Theatre of Dreams ~ Old Trafford

‘This is Manchester United football club, this is the theatre of dreams.’

The phrase coined by Sir Bobby Charlton in John Riley’s book simply entitled ‘Soccer’ 26 years ago has stuck in the period of unprecedented success which the Red Devils enjoyed under the tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson. From the Glaswegian’s appointment in November 1986, this cathedral of British football has undergone a dramatic transformation to become arguably the finest club ground in English football.

We searched on line to get tips about getting to the stadium and parking for the soccer game. We found the neighborhood suggested to park in and followed the crowds walking to the stadium.

We had our Seattle Sounders gear with our Sounders/Manchester United friendly match scarf. It was fun that a few people walked up to us recognizing that we were from Seattle and were welcoming.

We had enough time before kick off to take some photos and check out the Mega Store! Yikes was that huge with wall to wall people in it.

Our tickets included a club entrance separate from general entrances and a private lounge to enjoy snacks and drinks before the game and during half time. We also got a free program with our tickets.

We enjoyed our seats and the crowd. We had heard some horror stories about sitting in the stands that didn’t pan out in our experience. The seats were comfortable and the people around us were polite.

The excitement in the stadium reached an elevated pitch when Maraouane Fellaini took the field for the first time as a “Red”. Many of the fans donned wigs that tried to match Fellaini’s hair.

Marouane Fellaini has described his deadline-day move to Manchester United as a ‘dream’, and hopes to repay David Moyes’ faith in him by joining the long list of greats at Old Trafford.

There was a solid line of security between the home fans and the visiting fans. The chants from the two groups always get quite heated and aren’t flattering to their opponents for sure.

We took one last photo of all of us together enjoying experiencing a dream come true for Josh. This wouldn’t be the one and only game that Josh got to attend in England. While we were in London he took a chance at buying a last minute ticket to a sold out Arsenal game in Northern London close to the stadium where the game would be played. An older woman who was meeting someone to sell her 2 season tickets to decided that she’d like to enjoy the game with Josh after talking to him. We were happy for Josh to get his 2nd experience in an English Premier game atmosphere! We shopped while Josh enjoyed the game and then we met up at Selfridges on Oxford Street.

Where There’s A Will…

Our trips to England over the years have been planned around different interests and purposes. Dear traveled 4 summers in a row in the early seventies with a Christian music group that started at Biola College. This group soon warped into a Christian Rock Band. I joined the group in it’s Rock Band Stage for Dear’s last two summers in England with the band. These trips in the seventies had us traveling from school to school singing and sharing during the school’s religious education time slot. In the evenings we would sing in a public hall or church in the same area with many of the kids from the schools coming out to listen again. Usually we’d tack on a few days at the end of the tour to sight see in different areas of Great Britain.

“Hymns give way to Jesus Rock in morning assembly at St. George’s Church of England School, in Meadow Road, Gravesend yesterday. The concert was given by the Contemporaries, 14 musicians from the United States who are in the middle of a world tour. They have already completed a number of successful “gigs” in Liverpool. They are all professional musicians but they are giving their services free”…

Dear and I are in the center of the photo on the bottom row. 1974 was the last summer tour Dear and I participated in.

The next time we would travel to England was in February of 2003. Dear’s company was sold and before he moved on to another job we decided to take a trip to London. While based in London we took day trips out by train to Cambridge for a day and to Watford to attend a evening worship conference at Tim Hughes (Here I Am to Worship) church. We enjoyed the London Eye which opened in 2000. We also visited the National Gallery, Westminster, St. Paul’s, and other great landmarks. We enjoyed a Gilbert and Sullivan production of HMS Pinafore on Valentine’s day. On this trip we stayed in So. Kensington a short walk to the underground for our many trips around London. At our hotel in Kensington was where Dear watched the bartender make a Kensington Dream for me which became my signature celebration drink that Dear prepares for me.

In April of 2004 we planned a high school graduation gift trip for our daughter Katie centered around her favorite authors (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Austen) and Monty Python.

Here is a tiny photo of Dear and Katie outside The Eagle and Child (Bird and Baby) of C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Sayers (Inklings) fame. We enjoyed walks about Oxford that Tolkien and Lewis took together. We traveled to Bath to see some Jane Austen haunts. We drove around the Cotswolds where some Hobbit inspiration was gained. We traveled out to “Pemberly” (Chatsworth House) and to Bakewell of “Pride and Prejudice” fame and when in Scotland we traveled to Doune Castle and asked for coconuts to clip clop around the castle grounds where scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed.

In 2006 we joined two couples who are our very good friends on a semi walking tour of some areas of Wales, the Lake District, Oban, Edinburgh, and York. The photo above is of the Derwent in the Lake District. For this trip we just had to show up as Jody masterfully booked all our lodgings for us in advance. The highlight of this trip for me was our time on the island of Iona.

