My mom, dad, and grandmother have all arrived safely to Sheffield. They flew over on a 7 hour flight, then took a 5.5 hour bus up from the airport in London. It was slower than the train but much cheaper and didn't require any transfers.

Yesterday they were exhausted, so after I met them the bus station, I took them to the hotel immediately. I collected them at 6 to come to our flat for dinner. I cooked lasagna, but I got a late start, so it wasn't ready until a little later than I had hoped. The family got tired after dinner and went to sleep at 9. They seemed to sleep pretty well and woke up the next morning, instead of the middle of the night. That is a good sign for adjusting to the jet lag.

Today was wet and rainy, and I was attending my postgrad class. So they fended for themselves and went to a museum about Sheffield's industrial heritage. They met me for lunch and we went to Cafe Twenty-two A, a nearby place with nice hot drinks and sandwiches. Then I returned to my class and they went to the winter gardens (an indoor garden surrounded by glass) and the adjoining millenium art galleries. Again I had them over for dinner and we had roast chicken, complete with Yorkshire puddings (cup-shaped bun-things which are traditionally served with British roast meals).

Tomorrow we are going to go visit York. I haven't been there yet, so it should be nice. It is supposed to be one of the best cities in Britain to see original historic buildings, etc. It is surrounded by city walls.

This weekend has been a bit rainy, so we didn't get to go camping like we hoped. The good news is that this increases England's chance of winning a major cricket test against Australia which is being played in Manchester.

Today we went to the shopping mall and have been watching the panda cam of the baby panda at the National Zoo. He is a cutie.

Great news! I got the promotion that I applied for. There is still some paperwork to get through, but I think it will be okay. I thought the interview went really well, so I was happy when I left, and obviously it did go well. There were three people up for two job posts. The day I had my interview, only two of the people were interviewed (myself included). The other person won't be interviewed until next week. They decided to announce one of the two posts after my interview, so it is nice to know I beat the other person.

It is still unclear when everyone will start their new jobs, so I don't know when it will take effect. I think a couple of people who didn't get the posts they applied for will get a chance to go at any posts that are remaining unfilled. After that, we should begin the process of contracts, etc. I hope they start my paperwork for the work permit soon. After the new work permit comes in, I will need to apply for a visa extension. This could take several months, during which I can't leave the country. I am hoping to have that done by Christmas, because we have bought tickets to go visit Victoria's sister Fiona then.

On the second day we met up with Victoria's friends from Spain. We took them to see the Tower Bridge, shown here. Their names are Fatima and Francisco. On the trip, they announced that they are getting married in May and would like for us to come to the wedding in Spain. That makes two weddings in foreign countries for next year (if I include the U.S. as a foreign country). 

After Jersey we took a trip down to London for two days. We met up with our friend Kelley from Toyama. We gave her a little tour of London. This is the Horse Guards' Parade, which is surrounded by government buildings. The London Eye is in the background. 

France is in the back of this picture somewhere. 

From Jersey you can't really see England, but you can see France. This is not a picture where you can see France though. 

At the Jersey zoo, they have a large habitat for gorillas and another for orangutans and gibbons. Victoria liked the gibbons so much her sister got her a stuffed one for her birthday. The orangutan pictured has a baby on its back. 

Here's a shot from the east side of the island. 

The coast in Jersey has some great photo opportunities. 

In Jersey, we went to Elizabeth Castle. When the tide is low, you can walk out to the castle, so we did. 

In early August we visited Jersey. We stayed with Victoria's sister Fiona and her husband David. They have three girls, Hanna, Sienna, and Isobel. The gorilla is not part of their family. 

Here is a view going down the hill back to the village we started in, Edale. 

The hills were covered in heather, the purplish plant shown here. While it looks beautiful from the bottom, at the top of the hill it seemed to be home to about a zillion flies that flew in our face. It was worse than Australia. 

There were some impressive rock formations we saw during our hike. 

Today we went to the Peak District, a nearby pseudo-national park. I say pseudo because it is not like we think of national parks in the U.S. The park is a protected area covering lots of different farmlands. The government negotiated the rights for people to walk through the pastures and hills. Most of the land is private though. 

On the Sunday we went to Cromer, a nearby seaside town. You can see the Cromer pier behind some of Victoria's friends. 

A bunch of Victoria's friends came and we all slept in tents in the yard. You can see the campfire we had. 

Last weekend we went to Victoria's house for her birthday. Here is a picture of it from their front lawn. 

Two weekends ago we went to Leeds to visit Victoria's old university.