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Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 203

Posted on August 13, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Amish mafia

I heard an advert (commercial) on the radio for a TV programme yesterday that I had no idea existed. It’s is called Amish Mafia. Let me repeat that title: AMISH MAFIA. What is this glorious monstrosity that I have missed? (Also, is it an oxymoron? Kind of…)

Hats and guns in cornfields….

Anyhow, then I had to watch a clip and find out more, because after my visit to Lancaster County, I wasn’t sure there was much need for a mafia, and in my mind the mafia is a Scarface-led, gun-toting, crack cocaine dealing, underground liquor and dog fighting, money laundering protection racket. These are not things that I associate with the Shoo-Fly Pie making, Dutch cap wearing, vege growing folk who claim that they don’t want to use bikes with pedals because they are evil (or something).

The Amish Mafia apparently work outside of the Amish law and the elders look the other way. The main guy is called Lebanon Levi, and he is above the law and everything else, allegedly. So he kind of is Scarface in his own way.

This gives the general idea of the Amish Mafia show:

‘Untrusting of outside law enforcement, some Amish in Lancaster County, PA have for many years regularly turned to a small organized group of men for protection and justice. The series provides a first-ever look at the men who protect and maintain peace and order within the Amish community in Lancaster. The 2006 School shootings in Lancaster County during which five young Amish girls were killed and five more seriously injured by a non-Amish milk truck driver brought to the nation’s attention the vulnerabilities of the Amish community, and their need for continued protection.’

But some people believe it’s not real…..in fact, they think it’s fake…..

Nuts innit? I hope I don’t get addicted to it!

I’m taking my mum up to Lancaster County in October to see Amish-land again. I think she might be more up for seeing the quilts and crops and bakeries rather than spend the day hunting for the Amish Mafia with me…… 😉

Cheers America!

I’ve been re-reading Justin Webb’s Cheers America! book for inspiration. He fell in love with the USA, and he and I are on the same page about many things.

Justin – my new hero!

The interview below is particularly interesting where he outlines more about his relationship with the USA as a Brit, and how special it is. I’m so with him about the sunshine and how different it really is from Britain – ‘we thought it was just like Britain, only much, much bigger….but it was so culturally different…and there is an mis-underestimation on the part of the Brits…and Americans…of the cultural difference between you and us…that extraordinary difference really grabbed me’.

Great lines about how everyone in the UK is drunk/pissed, and the difference between British and American attitudes to drink (which I have alluded to many a time) and lovely innuendo about size that the Americans don’t laugh at! And the fact that Americans meet at church and we meet in the pub! So much brilliant stuff that I am nodding at!

I think Justin Webb and I could natter for hours! We agree on so much about both countries. He’s my new hero 🙂

Gibraltar – solid as a rock

I’ve written an article about Gibraltar for the Baltimore Post Examiner because of the recent situation on the Rock, which makes me feel very sad.

The British Rock of Gibraltar

Check it out...

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Amish Mafia, Baltimore Post Examiner, Blog, British, Brits, Cheers America, Culture, DC, drinking, Englishman, expat, Gibraltar, hocoblogs@@@, Justin Webb, Lancaster County, Lebanon Levi, Pennsylvania, Rock of Gibraltar, Scarface, Shoo-Fly Pie, Travel, UK, USA, Washington | 6 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 202

Posted on August 12, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Alan Partridge in the USA?

On my trip back to the UK last week I wish I had done one thing: go and see the Alan Partridge movie, Alpha Papa. I LOVE Alan Partridge! He’s ‘First Class’!

Back of the net!

Anyhow, I wish I had seen it because I’m unsure if it is being released in the USA movie theaters (if you know it is somewhere, let me know!). I also don’t know how some Americans would respond to Alan Partridge – you have to kind of start at the beginning to get how wonderfully inappropriate he is. Does his humour translate across the Atlantic?

