Moving Can Be the Pits. At Least There's Television to See Me Through!

My one-year anniversary celebrating my giant move overseas was on October 31. Since then, I've been thinking a lot about moving in general, how many times I've moved over the years, the number of houses I've lived in (or structures), how much money I've spent on gasoline travelling back and forth with all of the trips. Seriously, it seems endless. It feels like an endless string of insecurity, instability and anxiety. So, what are the common denominators? What are the few things that keep me sane during all of these tumultuous events? Well, the answer isn't going to be life altering for those of you who are looking for the answer to your existence. It's not some sort of existential, life-altering epiphany. It's really rather simple - as well as the subject of much debate.

Television. That glorious and fascinating product of technology!!

Television has been one of the best constants in my life. It keeps me grounded so to speak. After 25 moves, 25 homes and countless amounts of money spent on moving expenses the one thing in my life that has helped me cope with the stress of moving is television. Now I have no intention of initiating a debate on the negative affects of television - mostly because I believe everything is good in moderation. However, I AM saying that television has been important to me over the years. I'm not afraid to say. Hey, I'm actually proud to say it. I love TV!

However, if you're ever moving to one of the more remote places in the country, such as the North East portions of the US like up state New York or Vermont, then you know how even conventional TV antennas don't help much with reception. Thank God for the invention of satellite television!!! There are so many digital television services out there but, for me, the one that offered the best support (and hooked my service up the fastest) was Direct TV. I remember when I moved back to the Northeast Kingdom to the farm house I grew up in. I was soooo happy to find a Directv service that would actually come out that far! Direct TV in New York state was amazing. I think it took a total of 24 hours from the time I phoned in my order and the time they serviced that house! I was soooo relieved when I realized I could tune into my favorite shows, wake up to the morning news with a hot cup of coffee, catch the summer Olympics!

Now that I'm in the UK, I miss that kind of service. Television is not free here with just a conventional antenna. Everyone pays something like £12.50/month for service. The general consensus is to just stick with that. I, however would like to find another satellite service. There are satellite services out there. Guess I'll just have to check into them. Maybe I'll be able to get the Evening News with Katie Couric at 11 PM!

Beards and Bras and Pants, Oh My!

Today I was interviewed on BBC Radio Suffolk; and, it all started with the growth of a beard... Oh, and throw in some bras and pants as well. The celebration of such undergarments and facial hair growth is all in the name of cancer research and support.

11 November, 2009 – For Immediate Release

Beards & Bras in Bures

November is cancer awareness month in Bures. In an effort to support both the prevention and care side of this devastating disease, local supporters are raising money for Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.

On Saturday, 28^th November 2009 at the Swan Pub & Bistro in Bures you will experience a fundraising event like no other! In an effort to raise money for the fight against cancer, one of Bures’ more colourful characters, James Lee generated sponsors (and nearly £2,000 in sponsorships to date) who challenged him to grow a beard over the past 6 months. James met this challenge and by the 28^th of November will have completed his mission.

In support of James’ efforts, a group of local supporters collaborated to organize the first bra and pant project in our area. Everyone throughout the region is invited to participate by creating or decorating a brazier or pair of pants and donning these articles of clothing on this same night. “Including men in this event is crucial to the message we are sending” said Gina Geremia, project organizer. “It seems that more of us are aware that breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women. However, for men prostate cancer is the most common cancer. We want to include men in this event by encouraging them to create or decorate a pair of pants symbolizing their fight against prostate cancer.”

Once the night of the event is over, the project is just kicking in. With the help from Cancer Research UK, Geremia is searching for venues in which to showcase the bras and pants as what will be the first travelling bra and pant art exhibit in the country. The idea to showcase these came from Geremia who did not want to see these art designs disintegrate into the night. “These will mean more than we can ever imagine” said Geremia. What cancer survivors and their families and friends go through is beyond imagination. My guess is we’ll be seeing some pretty profound designs honouring children, parents and friends.” Of course, designs will only be included in the exhibit with the express permission of the artist.

