Anglophiles United at our “local” pub quiz
Image Credit Laurie Frashure

As you may know I occasionally report on the activities of my Anglophile group, cleverly named Anglophiles United. This week a large contingent of our membership hit the road in hopes of experiencing an authentic British pub quiz. This outing was educational in scope and the fact that alcohol was freely available had nothing to do with our healthy turnout…

We gathered at an establishment with a name designed to avoid any confusion about its purpose or mission, The Pub. This American franchise concentrated in the Midwest and Southeast is to the the public house what mock Tudor housing developments are to historical stately homes. The serving staff wear kilt-ish uniforms, in addition to ales and whiskey they serve American cocktails like martinis and Manhattans, and they are located in an upscale shopping mall complex. To be fair they don’t…

In the spirit of this wondrous holiday season I’ve planned a series of posts concerning the lessons I’ve learned about British Christmas traditions, one per day for the next twelve days. Though many of our rituals and celebrations have sprung from a common place, I’ve found enough examples over the years to contend that, while the message is universal, Christmas doesn’t look exactly the same in the US as it does in the UK.  Please enjoy my observations and, to my British readers, feel free to correct me if I’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick along the way.

When I was a kid, the yearly visit to Santa was an exciting yet daunting prospect.  Sure you got to tell Old St. Nick what you wanted for Christmas first hand. But there was the whole sitting on a strange man’s lap stipulation. ( I didn’t like strange men much when I…

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If by some chance all this excites you, you can create your own “Keep Calm and” online poster at keepcalmandposters.com or keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk. Both sites let you order actual paper versions of your work; at keep-calm-o-matic, you can also get a t-shirt, a mug, a keychain, or an iPhone 5 case.

At this point, “Keep Calm and” is everywhere. It cannot be escaped. That is all. Carry on.

On Mother’s Day, one would normally expect to see inspiring tributes to patient, selfless mums.

But when I started scanning my telly memory for heartwarming mother-child moments, I’m afraid I came up a bit short.  What I kept finding  instead were mothers and their grown children at odds.  From colicky babies to toddler tantrums to teenage rebellion, mothers love their sons and daughters dearly, even when they aren’t very likable.  And in turn, children do exactly as they are supposed to – they grow up and apart which makes us proud and terribly sad simultaneously.

I’ll be honest.  Being a mother has been the most wonderful thing I’ve ever been a part of despite being comprised of some of the most painful, frustrating moments of my life.  So on this Mother’s Day, look at this list and feel better about your relationship with your own children. That’s what we all really…