3rd time lucky!

Finally, we had a small window of opportunity with the weather, the wind had died down and so diving & snorkelling were on!

Off to the dive centre, 10am check in we arrived around 9:30, sorted kit, tried wet suits on etc and generally “hung out” until all 12 of the party were ready to head down to Key Largo. All 12 of us piled into a smallish van it was a bit of a squish with the guy next to me.

The journey to Key Largo was around an hour with plenty of banter to keep us amused.  Stopped at Subway for lunch and advised to get some now and some for later! The kit followed in a pick up once there it was the usual unload kit and then wait around for the boat to be ready tanks to be filled etc. It was very crowded, the boat was about 50ft and there were 32 people on it a combination of divers and snorkelers mostly novice. Some discover scuba diving and an open water course too… Hmmm diver soup on the menu I think!

So off we set for me to dive & mum try her hand at snorkelling at the first undersea park in the U.S., John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park encompasses approximately 70 nautical square miles.

An hour on the boat and we arrived at Key Largo Dry Rocks reef where along with the reef can be found ‘Christ of the Deep’ Statue.

“Christ of the Deep” Statue

This is one of the Keys’ most popular diving and snorkelling locations. The statue is one a three made by an Italian sculptor Guido Galletti, and was donated to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park in 1966.Key Largo Dry Rocks, is a fairly shallow site, and offers close viewing of many types of fish.

The statue of Christ of the Abyss resides at this reef. In 24 feet of water, on top of a three-tiered concrete pedestal, the statue of Christ keeps constant vigil to the heavens. A patch reef surrounds the statue with very typical spur and groove formation. Its depths range from 30 feet to less than 0, as many parts actually come up out of the water at low tide. Sea rods and sea whips are numerous around the outside edges of this circular reef and very large examples of Brain coral are represented. One of the most requested sites in the National Marine Sanctuary.

Was paired in a buddy 3 and transpired to be a short dive due to buddy air consumption so about 20 minutes underwater and was back on the boat! Did see the statue and some of the usual reef fish suspects. As we weren’t the only boat there, it was a little like diver soup down there and lots of snorkelers above!

Once everyone back on board role call completed and then off we set slightly further out for the second dive

North Dry Rocks 
In relation to Key Largo Dry Rocks, this is “the next reef to the north.” A relatively shallow location, this reef contains the popular “Minnow Cave” – known for its large seasonal population of glass minnows.

Famous for the “Minnow Caves”, this site is a perfect example of what a patch reef has to offer. The Minnow Caves provide for some of the most extraordinary pictures and video of large grouper, snapper and other predator species in action. During the Summer months the cave, all be it a small “L” shaped tube in the coral, is filled to beyond capacity with silverside minnows. When the larger fish get hungry they swim through the cave grabbing mouthfuls of minnows and out the other side. Truly a spectacular site to see. The rest of the reef is no slouch either.

Depth range 25-35 ft.

Slightly longer dive this time, managed to avoid most other divers too. Saw lots of usual suspects, sweet lips, Sargent majors, parrot fish, and a reef crab tucked away. Lovely little shallow dive pottering around and back to the boat, would have been a lovely camera dive had I had my housing here!

Everglades

So, today’s was the day we’d rescheduled the scuba/snorkeling trip… However the wind was too high 3-5’s down at Largo so we have now rescheduled again for Monday (3rd time lucky!)…

Instead we decided we’d take an escapade to the Everglades… Booked our trip for the afternoon leaving at 2pm. A few until then so we decided to walk up to Lincoln Road & wander around the shops, have a coffee & spot of people watching for a while.

Lincoln Road is a pedestrianised shopping area of Miami beach have to say it was larger than I originally thought. A long lazy coffee & some brunch was just the ideal way to while away some time & was the perfect spot for people watching.

Come the afternoon we headed to our bus to take us to the Everglades. It was about an hours bus journey to the Everglades Park.

