< ![CDATA[  Tony’s friend from work, Tim Poole, didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he said to me last summer, “If you’re ever in the UK, come and stay with us.” Little did he know that we were, right then, planning to do just that. Tim and his lovely family treated us royally for the two days we were there. Highlights included a wonderful children’s science center where we spent a few hours playing hard, followed by an absolutely joyous afternoon at an indoor water park, complete with slides and fountains and lazy river. All of that was topped off with a HUGE pile of fish and chips, English style, with a sprinkling of sea salt and malt vinegar. Yum! The kids slept like logs while we stayed up way too late laughing and talking. Meg and Anthony, the Poole’s 15 year old son, had a great time comparing youth culture in the US vs. UK. It was with genuine sadness that we left their home. Not without being first loaded up with sandwiches, snack bars and bags of nuts for the journey. We so appreciated all of the gifts they gave us, not the least of which was the very precious gift of themselves and their time. To the Pooles, again, we say, “Thank you... and we made it to Stratford-Upon-Avon as planned.”]]>