I shall start using some Partridgisms in the USA to gauge reaction from my American chums. So, Howard County, listen out for: ‘Back of the net’, ‘That hits the spot’, ‘In off the red’, ‘Jackanory’, ‘Eat my goal’, ‘Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan!’ (if there is a chap called Dan) and ‘There’s alot to be said for a good Travel-Lodge’ (not sure when I will get to use that one…)

Here’s a clip of the new movie. Bloody brilliant!

American stuff

We used to play a game in the office back in the UK (in between sporadically sort of pretending to work) where we would ask each other ‘if you could live anywhere in any year what would it be?’ The answers were diverse – from the 1920s in London (think Downton Abbey and the rise of the flapper) to 1950s Brighton (think mods and rockers). My answer, always, was the USA in the 1970s (specifically San Francisco actually!). It just has a lure for me – the fashion, the liberation, the lifestyle. I think I may have watched Forrest Gump too many times and may have romanticized it somewhat…..!

Anyway, these images struck me as they are genuine 1970s America, albeit in Texas. Fascinating.

You can read more about the photos here.

A year here

I’ve been the USA nearly a year and so much of it still to see and experience. On the list: more East Coast, New Orleans, California, Atlanta, Orlando, Shenandoah, Myrtle Beach, San Antonio, New England. Wow. Only two years to pack it all in!

I think I’m going to like San Antonio!

School starts soon

One word: HOORAH! (Although this also means that come Labor Day the pools will close – sob, sob.)

Harry will be going to elementary school in two weeks. He’s officially ‘starting school’, whereas in the UK he would have officially started last year. What’s in store….? Mini league baseball, learning the US Constitution, learning to hold a handgun (joke)….

Kindergarten is a whole new ball game with no uniform. It will be a new learning experience for us both…and much to blog about, I am sure!

Posted in Travel | Tagged 1970s, Alan Partridge, Alpha Papa, America, American, Americans, Blog, British, California, Culture, Elementary School, expat, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, kindergarten, Labor Day, movies, New Orleans, pools, San Antonio, San Francisco, schools, Texas, Thoughts, Travel, UK, USA | 5 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 201

Posted on August 11, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Desperate English Housewife gets desperate

Put it this way. Flying home to the USA has never been less simple. Or less enjoyable.
S
It’s a long, complicated story and there is still the mystery of the missing suitcase with all my worldy possessions in, which ain’t nice, and I can’t yet strike Chicago off my bucket list, because I don’t count a four hour stop over in the airport, however lovely an airport it is, as ‘going to Chicago’, but I’m back in the USA and it’s good.

Last flight home from Chicago

I did sit next to Nina from Nina and the Neurons from CBBC, but that’s as celebrity as it got ;).

Nina was on the plane, but her Neurons were not

Good things about being back in the USA:

a) at midnight the air was still warm
b) I didn’t miss too much sun apparently
c) I can top up my faded tan when the sun is out since the pools are open for a few more weeks yet
d) school starts again two weeks – hurrah.

Downton Abbey USA vs UK

I have spent a lot of time on planes in the last 48 hours (too much). Thus, I watched a lot of stuff. Stuff I have not yet had the chance to catch up on from the UK, and yes, that includes series 3 of Downton Abbey. (Yes, I know it is on PBS, but I don’t watch it!)

What really struck me about this series (and I do still think it is a stiff upper lip version of Eastenders) is the Anglo/American relationships, and I suppose that is a key theme that the directors wanted to draw out.

Most of all, it was the barbed comments from Maggie Smith’s tradition-fuelled and change-adverse matriarchal character about the US and its people, and the retorts from Shirley MacLaine’s new world, flippant, red lipstick-wearing American dream chaser.

Brit vs USA old stylie

Julian Fellowes says this about the two characters: ‘Violet (Maggie) thinks everything was better in the past and now it’s falling to bits. Whereas Martha is the opposite: she thinks changing is great and the future is terrific and she wants to fly on a jet plane and get moving.

“So you have these two almost exact contemporaries in real life facing back towards the 19th century and forward to the 21st.”

It works.

