Weeks 87–89 · Barnes, London · September 2015
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Continued long work hours to complete a couple of proposals — all done, then off to Atlanta to see Sharon and Annelise for Parents' Weekend. But flew east via London (don't ask why) and had a long layover.
First long haul trip on a 787 — supposedly oxygen content is higher and pressurisation different but I didn't notice. All I noticed was a screaming baby for most of the flight — but I have not yet converted to the old person who forgets how bad it is to have a kid on a plane with a problem, so I was sympathetic.
I was unsure of what to do with a long layover in London, but with the memory of the screaming kid I had a nostalgic moment coming through baggage claim where almost exactly 16 years ago Sharon and I came through with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old wearing ladies' pantyhose, and 27 pieces of checked luggage. So the only choice for me was to go back and visit Barnes, our neighbourhood in London. Literally hasn't changed — which is good. Even ran into a lady I recognised — she didn't recognise me but did fortunately my wallet photos are so old that she remembered Alexandra: "that large rambunctious American girl — I am sure she is quite famous by now." Pictures attached, but probably only Sharon, Alex, Annelise, and Melanie interested.
Barnes is a village-like residential area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, bounded by a large meander of the Thames on three sides. Its relative isolation from the rest of southwest London — crossed only by a single road and rail bridge from Hammersmith — has preserved its character remarkably intact over decades. Barnes is home to the Olympic Studios, one of the world's most historic recording studios where Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix recorded. Barnes Pond, featured in these photographs, is a duck pond at the heart of the village green and is a conservation area. The annual Barnes Fair on the village green is one of the oldest community fairs in London.
"That large rambunctious American girl — I am sure she is quite famous by now."
Sharon was project manager for this playground restoration in 2001 — those are concrete pipes we rolled in. The newspaper article featuring the "large and rambunctious American girl" is one of the better pieces of archival evidence that the family actually lived here.
