Teddy Goes International

Hi Kids,
Do you have any idea what it's like to spend 22 hours in a dark bag? Well, I do! But now I'm in England and I'm having a great time. I've had a really busy day. It started with a walk to town. Lots of people walk or ride bikes here. They have cars but gas is really expensive -- about $4 a gallon -- and walking's healthy for you. And you get to see the scenery better. We stopped in front of this beautiful golden rain tree. And Miss Elaine liked the blue front door.

We did some shopping -- and lots of window shopping. They have a lot of things here that we have at home -- like Hannah Montana stuff -- but they have a few things we don't usually see.
Like pasties (I wrote you a postcard about pasties but you won't get it for several days.)



Many years ago, most of the men in this area worked in the tin mines. They had to take their lunches with them because they spent all day underground. Their wives would take pie dough and make pies like these. Sometimes they would put meat and vegetables in one side and fruit for dessert in the other. The circle of dough would be folded over the fillings. The outside circular edge was sealed to keep the filling in and the edge was made thick so the men could hold onto it and it wouldn't break. Their hands were dirty from mining so they would eat the filled part of the pie and throw the thick edge away. The mines are all closed now but people around here still eat pasties.



I'm in Penzance in Cornwall, almost as far south and west as you can get in England. Penzance is technically on the English Channel, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that runs between England and France. There are still a lot of fishermen around here and fresh fish is easy to buy. I went into a fish market -- that's all they sell -- to check out the fish.


We saw some policepeople and Miss Elaine asked them if she could take their picture with me. They were very nice. The police lady got out her handcuffs and put them on one of my arms. She was just kidding!

Later we saw some firefighters. They were doing some training but they stopped to let Miss Elaine take their picture with me. We did it quickly so they could get back to work. People here are really nice.

Tonight after dinner we walked down to the beach -- it's right across the street from where Miss Elaine is staying. We saw some men lawn bowling and then we saw some swans. This is a beautiful place!

Love,

Teddy