Violet: “I’m so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I’m with her, I’m reminded of the virtues of the English.”
Matthew: “But isn’t she American?”
Violet: “Exactly.”

How rude! But amusing in context.

Cora: “I hope I don’t hear sounds of a disagreement.”
Countess Violet: “Is that what they call discussion in New York?”

Cora: “I might send her over to visit my aunt. She could get to know New York.”
Countess Violet: “Oh, I don’t think things are quite that desperate.”

I found it curious and interesting (and it made me cringe!) to hear and see such resistance to the USA and its ‘modern ways’ through Violet’s character. I guess people are afraid of what they don’t know…I think I remember saying that right at the beginning of this blog about some attitudes in the the UK to the USA……

Anyhow, it’s good to be back!

Posted in Travel | Tagged airport, America, American, Americans, Blog, British, Chicago, Culture, Dame Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey, expat, flying, hocoblogs@@@, Nina and the Neurons, Shirley MacLaine, UK, USA, Violet Crawley, weather | 3 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 200

Posted on August 8, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

The other USA bucket list stuff

So, a blog buddy showed me a link to weird and wonderful things to view in the USA courtesy of Roadside America. It’s bloody ace for stuff that’s a bit less obvious and a bit more off the beaten track, and so my bucket list is getting longer and longer…

So, what’s making the grade?

The big pencil stuck in the wall in Baltimore, Maryland

Yes, it’s a pencil!

America’s Oldest Road Sign To Get Back On A Road, Maryland

In the 1750s a British General, Edward Braddock, marched 2,000 troops through the Allegheny Mountains toward what is now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Along the way a 2000-pound rock was set up near Frostburg, Maryland, engraved with distances and directions to places such as Captain Smyth’s Inn and Redstone Old Fort. People came to call it “The Braddock Stone.”

Ouija Board Inventor’s Tombstone, Maryland

The Ouija board layout is carved on the back Elijah Jefferson Bond’s gravestone, who invented and then patented it in 1891. “Talking board” expert Robert Murch found Bond’s unmarked grave and commissioned the grave marker in 2007.

Stonehenge Gated Community, California

Built in the 1920s the cottages look as if each were taken straight out of a Disney film, reminiscent of Snow White, Pinocchio, etc. Each home is unique with a different Storybook design with shake roofs, turrets, wrought iron details. Courtyards have original ponds and fountains. Private gated community, but you may ogle through the wrought iron gates looking for Prince Charming!

Cowboy Town and Memorial

An offbeat and semi-rundown cowboy memorial and library owned and created by Paul de Fonville. Fonville is a former cowboy and champion rodeo performer. His dream is to educate and share what life was like as a cowboy and rancher. The site houses books and cowboy and Western memorabilia collected by Fonville over the years.

There is so much offbeat stuff to choose from, I’ve spent hours pouring over the site. It’s good to find some kooky stuff, a little bit less full-on tourist.

Marmite and Bovril

I’m bringing back Bovril from the UK and a lot of my Brit chums say ‘What’s that then?’. Like Marmite, say I, except beefy. Some of them have never heard of it! I thought it was a stalwart in the Second World War and handed down through generations as a warming drink or on your toast, but obviously not!

Bovril in the war!

Anyhow, I’m not bringing back Marmite, no because I don’t like it (I do), but because it is available in the States. Recently though, it’s been getting a bit of a rough deal owing to a new ad campaign released in the UK. Love it or hate it (as the Marmite slogan goes)?

Last day in the UK

So, back to the USA tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. So much to do, so much to see, so much to achieve. The USA does offer so many opportunities.

But the UK has been beautiful – it’s made the trip to have had such good weather (and I hear a heatwave is on its way again!!).

It’s been interesting to compare and contrast the two countries again; it’s really made me think and appreciate things so much more on both sides. I am so fond of the UK and the USA, but for different reasons (and I still maintain I prefer driving in the USA, but the veges ARE cheaper in the UK! 😉 )

Cheap as chips (but more expensive than fries in the USA 😉 )

P.S

Can’t believe that this is blog 200! Wowsers!

