2017年11月24日金曜日 -
Luke: Budleigh Salterton
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When I was thinking about a topic for this
blog, it occurred to me that I have written several blogs about my experiences
in Japan but none about England, so I thought I ought to write one about
England. To be honest, I've never really done any sightseeing in England so my
options here are somewhat limited. I could write about my hometown, but that
might not be very interesting. With all this in mind, I have decided to write
about a pretty idyllic little place
called Budleigh Salterton.
Every
summer my family would travel to Budleigh Salterton for our summer holiday. It
used to feel to me when I was young that we were traveling half way around the world.
In hindsight, I think Budleigh Salterton
is only around an hour from my hometown. Memories of these trips aren't exactly
detailed, but I can remember flashes – flashes that I haven't thought about for
a long time. I will do my best to describe what I can remember. Hopefully, it
will turn out to be a highlights-reel.
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My
parents don't drive (they've never driven a car), which may go some way to
explaining why I’ve never driven a car, and for this reason a family friend
used to drive us on our annual excursions. The earliest of my memories is of my
dad's passenger-seat road rage; he
used to shout and swear at any passing car that our driver felt had wronged us.
My dad, as mentioned, has never driven, and is therefore clueless when it comes
to proper road procedure, and it later transpired
that our driver had always been in desperate
need of very strong glasses. So looking back, it's probably safe to assume that
it was our car which was at fault each and every time something happened.
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Anyway,
it's strange to think about these trips now. I can remember so little about
them but all of it is pleasant to think on. I can remember sulking for an entire day, though I can't remember
why. I spent many hours under the bed refusing to come out unless my demands were met. I can remember 'the hill with
three trees', which was not a proper place name; just a hill that looked from
one particular angle to only have three trees upon it. I can remember walking
to my dad's favourite pub for lunch, to this day he talks about the beer he
used to drink at that pub. On the way there one day we saw a very large bull, with horns
fearsome enough to frighten a matador. We
crowded round the gate that separated us
from the bull and watched it for a while. As we were watching, it began to pee and much to me and
my brother's delight, it did not stop for what must have been around
five minutes. Even years later in my house it was not uncommon to hear the
words “remember the bull in Budleigh Salterton?”
idyllic : 牧歌的な
Budleigh Salterton :
In hindsight : 後から考えてみると
highlights-reel : 見せ場を釣り上げる
passenger seat : 助手席
road rage : 野次/罵声clueless : 無知な
when it comes to : ~ということになると
transpired : わかってきた
desperate : たまらなく
sulking : 駄々をこねる
my demands were met : 要求が通る
bull : 雄牛
horns : 角
fearsome enough to
frighten a : 闘牛士を怖がらせられるほど恐ろしい
crowded : 群がった
pee : おしっこをする
much to mine and brother's
delight : 僕と弟が大変喜んだことには