Yesterday and today Dan and I explored the country land during our visits to prospective clients. Yesterday's was in Ruddington, Nottingham some three hours away with traffic. We got there early and so spent some time in the tiny city center. It had several coffee shops and we settled in one - that was remarkably 2 story building complete with free Wi-Fi, freshly made meals and a number of seating choices. Today's one in Haddenham is called Little Italy. It is similar in many ways and has another added bonus - freshly made gourmet cuisine. Seriously, who would have thought. Portobello mushroom with goat cheese covered in caramelized red onions steeped in honey and soy sauce. We are not fans of Italian because oftentimes dish names that rarely correlate to the taste. But this was pretty amazing.
Back to yesterday for a moment. We passed a mini-van with pictures of horned and tailed ladies in the back. On the side, the sign read something to the effect of "Heart Association." Hmm. Makes one think. There are interesting things to see and we are trying hard.
When we arrived for our meeting, there was a raised barrier on the road and a gate. The guard came out to greet us. He looked bewildered. He said: "weren't you warned not to come here? Didn't you hear about the accident? " With the intro like that I expected a shooting at least. Apparently they were fixing their roof and last night thunderstorm proved that temporary roof covering was not waterproof. I guess English can be unprepared for floods. He directed us to another building down the road with a similar entry arrangements. The friendly guard over there displayed a smile that said "No Dental Care" in this country.
The meeting went very well. They were very friendly and accommodating, even fed us lunch. There is a chance we may have to make this trip a few more times.
Today we went to Haddenham. After driving around the fields for some time I did not really expect the eating splendor I wrote about earlier. It came with a picture perfect village filled with an interesting selection of homes each unique. From plastered, to stone, to brick with roofs that ranged from red shingles to big fat thatches. We even visited the cemetery to see how old the village was. The earliest gravestones that we could make out the dates on started in 1830s. After a look on Wikipedia, apparently Haddenham is not an ordinary village. Pretty cool.
Mixed feedback about our business meeting today. The crowd was somewhat arrogant and challenging to break through. I assume it is a form of a defense reaction from having to sit in a dark hot room watching a string of prospective vendors do their song and dance for hours to no end. In the end I think we will get a second visit out of it.
Our colleague rode back with us to catch the train from Kingston. Told us some pretty sad stories growing up in Zimbabwe and then being thrown out to South Africa as a kid after British pulled the plug. His family lived in abject poverty. And he is the only one who managed to get out and after struggling for a few years finally make it here. Made us appreciate what our parents did for us not so long ago.
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Excited that the royal family has chosen to follow our family example in naming their first born. Almost forgot. There is absolutely amazing thing in the supermarket - take out international cuisine. Basically you get a box that contains multiple dishes nicely wrapped up just like the take out. It costs 10-15 pounds per 2 people, 20 for four. Four of us barely got through half of our Indian take out box for two tonight. Isabella had her yogurt and hummus as usual. For desert we tried out gelato in Clarence street. Kids liked it. It was difficult to look at any more food.
Back to yesterday for a moment. We passed a mini-van with pictures of horned and tailed ladies in the back. On the side, the sign read something to the effect of "Heart Association." Hmm. Makes one think. There are interesting things to see and we are trying hard.
When we arrived for our meeting, there was a raised barrier on the road and a gate. The guard came out to greet us. He looked bewildered. He said: "weren't you warned not to come here? Didn't you hear about the accident? " With the intro like that I expected a shooting at least. Apparently they were fixing their roof and last night thunderstorm proved that temporary roof covering was not waterproof. I guess English can be unprepared for floods. He directed us to another building down the road with a similar entry arrangements. The friendly guard over there displayed a smile that said "No Dental Care" in this country.
The meeting went very well. They were very friendly and accommodating, even fed us lunch. There is a chance we may have to make this trip a few more times.
Today we went to Haddenham. After driving around the fields for some time I did not really expect the eating splendor I wrote about earlier. It came with a picture perfect village filled with an interesting selection of homes each unique. From plastered, to stone, to brick with roofs that ranged from red shingles to big fat thatches. We even visited the cemetery to see how old the village was. The earliest gravestones that we could make out the dates on started in 1830s. After a look on Wikipedia, apparently Haddenham is not an ordinary village. Pretty cool.
Mixed feedback about our business meeting today. The crowd was somewhat arrogant and challenging to break through. I assume it is a form of a defense reaction from having to sit in a dark hot room watching a string of prospective vendors do their song and dance for hours to no end. In the end I think we will get a second visit out of it.
Our colleague rode back with us to catch the train from Kingston. Told us some pretty sad stories growing up in Zimbabwe and then being thrown out to South Africa as a kid after British pulled the plug. His family lived in abject poverty. And he is the only one who managed to get out and after struggling for a few years finally make it here. Made us appreciate what our parents did for us not so long ago.
.
Excited that the royal family has chosen to follow our family example in naming their first born. Almost forgot. There is absolutely amazing thing in the supermarket - take out international cuisine. Basically you get a box that contains multiple dishes nicely wrapped up just like the take out. It costs 10-15 pounds per 2 people, 20 for four. Four of us barely got through half of our Indian take out box for two tonight. Isabella had her yogurt and hummus as usual. For desert we tried out gelato in Clarence street. Kids liked it. It was difficult to look at any more food.
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