheon. 

Multi-Stake Directors arrive from Scotland in the north to Bath in the south.

Between sessions, everyone takes advantage of the grand opportunity to network and socialize.

David Eaton, Community Outreach Coordinator, identifies many service opportunities.

Muti-Stake Directors collaborate on upcoming initiatives.

Stake Presidents and Priesthood Advisers discuss how to effectively lead their 

stakes in media opportunities.

Eclipse of the sun in the UK

Today we experienced an 85% eclipse of the sun here in Solihull which was partially obscured by the cloud cover, making it an interesting 'eerie' experience.

No, this is not a crescent moon but the sun being blotted out by the moon at 9:30 a.m. in the morning!

February Flying by...

Norwich Training

This is not an atypical view from our window!

In between two snowstorms that hit central England we slipped over to Norwich (which is three hours to the East of Solihull) for a couple of media trainings with the Norwich Stake. We continue to be amazed at the faithfulness of these great people who take a Saturday to learn to how to represent the Church and their local congregations when engaged by the media.

Bishops in the east of England participate in a couple of 'mock' interviews as they are asked common questions about the church's beliefs and practices.

President Corte Real (third from the left) is serving as a stake president for the second time as he brought his family from Porto Portugal and was called shortly after arriving from Portugal to serve as the leader of the Norwich congregations. 

Bishop George (a paramedic and spokesperson for the Norfolk area ambulance responders) handles the question posed to him by Sister Jones with clarity and ease. Later we interviewed his very capable daughter as we are collecting names of Young Single Adults who can be moderators for internet-based videos concerning the Church.

Cardiff Interfaith Event

We travelled to Cardiff for the national Interfaith Harmony Week event that was held in the Cardiff Stake Centre. We checked into Tripadvisor which suggested that the Premier Inn group in Cardiff would be the best place to stay. So we did what Dan thought was his due diligence and chose a location close to the Cardiff Stake Centre and a nearby motorway. After our trusty GPS directed us to an alley in back of a large supermarket (Morrisons), we humbled ourselves to call the hotel for directions. We were told to go to the end of the alley, turn into the David Lloyd Health Club (a large chain of health clubs in the UK) proceed through the gate and parking lot to the rear of the health centre. We proceeded to find the hotel which is tucked behind the Health Club and were directed to our room...which luckily was comfortable. Breakfast was served in the Health Club and proved to be very good, although it felt a bit unusual to stay in a room next to tennis courts.

Later that night following the Interfaith evening, we collected the banners and decided we were starving. Trying to find anything open after 9:30 p.m. is a bit 'dodgy' as they say here. We remembered seeing a McDonalds (not our favorite, but dependably consistent) near our hotel. Making our way to our hotel 'in the alley behind the health club,' we took the roundabout and pulled into "Macky D's" only to find it closed for renovation. No fries, no cheeseburgers, no food.... You would never believe how much we enjoyed breakfast the next morning! Ham and cheese omelette, croissants, fruits, yogurt, juice, milk, English bacon... It was like we had never eaten before and didn't believe we would ever eat again.

Cardiff is a very progressive city with remarkably innovative city designs replacing a rather 'worn' inner city.

Cardiff is being completely renovated... The Welsh National Assembly meets in this beautiful new building near the harbor in Cardiff.

Julie Jones (LDS Interfaith Director for Wales) and various representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Bahai and Sikh faiths at the Cardiff Chapel --- all lovely individuals that cooperate in Wales to promote religious tolerance and freedom along with community harmony. Joyce was particularly engaged with Saleem Kidwai's wife who was delighted to find we have so many similarities with her Muslim religion. Later in the evening as we were about to depart, Mrs. Kidwai (a Phd in Chemistry) commented that she loves and identifies with the Mormons as both our faiths "require a life of discipline." Within a couple of days, Mr. Kidwai (OBE knighted by the Queen) suggested that each faith select 14 representatives to join services to be held at the local Mosque and at our stake centre to promote better understanding among our faiths.

Crawley Training and Lingfield

Near the London Temple, the Crawley Stake takes in all the area from the south of London to Brighton. We trained some of the women and men of the stake on a Friday evening... I wonder whether we could get a turnout in Utah on a Friday night for 3 hours when you need to drive an additional hour each way? We are always delighted to see the faithfulness and commitment to learn how to share the gospel message more effectively.

Grant Neale (above) is the Stake Director of Public Affairs who was telling us that he also serves as an Executive Secretary to an Area Seventy, Elder George. Brother Neale proceeded to tell us how they now have a programme in the Crawley Stake and 3 other local stakes where they have 100% activity of Returned Missionaries during this past year. He said it was all due to a programme started in St. George Utah by a fellow by the name of Steve Mann. The member of the Stake Presidency responsible for the interviews of the RMs chimed in how they credit Brother Mann with saving a dozen or so young men just this past year because of the ideas developed by Steve. Isn't it amazing to see how small the Church is and how far reaching 'creative' ideas are felt? We had just heard from Susan and Steve that day and we shared the Mann's latest adventure in the Navajo Nation with the Self Reliance Programme of the Church (based on many of the principles of The Academy for Creating Enterprise on which Steve and Dan were board members).

