Making the Best of Our Last Days in England

CHISWICK, WEST LONDON – We only intended to be in London for a couple of months… just long enough to say our goodbyes and be on our way…

But then we couldn’t leave!

Now we’re living in my mother’s house, cooking in her pots, drinking tea out of her teacups, watching TV on her television, surrounded by all her things.

I even borrow her pink slippers when my feet get cold… 

Worldschool Family

Greetings!

My family and I are a “worldschool” family, which means we don’t raise our children in a home and send them to school. Instead we live in hotels, Airbnbs, or as houseguests of friends, and we educate them ourselves using whatever resources we have around us.

We’re currently in London, staying in my mother’s house. She died on Christmas Eve (I shared my eulogy for her here), but it feels a little like she’s still with us. Being here has been a gentle way to come to terms with her death.

Anyway, our visitor visas are up now (I’m the only one with a U.K. passport), we have other things to do, and it’s time to leave London and say goodbye to Mum for the last time.

Making the Best of Our Last Days in England

We’re trying to pack in as much as we can before we go…

On Friday, we visited the Tate Britain, one of London’s famous art galleries. Here we are in the Heather Phillipson exhibition…

This weekend, we left London and visited the ancient city of Bath, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world if you love history and architecture…

Here’s Dusty (13) overlooking the Roman baths. In the background, Bath Abbey, itself about a thousand years old. The church bells were ringing. The sun was out…

After that, we visited my Godmother in the village of Corston for lunch, and we looked at old photographs…

Including this one of my mother and father, who is wearing women’s clothes, back in the swinging ’60s…

Finally, we headed from Corston… to the bus station in Bristol… then back to London…

And here we are on the Tube. Almost home, kids…

– Tom Dyson

P.S. Tomorrow we’re going on our tour of Parliament, where the British government sits. I’ll send you a picture in my next Postcard…

Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [email protected].

A reader shares Tom’s sentiments about ditching the smartphone, and has some encouraging words…

Reader comment: I grew up reading one book after another. First, it was theHardy Boys and Danny Dunn books, and then medieval/fantasy/science fiction, and finally onto nonfiction.

I found I couldn’t read longer works anymore, and that my thinking seemed shallow and disjointed. I finally figured out the cause – the internet. Reading all the short-form articles and videos made my brain grow soft. I made up my mind to start reading books again. One of those was The Great Reckoning, which led to Bill Bonner’s writing, then yours.

You can get your cognitive patience back again. Just keep working out the brain, and it will all come back within weeks.

Another reader comments on Tom’s discussion on masks from last Friday’s mailbag, and has some strong opinions about government regulation…

Reader comment: I’m not an anti-vaxxer or anti-mask, simply I’m a fan of choosing my own way in life, good or bad. If I die doing so, they can all truthfully say: “Well, at least he died doing what he loved most.”

I was exposed to all manners of infected people as part of my (deeded) essential work. I’m exposed daily to a ventilation system, filters, blowers, in medical centers, and homes. Somehow or another I’ve not been infected, nor have I had a cold of any kind in 20 years or so. My secret is to take care of your immune system, and it will take care of you.

As to your reader in Japan, the low infection rate per million compared to the U.S. or U.K. is anecdotal evidence at best. The Japanese overall are healthier than most on the planet and live the longest; the proof of the fact is in their diet. Come to the U.S. and you’ll gain 40 pounds and end up with a life-shortening self-inflicted disease.

Politicians all over the planet have grasped a hold of a means to control and pry into citizens’ private life. The kings have returned, and the serfs comply, giving up all rights for perceived safety. Yet there is no call to save us all from the root cause of most all diseases: carbs eaten with protein, aka the Western meal. A hamburger is okay, the more fat the better, but add a bun, and the glycemic index goes up 1,000%. Freedom-loving even unto death.

And the praise keeps coming in for Tom’s son, Dusty, on the Postcard he wrote last week…

Reader comment: Dusty, what a well-crafted and interesting writer you are! Thank you! I hope we have lots more!

Tom’s note: Thanks for writing in! As always, please keep your questions and comments coming at [email protected]. I’ll answer as many as I can in a future Friday mailbag edition.