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Baltimore, Blog, Bovril, British, bucket list, Culture, Elijah Jefferson Bond, England, expat, expats, hocoblogs@@@, marmite, maryland, Paul de Fonville, Roadside America, Stonehenge Gated Community, Travel, UK, USA, weather | 2 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 199

Posted on August 6, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Maryland’s not miserable!

We’re a happy bunch in Maryland, USA are we not? In fact, I miss many aspects of it whilst currently back in the UK – I do! There’s not too much to have a moan about is there? Or is everyone secretly down in the dumps and a bunch of Moody Margarets?

A group of researchers from the University of Vermont recently published a paper that ranks US states and cities by their happiness – that is by the happiness of their tweets, to be exact.

And researchers found that the tweeters of Maryland are amongst the ‘saddest’ five states, which also include Louisiana, Mississippi, Delaware and Georgia. This study of words used also correlated with more traditional wellbeing measures across the US. I can’t believe it!

In terms of cities, the chirpiest places by tweet were concentrated in California and Colorado.

But what is that makes Maryland tweeters sad? After all, we have the hottest governor…..

Martin makes me happy to be in Maryland 😉

But, also we have mad taxes in Maryland (ahem, I’m looking at you Mr Governor…….) so maybe that’s why everyone is so glum.

Anyhow, let’s leave this with a good ole Americana quote…”Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

He said all sorts of clever stuff, he did 🙂

The British Countryside

Ah, breathe in the freshly cut grass and smell of cow pats! We’re in Britain in the countryside!

It’s been a whistle-stop tour of the UK on this return, and the main thing that has struck me is how truly lovely the British bloom and countryside is. I actually wish to be stuck behind a combine harvester on a windy country road so that I can take pictures of it all (although, journeys seem to take FOREVER here for shorter distances – another reason why I prefer driving in the USA!)

Anyhow, enjoy some of these British countryside gems, including a National Trust place called The Vyne – beautiful.

An American friend, who has a genuine love of British history, amused me by telling me that she really thought Stonehenge was a bit boring. I know where she’s coming from – it is just an open field with a circle of rocks. My friend said she wanted to pull her eyelashes out with boredom, which made me chuckle 😉 People still flock to it, however!

Do we love a druid stone or is it a bit dull?

Zed or Zee?

Harry is now getting confused, having been back in the UK, about what he calls the last letter of the alphabet.

Zed or Zee?

As I reminded him, one isn’t right and one isn’t wrong – they’re just different. Just like us.

‘Cos we are, aren’t we? Similar, but different, that’s the UK and the USA:)

Posted in Travel | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, alphabet, America, American, Americans, Blog, British, British countryside, Cookie Monster, Culture, driving, England, expat, Governor of Maryland, grass, happiness, hocoblogs@@@, Martin O'Malley, maryland, National Trust, Sesame Street, Stonehenge, taxes, The Vyne, Travel, Twitter, UK, USA | 10 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 198

Posted on August 5, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Texas Death Penalty

As we are aware, the death penalty still exists in some States across the USA and the heart-strings are a-tuggin’ for poor Texas whose current problem with the death penalty is not ‘shall we abolish it?’, but how do we get more drugs for the executions, because ‘damn, we’re only goddamn runnnin’ out of the killin’ drug’ (I’m just imagining how they say it – that is not a factual re-enactment of a prison warden).

I jest about something that is not really jest-worthy. I guess as a Brit , I just don’t get the death penalty. After all, it was abolished in the UK in 1969.

But this is the Texan law, and as such state officials confirmed this week that they are again running out of the lethal drug used to operate the nation’s busiest execution chamber.

Luckily for everyone (that’s sarcasm), officials “are exploring all options” for an alternative. Hanging, perhaps?

Interesting fact: the drug they might choose to use is called propofol – this is the powerful anesthetic that contributed to pop star Michael Jackson’s death. Well, if it’s good enough for the celebrities….

