Life in Hotwells

Life on the water

I’m started to ease into life in Bristol, on the water. I’ve rearranged the living room so that the couch, which used to be aimed at the TV, is now situated so that I can look out to the harbor… when I sit drinking my morning coffee I watch the traffic over the little turquoise bridge that spans my waterway: joggers, bikers, school kids in uniform, adults headed to work. The water is often flat calm when I wake up, but is usually ruffled and alive by commuter time. The leaves on the trees across the way are already yellow and starting to thin, and people walking by are wearing coats… and the sky is often gray, although I have noticed that the weather changes both frequently and rapidly (and it’s sunny this morning). 

By afternoon the wind has usually come up, and as I walk home from the University there are usually sailing classes running from the sailing club directly across from me. Yesterday the water was dotted with blue-sailed laser-like boats that were running through a slalom course of buoys, manned by kids in wet suits (clearly appropriate sailing gear here!). And as night falls and the lights come on, the harbor water shimmers with patches of white and orange light.

The sublime

I’m also realizing that there are parts of the lifestyle that I could get used to here… not having a car does mean that I just plain spend more time walking, which is not a bad thing. It’s a good way to learn my way around the local neighborhood and insures a base level of exercise (there is some topography here). But it also means that I have quickly latched onto the concept of deliveries, which are much more common here than in Eugene! I have now signed up with “Milk-and-more” for weekly deliveries of milk and yogurt – they will also deliver everything from sparkling water to compost to toilet paper (by on-line request before 9pm on the night before the delivery). I’ve also signed up for a weekly veg & fruit box from Riverford Organic Vegetables (http://www.riverford.co.uk/) – they seem to run a consortium of local organic farms around the country… they also offer delivery of meat, beer, wine and eggs, among other things. In addition, the grocery stores will deliver if you want, although there’s a grocery store that is only a block out of the way on my walk home, so it’s not a problem. But it has made me wonder why this concept lost its hold when I was little (I do still remember milk delivery) – seems like a good addition to the Obama jobs plan AND more environmentally friendly to have a few delivery trucks rather than everyone going to the grocery store! There’s a good greengrocers across the harbor, and also a farmer’s market every Wednesday (with booths that sell local cheese, fish, meat and eggs in addition to veggies and lots of apples and apple juice, which is sold by apple variety!). And just two days ago I discovered that The Pump House, the pub/restaurant next door, not only sells jams and chutneys but also artisan bread, cheese and eggs. SO – I don’t think I’ll starve!

The ridiculous

There are also some funny aspects of life here… one that I have particularly noticed (because I’ve been filling out a lot of forms) is the insistence on titles. Now most forms have the usual choice – Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms, Dr. [I’ve been using Ms because it seems the most egalitarian and therefore the least British]. However, when I went on-line to order a recycling bin (of all things) from the City Council, I was given the additional options of Rev, Sir, Lady, Lord and Dame … it did make me think – if I listed myself as Dame, would they give me a ceramic or gold-plated recycling bin rather than the usual black plastic??? To celebrate the quirky aspects of British life, I bought myself a second-hand copy of Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island...