Well we've been getting behind on our reports here, so there's about a 
month's worth of unreported news, and I'll have to be selective.   The 
main thing to report, really, is that we are continuing to have a 
wonderful time, and are astonished at how fast our time here is slipping 
away from us.

A couple of weeks ago we spent a weekend in London.  We arrived 
there on Saturday afternoon, in time to see a matinee performance of 
the play "Amy's View", starring (Dame) Judi Dench.  Very impressive.  
We then wandered around amid the throngs in the West End for a 
while, saw a movie, got caught in the rain in Trafalgar Sqaure and 
sheltered under the portico of St. Martins-in-the-Fields church till it 
stopped, found an Italian restaurant for dinner, and took the "tube" 
back to South Kensington and our  tiny hotel room (you had to climb 
over the bed to get to the window).  On Sunday, after the obligatory 
Full English Breakfast, we headed to the Tate Gallery where we spent 
the day fighting backaches and admiring paintings by  Bonnard and 
Turner.  I decided that Turner, back in the early 19th century, was the 
first space artist- he was fascinated by natural phenomena, and by 
rockets and other technology. No wonder he's my favourite artist.  I 
wonder what he would have done with a Saturn 5 launch.

The days are getting noticeably longer almost from day to day.  It 
seems like no time since I first noticed that there was still light in the 
sky when the bus left campus in the evenings, and every day since then 
more of my return journey has been in daylight.   Now, finally, it is still 
distinctly light when the train pulls into Grange, and my days of 
commuting in the dark are over. 

I've got into the habit of avoiding the commute altogether a couple of 
days a week, sitting at home in front of the gas fire in a comfy chair 
writing IDL programs.  It's a revelation how much work I can get done 
if I am disconnected from e-mail and other distractions for a whole 
day.  Unfortunately I have now figured out how to connect to the 
Lancaster University computer system from here, so I have to exercise 
willpower and restrict myself to checking my e-mail only once a day 
while I'm at home.  A representative of British Telecom (the phone 
company) and the people at the local computer shop both told me 
emphatically that it would be impossible to use my U.S. modem over 
here, but all it took was a phone plug adaptor and I was up and 
running.  Life's little victories...

We do miss the Arizona weather.  The normal winter weather here has 
consisted of grey skies all day, with occasional drizzle to break the 
monotony.  The sun, when it finally appears, is pale and watery.   So a 
sparkling haze-free sunny day last week was a wonderful change, and 
we decided to take an afternoon walk up Hampsfell, a 700-foot hill that 
forms the backdrop to Grange.  As soon as we left the house a cloud 
had the audacity to show up and rain on us, but only briefly, and we 
continued more-or-less undaunted up the hill.  We were so glad we 
made the effort- from the top of Hampsfell, in the rain-washed air and 
the late afternoon light, there was a stunning view over the Lake 
District, the Pennine hills, and Morecambe Bay, all the familiar places 
of my youth.  We'd like to get in the habit of going up Hampsfell in the 
evenings, once there's enough light after work.   We could certainly 
use the exercise.

I should also say something about the Grand Re-Opening of Grange 
railway station, a visit from my brother, a snowy drive through the 
Lake District with the Aunties, and the importance of fake coal-effect 
gas or electric heaters in English culture, but it will have to wait for 
another day, so its "ta-ra" from us for now.