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Henry Dallimore found true love in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and emigrated there last year.

These are his messages back to Shorelink Community Writers.

Henry's First Message

I am quite elderly really I suppose (72 to be exact) and have recently emigrated to Pennsylvania and got married in June this year. I shall be sending "Letters from America" from time to time (in memory of Alistair Cooke), but we have been having a nice summer and fall and I have not got into the rhythm of sitting at the computer and writing. I joined Shorelink in the summer of '03 and write both prose and poetry, I started on my first novel in January 2000 but all I have written is the prologue and first paragraph of chapter one! So I doubt if it will ever get completed. My interests are railways together with most forms of transportation, digital photography and video making (no not that sort Missus!!). Since coming to America I have become a volunteer at our local library giving lessons in computer basics, digital photography and video.

Henry's "LETTER FROM AMERICA"

#2

16 July 2008

Well I've been back here for almost four months now, and can say that I have got quite used to living in small-town America. It is nothing like what is usually seen on the movies or TV, in fact it is the most laid back environment that I have ever encountered.

Life is taken slow, there is an absence of pressure which is so prevalent in other places. For instance, there is a local 'bus service, it has a timetable but never works to it and nobody complains. Usually when we are waiting downtown for our 'bus back home and it has not appeared when it should, we simply go into the coffee shop at the 'bus station and drink coffee until it shows which it always does sooner or later.

Everybody is very friendly and will always help out, sometimes without having been asked. We were in the hardware store a day or so ago to get a bag of ready-mix mortar which we could not lift into the cart. Without being asked another (younger) customer picked it up for us, I can't say I have ever seen this happen at B&Q!

The custom for wedding presents is to give cash, which is quite acceptable here. We received around $1,400 in gifts at our wedding last month which was welcome when we discovered that to have my status amended to LPR (lawful permanent resident) was going to cost $1,100 in total; in this regard I have my biometrics appointment (when they check fingerprints and make sure you are who you are supposed to be) early next month.

It seems strange how easy it is to get used to a new climate, the average temperature is 86f with many days in the 90's, when it drops down into the 70's it feels decidedly chilly! Of course we do have days when the humidity makes things uncomfortable, but this is not every day thank goodness.My first 4th July was like being back in England for a Bank Holiday - it rained!! and funnily enough it was a gentle all penetrating rain just like England but this was the first time I had experienced it here - usually the rain is very heavy.

Weekends are spent at cookouts (BBQ) at various friends’ places and in their pools but I have to say I miss some things foodwise, e.g. decent sized bread slices, Bisto gravy, Paxo stuffing, and bacon.

BFN


H

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