Bocce Ball Anyone?
If you like Bocce Ball and beer (and who doesn't), this is for you. If this becomes an annual thing I will be there in 2 years.
As this is a site more or less about life in the UK, you should know that I stumbled onto this site while I was trying to find out if you could get Guinness Bitter in the US. I had it the other day and thought it was pretty good. Has anyone in the US had this?
For those Guinness fans out there, this is like a lighter hoppier version. I recommend trying it if you can find it.
Bitter Genius Anyone?
Weekend Update III (7-Aug, 2005)
To round out the weekend, we got a little exercise. While at Sherwood Forest, we met another couple from the US who happened to be members of a country club near our flat. After we talked to them for a while, they offered to take us to play golf the next day. As a result, Yankee Girl got to play her first round of golf. She did rather well for her first time (with a little coaching from our new friends). She even got on the green in one shot on a par 3.
I think she has found a new pastime.
Weekend Update II (6-Aug, 2005)
Sorry to keep you waiting. The weather has been beautiful here this week, so there hasn't been much time spent inside blogging.
Anyway, last Saturday we decided to check out Sherwood Forest. We figured we would just go up and hike around the Forest and maybe see where Robin Hood hung out. When we arrived, we were surprised to discover that it was the last weekend of the Robin Hood Festival. While this didn't sound all that appealing (all I could picture was thousands of children wielding bow and arrow sets), we decided to brave the crowd and join the festivities. While there were several bows to be found, the festival was fun. 
We went on a "hawk walk" in the Forest, where we learned about the sport of falconry. For those who don't know, falconry is hunting game with birds of prey. During the walk we saw a demonstration by Loci. To the right you can see our guide Chris as Loci comes back from the hunt to land on his arm.
Below is a picture of Loci (in the back left) on his perch and his brother, aptly named "Loci's Brother." In the back on the right you can see an African Barn Own (its the white one).
Chris is a professional Falconer, who takes people on hunts. Yankee Girl and I are thinking about going on a hunt. If she can bare the cold, we may go on a hunt in Prague.
Next we went to the jousting arena, to witness our first jousting match. To the right is a picture of the Sheriff of Nottingham preparing for the joust against Robin Hood (pictured below). Believe it or not, Robin Hood and his merry men won the jousting contest.
After the joust we headed to the Major Oak. The Major Oak is a huge oak tree in the heart of Sherwood Forest. It is rumored to be the place where Robin 
hid out. The trunk is 33 ft. in circumference, and the tree is somewhere between 800 and 1000 years old. As you can see from the pictures, it can no longer support it's own weight. It is held up by a series of supports and tension wires.
Definitely a cool thing to see.
Weekend Update I (5-Aug, 2005)
After a month we have gotten fully settled in. As a result, this weekend was devoted to getting out and having a good time. We started off on Friday evening by going to one of the oldest pubs in Nottingham. I say one of, because there are three that claim to be the oldest. As you can see from the photos, the pub claims to have been established in 1189. Rumor has it that is was used as a cellar at that time, but not actually a pub. Either way it is pretty cool and the beer is good. Yankee girl had a pint of Friar's Fancy (I couldn't understand what the barkeep called mine). For the tourists, they also sell souvenir T-shirts, pint glasses, etc.
The pub is actually built into the side of Nottingham Castle. The Castle is built on a rock (creatively called Castle Rock)
which has a series of caves that run under the Castle. Some of the walls of the pub are exposed rock. From the picture of the small sign you can see part of the rock.
For those concerned that we may not have gone to the "oldest" pub, never fear. We will be frequenting the other two, just to ensure that we have had a pint in the oldest pub. Each visit will be documented in a future post.
So, that covers Friday. Stay tuned for parts II and III.