Eleven people have been executed in Texas so far this year with the current drug pentobarbital and the state executed its latest criminal on Wednesday. Prison chaps say that two executions are scheduled in September and at least five others are set in the months after that.

In all, Texas has executed 503 inmates since 1982, when it resumed executions after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.

Virginia is second in executions at 110.

32 states in the USA have the death penalty law. In May, 2013, Maryland abolished the death penalty. However, the repeal was not retroactive, leaving 5 people on the state’s death row.

‘Deep divisions that still exist in the Southern culture – a confusing mix of regional pride and shame’

I use this title from a piece by photographer Tamara Reynolds, who was born and bred in the Deep South, but has always been conflicted about coming from that part of the country, which she describes as ‘so rich in painful contradictions.’

In 2011, she set out on a journey of self-discovery to explore her ambivalent feelings toward Dixie, resulting in the Southern Route photo project.

I love these photos – it’s the kind of thing I wish to capture. Just take a look at some of them….

The pictures in Southern Route are slices of life featuring blacks and whites, poverty-stricken towns, stark rural landscapes and visual representations of stubborn Southern pride, like the Confederate flag boldly displayed in Danton, Georgia.

One of Reynolds’ stated goals in launching the project has been to fight back against offensive stereotypes of Southern as hillbillies, racists and religious fanatics, which have long been perpetuated in films, books and the media.

‘Although there is evidence of it, I have also learned that there is a restrained dignity, a generous affection, a trusting nature, and a loyalty to family that Southerners possess intrinsically,’ she wrote.

Back in the UK

So here’s the lowdown of how it’s all working out during my flying visit back in the UK:

Driving – I did it! I drove on the left handside using a MANUAL car on the motorway and through ridiculously narrow lanes! And I overtook on the OUTSIDE lane! I still rate UK drivers as being slightly more into the rules of the road than American drivers – that is all 😉

Coincidences – lovely waiter chappie at the Brasserie Blanc in Cheltenham where I am having lunch with my galfriends says thus, when he sees my blogging business card: I have a friend who blogs about being a Brit in the USA – her blog is called The Queen’s English. So obviously now I am going to contact that blogger and find out more!

Rain – it’s been raining and it feels very, very British, but actually in a sort of nice, rainy, put my woolly-pully on and have a snuggle on the sofa sort of way.

Just cos I liked it!

Beer garden and curry – as it the Brit way, I sat out in a beer garden this weekend with my Brit chums and then went for a curry. I haven’t had a curry since I’ve been in the States (they don’t get a good rap where we live). It was ace and so confirmed for me that the weekend tradition of British drinking and topping out with a late night vindaloo never dies!

Two fine specimens of the British drinking beer garden culture pre-curry

British Cotswold pubs are lush – and old, and full of character and I love their charm! This is the Wild Duck at Ewen – delightful!

Yes, that is two stuffed squirrels shagging 🙂

British bacon sarnies and cups of tea officially rock! There ain’t nuffink like it!

Yes, that is bacon AND sausage (with HP sauce for sausage and ketchup for bacon)

Yes, that is bacon AND sausage (with HP sauce for sausage an ketchup for bacon)

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, bacon sandwich, beer, beer garden, Blog, Brasserie Blanc, British, Cotswolds, Culture, cup of tea, curry, Daily Mail, death drugs, death row, death row inmates, Deep South, Dixie, driving, Ewen, executions, expat, food, hanging, hillbillies, hocoblogs@@@, lanes, lethal injection, lifestyle, manua car, maryland, racism, rain, stereotypes, Tamara Reynolds, Texas law, Thoughts, Travel, UK, USA, vindaloo, Virginia, weather, Wild Duck | 2 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 197

Posted on August 2, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Howard County Fair

While I am away I am missing the county fair back in the USA. That’s right, I am missing Americana cowboys and corndogs and fairground rides!

One of the more interesting and curious attractions they are promoting at Howard County Fair is this:

Watch inter-species offspring get physical.

Oh my!

