The last hurrah

A whirlwind series of farewell parties, dinners and visits ensued. We decided we needed to throw a good-bye bash so we found a couple pipers and sent out invites.

Our backyard had been the site of many a viciously contested croquet game. Oft times we had played a game on into the night with headlamps - once we played right through a tornado warning only stopping when the ground became too wet to play. And we wanted to end the tradition with a bang.


The reason for the killer course was the hill that you see here in the middle of the yard. One of the goal posts was on the lower level, the other was at the top of the hill. There were two wickets in the middle of the hill - you had to go through one going up, the other coming down.

Our last game was hard-fought - people burying opponents balls so they'd dissappeared completely, balls being sent through the fence and out down the driveway to be lost in traffic, players standing through the whole game in the same spot because they couldn't get their ball through the up-hill wicket.

Meanwhile we ate and drank and Ann Marie danced the highland fling over crossed croquet mallets. A friend going back for his third piece of cake said "This is such a great gathering aren't you going to miss this?"

Yes.

The future will have to wait

About a month before we left we got a call from a cemetery lot salesman. We figured we maybe should start thinking about that being that we were in our 40's. We were curious so we told him to come along and give us his information - which he did. He showed up wearing a dark suit and white plastic belt and shoes. Hmm. He spoke in very lugubrious tones, telling us all about the beautiful plots we could get, the great monuments we could erect - and on and on. We finally said we'd think about it.

After that he kept calling and finally we said he could come and give us a final pitch. I must say he tried hard - but it was hard to keep from laughing. In the end we said thanks but no thanks and sent him on his way. By that time he was very morose and grumpy - and his final shot as he went out the door was "and I don't like your cat either!"

Anyone want a cat? Take two!

The next trick was to find a home for our 2 cats.

They would have to go together - they were too bonded to separate now, both of them being 6 or 7 years old. Unfortunately one was a very eccentric siamese who was a wonderful, loving family pet - but her way of winning friends and influencing people was definitely not appreciated by - well - anyone actually. She was a beautiful, sleek animal with big innocent blue eyes that could look into your soul. Her favorite trick was coming up to new people (before we could warn or intervene) and, getting up in their laps, gazing lovingly into their eyes, and as soon as they would raise a hand to pet her, she would hiss menacingly in their faces. This was not endearing. Several friends offered to get rid of her for us but I don't think their motives were innocent. Finally one of our dear (and as it turned out - long suffering) friends offered to take them - bless him forever. As it happened both cats lived into their 20's and were very happy and much loved.

Practicalities & possibilities

So now to find a place to store the "stuff" we were keeping. Happily we found a large warehouse where we could rent a secure, dry 6x10 room for an indefinite period at very reasonable cost. We let our kids choose whatever they wanted to keep. We would hold a garage sale a week before we moved and whatever didn't sell would go to the Goodwill.

At that time we had considered the possibility of leaving Minnesota and starting again in a new place when we returned from whatever the future would bring. We both loved the sea and the Northwest Coast so that was a tempting prospect. Our plans were fluid and depending on our experiences in Scotland we would stay there for a year or two or, if we didn't like it as much as we expected to, we could live somewhere else in Europe for a while. The future was rife with possibilities. All of a sudden the world was open to us - all we needed was money. Ha!

Meanwhile we would have to sell our car - but we didn't want to sell it until just before we left since we wanted to travel a bit and needed it until then. We kept a bank account in Minneapolis for whatever income and expenses we'd have while we were gone. I had talked to the bank in Ullapool and there was no problem with opening an account there and we could deposit US dollars there with no problem. We could have a checking account and credit card from the Royal Bank so we were set there.

We found that we wouldn't need health insurance while in the UK because health care there is free even for non-citizens. We did keep a small catestrophic policy in force for US purposes. We were making progress!

The "stuff" must go

Back home again to start another round of planning for our departure. It was the end of May and we'd sold our house! Jack still had script work to finish and at the gallery we had just mounted our second show of museum grade New Guinea art. I was doing research and writing the information sheets we always provided at our gallery at each showing. (This was a drawing I'd done in my journal of a mask in the exhibit). We couldn't leave the States until September and the people who bought our house needed to move in on July 1st. What to do in the two months we'd be homeless?

The two real estate agents came up with a brilliant solution that would allow us to hold a mortgage on the house - giving us income while we were gone and a balloon payment in 3 years. Our agent and friend offered to let us stay in the mother-in-law apartment he had in his house for the month of July. We thought we could get away and go camping for some weeks in August -then stay with friends or family until we had to leave.

Meanwhile we had a month to pack up or sell 20 years of accumulated"stuff".

The law of the "conservation of stuff" says that at some point we all must get rid of "stuff", which then is purchased by others who then must get rid of some of their "stuff", ensuring that when we returned there would still be plenty of "stuff" that we could start accumulating all over again. But meanwhile, whatever "stuff" we wanted to keep would have to go into storage for a few years so space was limited. Since we would have to pay for everything we stored, we got pretty ruthless about what we would get rid of. I started making lists - what we would keep (those things that were particularly precious and hard to replace) - what we would take with us (very little) - and what we would get rid of in one way or another (most of what now filled our house). Hard decisions - but liberating in a way!

Leaving London

Back in London we got tickets to the play "Overheard" by Peter Ustinov, starring Ian Carmichael and Deborah Kerr. It was a delightful bit of fluff, and we enjoyed the theater itself almost as much. It was at the Royal Theater in Haymarket, built in 1821 - steep and elegant - full of mirrors, chandeliers, carved wood, brocade and gilt royal boxes - as a London theater ought to be.

The next day we went to Windsor Castle and caught Princess Margaret and her son and Princess Di coming out of St. George Chapel. After touring the castle apartments we stopped for a Devon tea - then back to London where we celebrated our last evening at a wonderful Hungarian resturant - complete with fantastic Gypsy violinists. The place was full of Hungarians singing along with the music. There was an older woman at the next table singing - a bit tearful and showing pictures of her old life in Hungary. The waiters were darling & we stayed until midnight. A suitable end to a delightful and successful trip.

We pause in York

On the train from Edinburgh to York I sat with an 85 yr. old charmer named Mrs. Bishop from Berwick on Tweed. She was the epitome of the gentlewoman of spirit - full of stories of gardens and travels and eccentricities of the gentry and how she started doing watercolors at the age of 75. I'd love to have spent much more time with her.

In York we stayed at the Priory Hotel (1870), from which we could walk up the River Ouse to the castle and its wonderful museums. We explored the Shambles and crawled all over the York Minster - Roman ruins in the crypt were particularly interesting. We had tea in the courtyard of 15th century St. Williams College, then on again to London.

On the train we were regaled by the head of the British Engineering Dept. who owns an estate with one of England's finest trout streams running through his back garden. He tried hard to impress us wih his travels, high ranking job etc - we found it quite amusing.

Our London Hotel seemed very drab after the lovely places we'd been.