Brilliant P-days

Every missionary feels that they were called to serve in the best mission in the Church. We do! No one can argue with us, when we declare that we have the best P-days in the world. Monday, September 21st was a special day when we visited the historic and fascinating city of Oxford, and visited some of the thirty eight colleges which comprise Oxford University. It is the oldest surviving university in the English speaking world. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. There are just over 20,000 students in the colleges that make up Oxford University.

A favorite was Christ Church, which is the largest college and has an Anglican cathedral. The Cathedral is the College Chapel for the College as well as the cathedral church for the Diocese of Oxford. King Henry VIII was the founder of the college. John Wesley is one of the famous people educated here. Another is Charles Dodgson whose pen name is Lewis Carroll. He became friends with the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church - especially Alice. Dodgson made up stories to entertain the sisters and thus was the beginning of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass."

The Dining Hall Scenes and stone stairways for the first two "Harry Potter" films were filmed at Christ Church.





Lot's of humorous gargoyles on all the college buildings. Click on the 'Bored Student' at the left to take a trip with us through Oxford.

Love, Sister Watts

Babylon Gardens

We had to cap off the 50th celebration with a night out on the 16th, and what better place to celebrate for a missionary couple than Babylon. It's actually called the Roof Gardens and Babylon is one of the featured resturants. The gardens are on the top of a building in Kensington and are beautiful. The view over the city was spectacular.

It was a bit of a splurge for two country folk from Utah, but it was well worth it. We mentioned to the waitress that we were celebrating our 50th. The dessert came with a special decoration as you can see by clicking on the picture. I forgot to bring my camera, but we struck up a conversation with another couple next to us who had a camera. New friends, camera, email... and here we are. It was a great evening.

Have a good week!

Elder & Sister Watts

'50' And Counting

On Wednesday, September 16th, we will celebrate 50 years of marriage. This is no small thing and certainly worth celebrating! This milestone is a family event and to be a 'proper' (as the English would say) party, it ought to be done with family. Well.... we're blessed for now to have a temporary family here in London and they gave us a 'proper' party last Friday evening, complete with invitations, favors, balloons, wonderful food, flowers and most of all -- Friendship. If you would care to, you can join the party here.

Just a word or two about being together for fifty years. It's not been all smooth sailing, but then as Harold B. Lee once said, "A smooth sea does not a skillful mariner make." I would recommend an occasional 'disagreement' so you can better appreciate the smooth sea moments -- well maybe 'recommend' is not the right word, but you get the idea. We've had a wonderful life together and counting blessings would overload my abacus.

As I think back I'm not sure it all began with a clear focus on how serious and important this all was. I was in love and as the saying goes, "a team of wild horses couldn't have kept me away from Barbara." But the importance and seriousness grew and came into clearer focus as I truly learned the gospel, where it says things like, "cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh", "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever", "heirs together of the grace of life" and finally "new and everlasting covenant of marriage."

Most of all I married right. In the September Ensign President Uchtdorf says, "The scriptures give us names of several women who have blessed individuals and generations." I would include in that list - Barbara. She has blessed my life and continues to do so. I am the "best-cared-for" man in London. You would not believe some of the meals we have that she makes seemingly out of thin air. Proverbs Chapter 31:11-31 describes her to a "T" and truly "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."

Our children get a lot of credit for this milestone; they have helped us along and trained us well. We have been blessed with five wonderful children - Brian, Barry, Rich, Julie and Jane - each with unique and individual talents and gifts. Their choices and the lives they live are a rich reward for a 50-year marriage. Add to that Jana, Nannette, Tammy, Matt and Jake and the rewards double. But that's not as good as it gets -- at the end of our 50-year marriage rainbow is truly a pot of golden grandchildren, who we cherish and love dearly. We are ever amazed and impressed with their activities and achievements that make us smile, laugh, clap, cheer... and bring us joy. Our hearts are full; we love you lots!

Lastly to our friends, we say thank you for joining us in this grand trip, bumps and all. We love you and look forward to lots of fun times yet to come.

God bless you all,

Elder and Sister Watts

Goose Fat

The miracle of food in England is "Free Range!" All the quality (more expensive) foods come from free range..... free range eggs, free range chickens, free range cows, free range pigs. Somehow the eggs, milk and meat from critters in pens is second class. Well..... Jana bought us some "Free Range" Pure Goose Fat, which has sat on 'me' shelf (as the English would say) for six weeks.

With a little help from the internet recipe reservoir Sister Watts cooked up some free range potatoes using Pure goose fat. Not too bad -- but then, as with any gourmet chef, Chef Barbarez's skills in the culinary arts

could make any food tres magnifique!

Happy gourmet eating.

Elder & Sister Watts

It's 'Football'

This weekend marked the beginning of the Premier League football season. Twenty teams with players averaging £1.1m in annual salary (that's £21,000 per week) begin their competition ending next May with the champion taking home, besides a solid silver trophy, over £15m. The team picked to win is Chelsea with Manchester United (winners last year) and Liverpool close behind. Lots of U.S. ownership in these teams. 'Football' is a front page topic all season and we hear about it from our patrons in the FHC as well.

Here's Elder Watts on a recent P-day outing warming up for the season with one of the local stars. We had a little trouble keeping the fans off the 'pitch'. I was asked to play for the Tottenham Hotspurs, but I had to decline due to my prior commitments to the team at the London Family History Centre.

Best wishes,

Elder Watts

Lea Valley Primary

After 10 months of teaching Gospel Doctrine to the Saints of Lea Valley Ward, I was surprised when the Bishop issued a release and said he would like to have me serve in the Primary. I felt a little sad because as difficult as it was for me to teach the adults, I loved what I was learning. It has not taken long to switch allegiance to the Primary and these cute girls.

It's Raining!

After a week of sunshine and temperatures in the low 30's (°C) , one of our FHC patrons said, "Well summer's over now, we can get back to normal." That would be cool, wind, sprinkles and showers. Here are a few pictures of London and E&S Watts, now seasoned Londoners -- see for yourself.

Presidents Passing

Tomorrow we will have a new Mission President. President Renn Patch and his wife Deanne will replace President Clayton Foulger and his wife Marla. We have developed a great love and respect for President Foulger and his wife. They will be sorely missed.

We ('we' meaning the Family History Centre staff) were discussing over dinner two weeks ago what we might give to President and Sister Foulger as a going-away present. After much discussion, Sister Watts said, "Why don't we do their family history." It was an 'epiphany' (see the spot on definition below) moment and particularly celebratory coming from Sister Watts, who is occasionally less than enthusiastic about family history. We all took a piece of the pie to create a set of records for each of President and Sister Foulger's family line. We searched and gathered copies of censuses, overland trail records, immigration records and stories of ancestors, until we had a 'volume' (picture at left) to present to each of them along with electronic copies of all the documents on a USB memory stick.

President and Sister Foulger were thrilled, bothered somewhat by something wet in their eyes.

epiphany -a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Oh.... by the way - the research revealed that Sister Watts is related to President Foulger!

How's that for ironic.

I Shook Hands with a Prophet Today!

June 6th, 2009 is a day that we will always remember. We were blessed to attend a meeting with 280 elders and sisters that serve with us in the England London and England London South Missions. Our speakers were President Uchtdorf, and Elder Neil Andersen, our newest apostle. We were seated well before the meeting started and when they arrived, we all stood as they and their wives walked down the aisle. President Uchtdorf went to the pulpit and said they would like to shake our hands, so he and Elder Andersen stood down on the floor and we went row by row and all of us were able to shake their hands. Two great men that we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. It was powerful and the meeting had not yet started. Sister Watts

We Have A New Granddaughter!!

Our dear friends here in London rejoiced with us at the news of the birth of our granddaughter. They thought the pink flowered plant would be a good announcement to our patrons and soothe our separation pains.

Grace Emery Freeman was born June 4th. to Matt and Julie. She weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and is beautiful. She will be welcomed home by an excited brother and two sweet sisters.

"What have you learned on your mission?"

One of the blessings of serving in the England London mission is our association with the other senior couples. Every other Monday we enjoy a special family home evening with them. We take turns being the host and provide the main course of the meal and the activity or lesson after dinner. We have eaten many delicious meals, laughed as we've played fun games, or been spiritually fed with great gospel discussions. Last Monday evening, Elder and Sister Neu were the hosts and after dinner Elder Neu started our discussion with the question, "What have you learned on your mission?" The Neu's will be going home in one month. Everyone at the table will be going home before us. Each took a turn to respond to this thought provoking question and the answers were varied and inspiring. I've thought about them many times in the past two days and reflected over and over what my response was and is to this question. Jim and I were seated to respond near the end with only Sister Hintze to conclude the discussion.

The lessons I am learning are too many to mention. I do not have adequate words to describe the experience we are having.

Milestones...

About a year ago my Joyfer reached an incredible milestone - 545 miles on a bike. Her picture is one of triumph over mind and body to do such a thing.

This feat folllowed another of endurance and will as three years ago my Sophie completed the Ogden Marathon in record time.

These two events far outdistance and overshadow the Elder & Sister Watts milestone of 1,000 miles in walking around England. Nevertheless, this is a 'feet' of endurance as well.

Hooray... we're still in one piece.

Best wishes to all!

Love E & S Watts

Hever Castle

After working two Saturdays in a row, we had a free Saturday (P-day) to go exploring. We took a train ride with Elder and Sister Scott to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. She was the second wife of Henry the VIII and was the key figure in the political and religious upheaval leading to the split with Rome, the Pope, the Catholic Church and the Church of England under the King's control. Anne, the mother of Elizabeth I, was subsequently beheaded by Henry's decree for charges of adultery and incest, which historians generally view as unconvincing.

History aside, the trip to the castle, walk through the castle and around the grounds was spectacular. The mile and a third walk from the train station along narrow country roads went past farms and fields that were.... well... idyllic and breathtaking come to mind (see the slide show in links at the right).

We decided to follow a less-travelled path back from the castle and found ourselves looking for Robin Hood and his merry men in a labrynth of trees and bushes. What a restful moment from the busyness of London!

Click on these pictures for a larger view.

Best wishes to all,

Elder & Sister Watts

OOooopps.... The Slide i..n..to '70'

This has been a great week! Most weeks have been very busy at the Family History Centre, and when we're supposed to have some 'Back Office' time [time to work on our own family history or do some online indexing], we've had projects to do for the center. But.... I've had some success of late in finding ancestors in old parish registers -- interesting stories, but probably only to me and too long to tell here. Anyway... we had a P-day and went to the temple on Tuesday and I took some names to get temple ordinance cards to send home to family for temple work. The London Temple is about an hour away by train. It was built in 1958 and just barely had Moroni added to the spire.


We had the late shift in the center on Thursday (work to 9pm), and we had time to do some extra-curricular things earlier in the day -- that usually means shopping. We went to Portobello Road where antique markets abound. We came home with two treasures - an 'Art Nouveau' silver-plated toast holder (1890-1905) and a 'Victorian' sugar shaker (1837-1901). Click on pictures for a larger view.




Then, because my nine-year-old pocket PC (antique status) is beginning to struggle, I bought an iPod Touch, which is pretty amazing. Mom has the toast holder and the sugar shaker; I have everything but the kitchen sink on my iPod Touch. Oh.. did I mention the unmentionable... I had a birthday on Friday, so what else, the iPod is from me to me.


Then on Friday we went to dinner with the Scotts (fellow missionaries at the FHC) and the Foulgers (Mission President and his wife) to a place called 'Sticky Fingers.' Pretty much a ribs place with American food, Rolling Stones memorabilia and the food's very good. Notice the new tie - two birthday ties from Barbara along with a sack of treats.

Then the surprise of the day - an album with lots of great photos and letters from all of my family. It is a TREASURE. It was a seven-kleenex effort to read it. My family is simply the greatest!


Life is good. We miss home, but we are having the time of our lives.

Love to all, Elder Watts

London Spring

There are songs about Paris in the Springtime, but I think London would maybe be hard to beat. Gardens, trees, shrubs, flower boxes..... and blooms everywhere.

For such a densely populated large city, there are lots of parks and all are well kept. Click on the collage to see a full screen view of some of the prettiest.

The Talbot

At the Family History Centre we have a great view, through some large picture windows, into a cobble-stone street called the 'Mews'.

The used-to-be carriage barns are all now houses that are valued at upwards of £2m. One day last week I looked out and saw a remarkable car. With camera in hand I went for a look.

The car turned out to be a 1930 Talbot, and not just any old Talbot, but the one that competed in the 1930 Le Mans 24-hour race and took 3rd place. It looked totally in original condition without any restoration. Here are a few pictures and the race results.