That brings us to 2013 and the trip we planned with our oldest son Josh and our daughter in law, Laura. This trip needed to have something for both of them in mind. The main thing in our son Josh’s mind was to attend Premier League soccer matches so that’s where the title of this post comes to be. The first choice team to see was Manchester United in the famed Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England. We would try to get tickets for Saturday September 14th the day after we arrived in England. Josh went online at the Manchester United official site and was shocked to see the tickets released and sold out within seconds. Oh boy…now what? We found a secondary resale sight for tickets and were pleased to find 4 tickets available. They were pricey but we hit the buy button knowing this was something that was important for our “England Experience” this time around. Now we had to contact our B&B and see if it was OK to have the tickets delivered there. We got the correct address and then started the “wondering game” in our heads. I wonder if the tickets will arrive in time? I wonder if the tickets are official?” I wonder, I wonder….

We arrived at the Bed and Breakfast Friday night and our host immediately said to us, “I have a parcel I think you’ll be pleased to see” Josh ripped it open and there were 4 official looking tickets for the game on Saturday. We sighed in relief and thanked the Lord.

My next post will be about our experience at “Old Trafford”.

This is one of those posts to document history for me and my family. So many things are forgotten as time goes on.

The Malthouse B & B

Oh the Hedgerows on the way to our first nights stop in England. If we weren’t anxious to arrive at our destination after being up for over 20 hours I would have yelled stop a few times to try to capture the narrow lanes lined in green.

We were so happy to finally turn the right corner and see our B & B in front of us.

The Malthouse B & B is located in the small village of Alton in the Staffordshire county of England.

We had rooms 8 & 9 in the Stables. Our room had the Hobbit window.

Josh and Laura experienced their first traditional fried English breakfast.

View of the village from the front door of the Malthouse.

Village Views

For our dinner in Alton we chose The Bullshead Inn. It was a great improvement over the first pub meal we had.

Our hosts at The Malthouse were very helpful and gracious. We would recommend this as a fine spot to rest your heads as you investigate the area.

We are still in a rainy pattern here in the Northwest. How has October begun for you?

Landing on the Other Side…

It’s time for me to document our trip across the pond before my brain forgets the details. We landed at Heathrow picked up our bags, spoke to the customs agents about our intentions, and found a shuttle to the Hertz car rental office. Thankfully we listened to the agent behind the desk and went with a larger car and a Satellite Navigation system that would become our best friend. We lovingly named the SatNav, Jeeves. He told us to “bear right” and “bear left” and “at the roundabout take the third exit”. All these instructions were with a fabulous British accent.

Both Josh and Dear did a fabulous job of driving on the other side of the road and making it through the narrow roads lined with hedgerows. After a few hours on the road and before our final destination we chose a random road to turn on to try to find something to eat. We stumbled upon Stoke Bruerne in Northhamptonshire. A lovely little village on the Grand Union Canal.

Our choice for a meal wasn’t the best in this town but it sufficed and being jet lagged it would have to do. We had a nice walk about the village after our meal. It was good to stretch our legs. We were even able to help open up one of the gates of the locks along the canal.

We saw our first thatched roof cottages in this little town.

It was fun to see all the colorful Canal Boats.

We said our goodbyes to our first village in England and headed farther North for our first Bed and Breakfast stop.

Happy October to all of you. I’m happy to report my body seems to have adjusted to being on the West Coast of the U.S.A. again. Looking forward to a nice long stretch at home. What does October hold for you?

Connected…

It was wonderful to see so many dear souls that we have been connected to over the years at my mom’s services.

I didn’t get photos of many of the people who honored us with their presence and their words. It wasn’t easy to relax with my camera in these circumstances.

Hope and I were coordinated in our outfits and had to have a photo together.

After attending this little guys baby shower before he was born it was nice to finally meet him in person with his mommy.

…and with his grandmother, my good friend from Bethany Russian Baptist church.

Katie with Nikki and her Auntie Christina. Christina is Dear’s SIL.

Here’s Dear with his only brother, Terry.

My cousin Vera (from my father’s side), cousin’s cousin Shirley (on my mother’s side), my cousin Jim (on my father’s side), and Shirley’s sister Betty (on my mother’s side).

More dear friends from our Bethany Baptist Days in Los Angeles. Diane, Manya (Shirley, Bobbi and Betty’s oldest sister) Alex and Jaydee with Shirley between them.

Jeanie,(married to my cousin Jim) My cousin Jim, My cousin Vera (Jim’s sister) George (who is Jim, Vera and Katrina’s 1st cousin) and my cousin Katrina (Jim and Vera’s youngest sister).

