What's All This, Then?

**O'Searcaigh** · 9th July 13, 06:05 AM

Hello Pierre and

from The Big South Fork, north central Tennessee!

**Gryphon noir** · 9th July 13, 10:38 AM

Welcome from deepest, darkest and often wettest (is that a word?) Cedar Cottage, out in the unfashionable backwater of the East End of Vancouver.

**creagdhubh** · 9th July 13, 11:22 AM

Welcome aboard, mate!

**Stoo** · 9th July 13, 11:44 AM

http://buyakilt.com/pure-white-fashion-kilt
This might do

**vanwenger** · 9th July 13, 11:37 PM

Thank you all for your warm welcome, and for the many positive suggestions! I'll follow up with a few specific responses, but for now I'll simply say, kiltless though I am at this point, I feel proud to be among you!

**vanwenger** · 9th July 13, 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by 1oldsarge

Pierre, welcome to the rabble! Great group of people here.
I hope you weren't impacted by the government activities that was going on there as of late...

We live in northern Istanbul, where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea. The local population made their support of the protesters known by banging pans, flashing lights and honking car horns for an hour every night for a couple of weeks, but we didn't have to deal with masses demonstrations or tear-gas-wielding police. On the other hand, Taksim Square is the hub that most public transit goes through between our end of the city and the old center, which we did occasionally want to visit (we had a visitor from Germany who wanted to see the sights...). For us, the protests were more of a nuisance than a real problem. On the other hand, it was good to see the disorganized Turkish opposition discover that there really was a sizable proportion of the population that was dissatisfied with the current government. The success of the protests might encourage participation in the next elections, and that could lead to significant change.

**vanwenger** · 9th July 13, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by Kiltedjohn

Welcome from an exiled Scot living in the English Midlands. Hope you have a great trip to Scotland, and that you find a kilt to suit. I look forward to hearing all about it.

I'll make a full report!

**vanwenger** · 10th July 13, 12:03 AM

Hello, Orionson, and thank you for the croquet review. I, too, was introduced to croquet as a youngster (though I believe I was 12-14 when I first played, and the game was the American backyard version, a far cry from Association). I got involved again when I was about 30, so have been playing for approximately 35 years. At one point my partner and I took the Japan Open Doubles title. Since then, I've won the Oregon State championship a couple of times and been president of the Vancouver Croquet Club in British Columbia. For a while I was ranked in Canada's top ten, but I think my enforced exile to Turkey has made that a position I'll have to work to re-earn.
When my wife (unfortunately not an enthusiast of the game) and I decided to visit Scotland, one of my first moves was to contact the clubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and they were very welcoming. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a mallet for the first time in 11 months and see what happens.
One reason we're able to go to Scotland is that a Vancouver Croquet Club member happens to hail from Glasgow and offered us use of his flat and his car. We're going to make trips as far afield as Islay and Oban, but I'm afraid we're not going to get as far as Skye (a bit of a shame, since our son's name is "Sky", short for "Schuyler"). We're trying to keep within a budget, and we can only bend it so far...
I look forward to further correspondence with you, and thank you again for your warm welcome!

**vanwenger** · 10th July 13, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by Chas

Hello Pierre,

Welcome to XMarks from Norfolk in England.

Don't croquet whites (like cricket whites and tennis whites) take a lot of cleaning? You could be making a rod for your own back.

-- Well, yes, though croquet is a less active sport than either cricket or tennis. That's a reason to avoid clothing that requires dry cleaning. I found a pair of polyester bowls trousers on a visit to St. Albans once that have served me well. Other than that, I've tended to keep to white Levi's and white shorts. One location on trousers that tends to get dirty is the inside of the bottom hem, since the mallet head swings against them as it passes between the ankles. I don't think that would be a problem with a kilt!

**vanwenger** · 10th July 13, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by Gryphon noir

Welcome from deepest, darkest and often wettest (is that a word?) Cedar Cottage, out in the unfashionable backwater of the East End of Vancouver.

--I thank you, Sir Gryphon! When my wife and I return to Vancouver, we may well be looking for housing in your neck of the woods. Before our return to Turkey we were in West Point Grey, but I think we may have to be a little more careful with our pocketbooks. Among locations we're now pondering are Oak Ridge and the area around Commercial Drive. Any recommendations would be given careful consideration!