Although they aren’t calling it the first annual event as such, the thought to make it one has occurred to the group. We’d love to have 10 men next year lined up ready to shave off their beards and the march to double in size said Geremia. “Who knows, perhaps other communities will jump on the Beards & Bras bandwagon. Then we can make it a growing bra and pant exhibit and bring it home to Bures next November!”

Participants are encouraged to wear their designs over their clothes and show off their work of art by participating in the 1-mile march for cancer throughout the village. Their goal is to match the nearly £2000 generated by James Lee. All funds generated by this effort will be shared between Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Support Beards & Bras in Bures

· Place your donation in one of the fundraising tins throughout the village:

Swan Pub & Bistro

Eight Bells

Post Office

Deli

• Purchase your raffle tickets at participating locations or on the night of the event.

• Decorate a bra or pair of pants (or create a new one!) and join in the 1-mile march. Be sure to attach your personal signature on your creation as the collection of entries will travel the region in the first bra and pant art exhibit in the nation!
• Join James for the long-awaited “shaving of the beard”.

Schedule and Important Information

• A sponsorship/Entry form will enter you into the bra and pant decorating and 1-mile march. (sponsor/entry forms available at participating locations)
• 20:30 – Bra and pant creators gather at the Swan to prepare for the march.
• 21:00 – March along a designated route through the village (end at Swan by 21:30).
• 22:00 – The Shaving of the Beard in the public bar of the Swan.
• 22:30 – Announcement of best decorated bra and pants followed by raffle drawing
• The evening of the event is free to the public and there will be refreshments for all!

For more information contact Gina Geremia, 07946668516 or ginageremia@gmail.com.

Chappel Beer Festival

It was one night and one night only we were able to experience the week-long festival. Still, it was one GREAT night and well worth the one year wait! The party consisted of (starting from front left) Claire, James, Tom, me and Justin along with about 300+ fans and 400+ beers. Our mission was to taste delicious beers from all over. After going through the full beer list I made my list of must tries (assuming they were still around!) and headed for the train station... What a lucky night! We rode the train to Chappel from Bures and back for free!!! When we got to the festival it was "first thing's first" with Claire being as thirsty as she was. I didn't' even have time to go over my list before we were in the first building and I was being handed a taste of... well, to be honest I don't even know what! Here we are excited to see our favorites! After we wet our whistle, we headed for the food and had one of the best cheese toasties on planet Earth! Er, that's basically a grilled cheese sandwich to my stateside friends! We were finally prepared to set out for Mission Beer Festival. The kegs were lined up in endless rows by alpha order - I was surrounded by kegs of beer in multiple buildings and it was overwhelmingly fantastic! Claire and I couldn't get over how delicious some of our choices were! Here I am surrounded by hundreds of delicious brews. I wish all of my beer loving friends could have been there to celebrate with me. Just look at all of those kegs being cared for with their blankets and labels. Here, I had just tried the Summer Virgin by Brentwood Brewery and it was good... it just wasn't what I wanted. I wanted the Screaming Virgin but wasn't on tap. Basically, Brentwood had my favorites to try: Chockwood Orange (dark, deep chocolate beer with hints of orange) and Screaming Virgin (strong, citrus) but neither one were on tap. :( After a quick visit through both of the big buildings we visited the tiny Sunter's Arms. It is so tiny there is only enough room for two customers in at a time and they only had three beers on tap. Claire loves this place! Look how happy she and Justin are just to be near it! After visiting the Sunter's Arms we went to the Belgian Bar where we had some of the absolute best Lambic on Planet Earth! Raspberry, Peach, Cherry, Pink Grapefruit, Black Current... the flavors were all so delicious and refreshing! Of course, the hefeweizen got the double thumbs up too! With so many people, it was tough to find a place to relieve oneself. Thankfully for Justin and Tom there was an antique gentlemen's "shelter" where they could relieve themselves in private. Or so it seemed... Well, after a few more trips around the festival we were ready to take one last group shot and the train back to Bures. We'll be back next year, you can count on it!