My first cousin, Vera, from my dad’s side of the family. The rest of this group are all 1st cousins with each other on my mother’s side of the family. My first cousins are on the right end of this group. Valia and Tanya on the right end with my cousin Walter’s wife standing behind them. Bobbi and Shirley are first cousins to Valia and Tania.

Our son Dan with our SIL Letty’s son Derek and wife Amy.

Caleb and Joshua making plans to spy out the Promised Land…Strong and Courageous!

Niece Melissa bonding with our latest grand nephew Thomas.

My Pop with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Our kids (missing Andrew) with my pop. Andrew has arrived in Afghanistan with his unit so your prayers for him are appreciated.

Pop with his sons.

Sons and daughters…

Daughters

A very special thank you to the ladies from Whittier Area Community Church and Olive Grove Church who contributed salads and desserts for our meal together. You blessed us abundantly and we are grateful! Everything turned out so well. We were so pleased to be able to spend time with people we have been connected to over the years. Old friends and new friends supporting each other. It’s a beautiful picture of community…

I’ll close my post with the quote my Brother in law Nick read at the graveside…

“There is nothing that can replace
the absence of someone dear to us,
and one should not even attempt to do so.

One must simply hold out and endure it.

At first that sounds very hard,
but at the same time it is also a great comfort.

For to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled
one remains connected to the other person through it.

It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness.
God in no way fills it but much more
leaves it precisely unfilled
and thus helps us preserve — even in pain —
the authentic relationship.

Further more,
the more beautiful and full the remembrances,
the more difficult the separation.

But gratitude transforms
the torment of memory into silent joy.
One bears what was lovely in the past
not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within,
a hidden treasure
of which one can always be certain.

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer”

Goodbyes and Reunions…

Thank you, thank you, to all of you who have prayed for my family during this time in our lives. I really appreciate your kind words of comfort and encouragement and I have felt your prayers. Blessings on you for sharing in our sorrow and rejoicing in our joy that our mom is with our Lord.

There were many times during my mom’s services and burial that the comment was made amongst old friends that it was too bad that it seems the only time we see each other these days is at a funeral. The older we get the stronger this reality.

I want to warn you ahead of time that we had an old world burial and if you get squeamish around caskets and viewings this post probably isn’t for you.

Thursday night viewing at Rose Hills Chapel. Many old friends came to share in our sorrow and rejoice in our hope. My brother Steve gave a message that made me consider God’s hand on the story of my life on this earth.

Friday morning we had a memorial service at my sister’s church in Whittier, California. It was a time of remembering who my mom was and a time of thanking God for who He is in my mom’s life and ours. Brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and great grand children participated in speaking, singing, reciting Psalms 23 and praying. Our nephew Caleb opened the service with greetings and prayer. Our sister Kathy and our BIL Len sang a duet in Russian of a song my mom requested. Our niece Hope and Great nephew Jackson read the 23rd Psalm. Our son Josh and my nephew, David shared memories of their Baba that they gathered from their cousins. Our niece Michelle sang the first verse of “It is well with my soul” (Baba’s request) and the congregation joined in on the rest of the song. Our BIL Len led us all in singing with great enthusiasm. Our brother Leonard shared my mom’s eulogy with tears and laughter in Russian and English. Our family and friends from Bethany Baptist Russian church joined together for an impromptu singing of “Bless Thou the Lord”. My brother Steve gave the short and insightful message challenging us to see heaven as the place where we will see God and our Savior face to face as our reward. My nephews Levi and Joe led us in “Because He Lives” as the finale to our time.

Eight of my mom’s grandsons were the pallbearers.

We gathered around our Pop, Dzeda to comfort him and support him throughout the services.

We met at the graveside and participated in my mom’s burial.

My mom’s daughter’s, granddaughters, great granddaughter, and nieces placed a long stemmed pink rose on her casket before it was lowered into the grave.

In the old world tradition starting with my father and my siblings we all took a clump of earth and threw it in the grave upon the coffin.

We sang in Russian and English while the son’s, grandson’s, nephews and old friends of my mom’s used shovels to fill the grave with dirt.

We find this tradition of participating in the burial to be comforting and honoring and we leave knowing that we did this act in love.

Our son Dan with Dear.

Josh and Laura

My cousins on my father’s side of the family with their spouses.

The newest member of our extended family.

It was now time to head back to the church for our meal together. Friday was a very clear day in Southern California standards at Rose Hills. We could see all the way to Downtown Los Angeles. Rose Hills Memorial Park is the largest cemetery in the United States and is located in Whittier, California.

In my next post I’ll continue with the good times around the tables over our meal enjoying doing a little catch up with friends from our childhood.

