I was in all day meetings over the last couple days doing business reviews and at one point, due to presentations going longer, was starving. So, I popped onto Communicator and asked my assistant to bring over a sandwich and some chips. The request for chips was made by someone else – I don’t need them at lunch.

She arrived with sandwiches and french fries. You see, chips are french fries and crisps are chips in the UK. This article provides some very interesting insight into the differences in language. To share a few … they confuse me every day …. (smile)

British — North American:

aerofoil — airfoil
aeroplane — airplane
agony aunt — advice columnist
anticlockwise — counter-clockwise
articulated lorry — tractor-trailer
asymmetric bars — uneven bars
aubergine — eggplant
blanket bath — sponge bath
bonnet (of car) — hood
boot (of a car) — trunk
bowls — lawn bowling
brawn (the food) — headcheese
breeze block — cinder block
bumbag — fanny pack
candy floss — cotton candy
car park — parking lot/garage
central reservation — median strip
chips — French fries
cling film — plastic wrap
common seal — harbor seal
consumer durables — durable goods
cornflour — cornstarch
cot — crib
cotton bud — cotton swab
cotton wool — absorbent cotton
courgette — zucchini
crash barrier — guardrail
crisps — chips or potato chips
cross-ply — bias-ply
current account — checking account
cut-throat razor — straight razor
dialling tone — dial tone
double cream — heavy cream
double-declutch — double-clutch
draughts — checkers
drawing pin — thumb tack
drink-driving — drunk driving
driving licence — driver’s license
dummy — pacifier
dustbin — trash/garbage can
eat in (of restaurant) — for here
engaged (of a telephone) — busy
estate car — station wagon
ex-directory — unlisted
eyebath — eyecup
financial year — fiscal year
fire brigade — fire department
firelighter — fire starter
fringe — bangs
full board — American plan
gear lever — gearshift
green fingers — green thumb
groundsman — groundskeeper
holidaymaker — vacationer
hundreds and thousands — sprinkles
indicator (on car) — turn signal
Joe Bloggs — Joe Blow
Joe Public — John Q. Public
jump lead — jumper cable
ladybird — ladybug
level crossing — grade crossing
lift (in building) — elevator
lolly (lollipop) — Popsicle (trademark)
loo — john
maize — corn
mangetout — snow peas
maths — math
monkey tricks — monkeyshines
motorway — expressway/freeway
mum — mom
nappy — diaper
noughts and crosses — tic-tac-toe number plate — license plate
off-licence — liquor store
opencast — open-pit
paddling pool — wading pool
pay packet — pay envelop
pedestrian crossing — crosswalk
petrol — gasoline/gas
physiotherapy — physical therapy
plain chocolate — dark chocolate
plain flour — all-purpose flour
post code — zip code
postal vote — absentee ballot
poste restante — general delivery
press-up — pushup
punchbag — punching bag
pushchair — stroller
queue — line
razor shell — razor clam
real tennis — court tennis
recorded delivery — certified mail
reverse the charges — call collect
reversing light — backup light
room only — European plan
roundabout (in road) — traffic circle
rowing boat — rowboat
sailing boat — sailboat
self-raising flour — self-rising flour shopping trolley — shopping cart skirting board — baseboard
sleeping partner — silent partner
splashback — backsplash
storm in a teacup — tempest in a teapot
surtitle — supertitle
terraced house — row house
toffee apple — candy apple
trainers — sneakers
tram — streetcar or trolley car
transport café — truck stop
twelve-bore — twelve-gauge
vest — undershirt
waistcoat — vest
white spirit — mineral spirits
windscreen — windshield
worktop — countertop
zebra crossing — crosswalk
zed — zee

As I blogged in the past, I am a quality coffee convert and find it difficult to carry on without a great cup of coffee in the morning. I only drink 1 or 2 cups a day – so it needs to be good.

The last few months in the UK have seen our family revert to the old style of coffee (in this case, using a French press) and it was rather awful. This was further exacerbated by our confusion over cream. You see, the British LOVE their cream but they love it for their food – not their coffee.

