London and Cornwall, Devon, the Cotswolds September 2018

A short trip for us in mid-September. First, a few days in London visiting the Tate (not the Tate Modern but Tate Britain, first time there in many years), and traveling past Regents Park via canal boat from Little Venice to Camden Lock.

Then we joined a group (14 people) with Go Tours, led by a young man named Glenn who, we think, IS Go Tours! Incredible driver, which we were grateful for in the fog in the wilds of Dartmoor. Oncoming traffic meeting us, on one-lane roads with hedges either side, was a thrilling experience. The itinerary listed a lot of places, but it was really quite leisurely most of the time. The first day we stopped at Stonehenge, which, because you can't really view it by yourself, on a dawn morning, you just have to imagine it that way. (I probably spent more time there on my visit in 1981). We then spent several hours in

Salisbury cloister

Salisbury, another place I had been before, but a first time for Bill. Beautiful sun-shiny day, the gorgeous cathedral amazing inside and out, the Magna Carta, and really good food in the Refectory, surrounded by glass revealing the yellow stone of the cathedral's flank. Late afternoon we drifted around on the meadows above the Durdle Door on Devon's Jurassic Coast.

Dartmoor ponies

The second day we started out from Exeter, drove across Dartmoor, got out of the bus to pet some lovely wild ponies, some nice stops as well at Princetown (where The Hound of the Baskervilles was written) and Tavistock (a pleasant lunch in a market town). Afternoon stops at Polperro (a little too touristy) and Charlestown (a Poldark filming location) were adequate to give us some of the flavor of Cornwall fishing villages, and then we bedded down at our hotel in Falmouth.

The third day we drove a short distance to St. Ives, where we were dropped off right at the door to the Tate St. Ives, which is not only a lovely museum, but has fantastic views of the ocean and the town (in different directions). I also had time to walk down to the water's edge and get my feet wet and sandy. We stopped for a short visit to the Botallack Mines, another Poldark filming location on the green coast, but the highlight of the day was the Minack Theatre, hewn out of the rock by a crazy (!) and devoted woman. Plays are performed there at a breaktaking

Minack Theatre

location overlooking an azure bay. The last stop wasn't shabby either, Saint Michael's Mount, and we got there in time before the tide came in, so we could walk a good way on the causeway.

The fourth day started in the morning at Padstow, one of the nicest villages we saw in Cornwall. Reminded me of Honfleur, in Normandy, a bassin (harbor), peaceful, sparkling. Lovely also was the town of Port Isaac. Didn't matter there were jillions of folks walking up and down the paths to see Doc Martin's infirmary, it was a fantastic setting (as one knows seeing the program on TV). Had a leisurely lunch there at "Louise's school." Late afternoon we spent at Tintagel,

St. Materiana's Church, Tintagel

not enough time there, really, unless one has legs of a twenty-year-old, but I managed to walk up to the old church. Bill and I had dinner at a pleasant French restaurant across the plaza from Exeter's cathedral (where we heard even-song).

The fifth day began in Bath. We had time to tour the Roman Baths, stunning, and have a nice lunch in the Pump Room. Then Glenn drove us to two Cotswold villages, well-chosen, the first was Castle Combe (its church and churchyard very restful) and Bibury, which has very old weavers' cottages that are pictured on every English person's passport.

Our last two days in London we spent one long lunch at the London Review Bookstore, and the next day went to the National War Museum. Have a new favorite restaurant in London (although we also went back to the estimable Cantina Laredo)--it's Margaux on the Old Brompton Road, very friendly and relaxing and incredible food.

Summer 2018

Marina, S. and Elena

Once summer was underway it was June (somehow spring was a blur of mostly rainy days!). We had a great time with Elena and Marina in New York City, lunch on the East River, took the ferry to Staten Island, then met up with Karen for dinner at Boqueria. They were going to see the play "Come From Away," whereas Bill and I made our way back to L'ville.

This summer we spent a long time in Gilmanton, from July 6 to mid-August. On the way we stopped in Guilford at Sound Reach. A few days later was the service at Loon Pond for Nancy Ball. We had great visits with Steve and Vicki and the rest of the Gilmanton regulars. In late July I drove down to Chester, Connecticut for our annual Chester Conference. We had probably the best year ever, amazing poems, some new

Lawrence, Nan, Anne

members, perfect weather. After the conference I made an appearance at the annual General Andrew Ward Cemetery Association, my first attendance in several years. On our way home to L'ville we stopped in at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see an exquisite exhibition featuring Casanova. Dinner in Wellesley, overnight at the Warren Conference in Ashland, Massachusetts. Then back home in New Jersey we had a little over two weeks to prepare for our trip to London/Cornwall, coming up. In the meantime, more preparations were made for the mysterious new publication--hint, it's called Will There Be Music?

Fall 2017 into the New Year 2018

With Jim and Juditha in Ocean Grove

In early October I went with Juditha and Jim to Ocean Grove (we were reading poems at an event in Long Branch and decided to make it an overnight). The next morning we had brunch in town, then went for a long walk, Juditha and Jim giving me a first-rate tour of the area where they had once lived. The next week we had the delightful experience of watching over our very grownup nieces in Arlington while their mother spent a long weekend in New Orleans. They really did all the hard parts, we just looked on...! For Thanksgiving we flew to Buffalo on a very skinny plane (more storage under the seats than in the overhead compartments). We watched four members of the Rados family compete in the annual Turkey Trot, and did serious sightseeing in the burgeoning Buffalo metropolis. Back home I read with the Cools at a "Talk Turkey" themed reading at the Highland Park Library.

After a quiet Christmas at home, we stepped out in NYC for a few days before the New Year. The first day we met our friend Helga briefly at her show at the Nailya Alexander Gallery, had dinner at L'Artusi, and saw a terrific play "School Girls." The next day we had lunch with Eddie, Wendy and Alex, and then dinner with Joel and Susan at The Tartinery, followed by a performance by Artek at Old St. Patrick's. On the third day we had dinner at Loring Place and went to a performance by Tenet of Monteverdi at St. Joseph's. Back home on New Year's Eve (no Times Square for us!). In late January we took a day trip to Wilmington, Delaware, saw Chris Schopfer's factory, had lunch at De La Coeur Cafe, and went to the John Sloan exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum.

Detail of "Dante and Virgil in Union Square" by Isabel Bishop

In early February we flew to Long Beach, stayed with Janet in Laguna Beach a few days, had dinner with Kent's family, a quick visit with SMHS friend Joan, then stayed for a few days at an Air Bnb in Pasadena, had brunch with Ed and Gipsy, a few meals and a visit to the Italian American Museum in L.A. with Kirk and Melinda, plus our annual visit to

San Juan Capistrano

Santa Anita with Mimi. Back home in time for Valentine's dinner with Bill at Enoterra.

Then we had big plans to go to DC but slopoet contracted a bad cold, don't even ask, the next few weeks were a blur. Except that in moments of brief health she attended one class, one session of book group, took the train to NY to attend another Tenet concert at St Luke's, and performed a few poems with the Cools at the New Brunswick Library (themed reading was "Mud Season"). Followed by a relapse of sorts. It's now mid-March, life will start picking up again. I'm certain of that. For anyone actually following this blog, there is a real surprise coming up soon involving publication of a certain book.