Blenheim Palace Battle Proms

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For the last two years we've lived in Oxford, we've attended the annual battle proms at Blenheim Palace. For those of you who are history buffs, Blenheim Palace (www.blenheimpalace.com) is the birthplace of Winston Churchill. It's located in Woodstock, a small, quaint village about 20 miles from Oxford. The Palace truly IS a palace, and sits on the most beautiful piece of land - acres and acres of rolling gardens, full of history.

Okay, enough about the landscaping - back to battle proms.

When we were first invited to attend this grand event, I asked someone what exactly is a battle prom? The English weren't exactly great at explaining, so I did some research. In short, the battle proms are a bit like an American version of the 4th of July - with a tad bit more pomp and circumstance. Actually, a tad doesn't even cut it. It's way more than a tad; it's enormous pomp and circumstance. They have a reenactment of the Napoleonic infantry and Calvary; an orchestra that plays William Tell's 1812 overture which is enhanced by the firing of 200 cannons; a spitfire that flies overhead; and roughly the ONLY time you'll ever see a Brit get the slightest bit patriotic by waving a Union Jack flag.

Now, you have to ask...What does one wear to this event? The answer: anything. You'll literally see people in 17th century period dress, evening gowns, overcoats and wellies, ascots...you get the picture.

This event takes place in a field that overlooks the Palace. There's usually about 2,000 people there. They typically have small venues to get food, etc, but everyone usually brings their own picnics. This is where it can get interesting. Every group is different. Some will bring tents, and full dining room furniture capped off with candelabras and a fancy catered meal; others (like my group), just brought a basic picnic, and sat on the ground (or in tailgaiting chairs) to listen to the music.

It is one of my favorite things we've done since we've lived here!

And the pic below is proof: 3 crazy blonde Americans. 2 crazy Englishmen. 1 ridiculous fishing hat.

You Have Stolen My Heart

Dear Jack,

Happy 7 week birthday! It's hard to believe you've only been in our lives for 7 weeks; we can't imagine our lives before you now - except for the fact that we did get a lot more sleep!

We are so privileged and blessed to be your parents. Sometimes I'm not quite sure what God was thinking entrusting you to us. But, we're so honored to have that responsibility, even though it feels overwhelming at times. We want so badly for you to grow up and be a terrific citizen of the world, to further God's kingdom with the gifts and talents he's given to you. We promise to help you, with God's help, identify those gifts and talents so you can live life with balance and purpose. There will only be one Jack Emerson Strine; and we truly want you to achieve all that God has for you.

All that to say, we will fail you along the way. A LOT. We're human, just like you, full of flaws and imperfections. We will often get it wrong. We may always get it wrong. But, I can honestly say that we will love you unconditionally, and I pray that you will always feel that our home is place you can rest.

We have so many dreams for you (Daddy's main dream is to be your caddie someday!), but those are for another blog post. We just want you to know that we love you so much.

You have stolen our hearts.

Love,
Your Mom

And then after a year...

So, it seems our blog has been dormant for a year.  Wow is that bad.  No apologies.  Life, as they say, got in the way.

Anyhow, with the imminent arrival of our child (let's hope sooner rather than later), I figure we'd better get this thing running again as we'll need a place to post photos of the newest Strine and a place to tell all the adorable stories about her or him.

Noticing that our last post, courtesy of my wonderful wife, was about the Addebury Half-Marathon, I thought I'd inform everyone, a month later, that this year I was in England and did run the race.  1:50:28... not that I'm counting or anything.  Great race, great day.  Anyhow... here I am in full stride.

 

As my favorite blogger on Runners' World says, waddle on.

The Adderbury Half Marathon

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Whilst Casey was away this summer, paying someone so he could dig up dirt, I had the opportunity to go stay with Mr & Mrs S in Adderbury for a weekend. The Adderbury Running Club was to host its first marathon to coincide with their village's annual Party in the Park. It was to be an exciting weekend, and I didn't want to miss it.

Mr S and I left work on Thursday evening and drove out to their village. We had a meeting with the 2 other ARC masterminds - T & J - at their local pub, named The Bell. I found out that I was given the title of 'Race Coordinator' which meant I was to help organize things....and so much more, it turned out.

Day before the race day: Mr S went happily off to work, and I stayed behind 'working from the Adderbury office,' putting together spreadsheet after spreadsheet of information. There was to be 5 races in all: half marathon, 10K, half marathon walk, kids fun run, and the circle walk. We had over 150 people register for them, which for a first time, had exceeded everyone's expectations.

Half way through the day, J came over to Mr S' house to let me know he would be setting out the mile markers for the half marathon. Mr S & I were to put out the markers for the 10K. (Before I go any further, I must reflect that to say these races were cross country is to make an understatement. You were running through fields, jumping over fences, and in some cases, wide streams due to recent flooding.) Around 4p, Mr S came home, and we loaded up our mile markers, stakes, etc. jumped on our bikes, and headed out to mark the course. I figured, 2 hours tops, right? We were on bikes, and how long does it take to ride a 10k?

I literally had no idea what I was about to get myself into.

Even in July, the weather was relatively cool. Before we left, Mrs S loaned me a jacket, and later on, I was extremely thankful that she did. The first mile marker wasn't so bad - we had mainly stayed on roads, and then veered off down a path through a gate. At the end of the path, I swung the gate open and I was standing in a field. It was the picturesque English countryside. Horses galloped, cows grazed, geese and ducks flew overhead; I thought, "What a lucky girl I am to be able to experience this." I looked at Mr S and asked him where we were headed - he politely pointed to the other side of the field.