In fact, if you walk into a shop and ask for a coffee with cream they grab some monster 50% clotted cream and drop it in. The supermarkets are not much better, shelves and shelves of creams but which to use? Finally, at the Waitrose where we have decided to shop thanks to their great selection of specialty products, we found it – they call it ‘pouring cream’ which I believe is around 10%.

But after a month, it was decided that a new coffee maker was needed (We sold the old one in Canada as the power transformer it needed would have taken up half the kitchen counter – they draw a ton of power!). After much research I settled on the Jura Impressa F70 which the guy at UK Coffee called a good ‘compromise’ between the high end and mid range. I guess that my handing over an arm and a leg was also a good ‘compromise’.

Despite the high price, I have to admit that I am BLOWN AWAY on two fronts:

1. You can adjust everything with a simple flip of the dial. I love that a dial allows me to control how many ML goes into every cup.

2. It comes with an automatic milk frother. This contraption is quite simple – put a cup of milk beside the machine and turn the knob. The steam builds and through a vacuum sucks the milk up the tube and fires it out of the nozzle frothed. Now, do I get the satisfaction of making the perfect frothed milk? No. But if I a wanted, I could, it has the same attachment. But what I do get is a simple system that provides amazing froth in seconds and candidly, it has a much better touch than I ever had. Amazing – and yes, my coffee does look like that (wink).

Now I know you are saying, it is mad to spend that much on coffee. I look at it this way – $3 per day at Starbucks adds up really fast. This thing will pay for itself in about 2 years .. and in the meantime, if I want a GREAT cup of coffee, it is 1 button away. Plus, I love a great cup of coffee and if you cannot indulge here and there, why work so hard?

Cheerio.

When we were over on our house/school hunting trip in May we watched a documentary on CCTV use in Britain. It walked through the evolution of CCTV in Britain and showed some scary footage – used to capture criminals. According to the UK HomeOffice site, the goal of CCTV is as follows:

Welcome to the Home Office CCTV website. The crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative provided over £170 million worth of funding to over 680 CCTV schemes. These schemes will be an important tool in the fight against crime in town centres, shopping centres, rural areas, car parks and transport links across England and Wales.

According to this site, the UK has more than 4 million cameras and if you walk through London you will end up on more than 300 cameras. In the documentary, they showed how CCTV was used to print each vehicle as it entered London, flagging suspicious vehicles (i.e. flagged criminals, stolen vehicles, etc.) in under 20 seconds.

Wikipedia has an interesting write up on the history of CCTV noting:

After the bombings of London on 7 July 2005, CCTV footage was used to identify the bombers. The media was surprised that few tube trains actually had CCTV cameras, and there were some calls for this to be increased.

The interesting evolution of the CCTV is the ‘talking CCTV’. In the documentary, they showed a few drunk revelers staggering down the street and one grabbing a sign and taking it with him until the CCTV called out ‘You, in the blue shirt, you are being monitored by the police. Put that sign back’. He spun around, shocked and then slowly put it back … worth a laugh.

On a personal level, they don’t bother me. There are many sites that make the big brother connection, but one has to wonder – if you are not doing anything wrong – who cares? All I had to watch was this man standing alone at 12PM after a nightshift at a bus stop when 4 hooligans came out of nowhere and attack him viciously – all caught on camera. Five minutes later, all 4 of them were in custody and an ambulance was on site.

The Science Museum had a different view of the CCTV ..

This weekend is a long weekend in England and we took the time to tour the London Science Museum. On the train ride into London we chose this exhibit as the Science of Spying exhibit is coming to an end September 2nd.

The interesting thing about this museum and the Natural History Museum is that they are both free. The majority of the exhibits are free to tour with the facilities generating revenue through government sponsorship and the ‘special’ events. For example, it was £32 to go through the spying exhibit ($70CDN).

It was a fascinating tour where they took you through a mock mission, exposed a multitude of interactive stations and of course, offered an interesting selection of spy gadgets for purchase at the end. The boys chose the edible paper. What they found out was that it may be edible, but it tastes awful.

