A non driver in the land of cars.

Driving, it seems, is the only way to get around. There is no public transport in town or it seems between towns. You have to drive. The cars or trucks are huge, and mostly four wheel drive monsters, driven usually at a very calm and sedate 30 miles an hour. Driving round here is leisurely. No one seems to be in a rush or impatient. You don't hear car horns and overtaking seems to be rare. It is very relaxing.
You can do everything from your car. The centre of Fulton has four drive through banks. They look like petrol stations. You can return your library books or dvd's from your car. Pay your utility bills, post your letters and get your pizza. You never actually have to get out of your car and move your lower half.
The result? Some very large lower halves. People come in sizes you never see in Britain. There does not seem to be any embarrassment or disadvantage to being gross. It doesn't seem to be just a class thing either. There are gigantic people working in the bank and university.
According to a book we have over half of all americans are classed as obese. I don't know their definition for obese, but looking around me I'd say that was pretty accurate.
It is not just the lack of exercise, which must contribute to this, but the food.
Going into Walmart is an education in itself. It is huge and the food is sold in huge packages. Meat comes in monster packs, juice comes in enormous bottles. What they call cheese, a rubbery substance, usually bright orange, comes in foot long packs. It's hard to buy small. I don't know what you do as a single person.
Of course we have the huge american fridge to house the giant packs. But it all encourages you to overbuy and overeat.
Actually, it's the first time I've ever been tempted to go vegetarian. Organic does not exist in the meat section of Walmart.
Food is all vitamin and mineral enriched. It's very hard to buy anything that hasn't been added to. The balsamic vinegar has preservative in it, most dairy products are added to and soya beans in one form or another seem to be in everything.
We do, however, have a farmers market twice a week, in the summer months. These seem to be fairly widespread across Missouri. It is limited mainly to vegetables, fruits and preserves, but is walkable from our house and the produce is good.
What we have none of are the little corner grocers you get on practically every corner in London, where you can buy most things. Food outlets in small sizes do not exist in Fulton.
I have to ask the question, can I survive here as a non driver? It's going to be hard.

I'll leave you with a few images of rather nice houses, empty and falling down, just round the corner from us.

Fulton.

I thought you ought to know a little bit about Fulton- voted The 4th best place to live in rural America by Progressive Farmer Magazine, and one of the 10 great places to discover Midwest charm according to USA Today.
Fulton calls itself a city, but it is really a small town of 12,000 people. It is bang in the middle of Missouri, just north of the capital- Jefferson City.
 The centre of Fulton has 158 listed 'historic' houses and the streets are brick. This has the slightly disconcerting effect of making all cars sound as if they have flat tyres. It is known for it's antique shops, which is not quite how I would describe them. The historic centre is very quiet. Half the shops are vacant. There is however a reasonable restaurant which does fairly simple, but good american food. A vintage and original drugstore with soda fountain, no food shops of any description but banks, lawyers and the like.
It has two world class museums, according to tourist brochures- The Auto World Museum, set up by a potato chip magnate, a collection of vintage cars and the National Winston Churchill Memorial Museum and Library, which is why we are here.
Churchill came here in 1946 as the guest of Truman, a Missouri man, to give his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech at Westminster College. Building on this, the college set up a library and museum dedicated to Churchill. This has been a good move on their part as it distinguishes the college from the thousands of other small private colleges in America and they specifically teach British history. It has attracted visitors such as Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walesa, John Major, Gorbachev and Reagan all getting in on the freedom and democracy ticket, which is very saleable. The guest speaker this fall is James Baker, former Secretary of State, who will speak during the two day Symposium for Democracy, which is compulsory for all students.
The museum is situated in a church from the city of London- St Mary the Virgin Aldermanberry, designed by Christopher Wren. It was badly damaged in the war and due for demolition when it was bought by rich admirers of Churchill, including JFK, taken down and rebuilt and restored here. It does look spectacular and completely out of place, complete with church bells that ring out across the campus.
 The rest of the college buildings are classical. Big on columns.
The college only has a thousand students and is only undergraduate.
There is another college in town- William Woods. This is famed for its equestrian programme and degree in sign language. There is also an old and famous school for the deaf.
There is a nuclear power station on the edge of town. Didn't know about that when we agreed to come here. Roland pleased though, it makes for cheap electricity.
Fulton is set in pretty, farming country, just on the edge of the Ozarks, which form a large part of the south of the state. This is the scenically more interesting area of lakes and wooded hills.

