"Sea Worn" by Chad Krouse, Acrylic on canvas, 30x40. 2012
Those who know me well are all too familiar with my long-standing love affair with England. Why so? It all began in childhood where I had too much time to dream, I suppose. I distinctly recall watching Brit-Coms on PBS as early as age 11 or so. "Are You Being Served?," and "As Time Goes By," fed my imaginings about this island gem. The piece de resistance was of course her lady, Hyacinth Bucket on "Keeping Up Appearances." All these shows taught me to say things like, "bloody hell," "git," and add words like should and rather following a personal pronoun. Whilst soaking up the unholy British culture being brought through the public tele, I had other outside forces at work drawing me in further to my English dream.
Growing up in The Episcopal Church certainly helped. Being the child of the Church of England, Episcopalians love to have "high tea," and such following liturgies. I even attended college where the namesakes are two English revolutionaries--John Hampden and Algernon Sidney. We spell Sidney with a "y" over here.
It was during my sophomore year at Hampden-Sydney College that I had the opportunity to travel to London for a week--all expenses paid! I shall never forget standing near Big Ben on the Thames as fireworks erupted in the night sky on January 1, 2000. That week was pure bliss for me. Evensong at Westminster Abbey, Mass at Westminster Cathedral, and a day trip out to Windsor. Of course I found my way to Jermyn Street and indulged in the food halls of Fortnum & Mason, and I also found the bargain basement at Turnbull & Asser. The highlight was visiting my shoemaker, Cleverely's over on Old Bond Street. They treated me like royalty, even though all I had to spend was my pay from being a resident advisor! I hit the National Gallery, ate at Green's and The Goring Hotel--long before Kate Middleton made it swanky. I had a box seat at Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. I had truly died and gone to heaven, a proper one at that.
Six months later, I was back in London, albeit for three days. I had the pleasure of another all-expenses paid trip to the Continent with a few days in London. God did I hate Amsterdam and Belgium. All I could think about was getting back to London, my city! I even managed to get a few days in London after my honeymoon years later.
My graduate school, The University of the South, is wholly owned by The Episcopal Church. It was founded to be the Oxford of the South. And yes, there were many fog-filled days there on that mountain island where I dreamt that I was forging the moors on another island. Perhaps the most in-depth English experience came in 2009 when I lived in Mirfield, West Yorkshire conducting an independent study while a seminarian. I knew one goal for me while in graduate school was to go over to England for something, anything. Thankfully my fundraising background proved useful and I spent seven weeks abroad.
Am I nuts? Well, perhaps. I love the USA and I'm a proud tax-payer. However, my heart belongs to England and there on the Thames shall my ashes be scattered one day. Amen to that.