We rode our bikes and came to a fence with a gate that was clearly locked. My brain started to turn.

"Umm...do you have a key for this gate?" I politely asked Mr S.

"No, you have to jump over," was his reply. "The farmers keep them locked, but we have permission to run the race through the fields."

I watched his pick up his bike and throw it over the fence. WOW. Guess that means I'll have to do that as well! Of course, I'm not as strong as Mr S, so I only get one tire over. He does the rest.

At this point, as much as I'm enjoying the beautiful countryside, I am beginning to feel:
a) out of shape
b) a complete weakling for not being able to pick up a bike and throw it over a fence
c) we were going to be out here A LOT longer than 2 hours

As I'm giving myself the 'suck it up' speech in my head, I looked off in the distance and saw dark clouds. We had been experiencing rain off/on all day, but the sun had been out when we left the house. I silently pray - Lord, no rain! It's been raining for days! I'm out here laying mile markers down, riding a bike (that's not made for cross country) across a field! I'm in jeans! Please please please don't let it rain!!

And then the Heavens opened. And it rained.

If it weren't for Mrs S' jacket and a hat that I had grabbed before we left, I would have been absolutely soaked. And everyone knows what happens when jeans get wet - they seem to grow 3 feet and just hang from you. Awesome.

We laid the third mile marker out and came to a locked gate. Mr S' blackberry buzzed, and he decided to take the call. In his defense, he did need to speak to the other person on the other end of the line, but the call went on and on and on - I was watching the water drip off the bill of my hat.

We probably only stood there for 5 minutes, but when he finally hung up, I looked at him and said, "Right. Unless it's God (or Mrs S) calling you next time, you don't answer your phone. Deal?"

And off we went - more fields, more bike tossing, more mud.

We came to one of the last fields we would go through, and Mr S started hammering in the stake for the marker. A herd of cows on the other side of the field started sauntering towards us. Normally, I'm not afraid of cows, or other big animals, but I must admit the closer these cows got the more frightened I became. They were curious animals; they wanted to see what we were hammering in the ground. I'm sure they were hungry, and maybe they planned to eat the neon green sign as soon as we left. I just did not want them to eat us! They got closer and closer until they were a mere 10 feet from us. I looked at Mr S, and said, "Yeah...I want to leave now." He looked at me and pointed across the field and said, "Yep! It's time to go!" A very large bull was heading over to the herd. (Funny thing I noted - American cows would not have bothered you, but it was interesting to me that the English cows were very curious. I found it to be quite opposite of our cultures.)

He jumped on his bike and raced away, and I tried to keep up. It suddenly occurred to me that I was a moving target - as my jacket was bright red!! GREAT.

Over the next 3 hours, we kept up our fence jumping, bike tossing and stream crossing. Luckily, in the English summer, the sun doesn't set until almost 11pm, so after the rain let up, we had some light to guide us back to the house. We arrived back around 9:30pm, where a sweet Mrs S had made a lovely dinner for us!

I must say, it was by far one of my most favorite days in England. Even though I wasn't running a race, it was fun to do something physically demanding and be part of a race community.

Race day was equally as fun! There was loads to learn from running this event the first time, and I think the Adderbury Running Club did a great job the first year. The winner of the half marathon ran it in a hour and a half, which isn't a bad time; but, unfortunately for him and a few others behind them, one of the farmers did not put a bridge down, and it forced them to run an additional 3.5 miles. So, the winner actually ran 16 MILES. He and the others were great sports about it, which was good.

I ended up running the kids portion with all the children. Given how badly injured my knee was at that point, I couldn't keep up with the little ones, so I ran behind them with Mr & Mrs S, eldest daughter, Isobel. She and I will have great memories from that day for a long time. Well, maybe just me. :)

Party in the park followed the race, with plenty to eat, drink and people watch. They had several bands play, which was great as well!

I went home Sunday night absolutely exhausted, but oh my! What a fun weekend. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thanks to Mr & Mrs S for hosting me all weekend for the festivities. It was really so much fun! I would do it all again in a second.

Cheers!
Mandy

Confessions of A Diet Coke Addict

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I can't stop.

I love Diet Coke. The taste, the smell, the wonderful sound the can makes when opened - a slight hiss, then a pop! Oh, it's music to my ears! I think I can live without the bubbly stuff, but can I? Really?

But tell me, what constitutes being an addict? How many times can you fall off the wagon, and get back on before you realize there may be a problem? I can walk through the soda aisle of our local grocery store without purchasing a 6 pack, but sadly, I can barely walk past the refrigerated section of the grocery store without hearing the Diet Coke section call my name - Drink me! I'm only £.42! I guess when the cans start speaking to you, that's when there may be a problem.

After two bouts of kidney stones, doctor after doctor telling me to lay off the caffeine, I've finally decided maybe it's time to heed the warnings. Obviously my body doesn't like the stuff (especially since I do know there are numerous stones lurking in my right kidney), so why drink it? I've managed to go off it before, for months......but, I like it. I like it. I like it!

However, I am committed to my health, so I am going to make a pledge on our blog: I will not drink diet coke for 2 months. I know I can do it.

You are allowed to check up on me.

Please!

Mandy