Ah, September

The end of summer, and the start of a new school year. When I was a child, this was the time for regretting the certain return to 'normalcy' that was to come with school, together with a yearning for the structure, and yes, even meaning, that school brought to my life. Summers in Oregon tended to be long (the summer holiday started in mid-May, so that we could go out to the fields to pick strawberry's, and didn't end until the week after Labor day, in September), boring for a kid from a family that didn't as a general rule have enough money to take summer vacations, and really free.
As an adult, it is with some regret that we didn't have a real holiday this summer, that we didn't, somehow, make more of the summer. And regret, too, that the summer wasn't any nicer, that the memorable weather was a flood in the middle of July.
Last week I was in Portugal for a 'team building' exercise, a codeword for a jolly, and indeed it was. I have never been on a business trip to Portugal where there wasn't a lot of good food and wine involved, and this time we also had a yacht racing afternoon. It was a good time. I stayed an extra night and gambled a little at the casino that was right behind my hotel and lost €40, and then cut my losses and went to see a movie, Die Hard 4.0, which was not bad.
This week, Meiko and Christopher went to spend a night in London and see a show, Phantom of the Opera. They were actually right at parliament square when the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela statue was done, but didn't know what was going on. Meiko's comment was that a lot of black people were singing and dancing. They also went to a Star Wars exhibition at London County Hall, that was extortionate, but which Christopher quite enjoyed. You can see where they went on a map I made for Meiko.
Christopher and I went to Beale Park in Pangbourne (actually in Lower Basildon in Reading, but almost in Pangbourne) last Sunday, which we both enjoyed.
Ah, the lost summer. See some of the pictures from ours below.
Lisbon Photos

Christopher Photos