Some England pictures

Hello, everyone. This is Brian, posting some new pictures here on Jordan's blog. Enjoy!


This is the Brighton Pier, the most well-known landmark in Brighton. It extends far out into the English Channel and is basically a carnival on the water, complete with rides, food, and comfy beach chairs to sit on and enjoy the breeze and sun.





This is the pier from the shore.













Here's Jordan relaxing on the pier.













This is me drinking a very good tea with the pier in the background.












Here's Mr Iain lying on the rocky Brighton beach. It's strange to a Florida boy like myself: there is no sand on the beach here, only these large pebbles.















These are two shots of Brighton, our fair city, from the pier.




































These are some gorgeous white cliffs visible from the pier. There are some even more stunning ones known as the Seven Sisters further up the coast to the east.





















There used to be a West Pier in addition to the Brighton Pier, but it burned down . . . twice. There are, of course, some conspiracy theories about the owners of the other pier trying to take down the competition. I'll bet you didn't know piers were such a tough racket!

This is another area landmark, Brighton Station. It's a Victorian-era station, built very high to accommodate all the steam engines that used to service it. The station was the first of Brighton that we saw as we arrived on train from Victoria Station in London. From here we can get pretty much anywhere in southeast England in 2 hours or less. Trains on platform 8, such as the one on the right side of this picture, travel straight to the university!


This is the old gate in the town of Lewes, which lies just across the Sussex Downs to the east of the university. Lewes is a very ancient town, originally built in the 11th Century by William I, aka William of Normany or William the Conqueror. We plan to return to Lewes soon to visit the castle there. The original castle was built by William I, and the present day castle sits on the original foundation.








Here is Jordan in part of a large and beautiful garden in Lewes.




This is a pub in Lewes that is typical of the many wonderful old pubs in England. According to the information board inside, this one has been family owned for over a century. Also, they're hosting the pea throwing world championship soon if anyone's interested.




Before we came to England, we thought our huge American stroller would be a liability as things such as vehicles and doorways are much smaller here. We have learned, though, that it is a tremendous asset, as it can haul stuff like no British stroller. Here Jordan has it loaded down outside our apartment after a run to the grocery store.






But stroller is not the only way Mr Iain travels these days. Here he is all bundled and strapped to Papa on a run into Brighton. He really likes traveling around this way--he feels very comfortable and often falls asleep.

Note Papa's ever-present umbrella: you can't be too careful in England!






We know the real reason anyone looks at this blog is to see pictures of Iain, so here you go. Be sure to leave a note and tell Mama how beautiful her boy is as that always makes Mama happy.


Aunty Kathryn made Iain these pajamas. She's become such an amazing seamstress that I think she could make just about anything she wanted.


















Iain's ready to go to church, but he's always losing his shoes!





















Barky the Dog has become Mr Iain's best buddy. He smiles quite big every time he sees Barky.




















Here's Mr Iain all bundled up on a particularly cold night. He's wrapped first in a blanket lovingly made by Ruth Slagle and then in a quilt lovingly made by Shirley Reymond. Ruth's is his very favorite blanket. That's Rags the Bear sleeping with him, a gift from my sister Robin. We are very blessed to have friends and family who would would give us such nice things.

That's a Detroit Tigers hat on his head, in case you were wondering. The bill usually droops down over his face, so he often wears it sideways. Yeah, Iain & Papa have been following their beloved Motor City boys' amazing playoff run. This picture was taken just after they watched the Tigers' game two ALDS victory over the NY Yankees together. Many thanks to Al Gore for inventing the internet (and global warming) as we can now watch live baseball even though we're on a different continent.

I guess that's about all for now. We plan to post some pictures of the campus and our flat before too long. We miss you all--call or write sometime!