Our young single adults had another service project, this one at a “farm” in the city, actually a petting zoo, that employs handicapped youth.  The young adults assisted with car-park direction and setting up exhibits for last Saturday’s public day that was sort of like a combined flea market and mini county fair.  This one wasn’t quite as satisfying as the previous month’s project, as for some reason, despite good communications about our participation, they didn’t really expect us to show up and consequently didn’t have enough to keep everyone actively engaged.

Farm Project Crew

We haven’t done much sight-seeing in the past month, but there are interesting things to see all around.  One P-day we visited Southampton’s Titanic Museum.  Southampton was the Titanic’s home port for its one and only voyage, and hundreds of locals serving as crew members perished when it sank.  Notwithstanding having practically no actual Titanic relics, the exhibit was interesting.  One evening the YSA missionaries had a planning meeting with the stake relief society president in her home.  It was built in 1780, about the time the United States came into existence, in a little town called Alresford, where all the shops are painted in pastel colors (see picture).  The English prefer not to tear old buildings down, but rather to keep them as long as possible.

Alresford's Pastel Shops

Today for P-day we went to Portchester Castle, about 10 miles from here.  It started as a Roman fort around 290 AD, then the Saxons had it for a while, and after them the Normans, each occupant adding on to it.  Its last use was as a prison for French prisoners of war in the early 1800s.  There is a nice view from the top of the keep, but it was very windy.  In fact, it was very windy at ground level:  one of our missionaries lost his brand-new frisbee, mailed all the way from the US, on the fifth throw when a gust carried it over the castle wall and into the English Channel.

Portchester Castle - the Keep

Portchester Castle - View of Augustinian Priory Built 1120s, now St. Mary's Church, from Atop the Keep

Portchester Castle - Specks on Lawn Are Missionaries Playing Ball

Portchester Castle -Another View

Portchester Castle - Our Missionaries

Portchester Castle -Sea Side with Chalk Cliffs in Distance

Portchester Castle - View from Inside the Sea Gate

Language and cultural differences continue to intrigue us.  If they don’t interest you, skip this paragraph.   When someone asks about an auto’s “registration” they mean the license plate number, which is all they need to determine the year, make, and model, as the plate stays with the car all its life.  No need to look up the vehicle identification number for parts or service.  A metal can is a tin (e.g., “tinned meats” sign over a grocery aisle).  Prunes without pits are “stoned prunes.”  Corporations, teams, and such like are considered plural entities, as in a sign at a petrol station undergoing renovation, “Shell apologize for the inconvenience,” and a headline, “Northampton Battle Back to Beat Glasgow.”  The British equivalent of our exclamation meaning “great!” or “wonderful!” is “brilliant!” while “lovely” means “that’s fine.”   The short name for mathematics is maths.  A hospitalized person is said to be “in hospital” rather than “in the hospital” as we say it.  And finally an obsolete occupation from the list for 1871 UK census indexing:  a purefinder was typically an old woman or a young girl who picked up dog manure off the streets for use in tanning hides.  Seems like a euphemistic name, and probably a hard job to fill in today’s world.  One more thing, the town name Alresford mentioned in the preceding paragraph is pronounced with the "re" silent.  And if that seems strange, read up on Alnwick's pronunciation at this link: http://www.alnwick.org.uk/faq.htm (They throw in a good bit of British humour for good measure).