Flying over Oz
- Jul 16, 2021
- 4 min read
The Financial Times, our preferred weekend newspaper, requires an accompanying dictionary to translate English to English. One of the weekend inquiries in the House & Home column concerned the placement of a small shed in the backyard. "Are corner sheds naff: lacking taste? Would a small summer house look Wendy-house-ish?" What a delightful surprise to find a Wendy house.
You won't be able to buy this stylish house on the US Amazon site but on the UK Amazon site I can buy Wendy houses galore, if I so choose.
The Wendy house originates from J.M. Barrie's play Peter Pan. It was the house that the Lost Boys and Peter Pan built around Wendy in Never Never Land. How appropriate considering Wendy is the name my brother's chose for me when I was born.
I wish I had a darling house
the littlest ever seen,
With funny little red walls
And a roof of mossy green.
Another word needing translating was Nesh: susceptible to the cold. Summer's light in the UK stretches out our 24 hour days urging us to make things happen, enjoy our summer. The longest day, 16 hours 38 minutes of light on June 20 is not taken for granted when considering the alternative of shorter days in the coming fall and winter months. May the lazy days of summer scare the Nesh away.
Balloon Flight
The spectacle of a large nylon tomato rapidly ripening in the distance fills our horizon multiple nights a week. The view from our living room to Victoria Park is interrupted by hot air balloons coming to life. They spread like a surrealistic garden patch in a race to see who can ripen the fastest. The trees tethered to the ground look longingly upward as the hot air balloons break their earthly bonds floating magically with their human captives off to a new adventure.
At times I expect to see the Wizard looking down at us as his balloon rises on his return to Omaha. (What I had forgotten about the Oz story is that Dorothy and Toto don't get to travel with the Wizard, because Toto jumps out to chase a kitten).
To see the magic behind these bags of hot air we raced to the park for a closer look. Drawing us like a moth to a flame we found 4 different balloons being constructed. The marvel of hot air ballooning depends on great weather conditions, caution and a good pilot.
The Montgolfier Brothers are acknowledged for inventing the Montgolfiere hot air balloon (first practical hot air balloon). In 1783, viewers at Versailles witnessed the first launching of a Montgolfier hot air balloon made out of silk and paper. First passengers were a dazed duck, a crowing rooster and an air sick sheep name Montauciel (climb to the sky). Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were there to decide if further flights would be allowed. When the ménage à trois reported back to terra firma safely, permission was given by King Louis for human flight. Don't be thinking throuple about the rooster, duck and sheep, the french term ménage à trois directly translated means 3 in a household.
With Louis' permission secured, Francois Laurent d'Arlende and French scientist Pilatre de Rozier, the humans, were next. Unlike Branson and Bezos they wanted to be the first in flight, as partners not rivals.
How does the crazy idea of blowing hot air into paper and silk ever get invented?
Back to our balloon adventure. The balloons are laid out on the ground. A big flipping flame is blasted into the nylon material. The trick is to fashion an envelope with heated air that is hotter than outside air, creating buoyancy. 1, 2, 3, Voila!
Baskets are different sizes depending on the size of the hot air balloon envelope. We saw baskets ranging from 2-12 people. As the balloon gets to just the right size the passengers climb carefully in the basket. They must remain at the bottom of the basket until they have created enough buoyancy, only when the basket starts to rise off the ground and it's stabilized can they stand up.
Ballooning pilot licenses take about 2 years, including 16 hours as a pilot in command, 6 flights, 4 instructor flights, you take an exam and if you obtain a passing score you can pilot.
I can imagine a dragon being unleashed to blow his flames into the balloons bringing them to life, releasing a balloon army into the atmosphere .
So a cabbage, a kohlrabi and a turnip walk into a bar...
Where do we go with that? Cabbage coleslaw, kohlrabi coleslaw, turnip coleslaw gets old fast which leaves braising, pickling, crudités and baking as alternatives. If anyone knows a tasty broad bean (fava) recipe, please send it to me. No Hannibal Lecter please. Our organic local produce delivery introduces us to some veggies I wouldn't normally purchase but since they are a part of our world now, we are learning.
The fresh tomatoes, juicy strawberries, sweet raspberries, delectable carrots, luscious lettuce and incredibly crunchy cucs are the simplest pleasures. Not having a car I appreciate any delivery in this uphill town.
The physalis, sometimes called a ground cherry is a fun, silly addition to a salad. I approve of this one. When the calyx opens there is a delicious berry that we eat raw or dried.
About Town
Just a normal day in Bath. Weekends bring out our inner theatrical selves. Don't you just love someone who proudly displays their cloud cover. Popup acts like this are a part of Bath weekends.
Hen dos are English bridal showers, very popular in Bath. This one enjoys some stand up paddle boarding whilst passing by the most English of hard drink, a Gin distillery.
Walking into town I mysteriously crossed over into Jane Austen's world. Quiet on the set. Jane Austen's book Persuasion was being filmed with Dakota Johnson.
My favorite movie actor takes a hay break.
Nesh is in origin a northern English word, it has a slightly pejorative sense in that if you're nesh it means you're a bit of a wimp when it comes to the cold - wearing 2 sweaters when everyone else is in t-shirts.
In Spain we have eaten "fèves à la catalane", with chorizo, very tasty - your English beans might have a fit of the vapours at being treated in such a continental fashion though!!