Category Archives: British
Sick
My first year of living in England, I got sick a few times. Now in my American mind, sick can be a sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, Nyquil-swilling cold. Or it can be simply feeling under the weather. Or yes, it can mean a stomach bug.
What I didn’t know then was that in Brit speak, “sick” is vomit. If you tell someone you’ve been sick, it means you’ve literally just vomited (and that’s a graphic detail you probably wouldn’t readily volunteer in the same easy breezy way that you might tell someone you’re under the weather). Sick has very little to do with any kind of non-projectile spewing activity. “Ill” on the other hand is the umbrella Brit term for what we Americans would call “sick.”
And don’t even get me started on the reason Brits drop the “the” when speaking about the hospital. (“He’s been to hospital.” “She’s gone to hospital.” etc.) I still have no idea. If anyone does, please share!
Calendars vs. diaries
I’ve been emailing some friends in the U.K. to plan some get togethers when we visit London. Curiously, all of them have mentioned that they’ve put our visit dates “in their diary,” a British term I’ve completely forgotten and not to be confused with the “Dear Diary, I’ve just met a boy” diary variety, which also does exist in the U.K. (Exhibit A: “Bridget Jones’s Diary.”)
I guess in British terms, a calendar is used to let you know what date it is (they have the same kind of themed wall calendars as we do), but it’s not quite the same as a datebook or whatever device you use to record your comings and goings. Google Calendar in the U.K. may need a renaming…
Celebrations
Today, there’s much to celebrate as the world’s oldest underground transportation network, the London Underground, celebrates 150 years today on the same day that the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton turns 31.
When I studied abroad in the U.K., one of my flatmates had an anthology of poetry that had been posted on the London Underground (where the advertisements usually ran). The book, Poems on the Underground (Fifth Edition), became one of my favorites to just dip into now and again, and ranged from Percy Shelley to Maya Angelou, Brits and non-Brits as well as some anonymous authors.
I eventually bought my own copy that year and have been revisiting those old poems this week. I found one which might be appropriate for today’s celebrations. Let’s raise a glass and have a read! Cheers.
A Birthday
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a watered shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
– Christina Rossetti (1830-94)
How I became an anglophile
“I haven’t always been the tea-drinking, Boden-shopping, Bond-watching anglophile that you see before you. In fact, my first 19 years were spent in relative ignorance of British culture and customs.
My knowledge didn’t extend beyond Princess Diana’s latest designer dress and what I could gather from “Are You Being Served” reruns on PBS.
But everything changed my junior year of college when I took part in a study abroad program in the U.K.”
And so begins, my first guest blog post, published this week, on another blog — SmittenbyBritain.com, another great site dedicated to anglophiles. I’m so excited to share this with all of you!
Check out my blog post “How One American Became an Anglophile” and have a wonderful weekend!
What’s the difference between United Kingdom, Great Britain and England?
I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was a very useful info graphic, courtesy of Sala!
Nigella’s sticky gingerbread
I feel like we need to tack an additional 14 days to December to revel in the fun of the season – more time to watch “Home Alone” and “Elf” and “The Holiday,” for Bailey’s Irish Cream nightcaps and for filling the house with the smell of baked goods.
I’ve failed on the last item this month – I’ve wanted to make these gingerbread houses, not to mention this and these. But one thing I did manage was a batch of sticky gingerbread from Nigella Christmas.
I’ve never made gingerbread before but after Starbucks abruptly ended their run on gingerbread loaf pre-Christmas, I had to get my fix elsewhere. Nigella’s recipe is absolutely fantastic – easy to do and actually gets better by the day! Here’s my adapted recipe. Enjoy the remains of the season and will see you back here on Thursday! Have a happy Christmas with you and yours.
Sticky Gingerbread
Makes 20 squares
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup packed soft dark brown sugar
3 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 2 teaspoons warm water
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten to mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a roasting pan or ovenproof dish (approx. 12 x 8 x 2-inches) with aluminum foil or parchment paper (if using foil, grease it too).
