We live in a country that cannot make up its mind . . . at least as far as the weather is concerned. The weather report now says that here, in mid-August, full summer still at home, summer is now over, temperatures will drop, and be prepared to have umbrellas handy for not the next few days or few weeks, but for the next few months, i.e., until the first of NOVEMBER, when, we are told, there 'might' be a change for the better, with LESS rain.... Well, by then, we'll be into winter, won't we? Ah, well. So now we pack the umbrellas, and the weather goes from sunny, to cloudy to sprinkles to full-on rain to cloudy to partly sunny, etc, etc.. The mantra of 'if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, is back in full. Temperatures are still pleasant enough, but the mornings and nights are cooler, and it's a good idea to wear a sweater or light jacket. We now see more people wearing overcoats and scarves around necks are back in fashion again.
In our last couple of blog entries we forgot to mention an enjoyable trek we made to see Hampton Court Palace. We went by bus and then tube/train to Kew, where we boarded one of the tourist boats that sail the Thames River and after a very pleasant ride of about 1 1/2 hours we arrived almost at the entrance to Hampton Court Palace. Its origins date back to the 1300's, and yet what we know more about is that Hampton Court was acquired by Thomas Wolsey in 1514. He was at the time the most dominant churchman and politician in England and he gained enormous power and wealth as Henry VIII's administrator and as a cardinal. He quickly becan to turn what was then just a Manor House into a palace in which to entertain his king and receive foreign dignitaries. Wolsey added a new entrance courtyard, the first long gallery to overlook the new gardens, and had several hundred fine tapestries hung around the palace. By 1525 Hampton Court was truly a palace, and Wolsey formally presented it to the king, and still continued to add things to the building. He also created a chapel with a stunning blue and gold ceiling. However, when Henry VIII wanted to gain church permission to divorce Queen Katherine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey was unable to persuade the Pope to annul the royal marriage, and in 1529 Henry removed him from Hampton Court once and for all. Henry took more of an interest in the palace design then, preparing special apartments for his new bride, Anne Bolyn, who didn't live long enough to ever use them; Henry's next wife Jane Seymore also died young, in childbirth. Henry's 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, he divorced, his 5th wife was also beheaded. Henry married for the 6th time, to Kateryn Parr, and the wedding was held at Hampton Court, but four years later he was dead.
Although Hampton Court is permanently associated with Henry VIII, other royals used the palace through the centuries, including, briefly, his son Edward VI, Queen Mary I, Elizabeth I, King James I [who held a business conference/somehwat staged religious debate at Hampton Court that resulted in the King James translation of the Bible. Charles I contributed a grand art collection. Oliver Cromwell, although not a king, used Hampton Court to keep some of its greatest treasures, and lived there like a king. By the time of George I and George II, Hampton Court was in a state of decline. George III never liked it. In 1839 Queen Victoria opened the palace to paying visitors and gradually the palace was restored to something of what we can see today.
We toured the young Henry VIII's apartments, those of William and Mary II, and what we found most impressive was the size of the kitchens that were used to prepare and feed both royal guests and those who served them. Here are a couple of pictures we took on our day there.
Bob and Sherrie Harbrecht and Portia on the Thames River boat ride + Don and Portia standing in front of the Hampton Court Palace entrance.
Pictures of some of the back gardens and of the inner courtyard where the fountain shown in the center had spiketts all around to give guests drinks of wine, not water.
One portion of the painted walls and ceiling leading to the upper floor apartments.
The "wall art" in one large room is made up totally of sorts and guns/rifles.
Don inside one huge oven and another oven large enough to cook a full carcass of beef.
One sample of the beautiful tapestries hanging in Hampton Court Palace. Many show, as this one does, biblical events.
It was a rather slow week in the office for most, although Sister Hawley was able to keep busy, and both Elder and Sister Hawley worked a bit on preparing the training materials ready for use when our replacements come. At least we hope they will come. So far we have heard nothing other than it is hard to find couples who are financially able to afford to live in London.
We have two senior couples arriving on 9 January. One is the "replacement" couple for the Ricks and their assignment is proselyting/reactivation/at the president's discretion. Sister Hawley was asked by the Travel Department in Salt Lake, as part of her regular duties, to submit for travel for all missionaries 4months in advance if they are going home during the holiday season [to either Canada or the U.S.]. This also includes US. So Sister Hawley submitted the return travel request for us in the morning and by evening we had our tentative travel itinerary/reservation made and confirmed. Amazing. We do hope that a couple can be found who can arrive some time in November, which will allow us time to train them and allow them also a bit of time to work on their own with us as backup. Again we are so appreciative of those who have prayed and fasted for us in this regard. During a few free moments Elder Hawley has helped Sister Hawley to update and create new training binders for new missionaries, new trainers, district and zone leaders. When Sister Hawley has extra time, Elder Hawley is showing her how to make council tax payments, rent payments, and other financial duties he is responsible for. This is one of the great blessings of our missionary calling here -- we are united both in purpose and in sharing the duties of keeping the office running smoothly and efficiently. We feel good about saying that we are not only up-to-date but "ahead of the game." We know the Lord is blessing us to do these things.
Another blessing is how we are studying the gospel together. We are going to start on Joseph Smith's lectures on faith. We have just finished reading out loud The Infinite Atonement, by Tad R Callister, and we feel so uplifted and inspired and desirous of more 'light and knowledge' that we are going to go back to the beginning and read it again. We also have our study periods. Elder Hawley researches topics like 'faith', and Sister Hawley is reading the Book of Mormon again. We join up to study and prepare for the Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society lessons, and we like to share other topics and scriptures that prove meaningful to us. We feel our mission is uniting us as a couple and also uniting us on a higher plane with Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. We pray together, including morning and evening prayers, we hold hands a lot, we read a talk each night from the Ensign conference issues, and we feel connected and more loving than ever before, with a greater understanding especially of the love for us from our Savior. How blessed indeed we are. We love each other better, and love the Savior and Heavenly Father more, and we appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost and the wisdom and insight and protection and guidance He provides. We are, again, being changed for the better. How grateful we are!
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