I calculated that this visit to Britain marks my 15th visit to this country in my lifetime which one could construe as a milestone of sorts. In that period of time which commenced in the 1970s, I've come to some set conclusions which I would have chalked up to generalisations in the past but which I now see are simple facts. A 30 year stretch of observations should be a safe enough margin of error. A few examples:
-In take away restaurants or pubs, seasoning of food is optional.
-You'll always get a superb cup of tea, no matter where you get it. The coffee still sucks, no matter where you get it.
-No one roasts game meats any better.
-I still don't exactly know what rocket is. A lettuce?
-Gooseberries belong to no particular family that exits in the Americas that I can tell.
-With the blatant absence of hot sauce, there are much better condiments on the tables of English restaurants.
-There are actually merits to that chips and peas thing. Really.
-There are only six channels on the television on basic cable, but three quarters of them are associated with the BBC and the all offer interesting programs, first run unedited films and superior news coverage (which I listen to on NPR back home).
-It may be a New York thing, but the absolutely la-de-dah lack of urgency here makes me crazy. But apparently only me.
-British rooms called a lounge are appropriately named.
-It's really helpful to have a curtain if you decide to convert a bath to a shower. The British population seem to prefer bathing to showering so they've yet to master the dynamics of showering.
-Only English people actually appreciate trifle. And black pudding.
-I'm still grateful for the "Look Left" signs painted on the road as a warning to right driving foreigners like me.
-Cadbury will always be superior to Hershey. And I don't like chocolate.
-The history around you at every turn--a medieval abbey, a monarch's hunting ground from the 14th century, a stately home from the Georgian era--flowers in abundance.
-The Times is THE newspaper.I still haven't actually recovered from the fact that it is now a tabloid, truth be told.
-My mother's favorite landmark in Britain is the statue of Queen Boudicca in Westminster (above). It always reminded her of her homeland's indomitable spirit and I have to agree. It's a country with a documented millennium of history yet it's a country and a culture without the pretensions of a younger land because it has less to prove or can't be bothered to or is far to polite to do so.
OK, I'm done now--it's time for a nice cuppa.
3 comments:
Um, as usual, I have to say something controversial. I LIKE TRIFLE! Okay, I've only had one, but my very distant English cousin's mum made it for our pudding one night when I stayed with them as a teenager. It was delicious, absolutely lovely.
Now Marmite, honey, that's a whole 'nother story. As is the story of me kissing my English cousin. Distant cousin. *sigh*
if rocket is the same in england as in italy, it's arugula.
it took me (and my extended family, who i was traveling with) a whole 2 week trip to figure it out!
Wait a second - chips & peas - is that french fries and peas, the vegetable, mixed together??? Dear God, that sounds dastardly.
Isn't trifle one of those layered things with chunks of cake, pudding, and whipped cream? Sounds good to me.
I am not Hershey fan. Cadbury is better, but Lindt is one of the best.
I never thought of the give & take of coffee versus tea as you presented it here. I am not a coffee drinker, so I think I would be much happier beverage-wise in England! Man, you cannot get a decent cup of tea around here.
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