We will need to go back, we spent 4 hours there and barely scratched the surface. As we exited, we came across the naval and aeronautics area. Spitfires, Hurricanes, Harrier Jumpjets …. We need to go back. The pictures below are washed out, it was getting late and they were rushing us. Next time ..

I remain amazed at the architecture – just a common building in the area. Note the detail on the brickwork …

I have been told that to become truly British (As in British Empire style), I need to learn a few sports: football (never say soccer), rugby and cricket with their 5 day matches.

The following was sent to me: Cricket explained to the foreigner:

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

While at Windsor I was taking a video of the guard and noticed as he marched that his trousers were ripped! I started to laugh and said to Narda and the boys ‘Maybe I should tell him?’

The boys taught me a lesson, they thought my laughing was mean and that if I went and told him he would be embarrassed. Funny, I stepped back and realized that they were right – my laughing at that poor guys predicament was wrong. A lesson I was glad for.

We did our first ‘tourist’ event two weeks ago when we made a trip to Windsor castle. The town of Windsor is beautiful and according to some of our new neighbors, it is the place to go shopping.

Throughout the village, that surrounds the castle, are these old, multi-color buildings that have been converted into restaurants and shops. I marvel at how the below building is commonplace in the UK but steeped in history. Imagine what it would have been like in the 1400s?

I walked through the building while we waited for our food and was amazed at the huge wood beams and brickwork that was hundreds and hundreds of years old. That being said, the food was awful (smile).

We spent the afternoon touring the castle and the boys loved it. After all, who would not love touring a castle with the arrow slits, huge walls, guards and myriad of sites?

At the entrance to the castle you are handed a listening device (With 2 tracks, one for children – one for adults). As you tour through the castle you see numbered spots (Approximately 35) where you stop, hold the device to your ear and listen to the history. It was fascinating as it talked about the history of the castle, the defense benefits to being on a hill, what each room held and was used for (i.e. Where the king or Queen would dress) and the lore of the castle. It brought the castle to life and allowed us to avoid standing in one of those huge crowds while straining to hear a tour guide slowly (and painfully) guide you through.

Inside the castle apartments, no pictures were allowed, which is too bad. It is spectacular, filled with armor, weapons and priceless treasures (Collected over the century as the British Empire expanded). It was also fascinating to learn that all areas of the castle remain in full use. When dignitaries come, it will all be rearranged and used to host dinners and parties. Imagine being hosted at Windsor castle by the Queen?

All in all, a great start. We spent 3 hours there and plan to go back again in 6 months. We did not get through it all.

St. George’s chapel was closed, it was Sunday ….. I will catch a service there one day.

Notice the crooked house on the right ….

A cannon from an old ship …

We arrived back from the Algarve on Thursday night, the rental guys cam in and moved out our rental furniture so that the moving company could complete the last leg of our moving journey this morning – the big move in.

Not sure where it will all go as he place is a bit smaller than in Canada (The UK is an island!) nor do I envy the movers. They need to drop the container at the roadway and shuttle in the contents on a small van – load by load. It will be a long day for them!

It will be nice to be settled, finally.

We are on our way to Portugal and the Algarve for a week. A vacation that is long overdue. It looks like a beautiful spot, trip report on my return. It will be an eventful few weeks as we are off to Ireland right after that.

A description of the Algarve:

The Algarve is hilly, but traversed with rich valleys. Its highest point is the mountain range of Monchique, with a maximum altitude of 906m (Peak of the Fóia).

It is composed of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants (density of 76 inhabitants per square kilometre). This figure increases to over a million people at the height of summer due to an influx of tourists.

The region is also the home of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 170 square kilometres and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds.