On arrival we passed the signs reminding us not to interact with the wildlife;

& headed directly for our air boat that would take us on the tour, provided with earplugs and a safety briefing including those on the edge keep yourself inside the boat at all times (not sure I fancied a swim in these waters!)… The air boats are certainly noisy, great fun though skimming across the surface of the Everglades. Sometimes you are literally going through  sawgrass & can’t see any water at other times there is almost a path to follow between the sawgrass. The Everglades aren’t so much a swamp as a very slow-moving sheet of water which originally covered almost 11,000 square miles, creating a mosaic of ponds, sloughs, sawgrass marshes, hardwood hammock, and forested uplands.

   

 

After about 20 minutes the boat stopped and our captain talked to us about the area. Everyone was keeping a beady eye out for the wildlife. There are around 300 species of bird in the Everglades, as well as small mammals, & of course the alligators & crocodiles. Crocodiles and alligators belong to a group of reptiles called crocodilians, which are the largest of the living reptiles. Of the 23 different species of crocodilians in the world, 2 species are native to the United States, and south Florida is the only place where both of these species coexist. TheAmerican alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) ranges throughout the southeastern United States, and Everglades alligators exist at the southern extreme of their range. American Crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus), on the other hand, inhabit coastal areas of south Florida where they are at the northern extreme of their range.

 

 

Above Large White Egret

Below Ibis

 

 

apparently it is unusual to see the alligators out in the middle of the Everglades as they are more afraid of the boats than we are of them.  The most common is the american alligator, we were fortunate enough to see several on our air boat trip.

 

We were informed, the alligator above had been lying on the bank most of the day. He is apparently very old and may die soon which they could tell due to his rib cage which was very flared, as he was unable to digest food.

 

 

There was another lying in the bank and then this one quite close to my side of the boat just in the water you should just about be able to make out his head in amongst the plants.

 

Following the air boat ride we were given an educational and informative talk by one of the park rangers. He was in with 5 alligators (all male they are unable to mix male and female or they would fight!). They bred and raised these animals in captivity as you are not permitted to take any animals from the Everglades.

A few snappy facts:

• Their eyes sink down into their heads
• They are blind in front of their faces (eyes are set to the side)
• You can put your hand into the mouth and the mouth will not shut unless you touch the side of it (don’t try this at home!)
• Fed on very small pieces of chicken
• Very lazy and don’t move much at all, one slid into the water but even that seemed effortful!
• The alligators were called Bobby, Killer, Fat Albert, Split jaw

We were then also shown a baby alligator ‘snappy’ who was around 2 years old. The colours and markings on him were much more distinct

 

 

 

There looked to be some good walks along with other species of crocodile and alligator unfortunately we didn’t have a great deal of spare time to explore more. Interesting to see an environment unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

Art Deco District

So, today’s weather forecast sunny, no wind and no rain forecast… Hmm well they get the weather wrong here too, ok so not like yesterday but there was a shower or two whilst out, the wind is still blowing (the lifeguards are now flying yellow not red flags on the beach) and the sun has shown itself a few times – hurrah..!

Todays agenda – The Miami Design Preservation League guided walking tour of the Art Deco District… We started out taking a bit of magical mystery bus tour of Miami South Beach, getting on the Southe Beach local bus which is 25cents per journey! to head down to 10th for the walking tour… However the bus didn’t exactly go the rout I thought it would. Instead we had a bit of a mystery tour, then the bus pulled up outside a supermarket where we were told this was the last stop!!! Walking round the corner there was the next bus stop where we waited for a few minutes for the ‘next’ bus to come along. After a bit of a convoluted route round we did end up at our planned destination and arriving ‘just’ in time for the walking tour!!!

Commencing at the welcome centre with a bit of history of Miami South Beach, the walking tour was underway. John Collins (a new Jersey Quaker) was an advocado grower who came to Miami. He and Carl Fisher, together in 1913 embarked on an agriculture venture on a spit of oceanfront beach and started a bridge across the bay. Miami Beach was born and Carl Fisher felt this would be a good tourist spot!

