Houston Rodeo

Recently back home in the UK after spending 2 months, mainly in Texas, with family who have reclocated there. Leaving Britain in early March and returning in early May I've found little difference in the temperatures - in fact it was colder in May on arrival than it was on departure in March. And temperatures rapidly rose in Houston after storms and a cold front when we arrived.

Opening parade in the main arena

The first major event we went to soon after arrival was a visit to the Houston Rodeo. I'd no idea what to expect apart from seeing bucking broncos, similar to what I'd only seen before on film or TV. The real thing was very exciting and spectacular, interesting and BIG!! The stadium was enormous, the agricultural show was very interesting and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing in the main events - very skilled cowboys and expert animal handling. The bareback bull riding was especially nail-biting, and most exciting of all were the chuck waggon races around the arena - a bit like watching chariot-racing but probably more sedate, although the horse-drawn waggons are reputed to get up to speeds of 35 mph.

In an outside area there was the Mutton Bustin' event to watch. Children as young as 6 years old - wearing no "health and safety" fixated apparatus - could try their luck at riding the length of a long, wide pen hanging on to a sheep (the Mutton). If they fell off, the sheep made a relieved getaway to the end of the pen, riderless. If they hung on to the end of the ride they got a large round of applause from the crowd. The children all seemed none the worse for the experience (I can't speak for the sheep). As they rode they all hung on to the sheep's thick woolly coat, always getting slung over to one side of the sheep as it pelted along so they were hanging on for dear life fairly close to the ground. If they fell off, they didn't have far to go.

The exhibition area had plenty of things for sale - stetsons of all kinds, cowboy boots and gear and novel wooden plaques for all tastes. There was also a shoeshine stand where those wearing cowboy boots could have them cleaned and polished.

In the agricultural areas there were a lot of new-borns - calves, lambs, piglets - and there was even a heated glass showcase where new and exhausted-looking chicks were hatching from eggs. They were emerging slowly and it took a lot more effort than I'd imagined for them to peck and push their way out of their protective egg shell.

In order to enter into the spirit of things, we'd been out to get ourselves stetsons the day before, so we could wear them to the rodeo. 

It was a whoe new experience as wearing a stetson in the UK could easily attract a fair bit of attention, but in Texas....no way. Nearly everyone wears one, especially at special events like the Houston Rodeo.

From Saffron Walden Training College to Bell Language School to Ludus

Since reactivating this blog I heard from Jackie that the college the 10 of us spent 3 years at, and which became the Bell Language School, is no more. It's been demolished (in part) and converted into residential apartments.

Curious to find out what had happened, I did a web search and what I've gleaned will bring you up to date. The apartments have been named Ludus, and curious to find out exactly what this means, I did another search and discovered (courtesy of Wikipedia) the following (links left in for follow optional up):

In ancient Roman culture, the Latin word ludus (plural ludi) has several meanings within the semantic field of "play, game, sport, training". An elementary or primary school attended by boys and girls up to the age of 11 was a ludus.

In spite of a slight jolt when I realised that the old buildings, as we knew them, had gone, I thought the choice of Ludus for the new apartments was appropriate. Mind out, the word ludus was mostly used to describe a training school for gladiators!

Here, to the left, is the college as it was, and to the right, as it is now in its reincarnation as Ludus. Actually recognisable!

I wonder if they incorporated the Foundation Stone into the rebuild? It was located to the right of the main door, on the wall of the right hand wing.

I also found a picture of boarded-up Butler Hall - still recognisable! But a far cry from the 1960's when it was built as this photo from 1966 shows. Those boarded up ground floor windows could propbably tell a tale or two from the days when students got back late from a night out and climbed in through them!

Waking up?

Encouraged by Gerry, seen here enjoying a G&T with me, I've reopened this blog and will see if it's ready for a few breaths of life at the start of 2012.

In the two years that it's been sleeping and off-line except to invited friends, much has happened. Gerry's mum Sylvia, now aged 98 and soon to be 99, has moved out of her own home and now lives with Gerry & husband Paul. Gerry's son Alex has married and they enjoyed a small, intimate and very beautiful wedding ceremony on Tuscany.

Another Saffron Walden group of 10 reunion took place in Portsmouth, arranged by Lin. Unfortunately Gerry and I both had to drop out because of last minute unforeseen family events, and one nameless person forgot the date of the get together, leaving a small but intrepid group who enjoyed a weekend by the sea in autumn sunshine.

The granddaughter who was born while I was up on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is now 2 years old. She returned to the UK for just over a year with her parents and although they tried, they found living back in Edinburgh quite a challenge after the warmth of Houston. They got back just as one of the worst winters in Scotland set in - and decided that they would return to the USA to live. Not easy for any of us to come to terms with at first, but the right thing for them to do. We spent a year seeing a lot of them, supporting them and enjoying being with them, and at the beginning of January they went back to Houston where they're settling in once again.

In the 2 years since I last wrote here, Lynda has also become a grandma and by all accounts is enjoying this role enormously.

We'll be over to visit the family in Houston soon, and in the meantime we're looking after their cats, who have been here with us for 2 months, while their owners made all the arrangements about moving themselves and their worldly goods back to the States. They should be flying over to join them at the end of February. We'll miss them as they've wormed their way into our affections and are part of the household now.

Where this first waking up post will lead I don't know, but some life has been breathed back into this blog (see what you started Gerry) and if nothing else, it may encourage me to write. If I do, it will be my take on what I choose to write about - with a touch of saffron yellow woven into its fabric from time to time when there is news of those who formed the original inspiration to begin this blog.