Happy almost-June! How are you doing? Is school almost out? I’ve had an alright week. A few days ago I went to this old mansion, Strawberry Hill House, which I based lots of my novel’s settings off of. It was quite gorgeous and felt as though I’d been there many times because of all the research. It has a big field and some trees attached which make it very pretty. There was a heron outside named Horace after Walpole (who lived there) who apparently lives there sometimes.
Afterwards I wandered around this very pretty cemetery for awhile:
That was very nice. It’s still very unusual to just be going to faraway places by myself. Have you felt that? Something I have noticed is that the churches are rarely open, which surprised me, because I thought they were always supposed to be. I got caught in some rain and tried to enter one, but it was closed, alas. English rain can come down much harder, like hose rain. I hid in a mysterious little catholic chapel, not ten feet long. I do like exploration. I would like to go to a random town and just walk around sometime. I’m flying to the Netherlands tomorrow to visit my friend — maybe something like that will happen. Not doing research has, some benefits. Don’t tell Mom I said that. Very bad tourism. I got jumpscared by the cutty sark in Greenwich (ginormous 18th-century ship)
After that day I haven’t done much of note. I’ve gotten all packed, and I’m basically prepared to head back home. I can’t wait. But the news about Boeing scares me. Have you heard about it? Apparently they’re making the planes worse and killing people who tell. I would not like the plane to crash into the Hudson Bay (I’d rather it crash into Lake Superior).
The next time I write, I’ll be back from the Netherlands. I’ll tell you about the interesting things that happen. Tell me something nice that’s happened to you lately. I love you.
With love,
Alice