Exeter updates

Dear family and friends,

I am sorry that it has been three weeks since my last blog entry, but these have been very rich weeks, and I am doing the things I came to Exeter to do.  Even so, I miss you all, and I am eager to get home to see you and talk to you again.  And there are some photos at the end, so do not give up!

First of all, I finished a huge chapter of my PhD dissertation, which I had been working on for months. This is my third huge chapter, and the first of two on St. Augustine, who is my "main man" so to speak, and this chapter represents a major milestone for me.  But it meant I had to be "heads down" on the final writing for a while, which is why I disappeared!

Next, I was very pleased to be gain admittance to the six-week course that teaches PhD students how to teach at the undergraduate level.  We've had two of the six sessions so far, and the course is very informative and practical, and I like the instructors and my fellow PhD students in the course.  This is a real opportunity for me, as I would not be able to get this training back home, and this is one of the benefits of being here in Exeter in-person.  In conjunction with this course, my PhD advisor agreed to give me a specific number of hours for leading seminar sessions for two of her courses, one of which is in my area of speciality. For that one, I'll be able to lead three identical seminar sessions on St. Augustine and the Trinity.  And for the other one, I'll be leading two identical seminar sessions on Martin Luther and two of his key writings, including his 95 Theses!  I am very excited about this, and I continue to be very impressed with the caliber of undergraduate students here in the theology department.

Now, on to the exciting things!  Debbie came back, bringing our friend Beth, who flew in from Raleigh, North Carolina. We've all known each other for over 34 years, from when we worked for IBM in Raleigh.  We had terrible weather, so I did not get many photos, but I wanted to share a few pictures with you from Lyme Regis. We went there last Sunday, because all three of us had read the historical fiction book Remarkable Creatures, about Mary Anning (and another woman), who discovered major fossils and some extinct species in the early 1800s.  We LOVED the museum there, which featured not only Mary Anning and the fossils, but also the many authors who had written books while living in Lyme Regis, or which were set in Lyme Regis. This includes Jane Austen, who set part of her book Persuasion there.  We also saw a church --- the one in the photo here --- which has been there for 900 years, and outside of which Mary Anning and her family are buried.  The cliffs in the far distance, in one of the photos, are where Mary Anning found the fossils. It's hard to imagine her climbing up there in long skirts and in the rain.

So, I have been in Exeter over six weeks now, and have just under seven weeks left in Exeter. Then I'll be with Debbie and Tim for two weeks in Kent, and I'll return home two days after Christmas.

Best wishes and blessings to you all,
Jane

South Devon and Cornwall sites with Bethel friends in mind

Dear family, friends, colleagues, and all,

This blog posting is about the wonderful site-seeing trip Debbie and Tim and I took on Friday, but it's not just about our journey, because I selected two of the four places we visited specifically because they mean something special to some of my Bethel friends.  So, as you read this blog entry, know that you were in my heart and mind as we journeyed.  I hope you enjoy the photos too!

We were delighted because the sun was out for much of the day.  This was especially true for our visits to Torquay and Brixham, two seaside towns in South Devon on the English Channel.

We started with Torquay, because a married couple from my church, who met during WW II, had told me that she had been stationed in Torquay for her duty (she was an Englishwoman).  We spent quite a bit of time walking around the marina, and I found it interesting to compare the nets and fish traps to what I see in New England.  We then walked a bit around other parts of the town, but it was too touristy for us.  I am sharing four photos here from Torquay.  One is of the old Post Office, which we hope was there during WW II.  Two others show a tribute to an American unit that took off from Torquay for the D-Day invasion.  I have another friend, someone from Plain Jane's Restaurant, who was stationed in Exeter in WW II until a few months before he, too, took part in D-Day, and I hope that he might like these photos too, although they are not about his unit.  The final photo in this grouping shows the English channel, with a few clouds and shades of light and darkness.

Next, we found our way to Brixham, which was a truly beautiful and colorful coastal town.  I am glad Tim was driving, as the roads were very narrow and winding, and I was getting queasy!  We had a lovely dinner / lunch at a seaside restaurant, and walked around and enjoyed the lovely weather.  Here a couple of photos.  The ship with the red and white stripes is one that Sir Francis Drake sailed on, with something like 60 other men. Hard to believe!

After that, we headed to the Dartmoor National Forest.  It rained during this part of our journey, but it was still interesting to see so much countryside set aside with very few people living on it. One of my friends lived on the edge of Dartmoor when she was young, and I took pictures of the small ponies to show her.  Some of the ponies walked closer to me, which helped, but they are small!

We thought we were heading back to Exeter after that, but we went in the wrong direction on the highway, and ended up in Cornwall. This turned out to be such a treat, as we found a city with the remains of a Norman castle built high, high, high up on a hill.  You can't tell from the photos here, but we had to walk up a very steep and long staircase just to get to the base of this part of the castle.  And then, once we were inside the round area, we had to walk up a very scary round inner staircase to get to the top. I am afraid of heights, but the views were beautiful, more so than I can show you in these photos. In the one photo that shows a huge slope, there were dozens of sheep, at the top and bottom of the hill, but they did not show up in the picture. And this castle had a latrine, and some of you know my interest in these details!

Finally, here's my favorite photo of Debbie and Tim from the day. This was taken in Torquay.

Best wishes and blessings to all,
Exeter Jane