Okay, they don’t mean like that – they mean this: Mules, the offspring of a donkey and horse, will show off their physical prowess at the 9th Annual Mule Pulling Contest and, directly after that is the 3rd Annual Coon Mule Jump. Now I understand!

Watch me get physical!

Additionally, and amusingly, they state that there will be rabbit judging and worm racing. 😉

A friend said to me before I left that this fair was fun, but not the best, and that Maryland State Fair was worth attending, and of course the Renaissance Festival for a bit of shenanigans Game of Thrones stylie.

They’re on the bucket list!

Being an expat

Many people ask us if we wish to stay out in the USA. The answer is this: we are here for three years. So even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. But for some expats the UK is not a place they wish to return to….

So many places to go to….

According to The Telegraph 77 per cent of expatriates said they would only consider a permanent return to Britain if it became untenable to live overseas due to financial, health or family concerns.

What do other expats think?

In the UK today

Today I headed into Bath. I love Bath and worked there for several years – as well as living in various flats with various friends and boyfriends – and it as always had a draw to me. I love its culture, atmosphere and that it encourages people to be expressive, arty, individual and quirky.

Some Bath art

Beautiful Bath

A Tea Shoppe!

It’s been a while since I ventured in to the town centre and it was heaving with tourists – just like me! I imagine a representative from nearly every nation was there this afternoon clicking away on their cameras.

Bath has had some significant regeneration done in the pasts few years and looks amazing. I walked around thinking how impressive it was, alongside amusing myself with memories of falling out of various nightclubs or pubs as I passed by their newly painted doors.

Bath charmed me with a new spirit and for the first time I really appreciated its long and rich history. And, as always, I had to stop myself dancing and singing to ‘Who will buy‘ from Oliver, which was spectacularly filmed in the Circus. 🙂

A Bath balcony for dining

Bath Abbey

Bizarre Bath promotes its funny walking tours

A typical Bath side street

The Bath Pump Rooms – Roman history at its best

The Roman baths

The Circus

The Royal Crescent

Isn’t it funny how much you appreciate things when you see them with fresh eyes?

Posted in Travel | Tagged accents, America, American, Americans, art, Bath, Bath Abbey, corndogs, Culture, expat, expats, fairgrounds, Game of Thrones, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, Howard county fair, lifestyle, maryland, Maryland State Fair, Montgomery County State Fair, mules, Oliver the Musical, Renaissance Festival, Roman Bath, Royal Crescent, Telepgraph, The Circus Bath, tourism, tourists, Travel, UK, USA, Who will buy this beautiful morning, worm racing | Leave a comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 196

Posted on August 1, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Glorious England!

Boy oh boy, let me tell you folks that England is fabulous today – it’s the hottest start to an August here in ten years and the skies are blue with not a cloud in the sky (plus I hear it is raining back in Maryland 😉 ). Happy days since I can still sunbathe and keep the tan topped up (I was concerned I might fade away 😉 ).

It being such a glorious day, I did something that you just can’t do where I live in the USA. I popped to the shops!

To the chemist (pharmacy), grocers and the local market. To confirm, I WALKED out the door and WALKED into town. Wow! It feels so novel!

Things that I noticed today:

– British gents in hats. There were lots and lots of them, all looking very dapper and smart and British. I counted about 10 of them on my walk.

One of many gents in a hat

– A bobby van. The British bobby has his very own van. No longer a bicycle, but a van!

A real life Bobby van!

– British flags are flying proudly! The Union Jack is much more prevalent than I ever remember seeing it before.

The British high street displays the Union flag

– British builders are really friendly and I miss their chirpy banter!

‘Alright love – nice tan. Where d’you get that then?’

‘Thanks! I live in America and I’ve been hanging by the pool. You’ve got a good tan going on.’

‘Arr, yup, not bad. What you up to then, love?’

‘I’m visiting my parents who live here, and this is the church I got married in.’

‘Don’t be daft, you must have been a child bride…hahaha!’

Etc.

Bless ’em!

The church I got married in

Long live the British builder chappies!