It’s good to be home again. We are still trying to get our bodies on our West Coast clock instead of our British clock. I think a nice full week at home will do the trick. We left a very sunny Southern California and arrived to a rainy blustery Northwest. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

In Memory of…

In Memory of Nadia Bagdanov

April 8, 1924 – September 13, 2013

Services:

Viewing: Thursday September 26 beginning at 5:30 pm in the Garden View Chapel at Rose Hills Gate 1
Thursday Night Service: Thursday September 26 at 7pm in the Garden View Chapel at Rose Hills Gate 1
Funeral Service: Friday, September 27 at 10 am. Whittier Area Community Church
Graveside following service at Rose Hills (approximate time: noon)
Reception following Graveside at Whittier Area Community Church (approximate time: 1:00 pm)

These words were penned by Nadia’s granddaughter Melissa:

If I said that facing the impending death of someone as amazing as my grandma was hard, that would be an understatement. It doesn’t matter how much you try to prepare yourself because the truth is, you’re never really ready to face such a great loss…

As I sit here trying to process it all, her life, her death, the amazing gift of even being able to call her my grandma, the reality of having to live the rest of my life on this earth without her, I find myself overwhelmed at God’s love, His goodness and His perfect timing. Many of you who knew Baba know that she was a very strong, very stubborn woman and she demonstrated that until the very end. The doctors gave her less than week to live, but she and her stubbornness proved them wrong and instead, she lived almost 2 months. Because of that, my family was given a very special gift, a long goodbye…the opportunity to spend precious time with her all the while knowing that every goodbye could be our very last…until it finally was.

I know her memory will live on…we’ll be able to hear her critiquing our varenyiki every Christmas from now on (we promise not to make them look like slugs, Baba…we’ll aim for 5+’s now more than ever ), we’ll still be able to hear her snarky remarks during Dzeda’s speeches before family meals, and her telling us to love each other…something she did so well.

Until we see her again, we mourn our great loss but celebrate her GREAT gain. I have no doubt she heard the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful, servant’ when she entered the presence of her Savior this morning. She truly was an incredible example…an example whose footsteps have been etched so deeply in my life and heart. She will forever be one of my greatest role models and inspirations and I feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing legacy.
But words cannot even begin to express how much I will miss her…
I love you SO much, Baba

Please leave any comments here and I will be sure to pass them on to my Dad. I am sure he would love to hear words of encouragement or remembrance from you. Mom loved Jesus and was confident in her last days. She loved her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She will be missed and her words will encourage us for years to come. The Bagdanov family was blessed by God to have Nadia as our Mom.

I copied this post and information from my brother’s blog. If you live in Southern California feel free to attend my mom’s memorial service. We would be happy to welcome you and see you. I will be away from the computer for the next few days…

Our Finale was London…

And our favorite phrase while in London for our last 3 days was, “Oh the humanity”. Such a sea of people and an amazing ethnic diversity. Never ever go to England and miss out on the countryside. London is fabulous but it is a completely different experience from the quiet of the countryside.

This is Tower Bridge in London over the river Thames with the HMS Belfast permanently docked since 1971.

On Tuesday I was able to get some laundry done and organize some thoughts which is always good. I enjoyed visiting some of your blogs and seeing what’s new in your corner of the world. Talking to my sister voice to voice this morning and getting all the details of my mom’s last minutes was good for my soul. I talked to my pop for the first time since my mom died and that was good for both of us. What a sweet man my pop is. Looking forward to hugging him on Thursday afternoon…

Left in Summer…

…returned in Autumn!

We arrived home from England yesterday evening at 6:00 pm after a flight delay in London. I was tucked into my own bed by 8:30 and wide awake at 3:00 am. My body and mind will adjust soon. We left with windows open and returned with windows shut. We left with the heater pilot lights off and they are back on this morning along with a wee bit of heat to warm up our chilly home. Fall has definitely arrived!

The rest of this week will be busy with our preparations for my mom’s memorial service and our travel to Southern California. Time will tell when I will start posting my full travelogue from England.

Here’s another snapshot of our days in England. After Wells we traveled on to Cornwall where we spent 3 nights. What a wonderful area to explore! Cheers!

Josh, Laura, Dear and I are so thankful to God for watching over us and for His favor on us during this trip. There were so many moments that we felt His touch on us and our experiences. Thank you Lord!

Just One…

It’s hard to just show one photo from this amazing cathedral. I’ll be showing lots more in the coming weeks when we get back Stateside.

We leave England today (Monday) at 3:00 and arrive in Seattle at 4:30…so weird. Later this week we board a plane again to go to Southern California for my mom’s funeral. We’ve had a marvelous time in England and I’m so happy that this time around I have a digital camera and a blog so I can document the trip. I already am making plans in my head to improve our next trip here…whenever that may be.

Happy Autumn everyone! I so looking forward to catching up with you all.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage