Warwick Weekend

It was the weekend of birthday celebrations for David Epstein who turned 70 this year. A 2 week conference is being held as part of the celebrations. Daryl has been staying with the Epsteins the last two weeks, attending talks, working with colleagues, etc. On Friday I left a very muggy London on a coach for drizzly Coventry. Spent the afternoon with Rona in Kenilworth. We did some shopping errands then went to the castle. We tramped around the gorgeous ruins and ogled the views of rolling green fields. Back home we got dressed and went to the maths institute for the birthday barbecue. It was cool and drizzly so the event had to be indoors. A huge group - around 100 mathematicians - mainly topologists and geometric group theorists from all over the world - milled around and I was amazed at how many of the people were friends of ours. A significant number had stayed at our place in Santa Barbara multiple times over the years, so it was one of those great parties where you get to talk to friends you hadn't seen in a while. Long tables were covered with a sumptuous spread of pastas, salads, roasted veggies, etc. and of course whatever was barbecued (soya patties for us vegetarians) There was lots of wine and an impressive variety of beer from micro breweries. It was indeed a fantastic party.

The next morning I opened the curtains in our room and felt thoroughly uplifted (not just because of preceding activities!). The sun was shining and the sky was pale blue. We had a view of the Epstein's delightful, quaintly Englsih garden, and beyond that lush fields dotted with many grazing sheep. Clumps of low, broad trees bordered the fields. Very picturesque and very English. Daryl dashed off for the talks and he was a bit preoccupied because he was giving his talk today after lunch.
After breakfast Rona sent me out to the garden to pick berries. I'm so jealous of the huge, green lawns that English people have. The garden is well nurtured with many pretty flower beds and lots of fruit - 3 apple trees, a pear tree, a walnut tree, rhubarb, and berries of every kind. We picked huge bowlfuls of blackcurrants and plump raspberries. Rona was planning to make a berry crumble for dessert. They were going to be entertaining a large group for dinner.

We went back to the maths institute for a special luncheon as part of the celebrations. Again there was an amazing spread. The weather on Saturday was superb. A speech was given by Christopher Zeeman, David's advisor, and a well-known mathematician. Before Zeeman started his speech Marty Scharlemann related an anecdote to me: Hamish Short was in London a few days ago, sitting on a bench perusing some math papers. A person walking by, paused beside him and asked if he was a mathematician. Hamish said yes. The guy got out a postcard of the painting of Zeeman that hangs at the institute in Warwick, and asked if Hamish knew that man. Hamish said, "Yes. Acutally I'm on my way to the place where that painting hangs." The guy then said, "I'm the person who did the painting."

After Zeeman's speech, Daryl gave his talk.
Rona, Charity Hirsh, and I walked out to the lake on the attractively landscaped campus then returned home. I browsed a book - Diaries of Albie Sachs - and enjoyed it considerably. I'll have to add it to my library. Albie Sachs is a judge in South Africa and was actively involved in the Freedom Struggle. I enjoyed his insights about the past and present situation in SA.

Daryl and I had dinner with Stefan Tollman and his wife Brangwyn - Aussie pals of ours. They are renting an absolutely charming English cottage in Kenilworth. We sat in the little garden - an old stone church and a cemetery lie just beside the garden - enjoying the summery evening. We drank Aussie wine and ate tomato goat cheese pie with a cress salad. For dessert Brangwyn made an exquisite berry cobbler. Stefan told us about the conference he attended in China. He talked about how Beijing is rapidly changing - fewer bicycles, more traffic, greater pollution, much more built up - looking increasingly western, and after the mad drive to demolish the hutongs, now a move to preserve them.
It was a long, long day for Daryl.

On Sunday the good weather disappeared. It drizzled off and on all day. We went to Brian Sanderson's place out in the countryside outside of Coventry for Sunday lunch. Christine and Brian live in a farmhouse and are surrounded by large, lush fields on which graze fat dairy cows. They grow lots of fruit and veggies. They hate supermarkets and try to get everything either from their land or from neighboring farmers. We had an enjoyable walk around their enormous garden and out into the fields. They fed us moussaka, Greek salad, quinoa salad, and an assortment of cheeses. A dry burgundy accompanied this delicious meal. For dessert we had a homemade lemon curd tart, raspberries with heavy cream, and a berry fool (berries blended in yogurt and sweetened). After this huge feast I had to catch my coach back into London.

On Wednesay I leave for Paris, and then the Cote d'Azur. Oooh, so exciting. Can't wait to get into a swimsuit and jump into the Mediterranean.