Gilberts' Fridge

My own piano…

It seems like ages since the last time I posted. Probably because it’s been ages, but never mind. I have been busy with church and work and my new exercise regime. It’s only two weeks until my next appointment with Mr. Odukoya, so I have to be diligent.

Life continues to march on by here in England. Today apparently marks the beginning of spring, but temperatures dropped to about -6C last night, and parts of Scotland got a foot of snow. Still, the daffodils outside my house are growing a little more every day. And even though it’s cold today, the sun is shining like crazy!

The most exciting thing that’s happened in the last few weeks is that Martin bought me a piano! He found it on E-bay, and spent a whopping £10.50 on it (about $18.00) The only down side of the whole deal (and I actually consider it to be a positive) is that we have to drive to Kent to get it. We are renting a van and driving down first thing Saturday morning. We’re going to make a day of it, and I am so excited!

In other exciting news, Martin and I are starting to house shop in earnest. We got a mortgage certificate from the bank, and we can use it when we make offers on houses. We found one that we absolutely loved, but we won’t be able to get a loan for the asking price on it. I was hoping, but I guess it’s just not meant to be. I’m sure we’ll find something nice soon!

Here’s an interesting bit of information that I only learned last week. I always thought it was kind of strange that they didn’t call my fertility specialist “doctor,” and I kind of wondered if he was not actually a physician. My GP is called Dr. Wellings, and I was curious. The ladies at work informed me that once a physician becomes a “consultant,” or a specialist, if you speak American, you no longer call them a doctor. They are “better than” a doctor, apparently. In fact, to call my fertility consultant Dr. Odukoya would be an insult. He is Mr. Odukoya.

I can’t get over the class and title differences here. We were talking about retired Army officers last week, and the girls at work were saying how silly it was that retired officers wanted to be called by their rank. However, they have no problem referring to the local gentry as “Lord” or “Lady” so and so, even though they never earned that rank—they were just born to it. People who would never admit to respect for the nobility and royalty, who would actually laugh at it, still defer to them. I miss America—land of the free and home of the brave, where doctors are called doctor, you don’t receive a title unless you earn it, and the president is called Mr. President. There really is more equality there!

Nothing really makes you appreciate the way you grew up like moving somewhere else. I have always taken the rights of an American citizen for granted. Just seeing little things—like the way the British government can hold suspects of a crime in jail for DAYS just for questioning and not actually charge them with anything, or the way some religious schools receive state funding and have to teach the curriculum the government sets up for them, gives me a whole new respect for our founding fathers. They came to a new land with all of the ideas that made British government so great, and they also had a clear perspective of all the ways it was inherently flawed. Say what you like about the American government, but it is based on sound philosophies and great insight. The politicians may be corrupt and the laws perverted, but the framework is perfect in every way. Living in England makes me so proud to be an American. I don’t think I’ll ever become a true ex-patriot.