Musings on English things

After posting about our American visitors, I thought it could be fun to write about some of the oddities of daily life here in jolly olde England. Such as, for instance, how yesterday we took our chances on a grey day and decided to hit the links. As we hemmed and hawed about whether to play or not, first after getting off the train and then outside the clubhouse, blokes in crisp white polos and plaid shorts were buzzing around, as though they couldn't wait to get caught in a downpour, as though to say, 'if this isn't what golf is about, I don't know what is!' We took our chances and had a authentically drizzly experience... and while it wasn't that bad, I can't see what the fuss is all about.

Moving on...

Spelling
Having now lived here for a year (!) I can say there are some British English spellings that have been easier to get a hold of than others. The extra 'u' being my favourite. Well, maybe not my favourite, but I now type it without thinking about it at all. It's not that I'm forsaking my roots, it's forced Darwinism, Microsoft Word style. I've also caught myself writing programme but only after having recently seen it written. Two conventions I can't seem to get used to, though, are realise (among others) and centre. The 're' ending just looks plain wrong to me, it makes me want to pronounce things in a French accent.

Pronounciation
Speaking of pronounciation... after all this time (and in fact, for awhile now), hearing English accents as background chatter is natural. In fact, when we were home at Christmas, Jason & I both noted how strange it was to be surrounded by strangers with American accents! We kept looking around wondering: Where did all these Americans come from!?

That said, every once in awhile I do a double take at pronounciation. One less interesting I heard the other day was 'innovative'. Not 'IH-no-vay-tive', but 'in-NAW-va-tive'. However the more humourous (there's that u again) word I heard recently was urinal. Not 'YUHR-ih-nul', but 'yuh-RYE-nul'. HA!

In order to get by, I have to consciously 'mispronounce' some words, the most common being tomato. I say tuh-MAY-toh (really more like tuh-MAY-doh), but they say toh-MAH-toh. The guys making my sandwich stare blankly. Let's call the whole thing off.

Sandwiches
Sandwiches here by default all have butter or margarine. If you think tuh-MAY-doh is bad, imagine the stares when I refuse (or specifically ask for no) butter / marg. Just a little light mayo, please, for me; nothing for Jason. Half the time they can't believe it *so much* that they still put butter on anyway. Must be lost in translation.

Meanwhile, the sandwiches here are measly, downright pitiful. Whilst (oh yeah, whilst! I love whilst!) the bread is generally delicious -- a year in and we're still remarking at least once a week how tasty the given bread we're enjoying is -- beyond that, you get one slice of meat, one slice of cheese, and, if you want it, 'salad', which consists of a few shreds of iceberg, 2 slices of toh-MAH-toh, and some cucumber slivers.

I was at a brainstorming session last week (remember: I work on margarine), and someone was lamenting the decline in use of margarine on sandwiches, attributing it to all those crazy extra fillings people are putting on these days. I bit my tongue. But then, someone (a Dutchman, not an Englishman), said: 'I mean, look at the sandwiches in America - they now have more fillings than bread!!!'' He was genuinely incredulous. I jumped at my chance: 'I KNOW! The sandwiches here are terrible!!! (Man, that felt good to say!)'

I could go on & on about the food and the eating habits of the English, but maybe I'll leave that for another time.

PS - Today was generally blue skies and 70F. Murphy's Law also holds true in England.

Americans in London

Well, as they say, when it rains it pours. Although here, generally speaking, it was a beautiful June, save for the flash downpour here and there. Good thing, too, because June was a busy month for us in terms of hanging out with American friends and family (which describes most of our friends and family, however we unfortunately don't do a lot of hanging out with most of them these days...

My friend Jocelin from Unilever and her boyfriend John moved here at the end of last year, and they live about 3 blocks from us. It's been great having them to share stories regarding what's great and what's just plain ridiculous about living here. What's more, they have a garden (read: backyard); a fine place to hang out and enjoy some sunny afternoons and evenings! So, when we need an American fix (or, really, some friends to hang out with) we give these guys a call. It goes both ways, too, but this being summer (or so they tell me), their place is more conducive to summer activities, like grilling and drinking Pimm's!

Jason grilling

Jocelin making Pimm's

So, lucky for John & Jocelin, we haven't had to rely on them entirely for Yankee accents these past few weeks. First, Jason's Dad and Kathi paid us a brief 5-day visit, during which we again took advantage of visitors to become tourists ourselves. We visited Westminster Abbey (whose chapels read like a soap opera of royalty), Greenwich (and the prime meridian! how cool!) and Shakespeare's Globe Theater for an evening performance of As You Like It, which even from the balcony on the side was very enjoyable! So, that makes 2 parental visits from abroad in 2 months - phew!