Much of what they then built was destroyed in a category 4 hurricane in 1926, Miami was devastated. Following this the rebuild commenced going with the styles of the time hence the numerous art deco buildings along Miami beach.

World War II brought another 100,000 people to Greater Miami and the Beaches when the Army Air Corps and the navy established major training centers. Many of these servicemen made the area their permanent home after the war. By the end of the 1950s, South Florida had doubled its pre-war population.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, no one dreamed that the revolution would change Miami as much as Cuba. The Cuban exiles who were just beginning to pour into the area were bringing the next Miami with them. The ’60s and ’80s brought mind-boggling change as more than half-a-million Cuban exiles fled to Miami to start a new life. These enterprising refugees launched the area into its future as what many call the “Capital of the Americas.”

The 1980s and early ’90s brought a multi-billion dollar infusion of investment capital that produced a beautiful new Miami downtown skyline, a reborn Miami Beach, a modernized transportation infrastructure and a new way of life that features the arts, culture, sports and entertainment, all with an international accent. Although it has changed almost beyond recognition (again), Miami Beach has thrived amidst change and overcome many difficulties.

Greater Miami and the City of Miami Beach continue to be an international mecca for travel, business and to establish a home.

And so we commenced our walking tour along Ocean drive and beyond, not all the architecture here is Art Deco (late 20’s/30’s), we also saw mediterranean revival (1950 onwards) and MiMo (Miami Modern 70’s and 80’s). There was no re-building during the 1940’s due to the second world war.

Art Deco’s Identifying Characteristics

Eyebrows:
Cantilevered Window Shades Included In The Buildings Structure. Eyebrows Look Like A “Shelf” Placed Above A Window. Eyebrows Shade Direct Sunlight And Keep Interior Cool.

Ziggurat or Stepped Pediment:
Profiled Like A Staircase – Up Down, Up Down. Also Known As “Zig-Zag” Or “Lightning Bolt.” Ziggurats Are Seen On The Roofline Of Buildings Recreating Egyptian Motifs.

Rounded Corners:
Technology Allowed For Construction To Be Built With Rounded Corners. In The 1930′ s And 1940’s, The Design Of Airplanes, Ships, Trains, And Automobiles Influenced Architecture. Rounded Corners Made Buildings Appear Aerodynamic, Fast And Sleek.

The foyer/entrance of The Carlyle hotel (above) was where filming took place for Miami Vice! This was also where the risque Calvin Klein film shoot for perfume Obsession took place. Some of The Birdcage (film) was also shot here but the pool was actually in another hotel a few blocks further north from here. 

Flat Roofs:
Art Deco Or Streamline Buildings Usually Have A Flat Roof Or Multi-Level Flat Roofs.

Threes:
In Art Deco, Everything Seems To Come In Threes. Three Windows, Or Three Bandings Or Three Eyebrows, Or Three Steps Up. Etc. This Is Probably Due To The Egyptian Influence Of The Pyramids or Just Good Design.

Banding Or Racing Stripes:
Horizontal Banding On The Facades Of Buildings, Which Can Be Incised Or Applied In Decorative Materials Such As Tile. Banding Usually Comes In Groups Of “threes”. This Simplified Ornamentation Reinforces Aerodynamic Concepts Of Streamline Moderne. A Great Way To Accent The Architectural Elements Of An Art Deco Building Is To Paint The Banding In A Contrasting Color.
 

The Cardozo hotel (above) is owned by Gloria Estefan & her husband

Columns:
Many Art Deco Buildings Feature Either Whole Columns, Which Stand Away From The Building Or Sliced Columns Attached To The Front Doorway Facade Acting As An Archway.

Glass Block:
Cool, Translucent Squares Of Glass Used Instead Of Brick. Allows For Light Penetration. Glass Block Easily Creates A Ziggurat “Step” Design. Glass Block Has Made A Tremendous Come-Back In Contemporary Design.