Top Deck

When we arrived in London seven months ago, we were greeted at the door of our flat by Don and Claudia Innskeep. They had stocked our cupboards with food, filled a vase with fresh flowers and hung cute towels in our kitchen. Don took us to pay our council taxes, obtain our freedom passes and showed us how to get around on the London double decker buses. We have enjoyed many fun times with them at work and at play. One simple pleasure he taught us was to climb the steps of a bus to the top deck and ride around the city and see the sites. We have done this many times. Sunday night, the Innskeeps traveled home from church on the top deck. When they neared their stop, Don started down the steps when the bus jerked sending Don flying head first, down the steps. When Claudia reached him, she saw that his ear was nearly severed and he was bleeding profusely. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital. Claudia called Jim and and asked that he and another elder give him a Priesthood blessing before a plastic surgeon sewed him back together.
He is home today - recovering. We will all hold on a little tighter when we ride the bus - and forget the top deck.

Finding My Past

The Family History Center was closed for Good Friday and we had a scheduled P-Day on Saturday. So, with the approval of our Mission President we took an overnight trip to explore HADSPEN, the birth place of my great grandmother, Ellen (Eleanor) Hill. Hadspen is a Hamlet, which is considered a small village of 5-6 buildings and families. Hadspen is very much the same as it was in the mid-ninteenth century when Ellen and her family lived there.

Here are some pictures of Haspen with homes that were built in the 1700's. I have not been able to find which one might have been my ancestors, but for sure it was one of them. We talked to some of the residents, who were very friendly and hospitable. We also went to the Parish church that was there in the same era (above left). Some of the family died in Hadspen, so we looked through the graveyard for any 'Hill' names but couldn't find any.

We stayed at the Greystones House, which is a Bed&Breakfast just outside of Castle Cary. This home was built in the early 1800's with subsequent additions. It is beautiful, our room was a delight and we were treated to a 'full English' breakfast, which means, sausage, eggs, bacon (ham to most), a rather large mushroom, stewed tomatoes, toast and local honey or preserves, juice and museli (cereal).

Check the link at the right [Hadspen] for more pictures.

More later..... Elder Watts

Being a Missionary

I've been invited to accompany the AP's on three occasions -- once this week -- to help with a new investigator discussion. These have all been very enjoyable. The discussion this week was with 'Audrey', a lady that the AP's met on the street. She says that she has been actively looking for a church and has gone to many. When she met the Elders, she was excited to hear their message. She seems very interested and excited for another teaching moment.

Friday, I helped a man, who had been in the FHC a few times, with some scans of microfiche records. We chatted a bit as we did the scans, he paid for them and left. I grabbed my lunch and went to the lunch room and found him there organizing his papers. As I ate, I began a conversation with him and he started asking me questions and commenting about the church. He noted that he had observed some missionaries and wondered if we had a training program to teach 'courtesy', 'manners' and 'good behavior.' He has a high regard for 'Mormons' and asked me if there were any Mormon 'convicts' and seemed surprised when I told him yes, there probably are. He was astonished when I told him we were here at our own expense. He knew that families are important and seemed to want to know 'more'. So, I told him about the restoration and modern day prophets. He was very receptive. I told him about conference and invited him to come see our prophet next week. He said he just might do that. I know that he will be back in the FHC if not to conference.

Great spirit as always in the Lea Valley ward today -- fast day. A new convert was confirmed and the testimonies were sweet as usual. One of our YM, a teacher, bore his testimony.

Best wishes to all,

Elder Watts

Another Week....

Lots of activity in the FHC this week. It seems that almost every day there are those who go away smiling because they've found an ancestor for whom they've been looking for many years. It's fun to see the successes.

Yesterday, being our P-day, we went with the other three senior couples to Rochester to see the Rochester Castle (left) and the Rochester Cathedral. Rochester was the home of Charles Dickens for 14 years and there's lots of connections in Rochester to his writings. We went there for the annual Christmas Dickens Festival in December, but it was so crowded (and cold) that we didn't get to see the castle and cathedral. It was well worth a second visit. Check the links at right for pictures if you are interested - beautiful cathedral, amazing castle and interesting old buildings the most notable of which is Richard Watts' Six Poor Travelers Inn (several pictures of it). Watts, who died in 1579, is buried in the cathedral. Dickens story, Seven Poor Travelers (he is the other traveler along with the six) is a very good short story and can be found at The Seven Poor Travelers.

Great day at Lea Valley today. Today is England's "Mothering Sunday," -- British Mother's Day. Lot's of tributes to mothers. Great sacrament meeting, good lessons, great spirit. Sister Watts led a really good Gospel Doctrine class discussion about missionary work. She is a good teacher. Had a good time teaching the YM in priesthood meeting as well.

Best wishes to all for a good week!

Love, Elder & Sister Watts