We stayed the Friday evening in Lingfield at the Marriott which overlooks the racecourse.

The trainers warming up the horses early in the morning.

English Steeplechase races still include the jumping which is a 'real trick' as speed, jumping and endurance are required. The Grand National has a winning payout of over 1 million GBP and even these regional steeplechase races are broadcast on television with millions of GBP wagered each week. No winners in our family as we haven't succumbed to this national obsession with betting shops in almost all the towns and cities.

We did make it to "Joyce's with Best Wishes" in Lingfield for sweets and cards. 

There are 9 million dogs in Great Britain among the 60 million people... The English absolutely love their pets!

Valentine's Day

Joyce says she will miss the green of England and the flower shops that can be found on the High Streets in every village. Their flowers are beautiful and very reasonable as are the greeting cards. Cards are a very big deal in the UK... people value the remembrance and the hand-written messages. I have given my permission for Joyce to take home dozens of English cards! 

Camisani family

We home teach this darling Camisani family in our ward with Gulia, Fabio and Susie along with their parents, Daniele and Anna. Each month they welcome us with open arms and treats that are traditional to Italians. We play games, give the home teaching lesson and eat yummies. It's more like a Family Home Evening as they seem to enjoy our visits. 

Fabio, Susie and Gulia Camisani

Warwick with the Sisters

In our effort to introduce the Sisters to local sights and culture, we took a late afternoon trip to Warwickshire to visit the wonderful little town with a great deal of charm. These two senior sisters are certainly 'brave' and we try to get them out when the weather permits.

Sister Banner, Sister Russell and Elder Jones brave the cold winds to visit Warwick.

Warwick is just a few miles from Solihull and has a famous cathedral and castle.

Sister Russell on the left and Sister Banner seemed to enjoy the castle visit.

Warwick is a medieval city with a great deal of charm.

Malcolm's Birthday at Five Guys

Malcolm and the Sisters hadn't been to the Five Guys in Solihull, so we took them to enjoy the experience with American fries (versus English chips) and those tiny Cheeseburgers with everything under the sun on them.

Being a 'true English gentleman,' Malcolm is very appreciative of any little gift and seemed to enjoy the birthday tie as well as the lunch with Sister Banner, Sister Russell, Elder and Sister Jones.

Training in Wandsworth

Have you noticed how those with some of the greatest economic challenges are the most giving individuals you ever meet? Everything in London is so expensive and some members have to support themselves with multiple jobs. So when you have a training session it is a real sacrifice to take time from an occupation, travel to a stake centre, arrange care for children, etc. Yet these great saints sacrifice and bring the Spirit with them due to their faith. Let me introduce a few people to you...

President Selvadurai, counselor in the Stake Presidency, was raised in the Hindu faith and is the kindest, most humble man. As a member of twenty-three years, he speaks of the blessings of tithing as it has provided him with upgrades (even recently) to his security guard employment. This good man came from work to attend the training for fours hours, then returned to work all night before going straight to Stake Presidency meeting at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. After those meetings he will attend the three hour block and then be able to spend time with his family. He invited us back to the Wandsworth Stake in an email later on Sunday as he would like the entire stake to experience the training.

Charlotte, Karen and Sylvia came from the far reaches of West London to attend the spokesperson seminar. Each is a professional - primary school teacher,  probation counselor and an accountant. All have wonderful families with many children (Karen has six from 2 years old to 18 years of age).

The Mundens (to the left of Elder Jones) are the Multi-Stake Directors of Public Affairs for London and are committed to the gospel. Paul is a Barrister (courtroom attorney) and Corporate Director and Sue is as she says, a "full-time grandmother of four." We came away from this experience with our testimonies and faith increased as the experiences that were shared touched our hearts in a very special way.

Stake Conference

Elder Donald L Hallstrom presided at the Birmingham Stake Conference last Weekend. Having served a mission in the Central British Mission some 45 years ago, it was Elder Hallstrom's first visit back to the midlands of England. The conference was outstanding as the Saturday evening session focused on councils at every level of the Church and in the family. The Sunday session was heart-warming as the building was filled to the rafters and Elder Hallstrom spoke on respecting and valuing cultures in society and the Church. President Rasmussen gave an excellent address referencing the author of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".

What was most impressive is how Elder Hallstrom spent 20 - 30 minutes before and after each session visiting with members and others. He truly engaged everyone by introducing himself, asking about others, answering questions and making people feel he cared about them. Remarkably everyone felt the same about the experience that we did... It is very easy to sustain our inspirational leaders in the Church.

Dinner with the missionaries

We have the opportunity to take each set of our Sheldon Ward missionaries to dinner a couple of times each month. As our flat is too far from their areas, we often take them 'out' to dinner. Elder Burke (Australia) and Elder Pailate (Western Samoa) are very good missionaries who have been working hard in Acocks Green. Elder Pailate has 4 other cousins on missions currently and about 30 of his extended family have served missions. He is happy and speaks excellent English having been a teacher prior to his mission. 

Elder Burke and Elder Pailate at ASK ITALIA