Red Light - Neighbors - More Yard Work And The World Cup

Sonnet last night at the bowling lanes.

Today England marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which went from July to October in 1940 and likely saved the Free World from the Nazis. Churchill thought so. During that time, RAF made continuous daily sorties to fight off the Luftwaffe, losing over 3,000 planes and 500 pilots. To mark the anniversary, celebrations take place in Kent where the last flying Spitfire makes fly-bys over the chalky coastline - the Spitfire a beautiful plane whose unique sound recognisable to most British but especially those older than a certain age.

We have our neighbors Lev and Ali to brunch and learn that their Grandfather brought the family from Cyprus to London while establishing a substantial community around him in the 1950s. His business food and, at one point by the 1970s, he owned the largest fast-food franchise in Britain: Wimpy's, which was also the UK's first fast food restaurant. Sonnet remembers them in Sheffield when she was there in '81 with Silver, who was on a Fulbright Scholarship. McDonald's arrived in '73, which was the beginning of the end for Wimpy's (Lev's grandfather noted, with horror, "no silverware !"). Today Lev owns four upscale London restaurants and employs 120 people serving "Ottoman" cuisine. I have not been but will certainly go next.

I enlist the Shakespeares and together we complete the yard work which nets six green bags to the dump. I attack a pine tree in front of the house which takes care of my yesterday. My reward: blisters and a sore back. But it does feel nice to complete a project. Eitan at a World Cup Party with Joe and Cyrus; Madeleine a Sunday over-night with Jackson. Can it really be this quiet?

Spain v. Holland in the WC Final - kick-off in 20.