Other Elements Include:
Etched Glass
Relief
Porthole Windows
Neon
Terrazzo Flooring
Futuristic Images
Central Balance
Geometric Forms

Mediterranean Revival is a design introduced in the style of palaces and seaside villas and applied them to the rapidly expanding coastal resorts of California and Florida. 

Structures are typically based on a rectangular floor plan, and feature massive, symmetrical primary façades. Stuccoed walls, red tiled roofs, windows in the shape of arches or circles, one or two stories, wood or wrought iron balconies with window grilles, and articulated door surrounds are characteristic. Keystones (local stone) were occasionally employed. Ornamentation may be simple or dramatic. Lush gardens often appear.

This is the famous Versace mansion… The story goes that Versace bought this small pad and had his eye on the place next door to knock down in order to make way for a pool and guest apartments.  However, due to preservation laws here they tried to stop him as no building built prior to 1949 can be destroyed. Versace not satisfied with this got his layers on to the case which he then won as the building was actually completed in 1950!! He duly went on to knock down the hotel and make his desired renovations. It is also where he was shot on his own front steps in 1997. His killer, Andrew Cunanan, committed suicide days later on a houseboat in Miami Beach.. Now, there are some subtle nods to Versace with the ‘V’ planted palms at the front and the plant pots have medusa on which is his company logo.

The actual property has just been re-purchased by another hotel next door and they plan to open it back to the public as a hotel with a restaurant.

MiMo

Any building here in South Beach has to comply with certain preservation and planning restrictions for new buildings as well as maintaining the facade of the older ones. The have to fit in the style but not be false hence you see some similar characteristics but architects also using clever ways to make them subtly different. Here you can see the use of the portholes but on a vertical rather than horizontal plane.

This is another MiMo style building again with the portholes and curves, but is lower just a 2 storey building     

Walk inside the Art Deco buildings and there are even more delights in store, with typical and original features in some, here the lights are of the period, with the balcony too reflecting the Asian influence within the period.

       

These are backlit aluminium panels with a bamboo design again reflecting an Asian influence

Originally this mural was not permitted to have alligators in it for fear of scaring the visitors however when the artist was asked to restore it (he was then aged 91) he left a small alligator in the right hand corner under his signature!

The tiled floors in this lobby are original and beautifully polished (practical too when you realise this is a very short walk from the beach!)

laid into the floor are some hidden messages, there was plenty of illegal gambling in Miami and rather than gamblers going to the front desk and asking where the gambling was taking place, directions were laid into the floor here it is 3 diamonds pointing the way, and then further along the lobby are another 3 each time pointing the direction. 

Below is an example from another less subtle hotel which inlaid 3 arrows into their floor!

Miami Beach’s Art Deco District is the first 20th-century neighbourhood to be recognised by the National Register of Historic Places, with 800 structures of historical significance, most built between 1923 and 1943. The fanciful pastel buildings, with porthole windows, ship-like railings, sleek curves, glass blocks, shiny chrome, and gleaming terrazzo floors are prime eye candy.

Boxing Day Madness

So Miami is in Florida, otherwise known as the ‘sunshine state’ with average rainfall in December of around 2″… That is until the Massey’s arrived and brought a dose of Devon Sunshine the state.

Today I was due to set off scuba diving and mother to try her hand at snorkelling down in the Florida Keys, up early and ready to go we could see the palm trees blowing nicely in the wind and the rain bouncing off the sidewalks. A quick call to the dive centre informed me that diving would go ahead today but not snorkelling, so this was duly postponed to a later day…

Instead we decided to take the tourist bus tour of Miami downtown and beach

We boarded the bus just outside our apartment the wind had calmed down slightly and we had been told that in Miami if it rains it doesn’t rain all day… So we boarded the bus with optimism that it would dry up and headed towards the central station where we boarded the city loop bus.

The main destination in our minds – Little Havana, we first hopped off at Coconut Grove and had a quick wander around in between the showers. We had considered getting off again at stop ’19’ the cuban cuisine stop but one look out of the window showed that the rain was torrential at that point… So, we stayed on and waited until stop 20 – Little Havana (guess what it was still raining)…

Little Havana (Spanish: La Pequeña Habana) is a neighbourhood of Miami. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, as well as many residents from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, capital and largest city in Cuba.

Little Havana is noted as a centre of social, cultural, and political activity in Miami. It’s festivals, including the Calle Ocho Festival, the Three Kings Parade and others, have been televised to millions of people every year on different continents.

It was so wet that even the domino players regularly found on the streets had retreated to the domino club up the street  so they were under cover to play today

   

These coconuts were on sale in a shop in Little Havana… 

 

The brightly coloured tiles brought a great deal of colour to the streets on such a wet day! 

      

 

Panama hats are for sale in many places along Calle Ocho.

The hat known today as the Panama hat was produced in Ecuador as early as the seventeenth century. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the plant, known locally as the toquilla palm or jipijapa palm,although it is a palm-like plant rather than a true palm.

Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped to Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe, subsequently acquiring a name that reflected their point of international sale, “Panama hats”, rather than their place of domestic origin.

This wonderful colourful display of Panama hats caught my eye, they were handmade.

The Latin Walk of Fame is located in Little Havana on Calle Ocho. It is a collection of stars entrenched in the pavement which signifies specific dedications to the Latin stars that have impacted the culture, community, and traditions. This stretch of sidewalk is known by several different names. The Latin Walk of Fame also known as the Calle Ocho Walk of Fame or Hispanic Hollywood is situated outside of Maximo Gomez Park, Domino Park and runs along Calle Ocho between 12th Avenue and 17th Avenue. The pink marble stars embedded in the sidewalk are constant memories of accomplishments of artist and organizations in the Latin community. The Calle Ocho Walk of Fame is mimicked after the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was constructed to recognize and celebrate Latin stars with ties to South Florida. The first star was positioned on the Latin Walk of Fame in 1987 in honor of Celia Cruz, a famous Cuban salsa dancer.

We hopped back on the bus and headed back to the central station, we had some great views of the Miami skyline (against grey clouds mostly!)

    

Downtown Miami Skyline

    

Arriving at Central station  we had a wander around the stores and a much needed coffee, we were ‘relatively’ dry at this point, the brightly coloured flower pots caught our eye 

Heading back to Miami beach on the ‘beach tour, this rainbow shone out amongst the palm trees! 

Boarding the beach tour bus to get back, we decided it looked a bit clearer and so we sat up on the open air top deck… The rain had got into the sound system so we were unable to play the commentary!

Leaving central station, we saw The Freedom Tower; a building designed by Schultze and Weaver. It is used currently as a memorial to Cuban immigration to the United States;

even the boats didn’t look too appealing today in the rain…

The tour guide on the bus kept telling us this was not typical weather for Miami and that this was an unusual day.  On return to South Beach it was clear that Miami is not really equipped for having lots of rain in one day

Needless to say the moment we set off on the top deck, the showers commenced once again. Our journey back up South Beach and Ocean Drive was soggy to say the least!! It was certainly an afternoon reminiscent of mad dogs and Englishmen sitting on the top deck of a tour bus on one of the wettest days in Miami…  However it was still  22 deg C, the rain was warm, although it didn’t stop long enough for us to dry off and we were wet through by the time we got back…!

Christmas Day 2013

Merry Christmas to my friends near and far thinking of you and wishing you every happiness this festive season and into 2014 and beyond.

Christmas Traditions

So, I realise there are many Christmas traditions we have in the UK that are not shared here in America. Therefore I tried to share some of these with my new American friends which were met with interest…..!!

Crackers…
I know from a former scholar Tai that they do not have Christmas crackers here, and was something she had introduced during her time here for the Elizabeth Casson trust scholarship, so that one ticked off the list I decided on other things….. & play to my strengths..

