new forest.

[hoppingthepond]

My host mum (it's very hard to think of her as a mum -- she's single and has no children, although she would make a fantastic mother), her parents (who are really lovely people), and I are going somewhere over the May half-term week, which is next week. It's probably going to be the New Forest, which is actually a very old forest (having been used as hunting grounds by William the Conquerer in the 1070s). It's got adorable New Forest Ponies, Beaulieu (for those not in the know, it's not pronounced with a French accent, but actually 'bew-ley'), and is not too far from Salisbury (again, it's not 'sal-is-berry' -- it's 'sahls-bury'), which has the highest cathedral in Britain. This also puts it not too far away from Stonehenge. We've talked about a few other places, but I'm definitely voting for the New Forest -- ponies and Stonehenge and historic buildings! What more does one need?

For those of you from the States -- you thought Native American place names were hard to pronounce? We'll think about rivers in Pennsylvania, where I was born. Susquehanna? Easy enough. Monongahela? Also easy enough. Allegheny? Probably the easiest of all. British place names? Just when you think you've got their measure (Worcester -- that's not "wor-chest-er" but "wooster"; Gloucester isn't "glou-chest-er" but "gloster"), you don't. Burghley, site of the famous CCI**** Burghley Horse Trials in September? Burley. Like the little trailers that go behind adult bikes for the little 'uns to ride in.