This is It

I guess this is it folks. I am about to take off into another world. I talked to Tom again this past Sunday, the 17th, about what help I can offer to move Bolton Castle closer to becoming the highlight of the Dales. He wants me to start work on the website whenever I have the time. I told him I would start immediately. He said he would need to just make a phone call to the website administrator to let him know who am I, what I will be doing, and to please post my work to the appropriate part of the site. We have a follow up telephone call scheduled for Tuesday at 10am to continue the process. Once off the phone with him I jumped on the computer and created two brief statements which I hope Tom will get posted. The first is an introduction of me as a new member of the staff, the other is my own personal note of greeting and thanks. Once those are posted I will feel that even though I am not getting paid to work on the website, at least I will get the credit. I am going to head out to the nearest internet cafe to email the documents to Tom so he'll have them for our 'conference call' tomorrow. hehe

Tom was disappointed that I was unable to come down for the Armada Faire at the Castle this weekend. I asked him to describe it to me. He said that there was a group of 10 re-enactors. The premise of the faire was that word had arrived that Spain was sending an Armada to attack England and visitors had to be prepared. Those who participated would be sent around the castle to learn key skills needed for a fighter of the day. Pike drill, sword fighting, caligraphy, herbs, and cooking classes were provided in key areas of the castle. Most, if not all, the participants were children. Each child would rotate through 4 classes.

It sounded like a good event. The re-enactors will be returning to the castle in two weeks for the medieval faire. I would love to attend that one as well, but I don't have enough funds. Also that weekend is the last weekend of the month and also the last weekend of the Edinburgh Festival. Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant is throwing a special event that last night to cooincide with the Military Tatoo's final fireworks gala. I will have to work that event. Even if I had that day off, it will be a Sunday and transport down to Yorkshire is poor. I might not even have been paid yet. We get our paychecks automatically deposited on the last day of the month. If it falls on a weekend they try to pay us on the Friday before but it's not a guarantee. It would cost me at least £200 to make the journey. Oh yeah, I also have to pay the rent on the 30th.

Living in the same country as Bolton Castle has not made it easier to go and visit it. When I was talking to Tom yesterday it hit me that I could have been living and working at Bolton Castle the whole time I have been in the UK if I had called the castle and asked if they were hiring. It turns out they were hiring back in April. At the time I was planning to come over it never occurred to me that I could work there. I was so focused on getting work at a straightforward hotel or restaurant that it never even entered my mind that Bolton Castle's tea shop counts as a hospitality business. Ok so it's not a large and booming business but it is a place that serves food and beverages. I am so angry with myself that I doubted. I just realized that I could have looked for work in nearby Leyburn instead of Edinburgh. It's really too late now as the season is going to be winding down in two weeks. What opportunities, lessons, experiences did I miss out on because I was too focused on big businesses. Bolton Castle was the prize and I didn't even reach out to grab it.

My mind just wandered and I began to consider, once again, the possibility of me giving notice at Harvey Nichols and to my flat-mates and relocating to Leyburn or nearby so I can visit the castle. If I waited till I got paid for the month I might be able to afford it but, could I find work and a new place to live so quickly. Also, if I take work near to the castle, when would I go to see the castle. I would be so busy working I wouldn't have time. I also realize that I said previously that my interest in Bolton Castle is not short term or once-in-a-lifetime. I guess I just want a little more time to go and just be there. I didn't get the chance to relax and feel much of anything on my first visit as it was all too overwhelming. I need and want to go back and be left alone at the castle, when it's quiet, so I can listen for the voices of the real Baron and Baroness Scrope, their children, Mary, Thomas, and Henry and, Mary, Queen of Scotland.

I don't know if any of this really matters. I read the latest news headlines and saw that the president of Pakistan is resigning. When he steps down, our U.S. troops will be left even more vulnerable. And when we elect our new president, assuming it's Obama, our troops will withdraw under fire. I can see our enemies chasing the troops out of the middle east and actually following them home to U.S. soil. We could be at war on U.S. soil in the next six months. Clearly this is a simplified and probably exagerated perspective. I need to come home to find out what is really going on. It's interesting, but most of the Europeans I have met do not take a personal interest in the war in the Middle East. They are more concerned about the upcoming elections. They do not seem to have an opinion about whether or not the U.S. should be fighting this war. Their only question is what will happen with the war effort when we elect our new president. They don't think the U.S. should not have gotten into the war but, they don't think that as European's, that they have any responsibility for it's outcome. They don't seem to think they have any reason to be involved. It is all America's problem and President Bush's fault.

None of that may matter either as the world's environments radically shift. ha

It's hard to be me sometimes. I have this habit of seeing many things at once. Trying to prioritize and just get through each day can be tough. I appreciate everyone's patience and support as I grow up day-by-day.