– The heat here is more bearable and not humid like the East Coast USA. And old-worldy England looks at its finest.

England, ah!

A house on the River Avon

How lush is that view?!

See the red phone box outside the church?!

Summertime splashing for the kids in the Avon

The quintessential British canal

– I am still more comfortable with British money than US money (our coins go in order of size!)

Oh I’ve missed you British notes!

– I still love real roast dinners!

Yum yum!

– Ice creams are smaller! Much smaller!

Diddy little ice cream cone!

– The local news headlines in UK towns still make me chortle 🙂

Bless!

For more fab UK photos, check out my Desperate English Housewife in Washington Facebook page 🙂

I also stood in a queue behind some locals with strong, strong West Country accents, and whilst before I would have not registered this, I found it interesting to hear them, to observe them, perhaps now with new eyes, or as an outsider looking in with a cultural comparison always on the brain…..

My brother keeps asking me what I miss about the UK and love about the USA.

I told him thus:

Cheap fruit and veg – it’s too expensive in the USA and the UK is far, far cheaper.
The humidity – the East Coast is so humid, but I love the heat. The UK does not have this drenching, soul sucking humidity!
Driving – as much as it is nuts, I love the USA driving and not encountering traffic lights all the time like we do in the UK!!
BBC TV – I miss talking about the dramas on the TV the night before with my gals!
British history – today I saw it everywhere – and I hadn’t really appreciated it before. Observe, see, don’t take it for granted, that’s what I’ve learned.

British history is everywhere!

‘Til tomorrow, folks!

Posted in Travel | Tagged accents, America, American, Americans, BBC TV, Blog, blue skies, Bradford on Avon, British, British Bobby, British history, builders, church, Culture, driving, east coast, England, expat, food, grocers, hocoblogs@@@, ice cream, maryland, pharmacy, River Avon, roast dinner, tan, traffic lights, Travel, UK, USA, walking, weather, West Country | 19 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 195

Posted on July 31, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Hello England!

And so, I hit the shores of the green and pleasant land with a drowsy five-year old in tow, a bunged up ear, no service on my US phone and no US to UK adaptors for my plethora of communications devices. 😉

I can’t really blog much at the moment, because my jet lag is making my fingers all a bit wobbly and weird!

Anyhow, observations so far:

– People sound very, very English.
– The roads are small and windy!
– People drive on the other side of the road and it is very disconcerting – I am going to have to check myself every time I make a turn otherwise those British bobbies are going to be very busy.
– Everything looks very, very old (courtesy of Harry).
– It rained whilst I had a cup of tea.
– I am seeing things through new eyes – I have a new appreciation of the UK and its charms!
– I am intrigued by views and countryside and British iconography that I once took for granted and am now snapping away like a tourist (see pics below!)
– I will be feasting on a roast chicken dinner tonight – meat and three veg! And gravy of course!

A thatched cottage – delightful!

A British pub in Marlborough

Silbury Hill – no idea what it’s for!

Avebury Standing Stones (or “giants’ graves”)

A post office and an ice-cream van!

I had no idea there were so many country pubs!

I don’t remember there being so many country pubs!

An English country lane

ROAST BEEF MONSTER MUNCH!!! Yeah!

British Farm shop

Bloody lush – sausage rolls. Pass the Gaviscon!

Get a free umbrella….

Brit fruit and veg!

I’m pooped – still on US time with three hours sleep! I’ll be falling asleep in my gravy at this rate….. 😉

Posted in Travel | Tagged accents, America, American, Americans, Avebury Standing Stones, Blog, British bobbies, British pubs, countryside, Culture, cup of tea, driving, English, expat, expats, flying, fruit and veg, gravy, hocoblogs@@@, ice cream van, post office, pubs, rain, roads, Roast Beef Monster Munch, roast chicken, sausage rolls, Silbury Hill, sleep, Travel, UK, USA, weather | 7 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 194

Posted on July 30, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

British or American countryside?