Jason & Doug enjoying a picnic in Greenwich Park

Then about 5 days later, our friend Jill showed up on our doorstep early Sunday morning. Fortunately this was planned. Jill was passing through on her way to a week in St. Petersburg with another friend, and spent Sunday with us. She was a real trooper pushing through the jetlag, and so we spent the afternoon in town - first going to a Spanish wine & tapas event (Tapas Fantasticas!) and then checking out Spitalfields market and walking to the Thames before heading back to give Jill the Asda (i.e. Wal-Mart UK) experience and making some really tasty quesadillas + guac for dinner.

Jess & Jill enjoying Rioja at Tapas Fantasticas

Jason strikes a pose at Spitalfields much to the shopkeeper's chagrin

And last but not least, last Friday Jason & his mom took off for Bordeaux, but I stuck around til Saturday to visit with Jill who was passing through again, and Stern friends Monica & Hayle. Hayle had been working at Wimbledon, which is about 10 minutes from where I live. To close the loop, John & Jocelin joined for pre-dinner wine & cheese (bubbly Pinot Noir -- Hal have you ever had this!?) at my place, and then the other 4 of us went out for an authentic English evening of Indian food followed by Pimm's.

The gang's all here! Jocelin, John, Jill & Monica, chez Willey

Hayle & Jill starring in their very own Pimm's promotion

Who can be homesick when home comes to you!?

(Don't forget to check out the 2 new albums featuring our visitors! Links at right!)

Summer Reading List

Greetings! I'm taking the opportunity of having a public forum of friends & family to brag-share-ask advice on good reads. I made it a New Year's resolution / goal to read an average of one book per month this year, and I've already far exceeded my goal, averaging 1 book per 2 weeks. (This being the end of June, that makes 13 books so far this year.) I even joined the library.

Part of my new-found zeal for reading came from being invited to join a book club at one alcohol-laden Christmas party hosted by one of Jason's co-workers. I admit, I was pleasantly surprised when within the following week, I received an email about the next book club meeting -- someone clearly had a better memory about the conversations from the party than I did!

The book club is a diverse group of 30-ish women (although mainly American, there are a variety of cultural & geographical backgrounds, careers, etc). The ground rules seem to be: come when you can, do your best to read the book, bring wine. As I imagine any good book club to be, our conversations flip-flop between the book, big life events (babies, moving), and random personal or cultural gossip (we spent a good chunk of the first one I attended debating the merits of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop).

We rotate hosting duties, and today we were lucky enough to take advantage of one of the girl's private neighborhood garden - until we were chased out by thunderstorms. It was nice while it lasted, and we even had the author join us for a portion (hence the guy in the picture above)!

Enough about book club. Here are the books I've read so far this year, along with my own personal rating system. Take it or leave it! I'd love any thoughts on what to put on my 'to read' list (especially from all you educators out there!).

Key:
**** Life altering; Drop everything and read this book now
*** Engaging; Well worth the time spent
** Enjoyable; Consider if you're at a loss for something else
* Avoidable; Read this book only if you've read everything else already
(bc) Book Club book

*** Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - JRR Tolkien I'm not generally one for fantasy, as evidenced by the fact it took me all of 2008 to get through The Hobbit and the first 2 LOTR. In the end, it was worth it!

**(bc) The Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson An intriguing history of the English language & etymology, how the language has evolved and how it is different from others. Good read if you like this type of stuff (I do, but probably not for everyone).

*** Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris A hilarious, fast read - autobiographical short stories that had me shamelessly shaking from laughter in the lobby bar of the Hilton Rotterdam. One of my more gratifying evenings spent traveling for business.

** Watching the English - Kate Fox Written by a cultural anthropologist, this book is a humourous take on why the English do the things they do. It explained so much about the oddities of everyday life here. A must-read if you're an expat in England, probably boring or at best non-appreciate-able by others.

*** (bc) The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff Historical fiction of American Mormonism, focusing on The Firsts, an extremist sect, set between the time of Brigham Young & modern day Utah. Someone chose to read a different (non-fiction) book on Mormonism for book club and was able to confirm that much of the too-weird-to-be-true details are, in fact, true.

** The 10th Circle - Jodi Piccoult I really enjoy Jodi Piccoult's small-town New England family dramas, but perhaps they're beginning to feel predictable because I didn't enjoy this one as much as Mercy or 19 Minutes. Still, a good read.

*** The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards A powerful story about responsibility, conscience, love, loss, and medicine & morals in a different time. All the characters are flawed but sympathetic, and the story believable & heart wrenching. Beautiful book.

* Remember Me - Sophie Kinsella From the famous chick-lit author of the Shopaholic series... this is a mindless beach read, complete brain candy but that makes it fun. However nothing to recommend this over the other millions of its genre.