In a saucepan, melt the butter over a lowish heat along with the sugar, syrup, molasses, fresh and ground gingers, cinnamon and cloves.
Take off the heat, and add the milk, eggs and dissolved baking soda in its water.
Measure the flour into a bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients, beating until well mixed. It will be a very liquid batter, so don’t worry. This is part of what makes it sticky later.
Pour it into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until risen and firm on top. Try not to overcook, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway will carry on cooking as it cools.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the gingerbread cool in the pan before cutting into 20 squares, or however you wish to slice it.
Make ahead tip:
Make the gingerbread up to 2 weeks ahead, wrap loosely in parchment paper and store in an airtight container. Cut into squares as required.
Freeze ahead tip:
Make the gingerbread, wrap in parchment paper and a layer of aluminum foil then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours and cut into squares.
21 Brilliant British People Problems
Photo credit: Buzzfeed
This did make me laugh: Buzzfeed’s 21 Brilliant British People Problems. Don’t miss #16!
The right time to buy a Christmas tree
We put up our tree last weekend. It was, perhaps, a little premature by British standards (it’s not unheard of for Brits to put up their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve!) but a little last minute by American standards and I did want to make sure that we didn’t get the last Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the lot.
I remember one year we waited until nearly the 18th of Dec. and it was serious slim pickings (particularly since many tree lots get their big delivery right after Thanksgiving and sell off what they get. No daily shipments of fresh trees.) Anyway, it’s also just nice to have a little extra time to enjoy the tree, particularly now that our kids are getting older and the run up to Christmas feels more like a sprint than a marathon.
Decorating the tree is always one of my favorite things to do. I love the collection of old and new ornaments, the mix-match patchwork quilt of memories collected over the years. We bought this Santa ornament a couple of years ago in remembrance of our years living in London. (It’s actually from Cost Plus! They still sell this little glass Santa with Big Ben).
When do you usually buy your Christmas tree?
Holiday deadline for international mail
Every year, we do the mad scramble to get our Christmas cards and presents to Britain in the mail by the U.S. Post Office deadline. It’s usually around the 6th Dec. and I’ll admit we’re usually right under the wire.
On Monday, I took a look at the U.S. Post Office website to check what that holiday international deadline is this year and there it was: Dec. 3. Alarm bells rang. My husband was out of town and I had to get everything wrapped, tagged, and packaged to make that deadline. I put “Love Actually” on and stayed up until the job was done.
As it turned out, in the bright light of day the next morning, I visited the website again and realized I completely misread the deadline. Dec. 3 is actually the deadline for shipping to Africa, not England.
This year’s deadline for shipping to Europe? Dec. 10! Yes, I could’ve had an extra week to procrastinate! 🙂
The happiness survey
How happy are Brits as a nation?
Well, the Office of National Statistics have measured this (as well as other measurements on national well-being of the country!) for the first time – and here are a few findings:
* Just over three-quarters (75.9%) of people aged 16 and over in the UK rated their overall life satisfaction as medium or high in 2011/12 and four-fifths (80.0%) felt that the things they do in their life are worthwhile.
* When asked to reflect on their feelings during the preceding day, over 7 out of 10 (71.1%) people in the UK rated their happiness as medium/ high. In terms of anxiety people felt the day before, 4 out of 10 (40%) reported high anxiety.
* Younger people aged 16 to 19 and older people aged 65 to 79 rated their life satisfaction highest between 7.7 and 7.8 out of 10 and felt that the things that they do were worthwhile (between 7.7 and 8.0 out of 10). Those in middle age (aged 40 to 59) were least satisfied with their lives, reporting a score of 7.1 to 7.2 out of 10 and also reporting the highest anxiety levels; 3.4 to 3.5 out of 10.
BRITRISH.COM 