Word from Our Sponsor - Britain Votes - Oxburgh Hall - The Westie

May arrived on a sunny Saturday, which seemed somehow appropriate. With it came the second edition of the PRT Paktya newsletter, Double Tap, which features some photographs of team members and an account of a convoy ambush in April. The link takes you to the old Turtle Drove site, where a link to the newsletter is posted. No friendly casualties were suffered in the April fight and the hostiles were driven off. A more recent encounter ended with four dead insurgents and again no friendly casualties. Keep those team members in your prayers.

The Strange Case of Mr. Brown

The Labour Party appears to be on its way to losing its grip on Parliament and the prime minister's residence in this country, a hold it's held for 13 years. Unless, as the polls seem to predict, the election results in a hung Parliament, with no one party able to elect its leader PM. The Labourites were on the ropes already when Gordon Brown, incumbent PM and party leader, forgot to turn off his mike as he drove away from a campaign meet-and-greet last week. Hence the now fabled Bigotgate. Yes, the Brits have stolen the -gate suffix and affixed it to anything remotely scandalous politically. BBC Newsnight summoned crack animators to recreate the incident here.

The Conservatives (the Tories, that is) have fielded Rory Stewart, author of The Places in Between and The Prince of the Marshes to run for a seat in Parliament representing a district in barren Yorkshire. His book on Afghanistan, Places, about his walk from one end of the country to other, is an inspiring book not only for the feat itself but also for his pedestrian take on Afghanistan. It's worth a look. Kelley and I met Stewart at a talk he gave in Anchorage, where he signed our copies of his books. Interesting guy. He was particularly critical of the Allied approach to "managing" the war and reconstruction in Afghanistan, where he created an NGO to help craftspeople in Kabul.

All the fuss comes to an end this week when Britain votes. Coincidentally, Michael Caine is making the talk show rounds and interview circuit on behalf of his new movie, Harry Brown, about a codger who goes all Dirty Harry on Elephant and Castle. Caine, who I ran into once on a street in Santa Fe, says he's voting Tory out of principle. Not political principle, but the principle that he only expects two terms out of the elected leadership and no more, as far as he's concerned.

Religion in the Gutter

The weekend road trip took me to Oxburgh Hall, a National Trust property about 25 miles from here. The place was built in the 15th century and belonged to a Catholic family that managed to hang onto it, and their lives, during the period in which Henry VIII dismantled the religion in England and outlawed its practice. The Bedingfields were big dogs in London, one was apparently the equivalent of lord mayor and another was responsible for holding Princess Elizabeth prisoner for a spell. So they walked a fine line, loyal to the throne on one hand but barely tolerated Catholics on the other.

They were devout, nonetheless, but in those days to welcome a priest onto your estate to celebrate Mass was to court death. So the house has a priest hole, a handy hidden compartment into which the celebrant could duck should the authorities come a knockin'. The hiding place is in a brick tower just off a second-floor bed chamber where Henry VII once stayed the night. In fact, it's in the garderobe, another name for the latrine. To reach the hiding place, about the size of a walk-in closet, the fugitive needed to crawl into the hole over which one sat to do his or her business, wriggle over the shaft that opened into the waste-water treatment facility below, aka the moat, and into the hiding place. The tour guide added that naturally, white vestments weren't so white after the trip. Photos inside the property were forbidden. The photo up top is an outside shot.

West End

Finally, allow me to close with the last of the tour of Ely locals, the word Brits use to describe their favorite watering hole within walking distance.

The West End is, predictably, on Ely's west side. It's a free house, I think, and my favorite draft here is usually a Guiness. It has an outdoor area, or beer garden, and judging by the aircraft photographs hanging indoors is popular with the flying community from RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. The Westie is a warren of rooms from which the same bar is accessible on three different fronts. The ceilings are low, so watch your head. It's a neat, well kept place with a friendly atmosphere. "And not a cheap clip joint for picking up tarts."

Til next time.