**** (bc) Beloved - Toni Morrison A classic high school read that was never on any of my syllabi. I read this for book club and ended up not being able to attend, which was very disappointing because it's such a complex book. I think I'll have to read this a few more times to get a handle on all the subtle themes, but for a first read I though the story was fascinating and the writing style captivatingly unique.

** Deep End of the Ocean - Jacquelyn Mitchard As I read this book I realised that 4 of the last 5 books I had read (including this one) were about the loss of a child (literally or metaphorically). Evidently the subject of recovering from such an event makes for good reading, and I enjoyed this story but found it a little clichéd at points, and the resolution left me unsatisfied.

**** Ahab's Wife - Sena Jeter Naslund Read this book immediately. It is a gorgeously written, phenomenal story and I wished it kept going.

* (bc) Vicky Had One Eye Open - Darryl Samaraweera You will probably never come across this book, and that's okay. I feel kinda bad saying so, as Darryl was the visiting author in the book club picture above. My biggest gripe is that as I was reading the book, I found myself wondering why I should care about the story. After talking to the author, I had a better appreciation for it but still couldn't recommend this.

** Between the Tides - Patti Callahan Henry Simple writing but a good, solid story. A fast read, and while fairly predictable, it was an enjoyable book about small-town family drama and yet another lost child (consistent with the theme).

If you've made it this far, thanks for keeping with me! I hope this might help you select your next book, and I really do mean it when I say please send suggestions! I'm thinking of revisiting some high school reading list books, but I appreciate any ideas!

Spring Bank Holiday

Ah the Spring Bank Holiday. Not to be confused with the Early May Bank Holiday, or the 2 Bank Holidays falling to either side of Easter. It may seem like we're constantly enjoying public ('bank') holidays here. It's true. Unfortunately, now it's over for the rest of the year, save the last Monday in August and Christmas Day. That's right... no 4th of July long weekend, no Thanksgiving 4 days off, no Labor Day. The sad truth is: In the UK, we have fewer public holidays than the US. They just all seem to fall in April & May!

Never to miss taking advantage of a day off, we turned our 3 day weekend (coinciding with Memorial Day in the US) into a 4-day weekend, taking off for Florence on Thursday night and staying through to Monday evening. This had to be the best 4 day escape ever. Case in point: At one time about mid-day Saturday, I tried to think about what I had on the following week at work. And I couldn't think of a damned thing. Pretty different from the nagging thoughts that follow me around on a typical weekend!

It didn't hurt to be pampered by our Italian friends & family. A breakfast spread with homemade marmalade and fresh espresso each morning ready when we came downstairs. A feast Friday night was prepared by Paola Marchi and started off with a sinful cinta senese pate and didn't finish until after the pasta, meat, crostata, and grappa were all sampled to the point of gluttony. The following day we enjoyed a lingering lunch at cousin Joanne's full of a variety of antipasti and salads (and wine & prosecco, certo), and a few hours post a dinner at Elisa M's, starting with in-season baccelli (fava) beans and peccorino, and continued on with pasta, meat, and zuppa inglese ('English soup'!) provided by Elisa P (or was it Mama Paladini? The mystery remains...). The hospitality was unparalleled, except by my other visits to Florence.

(An aside: After complaining that they wouldn't let me wash even one dish, Jason assured me that there would be plenty I could wash when we got back home. Unfortunately he was right, although the desire to do the dishes isn't nearly as strong when you're in your own kitchen!)

Of course, it wasn't all about the food, just nearly. We also got out to see some sights as Jason & I day tripped to Lucca, a little walled-in medieval town about a 90 mins ride from Florence. We had a guide tour of the Santa Croce cathedral by il mio papa italiano Carlo Marchi, kindly translated by Elisa & Francesco, seeing not only the 'original statue of Liberty' and Michaelangelo & others' tombs, but also getting a refresher lesson on the importance of Giotto's works on perspective. We traveled to the countryside with both Elisa M & Elisa P and their fabulous boyfriends, Francesco & Stefano, enjoying a gorgeous lazy summer day, taking in the Tuscan landscape and a few tastes of the local wines. (n.b. We brought back a bottle of Poggio Amorelli chianti 2006 and it is delicious! If you see it try it!) Jason & I also spent some time being tourists in Florence, which consisted primarily of comparing & contrasting a handful of churches and walking on the shady (Francesco: not shadowy) side of the road. So between the sight-seeing, gorging ourselves, and having a fun time communicating with friends new & old l(yes, zucchini = zucchini, no joke!!), it was about as spectacular as long weekend could be.

We've made 2 albums -- one with sights, one with some extra candids -- are up! To whet your appetite, here are a few favourites:

San Frediano, Lucca

Wandering in Tuscany

Baptistery, il Duomo & the belltower, Florence