There is a little place off the 108 in Clarksville that I love. I love it because of its natural beauty and the fact that it sells fruit and veg and ‘pick your own flowers’ on the side of the road.

It’s Clarks’ Elioaks Farm.

And after I’d taken the pictures, I realised…it looks a little countryside / cottage garden British, wouldn’t you say?!

Apart from the corn…that looks just very American 🙂

Flying back to the UK

I’m going back today to the UK after a year in the States. How will it feel? Will I be able to drive on the left? (I’ve picked up so many bad habits, I expect to be beeped and glared at A LOT.) Will I eat a roast dinner and take the post to the post office and walk to the local shops?! Will everything feel very, very small? Will Harry have an American twang?!

I’ll be mooching over this little bridge in Bradford on Avon, that’s for sure!

I’ll be blogging every day about being back in the UK….so keep logging on to keep up with my adventures!

An Anglophile’s Love of the UK

This is Cindi’s story about why she adores all things British – especially fashion advice!

I am a married woman in my early 50’s raised in the shadow of the White House, daughter of an Air Force Flight Engineer and stay at home Mom. My father flew diplomatic transport and while we didn’t move about (as the typical Af family does) My father brought home goodies from very trip. What did he bring back from England? Wedgewood for my Mother and Black Magic Chocolates for us kids. So I have fond memories of my Father opening up the black box of chocolate upon his return.

My husband and I love to travel and we’ve done more international travel in the past five years. Admittedly, I’ve never been to England but we’ve been to Northern Ireland. When my friends or family members go to the UK I ask for Black Magic and some gossip mags. I love a bit of celeb goss, and there is nothing like Hello! and Okay. I’ve had great love for British TV since I was young and my Mom sat me in front of the TV to watch ‘The Six Wives of Henry Vlll’ on PBS. I’ve been watching Eastenders on PBS since its premiere here in 1989. I watch more British TV than American.

What fascinates me most about the UK? What do I love the most?

Royalty – the sense of continuity of the royal family. They are always there, in the background. One of them is always out and about dedicating this that or the other thing. And the fact they serve the UK and the Commonwealth countries their whole life astounds me. Growing up, my Father bought home a tea tin celebrating the Queen’s Coronation. As I was born 10 years after the coronation. I remember seeing that tea tin my whole life. In later years my Mother adapted it to a button box. Today it serves as my button box. So, I feel like the Queen has always been in the background, even if it’s just been on a tea tin.

The very same tea tin!

One tradition I love about the UK is tea. You drink a cup of coffee you, you serve a pot of tea. When something is wrong you put the kettle on. A nice cup of tea solves all, and maybe you’ll have a biscuit too. Tea is social whether with friends or family. I love that tea is social. It’s sad the tea tradition is lacking in the States.

Serving the tea – proper job!

Another tradition I love is the pub. In the states we usually to go to bars to get drunk or pull. However, when we were in Northern Ireland I recall being in pubs and seeing families. You don’t see that in the States. Plus, I love that they serve pub grub. And I found pub grub pretty good. Better than American bar food I feel. Pubs can have people there out on the lash but it’s a whole different feeling than here. Plus, I love the idea of even having your pint outside, just standing outside drinking is great. And I think it’s ok, normal in fact to see a single woman in a pub and not think the worst. In the states it’s thought she’s just looking for a guy. Pub culture is just so different than here.

Pint of ale?

What differences exist between our cultures?

I think we’re more alike than we realize. I mean we all want happiness.

Which myths, stereotypes and preconceptions about the US and it’s citizens do you think really exist?

I’d say there is a myth that we all have southern drawls. There are many different accents. I have a mid-Atlantic accent which is heard in Maryland, Northern Virginia, DC and parts of Delaware. There are differences in Southern accents too. People from North Carolina sound different than people from Mississippi.

One stereotypes that exists is the white sneaker wearing American and its true. It was Trinny and Susannah from ‘What Not To War’ that showed me if I didn’t want to look like an American tourist then I shouldn’t wear white sneakers. I haven’t bought a pair since.