The Algarve is a popular destination for tourism, primarily because of its beaches, Mediterranean climate, safety and relatively low costs. The length of the south-facing coastline is approximately 155 kilometres. Beyond the westernmost point of Cape St Vincent it stretches a further 50 kilometres to the north. The coastline is notable for picturesque limestone caves and grottoes, particularly around Lagos, which are accessible by powerboat. Praia da Marinha, Lagoa was classified as one of the 100 most beautiful and well preserved beaches of the world. There are many other beautiful and famous summer places such as Albufeira, Vilamoura, Portimão, Lagos, Armação de Pêra, Quarteira, Monte Gordo and Tavira. It is also host to the annual Algarve Cup invitational tournament for national teams in women’s football.

And the weather is definitely the kind of weather I like. Let the sand castle building begin!

I was at an offsite held at the Bailiffscourt Hotel & Health Spa in Climping. A stones throw from a pebble beach (which is really just a big beach with no sand and lots of rocks) it was introduced as ‘the fake Bailiffscourt’.

In a country of 400 year old buildings, it would appear that a building built in the 1920’s is a faker. The history:

Built in the 1920’s by the late Sir Walter Guinness – a family retreat, and an architectural wonder. Original stone and wood work was gathered from all over England to make up the series of buildings that is Bailiffscourt.

Gothic mullioned windows overlook the rose clad courtyard, whilst narrow passageways lead you through a series of intimate lounges and sitting rooms.

Many of the public rooms feature open log fires, and a wealth of fine antiques, tapestries and abundance of fresh flowers throughout the hotel.

Climping Beach is a few minute walk away and for the sailing enthusiasts Littlehampton Marina, is just five minutes drive away and Chichester Harbour a 15 minute drive from the hotel.

Set in 30 acres of parkland, with moats and small streams, there is an abundance of wild life to be seen, all of which is closely guarded by our own peacocks.

The unofficial story was that Sir Walter didn’t want people ruining his beach. So he bought up a bunch of land and built the retreat. It is an amazing retreat and to me, looked very genuine and very old. As for their peacocks, I can attest to their presence. They left their calling card all over my car.

A few pictures here.

I had the good fortune to go to an offsite over the last 2 days in Climping, West Sussex. The drive to Climping was an interesting one. It was only 56 miles (Have not changed the loaner car’s navigation to KM yet) but was about 1 hour and 45 minutes as no drive in the UK is simple.

The drive involved short bursts of speed and then a roundabout. This makes for interesting driving (You must always pay attention) but also means that you get to truly experience an area. It is a much different drive than one in North America where you whip down a highway with the towns passing by unknown and untouched by your eye.

I found myself looking intently at the homes, villages and scenery as I passed by. Unfortunately, I forgot my proper camera but have gotten in the habit of carrying an older 4MP Canon for an emergency.

As I drove I passed this home and had to turn around and snap a few pictures linked here. The sign said ‘Duchess Lodge’ and the stone fence extended a few miles back to another such structure. I can only surmise that it was at one point a guard tower for a crown property.

Note the television aerial on the top (smile). Amazing.

I was asked a few days ago what foods I will miss from Canada. Interestingly enough, none really. The Canadian food experience is a multi-cultural one, from all over the world. I may miss a few restaurants that I love like the great little Indian place in Barrie, but other than that, nothing sticks out in my mind.

The one thing I may miss is the convenience. Within 15 minutes I could buy anything that I need. Not so in Britain. Due to every building being 400+ years old, there is a certain lack of urban planning which means that finding the store that you need is very tough.

Case in point: yesterday our air shipment arrived (the Sharp Aquos looks amazing). One of the cables on our son’s new bike had come loose and after much futzing, I could not put it back together. So we had to find a bike shop and after speaking to the neighbours and the security guy, it became apparent that the closest bike shop was 25 minutes away (We don’t have broadband yet, so we could not use the internet).

Off we went and 3 minutes beyond our house Narda exclaimed ‘wait, there is a bike shop there!’. Now, obviously, this arose from the fact that we do not know the area and because we did not have an effective way to find information. However, in speaking with the bike shop owner on the topic he provided some insight.

The area where we live consists of many interconnected but independent villages and many people do not know what is in two or three towns over, because there are so many and it is a maze.

This is also very exciting. Going 5 minutes further means a whole new experience …