So… Baking… Hmm traditional Christmas .. & so the idea was borne…
Mince pies..!!!!

First unable to purchase mincemeat in the USA
1. Send request to mother for her recipe mincemeat (tried & tested for many years of making Mincemeat Christmas trees -but that’s another story!)

2. Purchase ingredients for mincemeat…. Hmm not so easy as it sounds…
~ so raisins – no problem they we everywhere & of course grown here in the USA
~ spices apple, orange zest, & brandy – again no problem…. Then it came to currants, after a hunt around the store I found some…
~ on to suet… Hmmm slightly more of a challenge after hunting high and low in 2 shops I asked a sales assistant, as he had no idea what suet was, I explained it was a type of fat at which point & detecting my English accent (it still gives me away) he referred me to someone else. The second sales assistant told me we had to head to the butchers… Now of course, in all the years I have used suet it has come in a lovely pretreated box with Atora on the outside…. The butcher told me he had some suet but it was in the freezer and he had to go and break some off but if he did that did I want some…. Feeling brave and determined to make these mince pies I agreed waited quite some time and up he came watched him saw these lumps of frozen fat with the bandsaw and waked away with my froze suet (wondering slightly how with limited kitchen equipment I now make this look like it looks in the Atora box…

3. Borrow jars from a friend to soak the mincemeat

4. Make mincemeat including ‘sorting out’ & grating the suet which made it look more like I remember. Leave to soak

5. Make pastry and mince pies

My mother when asked for the recipe was skeptical anyone would like these Christmas delights… Off I toddled to my first class… Well, they went down a storm everyone seemed to like them… I made batches for most of my classes on higher final weeks of term… & explained numerous times they see a traditional Christmas treat dating back to the 16th century and whilst originally savoury they are now a sweet delight…

Above are the typical pastry version.

Below are some with gluten free pastry dough

Panto…
One day in early December, fresh from an email exchange with one of my UK colleagues I had moved position in class from sitting next to a friend to then being behind them. When the were looking for me I said (without thinking)…. “I’m behind you…..” I wish I hadn’t said anything as then I dug myself a bigger hold trying to explain the UK tradition of pantomime…..
So, my explanation was along the lines of..
… It’s like a play…
… The main character if a boy is usually a girl dressed as a boy…
… There are these female characters called dames – women dressed as men
… Story generally based around a children’s story such as Jack in the beanstalk/Dick Whittington/Cinderella/Aladdin
… When they can’t find aw character on stage but the audience can see them you shout – he/she’s behind you
…oh and other catchphrases included oh no he isn’t/oh yes he is….
…the script is usually laced with topical phrases and jokes with popular songs for good measure…
… It relies on audience participation…
I am not sure pantomime translates and I realised how much of a uniquely British tradition this really is and how hard it is to explain as every time I tried harder I just seemed to dig a bigger hole and a more confused look…. In the end I think I finished by saying you have to go to understand what it is about!!!!!

In all the hectic schedule of finals Christmas really crept up on me this year, but I have missed my Christmas tree (which is always very special to me) and the Christmas preparations.. Something I may need to remind myself of next year when getting embroiled and inevitably having long list of Huntingdon to do for Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone…

New York, New York… Day 1

I’ve talked about and wanted to head to New York around Christmas time for approximately 15 years, finally my time had come…! After chatting to Diana over lunch one day we hit on a plan she and I would meet in New York for a couple of days and overnight stay, she offered to generously arrange with a friend of hers who lives in Brooklyn… & so the plan was hatched….

Bus booked for the day after finals and meetings etc, safe to say I was very excited… The night before however it snowed, rather heavily at one point I was a little concerned the bus may not leave.. However up bright and early (the early bus always seems like a good idea when booking it but less so when you have to get up in time to get it!!). A snowy walk to the T, this Christmas tree looked very festive covered in snow!

Journey was thankfully uneventful and arrived in the Big Apple about 5 hours after leaving Boston. Passing the Fenway Park Stadium and crossing the Hudson river.

