Cropredy Church

The tombs of a husband and wife (I've forgotten the date):


Infant mortality was more of an issue then....yikes....

Helpful Signage

Before I move on (i.e., get back to complaining about
everything), here are a few of the helpful signs that
were in place around Cropredy . . .


"I'm the guy who vacuums the portapotty. . ."


This one was next to the backstage toilets:


The "Yield" signs on the UK roads say, "Give Way". But they
have the same effect because, as a foreigner, you'll stop there
for a moment to figure out what it means before you drive
through . . .

There should have been a sign at Heathrow that warned,
"Your money is worthless here", but alas, there was not.

Stopping in.....

Back from the UK. I was over for the annual Fairport
Convention festival. It's held in Cropredy:



Here's a view from the field:

Here's a guy who sat next to me all day Friday:


And here's a shot of me and my friend Maart, or as I like to
call this one, "Guys who love ale too much" . . .


Three days of merriment. And the backstage portapotties
actually had toilet paper! When the Renoirs ran out, they
brought in the Monets . . . I almost felt guilty because the
people I was staying with had to use the field facilities,
which were . . . um . . . a bit less sanitary. I got over it,
though!

I had a funny experience before the festival. I was suffering
from jet lag and was at a concert in a nearby town. I found
that I couldn't sit in my seat, having been in planes for
nine hours earlier that day. So I went out into the lobby
of the hall to find coffee. The concession stand had closed,
but one of the employees said, "Well, we can certainly
find YOU a cup of coffee!"

Well . . . OK . . . who am I, exactly?

She took me out back into the employees' area,
where the manager of the hall asked me how I
took my coffee and got it for me. I took out my
wallet. He said, "You don't have to pay!"

Once again, who am I? I guess they thought I
was somebody!!

I'm home for the moment, where I'm just a
regular guy who has to get his own coffee
(unless the wife is making some!).

The Naked Truth

Just returned from a weekend excursion. The band played
a gig at a nudist camp in Vermont.




And before you ask (it's ALWAYS the first question)
-- NO, the band was not required to play nude and
none of us volunteered. (I don't think the place
really had a laundry room either!)

We played there last year and they invited us back.
Next year, we play TWO nights and get to camp
there, apparently. Maybe they figure if we stay
long enough, we'll lose the clothes . . I don't know.

Probably one of the nicest crowds we ever have,
but as has been observed, "If your genitals are
exposed you tend to be more agreeable."

Stayed over Saturday with an old friend and went
out to look at rocks and trees on Sunday. This
picture was taken from the top of a dam that was
built after the "big flood" of '69. It doesn't appear
to be holding back a lot of water these days:


There IS a fierce puddle down there, though.

Spent lots of time in the car -- I've had enough of it.
So now I'm switching to planes. I'll be sick of
that a lot sooner.

And now, back to packing (again).

Let's Hear It For Infrastructure!

Isn't it great that we're off building roads and bridges
in Iraq while our own bridges are collapsing?

Ah . . . priorities.

I'm sure FEMA will clean it all up in no time.
They're a competent bunch.