Monthly Archives: August 2013

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 216

Posted on August 30, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Cheerleaders suspended for hazing I confess that I did not know what ‘hazing’ was when I read this cheerleading story on CBS. I asked my husband. ‘Do you know what hazing is?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘It’s when people do initiation … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, Americans, British, cheerleaders, Culture, expat, hazing, hocoblogs@@@, Ken Ulman, Labor Day weekend, maryland, suspension, Towson University, UK, USA | 6 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 215

Posted on August 30, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Diversity in the USA I’ve said before that one of the reasons I like living in Howard County is because of the diversity of the people here. One of Jim Rouse’s goals when he ‘made’ Columbia was to achieve a … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, bbc, British, Chicago, Columbia, Columbia Patch, Confederate flag, Culture, David Oyelowo, diversity, expat, Forrest Gump, Forrest Whitaker, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, Inward Escape, Justin Shaw, lifestyle, maryland, Mid-West, Oprah Winfrey, OScars, race, segregation, The Black Print, The Butler, Tom Geoghegan, UK, Univeristy of Virginia, USA, Wired.com | 8 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 214

Posted on August 29, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Harry has a new name… ‘Walker’. That’s what they call him at Breakfast Club. I was very confused until I worked out why. Here’s the tale. ‘Good morning Walker,’ says Missy, the Breakfast Club leader. Harry sort of looks embarrassed … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Baltimore, Baltimore County police, BBC News, Blog, Breakfast Club, Britain, British, bulletproof vest, Culture, dads, expat, firearms, guns, hocoblogs@@@, Hocopopo, Howard County, Howard County police, Howard County Police Department, Jason Schneider, Mark Kessler, maryland, Pennsylvania Police Chief, police officers, school, Tevon Smith, UK, USA, walker | 9 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 213

Posted on August 28, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

‘I Have a Dream’ Today marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. A pretty special day in the USA, I would say. Bells from churches, schools and historical monuments will “let freedom ring” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged 50th anniversary, America, American, Americans, British, Canada, Culture, Daily Mail, expat, First Nation, hocoblogs@@@, I have a dream speech, Martin Luther King, Naomi Harris, UK, USA | Leave a comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 212

Posted on August 27, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

A glimpse of USA schooling The best things about walking to school in the USA is (hold on, we walk? – yes, WE WALK!!!)…anyway, the best thing, for me, is personality spotting in the groups of kids as they head … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, British, cheerleaders, Culture, detention, Emos, expat, geeks, Glee, high school, hocoblogs@@@, jocks, Judd Nelson, poo jokes, stereotyping, The Breakfast Club, UK, USA, walking | 3 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 211

Posted on August 26, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

School starts… …and parents everywhere breathe a sigh of relief. Children herd along the streets or wait on street corners for the ubiquitous yellow school bus to pull up, their backpacks full of newly labelled stuff that will almost certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Back to School, British, bucket list, Culture, expat, gym, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, mothers, NFL, parents, school, snow, summer, SuperBowl, UK, USA, weather, winter, yellow school bus, Yosemite fire, Yosemite National Park | 1 Comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 210

Posted on August 25, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Halloween Candy It’s August isn’t it? Still summer, correct? Not in the commercial world….it’s still 60 something days until Halloween, but already the candy adorns the shelves. A Brit in the USA has written about her views on Halloween in … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, bbc, British, candy, Culture, expat, Facebook, food, government, Halloween, hocoblogs@@@, lifestyle, minimum wage, orchestra, parenting, parents, Politics, pumpkins, Reese's Pieces, school, Smitten by Britain, UK, USA, Yearbooks, Ziploc | 8 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 209

Posted on August 23, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Peter Popoff’s Miracle Juice So, when we stay in hotel rooms I get the joy of flicking through American TV channels. It’s a whole new world of crazy TV shows – but even more mind-blowing are the commercials (adverts, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Back to School, Bad Teacher, British, Cameron Diaz, car wash, cookie dough, Culture, Daisy Dukes, expat, fundraising, Harper Valley PTA, Howard County, lifestyle, Mountain Dew, Mud, parents, Peter Popoff, Peter Popoff Miracle Spring Water, PTA, Reese Witherspoon, teacher, To Kill a Mocking Bird, TV commercials, UK, USA, volunteering, white trash, Ziploc bags | 8 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 208

Posted on August 22, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Interpreting the Confederate flag On my journeys so far I have not crossed paths much with the Confederate flag. My young, ignorant British viewings of the flag came from, yes, you guessed it The Dukes of Hazzard and those naughty … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, BBC America, Blog, Bo and Luke, Chiari Malformation, civil war, Confederate flag, Culture, Dukes of Hazzard, Easton, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Elon University, expat, General Lee, Gone with the Wind, Hello Awesome, history, hocoblogs@@@, hooping, Jason Pressburg, lifestyle, London, Mary Poppins, Mast Cell Disease, Murray, Nascar, North and South, North Carolina, Olympics, Patrica W, Pendulum, People, racism, Sarah Lyall, Shakespeare, South Carolina, southern pride, Southern states, Ta-Ta London, UK, Urban Dictionary, USA, Wars of the Roses, white power | 4 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 207

Posted on August 21, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

The Pirate Captain I forgot to write about the Chesapeake Pirate Adventure Experience in Annapolis. Sure, it was great to go out on a boat during a lovely day and be on the sea and all that, but this is … Continue reading →