Beginning of term ceremony

Wren church with the sculpture by Churchill's granddaughter made from a chunk of the Berlin wall

This is a poor state. Statistics on the radio stated that 77% of blacks, 66% asians and over 50% of the whites in Missouri are classified as living in poverty. I think there is quite a difference between the college side of life, kids whose parents can afford to send them to college with cars etc. and the rest of the town.
That is Fulton in a nutshell.
I will leave you with a quote from Churchill, a slightly unfortunate choice I feel for the Fulton tourist brochure:-
'There is no purpose in living where there is nothing to do'

Meeting the President and his wife- Barney and Jane, not Barack and Michelle!

Sunday night was very enjoyable. The president and his wife live in a palatial residence in wooded grounds, with a sweeping drive. We were made to feel welcome in true southern style. People are incredibly polite and well mannered and it seems to come naturally to them. A bit of a challenge for us rude Londoners.
We were told casual, but the president's wife wore a rather natty little black dress with large jade necklace, so noted this for future occasions. I can do black dress, although not very little or natty. Barney, however, wore an hawaiian shirt.
The food and wine were very good. The service by local college students a bit brutal. People drank quite a lot, which I found interesting They served Californian wines, not the local Missouri wines, which are apparently an acquired taste. Those in the know are very sniffy about them. They are predominately sweet, even the red ones, which apparently caters to local tastes. We'll give them a go.
There are some very good local beers and Roland has already made inroads.

Me on our verandah

Downtown Fulton!!!!

The German Lutheran Church message board

The Wren Church

Settling in to our new surroundings.

I think perhaps the welcome pack from the local community office gives you a flavour of the place. The contents included promotional material- cards, mugs, fridge stickers, pens, pads etc for opticians, doctors, dentists, accountants, lawyers, insurance companys, banks, several churches and a septic tank servicer, all touting for business. The latter including in their pack some microwaveable popcorn!
We have also been given instructions as to what to do in case of nuclear meltdown at the local nuclear power plant and tornado safety tips.

God and belief is very much in evidence. We have been given a list of the churches in Fulton. There are 40 and i don't think that's all of them. The centre of town is dominated by large church buildings, all proclaiming on huge billboards outside, their particular slant on belief or a motto for the week.
There is a lot of religious advertising. Lots of pro life posters on the main highway. I am going to have to watch what i say.
It is sunday today and the congregation in the church across the road have been inside for over 4 hours.
We are also in hard core republican land. I gather even the university is that way inclined, although interestingly, not the president, he is a democrat.
It's also a hunting, shooting, fishing land, which I can appreciate, especially if I get to eat the spoils.
This is going to be an interesting year.

I'll leave you with a view from the kitchen window- about as typical as you could get.

We arrive. First impressions.

Well here we are. We have arrived in a heatwave, a sweltering 100 degrees, with 85% humidity.

What do we do? Being mad dogs and Englishmen, we explore our new surroundings on foot. We are the only ones outside! The streets are completely deserted. It's like being in a western just before the shoot out, when everyone has gone inside.

The town is very small, but not at all twee, which I thought it might be. Quite a few houses are shabby and run down. There is a so called 'rougher side of town', making it much more interesting.

The university is very attractive. It sits on a hill overlooking the town, with imposing classical and 'historic' (a much used word) buildings. The Christopher Wren church looks impressive and benefits from the uncluttered position.

Tonight we meet the great and the good of the university at a welcoming dinner. It has been stressed it is casual and will be outside!! So first impressions will be sweaty.

About to leave, despite visa hiccups!

We appear to be ready to leave, despite the challenging hoops one has to go through to to enter the USA these days. We are all suspect!
We have far too much luggage. It weighs a ton, but unless our bathroom scales are broken, we seem to be within the limits.

Here we go then, Missouri for a year Goodbye London, Hello Fulton. Are they ready for us?