Michael's camp

Michael's back! After a thrilling week at Lausanne's alpine camp site - used consecutive weeks all year round by the city's schools - M commenced the homestretch of the academic year.

The stated pedagogic purpose was to engage the teacher-student relationship by moving the class from its urban/home framework to an independent, mountain schoolhouse; in today's parlance, forming community.I Agrarianism is virtually a national heritage issue for the Swiss; spending time with cows, & hiking all helping to anchor a character trait.

Along with dairy cows moving up the mountain to greener pastures in the spring - a favorite motif of folk decoupage -

are the fields of narcissus, a regional highlight of Montreux/Vevey in May.

BTW, this posting's photos are all by Michael! 

Two 5 hour hikes!

Including a visit to a lumberyard to see the preservation of chalet architecture.

And these magnificent huskies, which were friends for the week, pulling sleds for rides. That's half of Michael's head! There was snow higher up, allowing daily toboggan runs.

 

Leon became a close friend, too.

The campfire, which the kids got to make, roasting hot dogs, cooking beans, roasting marshmallows (popular now here)

 

and making their own pizzas in a wood-fired oven.

A bite removed.

Honeybees.

We were both so excited when we got our first calls from Michael, 5 days into the trip. He was excited, too - "feels like just one day" - but were glad he wanted to share it. He began calling all the time.

Springtime 春

          In spring, it is the dawn. The sky at the edge of the        mountains slowly starts to brighten with the approach of day...

          In summer, it is the night. Delightful when the moon is out, but no less so on dark nights when countless fireflies can be seen mingling in flight...

          In autumn, it is the evening. As the setting sun draws closer to the mountains, the crows hastily fly back to their nests in threes and fours and twos...

         In winter, it is the early morning. Delightful when snow is falling, but even frost or freezing cold-- the way fire and coal is stirred...

These opening lines of The Pillow Book by 10th c. court aristocrat Sei Shonagon operate seasonal categories, attaching seasons to poetic essences. From ancient times, the aesthetic operated an imagistic lyricism, musical rhythm, & scroll format, inviting comparison with the dominant aesthetic of our own life world; ie the principles of cinema.

I love the watermelon color of quince blossoms.

"Snowball," as they are called in the NW. This climate, similar to the Tacoma area, has similar plant varieties, with an explosion of flowering trees.

Lilacs

 

Wisteria or Fuji

The fountains are officially turned on, again - tasty, drinkable water.

Found an interesting view of the boys' Ecole Montriond on a shortcut path.

Meanwhile in the city - creation was blooming elsewhere - a cigar rolling demo; sampling Cubans on the Rue de Bourg!  Costco, take note.

Michael MIA!

Michael's class went to Chateau d'Oex, an alpine recreational spot - international hot air balloon headquarters, btw - for the annual school camping trip for ONE WHOLE WEEK!

We met at the Lausanne station, as Veronique, the teacher (left) led everyone to the platform,

where parents said their good-byes; 9 yr olds, outfitted with a detailed list, got onboard.Michael with NY cap; Joaz in background left.

Morning class with activities - hiking, games - and stargazing in the evening; it'll be a solid week of French for M, who was excited to go, packing days ahead. He was pleased 2 others requested him to share their room, but it's very strange for us.  Jack keeps saying, "I just miss him." As do we.They are very close brothers, sorting out their friendship over the year, as J still cashed in on being small & cute, getting the lion's share of attention. M was older, yet not a peer to 19 yr olds, so had to learn another way; his fluent but limited vocab French hindering his school socialization. Appreciating these challenges, we were glad he was eager to go camping.

After a cold, wet spell, the sun returned and things are verdant green.

"Memory and desire, stirring   Dull roots with spring rain." TS Eliot

Jack and Marie

Jack loses another tooth, during our fish meal in Vevey after church.

 

UK Paques holiday: Scotland!

