Prague & Dorking

Prague, Czech Republic

It is the warmest day since arriving in Prague and we are leaving. The ground crew checks the plane that will carry us to London as day breaks over the airfield.

Dorking, United Kingdom

From London the drive to Dorking — a historic market town south of London in Surrey — is a short 25 miles. William the Conquerer once held it and Dorking appears in the Doomsday book of 1086 as the Manor of Dorchinges. It was a stage post on the Roman road between the coast and London. Small mountains and sharp valleys make this one of the loveliest areas of England. I am here to visit with friends and their children Jack, left, and Sophie, right.

Jack, 7, is just starting to play the violin. He already has a touch for the instrument. There are none of the squawks and squeaks of most beginners. Sophie, 4, displays some of her toys. They are delightful children. Their parents are American, but they have lived here all their lives and their accents are decidedly British.

Dorking contributed William Mullins, one of the Pilgrim Fathers, to the Mayflower. His house still stands and is now a shop. It is a reminder of my own origins and the villages that contributed my Quaker ancestors to Virginia a decade later.

Photographs taken with a Canon 5D Mark II