【推荐3】Emest Owusu was 13 in 1980 when he was given the opportunity to appear in the audience of a BBC show, and ask Thatcher how she felt about being called the Iron Lady. This encounter re-emerged in a BBC’s programme recently.

At the time of their meeting, Owusu was on free school meals, living on a public estate in Brixton, south London, where he and his sister were being raised by their mother Rose, a struggling hairdresser.

Now 57, Owusu looks remarkably similar even with a greying beard. But his life has been transformed. The father of three is a human resources director, and the first black captain of the Addington golf club in its 110-year history. As a black guy, it is about breaking the glass ceiling.

Speaking in its clubhouse, Owusu describes his rise in social status (地位) as a “Thatcherite Journey”. And he says it began by asking the woman herself. “To this day it still has an impact. My confidence changed from that sliding-door moment. Something about her connected with me.”

Thatcher told Owusu she enjoyed being called the Iron Lady. “I think it’s rather a praise, don’t you?” she said, “Because so often people have said to me if you’re in your job you’ve got to be soft and warm and human, but you’ve got to have a touch of steel.” Owusu recalls the moment, “I just remember her eye contact. She was answering me, not the camera. She welcomed the question saying you’ve got to be firm in this world. And that stuck with me.”

After the show was broadcast, Owusu said he became “a little hero in Brixton for a good three months”. Owusu added, “It all gave me extra confidence. Doors might not have opened so quickly. It was one of those key moments to make you do things maybe you wouldn’t otherwise have done.”

【推荐1】The Comfort Inn, Ramsgate is a Victorian building located on the coast of the Isle of Thanet, overlooking the English Channel. Previously known as the famous San Glu Hotel, the Comfort Inn, Ramsgate is ranked 3 stars from AA and 3 stars from the London Tourism council.

It has 44 rooms consisting of single, double, twin, family and executive rooms. All rooms offer satellite TV and Internet access.

There is a well-stocked bar, and the restaurant has a menu offering traditional dishes, with a choice of tempting starters, a variety of main courses and desserts, with a pleasant and efficient waitress services. The hotel offers a friendly service with its own car park and unrestricted on-street parking nearby.

Local Points of Interest

The Comfort Inn, Ramsgate is centrally situated in a quiet location overlooking the sea. The hotel is close to the town center and only 1 km from Port Ramsgate.

For inland and overseas flights Gatwick International Airport is only 100 km. The local attractions include Championship Golf Courses, Canterbury Cathedral, and Dover Port. Dartford Tunnel is only 55 miles.

Conference & Banqueting

The Comfort Inn, Ramsgate provides excellent conference and banqueting facilities for 10 to 150 people. Special events include Christmas party nights, Christmas day lunch, Boxing Day Carvery, and our wonderful New Year’s Eve dinner and dance. In addition to the provision of food, wine, bar facilities and function rooms, the Hotel offers the following services:

• Extension of license

• Printing

• Flowers

• Toastmaster

• Bands

• Cabaret

• Cake

• Piano

• Photograph

How to Find the Comfort Inn

From the M25 highway, travelling clockwise (顺时针方向), take the M2 on to A299 and the A253 to Ramsgate, or if travelling anti-clockwise from the M25, take the M26 on to the M20, then the A249 to the M2, A299 and A 253. Once in Ramsgate, head to the harbor, then travel east until you reach the hotel.

【推荐3】We bought a Shamrock trailer (房车) in the fall of 2019 in anticipation (期待) of our three-month journey to Baja, Mexico. The camper (露营车) would be home base for all the fun and adventure our family, myself, my husband and our three teenagers, would have all the way.

It took three days to drive from Calgary to Las Vegas and the temperature went from negative 30 to 15 °F-a miracle! But by the time we made it to San Diego, California, we had visited two RV mechanics to fix water leaking from the water tank and a bed heater blowing up. Thankfully, while we waited for repairs, we could listen to waves lapping on the shore.

Eventually, we crossed the border into Mexico at Tijuana and pushed our way down the shore coast. While we swam, ate Mexican food and watched sunsets, the Shamrock kept throwing us surprises. We all learned to savor (尽情享受) the good moments while dealing with the bad.

Driving through Utah, our truck began making noises. The truck’s engine had completely broken, and we needed a new one. We holed up (躲) in St. George, Utah, to wait for repairs. One evening, we were heating up dinner when the oven let out a big WHUMP! The whole camper shook.

After a few weeks, we left our truck in Utah—the engine repair wasn’t going too well—and drove home to Calgary. There could not have been five travelers so happy to stay in their house for two weeks.

Eventually, we hired someone to drive our truck and the Shamrock to Calgary, but he arrived with just the truck. The camper was causing problems, and the keys got lost, so it was left in Idaho. It’s still there; we recently marked its one-and-a-half-year anniversary of storage.

This brings me to the point of this essay: For Sale: A lively 30-foot Shamrock camper. Keeps you on your toes! Sleeps five. $9,000. Pick-up is somewhere in Idaho. Bring some tools to break into it.