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#The Bull Hotel #And Social Distancing

Writer's picture:  Cheryl J. Rountree Cheryl J. Rountree

Updated: Apr 7, 2020


Years ago, when my husband and I were a newly wedded couple, he got a military assignment to England. I had never flown on an airplane, and I had never traveled or lived overseas. We were in our mid-twenties and excited with the thought of living in a foreign country. All I knew about England was that they drove on the "wrong side of the road." They drank lots of tea, and they "talked funny" as we would say in those days. I knew about the Queen and the Royal Family, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Big Ben, Scotland Yard, and Ten Downing Street. Anything additional that I knew about England, it was what I remembered from my high school world history class and the old movies I saw on television. However, one of the most significant positive thing about living in England would be that they spoke English, and I would be with my husband.

When we arrived in England, we were met by military personnel at the airport. After gathering others who came from the United States, we soon were loaded on a bus and started our drive across the English countryside to our military base. When arriving at the airbase, my husband went through in-processing briefings, which entailed getting he and myself documented into our host nation and the airbase. Soon afterward, it would not be long before we would settle down for a short stay of thirty days at the Bull Hotel in a little village called Woodbridge. It was ten miles from the airbase. The Bull Hotel is now the Bull Inn today. In those days, there were no phones or television or any of the niceties in the rooms, as you might experience today in hotels. There was a bed and a small dresser. Heating only came on late in the evening around six o'clock. It was cold and felt wet. But we had arrived in England in the Spring and flowers were popping up everywhere. It was beautiful. Inside our village hotel, there were two community toilets, two bathtubs to take a bath, one public telephone, a small dining area, and a small bar.


The sights, sounds, and smell were different from what I was accustom to, but I soon adapted to my surroundings. Every morning my husband would catch a ride with one of his coworkers to work because we did not yet own a car. Which meant that I stayed at the hotel all day until he arrived back from work. It wasn't long before my husband bought an English car. It was very, very small. It was a stickshift car, and it had a right-hand steering wheel. In those days, I did not know how to drive a stickshift steering wheel car, let alone a right-handed one. While driving on the left side of the road was a challenge for me, after two hours of training, I learned to drive our English car on the left side of the highway in a stickshift car. My husband was very patient with me. Later that week, I received my International Driver's License. Although I could drive our car, it did not solve the problem of my remaining at the hotel for the day. He drove daily to work. In those days, there was not very much for me to do all day at the hotel. And for the first time in my life, I had to learn to endure isolation and silence creatively. I had to find ways to keep myself active and engaging during the day.



I spent my day reading my Bible and praying. I liked reading their local newspaper, books, and magazines and exploring the local shops. Some days I would go to the farmer's market and chat with the local villagers as I went into the shops. I loved hearing their stories about the village and their daily lives. They would often give me all the recommendations of the places we as Americans had to see while living in their country, those were some good days. I missed my family, friends, and my country a lot. But we were on a four year tour of duty. I found my way of adapting to my new surroundings. As I look back, it would not be the only time we would live in foreign countries. However, by the time my husband retired from the Air Force, I was an old pro at enduring the isolation and military way of life very well.


What am I saying to you as you read a small portion of my life as a military spouse? I am saying to you today that we will get through our season of social isolation, and you will come out the stronger for it. When life changes, we change with it. Can I promise that you will get back to normal as you know it? No, I cannot. But I can say you are going to make it through this valley. Even if you are not a believing disciple of Christ, read this passage of scripture from the Christian Bible from Psalm 23 and Psalm 91. If you hold on to The Shepherd's hand, you will be okay and make it through. You can always send me an email if you like, and I will pray with you. Be strong. Be Safe And Live.


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