Denise Golinowski's Gambol: Hoarding, England, and Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 11/17/13

IN THE GAME OF GIVE AND TAKE, HOARD.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Absolutely! The one who dies with the most "toys" wins!

In The Game Of Give And Take, Hoard.

This piece of sage advice does not come as news to anyone who has a hobby addiction of any kind. From antiques to toy soldiers to needlework patterns to model car kits, anyone who has a hobby rapidly descends into hoarding! Bits and pieces, research and meets, hobbyists will be hard-pressed indeed to resist the next "sparkly" that comes down the turnpike, website, or vendor's table.

In case you haven't been following me on facebook (why not?), I've just gotten back from my first ever trip "across the pond" to Merry Ol' England. My husband is a model ship junkie, and a member of the International Plastic Modelers Society. This year, there was a big conference in Telford, England, and they offered a 7-day tour of military museums to interested attendees. I'm NOT a modeler, but who am I to rain on my hubby's parade. Besides, it meant I got to go to ENGLAND!

I've always loved England and all the British Isles. My dearest wish was about to be granted. And let me say right off the top, the trip exceeded my wildest expectations. Even though the focus was on the modelers, I found myself caught up in the history and the beauty of the military museums.

The weather was exactly what I had heard - mostly overcast, sometimes rainy, more often drizzly, occasionally sunny. The temperature was mid to upper 60's. I took my new prescrip sunglasses and only needed them twice. We bought umbrellas on our first day, having forgotten to pack any (silly tourists) and used them often. I used my cell phone as my camera and took over 1,000 pics in hopes that I'd get a good 100 or so decent shots. Since we spent a lot of time traveling in a tour bus there were a lot of blurry pics to be discarded.

The plan was to spend the first day in London doing a bus tour, then begin the round of museums. And there were a LOT of museums, with never enough time to spend in any of them. Our last day sent us spinning back to London from Telford with a brutally short 45 minutes in Stratford On Avon and Shakespeare's Birthplace museum (my personal trip highlight).

But let me reassure you that even though I am not a military history buff, I became fascinated with the stories presented at each museum. Sadly, the focus was inevitably on war and the horrors that only mankind can inflict upon itself--and continues to do so. It's so hard to understand why we have never learned that lesson, but I can only pray that one day we will evolve past it.

The next few weeks will see me inflicting pics and commentary from our whirlwind trip through southern England. Here are a few pics from London to get us started!