On this trip, I finally figured out that UK does not include most of northern Ireland, which is a separate republic, and that Great Britain = England, Scotland, & Wales. Island cultures with similarly ambivalent relationship to the continent as Japan to Asia, we flew into Edinburgh, then journeyed for the western coast.

Carolyn is part Scot - McEachern was mother's maiden name - but our Tacoma church was BIG on all things British, the high school having an alternate year, Christian heritage tour of England & Scotland. An eye-opener for me, the intellectual firepower of local sons - Adam Smith, David Hume - was striking, as was John Knox, the Reformer whose statue is at the Reformation Wall in Geneva, alongside Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli.  Nice to see the larger story of reformed faith taking hold in northern Europe, then crossing the ocean.


First, however, was the ubiquity of panda images, since two bears were on loan at the local zoo - Sichuan Jack comes to Edinburgh to meet Chinese fellow travelers!

 

Golf, whisky, Clydesdales, & Presbyterianism - all from a proud and extremely friendly people, with a landscape reminding us of upstate NY.

 ***

 

St Giles, where Knox founded Scottish Presbyterianism and closed his preaching career.

 ***

 
The stuff was everywhere,

 

Glenfiddich (on board) - 5, 10, 15 yr - flowing from the tap (sorry blurry).

  

souvenirs 

***

Edinburgh Castle

 

The old town, with high contrast painting, where Carolyn found knitting yarns...

 

and a weaver of self-designed sweaters:

and I found some used and antiquarian bookstores like below,

where I found an 1811 Book of Common Prayer.


For PD:
Peter Harrington's, whose children's books we all visited back in London,

 which had this shelf of C.S. Lewis first editions, original covers and rebound leather of Lion WW, P Caspian, as well as Perelandra and theological works, such as a rare Screwtape!

 

Different cultures have different riches; England famous for its literature and prodigious oral skills, much owed to the defining power of the Book of Common Prayer. People identify the nation with writing. This eatery was filled with books and paintings of illustrious modern authors from the UK, such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, TS Eliot.

Not so known for cuisine, but this pig looked tasty! BTW, traveling to Normandy and now the UK has made the history come alive, realizing that the Norman defeat of the British in the Battle of Hastings introduced Latin/French into English. The language of the manor - French - culturally divided pork from pig, mutton from sheep, beef from cow.

We had a small world experience, running into Doug Bond in Edinsburgh!!!  We shared a great evening of conversation and curry, adding to our food options with the boys, who did fine with the milder ones, rice, naan, mango lassi.

 

M has changed a lot, but certain angles make him look like the boy he was at 2. He seemed to turn a corner this trip with a new love of reading. We're hoping... 

 

  Scenes of Edinburgh.

***
On to Ayr

Beautiful countryside reminding of Whidbey Island - note the yellow Scotch broom which they're trying to remove in WA.  Here, created a colorful moss of color. Also note Clydesdales.

 Below: Ailsa Craig, a volcanic "plug" whose granite is used for curling stones, now featured in the Olympics.

looked to me like one big curling stone.

We "rode" horses.
 

 Michael immediately wanted to visit the Carters in MN!

 ***

I've sometimes tried to understand the bizarre nature of certain British men's fashion; the eclectic pairing of colors and patterns. My theory is that this comes from golf!

Little lands filled with greenways have created a mix-matched fashion palette, consistent with clashing tastes.

 

Culzean (silent z) Castle is a jewel of Scottish castles, which, like Ireland, seem to dot the countryside, providing wedding venues and extensive grounds, almost functioning as a national park.

More manicured and modernized, this castle bore less of a medieval presence compared to Swiss ones.

 

This trip was more at the mercy of public transport, involving intra-country flights and more logistics compared to car trips, but went smoothly, helping that UK children were back to school. We got some interesting - "why aren't they in school?" - stares along the way. 

Good sign: M&J actually looked forward to going back to school. Most of Europe in a rainstorm, which we miraculously seemed to keep avoiding. Pepperdine student interns arrive in just over a week!