         

I was met by Diana and her friend Rebecca and we headed off to the Christmas market.  A very short walk and we could see the Empire state building

 

We didn’t really have a plan just to see some of the main sights of New York and for me to start to absorb some Christmas spirit as until this point I had given it very little consideration with end of semester work, exams and meetings! These were some of the Macy’s window displays we walked past;

Initially we headed to a Christmas market, wandered around, watched some ice skating and enjoyed a glass of mulled wine at the bar!

Next stop was Rockefeller centre, to see the big Christmas tree and the ice skating rink. We watched some skating for a while with a lady clearly doing her own routine of spins and turns on the ice in front of the statue of Prometheus (we didn’t know who the statue was until later that night we did a pub trivia quiz and it was one of the questions – which we incidentally got wrong!)

              

We headed across to Times Square to see it in the late afternoon, before heading off to Brooklyn where we dropped our bags off and then headed out for a bite to eat and a few drinks.

The M&M store in Times Square is 3 floors high all full of m&m’s of all different colours and designs along with of course some M&M merchandise!

     

   

We took, the subway to Brooklyn from which I saw the Statue of Liberty (in the distance) and of course the Brooklyn bridge. We had a great evening, some Mexican food, with Sangria, followed by a few drinks and the pub trivia quiz – I wasn’t a great deal of help to the girls as my American trivia is worse than my British trivia (which isn’t great either!).

Boston Birthday!

So, another year wiser… Well that is to be debated but another birthday… I had a final presentation that day and another the following morning so, in the midst of finals so a quiet celebration was in order.

I went to my class in the afternoon to give my presentation for my evidence based practice class, but before we all started we had a short interlude where I was sung Happy Birthday by my classmates and professor and we all ate a chocolate mint cake that David (classmate) had kindly bought. It was a lovely surprise and wonderful for them to have made a fuss… I also in true British style baked and took treats to share (something they found funny that on birthdays we tend to take our own cakes to the office – come to think of it, it is a bit strange and I am not sure where this originated from!)…

After this we all had pro-seminar and having had a term focused on leaders and leadership with interviewing leaders. This evenings leader to interview by Skype was Winnie Dunn… This will only mean something to my OT friends I am sure – but wow what a birthday treat… I was in utter awe and pretty much lost for words. I know this will sound stupid but for the first 5 minutes I think I was pinching myself saying in my head that is Winnie Dunn…!!!! For non OT’s or those not in the know this is an excerpt of a biography of her taken from Amazon.com

Dr. Winnie Dunn is a world-renowned expert on the ways that sensory experiences affect our everyday lives. She has studied babies to older adults to identify patterns of reactions to sensations, and has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters and books. Her book Living Sensationally understanding your senses is written for the public and contains over 100 entertaining stories to illustrate how people’s sensory reactions affect their relationships and daily life. She has received numerous research and teaching awards as well, and has been invited to speak throughout the world. Her work has been featured in Time magazine, on Canadian Public Radio, in the London Times Newspaper and in Cosmopolitan magazine. In 2008, she was named the favorite author by the Pitch newspaper. She is Professor and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Kansas. She lives in Kansas City with her husband Tim Wilson.

Basically she is a legend in OT terms and developed the sensory profile which those of us who work in paediatrics will be very familiar with and use on an almost daily basis… Needless to say to see/hear her on Skype was an utter privilege.

Ok classes over time to head out for a glass or two of vino…

     

 

A few of us headed to Flatbreads in Davis Square its  a bowling place (candlepin bowling which has smaller pins and balls than typical ten pin blowing). We didn’t manage to book a lane but did stop for pizza & wine (they do very good pizzas) from the wood fired stove.

It was a lovely evening shared with new friends and thanks to all those joined me to celebrate and make the day special, my classmates who sang, bought and ate cake and everyone who sent or gave cards, messages and presents….

Thank you letters to follow!