The Maternity Story

This subject came up because I'm pregnant and due in June. My cousin and a good friend of mine in England asked me how much time off I would be taking and I told them that I would be taking 6- 8 weeks off. They were very surprised because the standard in England is 9 months. She said it depends company to company but usually 3 months you get 2/3rd of your pay, then another 3 months 1/3 or 1/2 of your pay and then for the last 3 months unpaid. This was very surprising to me because 6-8 weeks is standard here and you may or may not get paid for this time depending on the company you work for. I think most people would get fired if they asked for 9 months. Not sure why there is this big difference between maternity time in both countries.

Nuts and Bolts

At work there was a container of pretzels, chips, peanuts etc and I heard it being referred to as 'nuts and bolts.' I was surprised, perhaps I had mis-heard because this wasn't a container of screws and fasteners. Perplexed I waited and then I heard it being called again nuts and bolts but it was still the same container of pretzels, chips and peanuts. So I asked and apparently a snack mix can be termed nuts and bolts because it is a combination of different things. And nuts and bolts is a terminology not just for screws and fasteners but also for a snack mix and it could be a variation of different snack mixes.

Interesting...!

Trimming the tree

This past christmas I heard someone use the phrase 'trimming the tree.' I was surprised I haven't heard that phrase before, so I asked them what they meant - and they said this meant decorating the tree for christmas.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the word 'trim' means to 'embellish with ribbons, lace and/or ornaments' as well as 'to cut', or 'to beat.' Initially when they said they were trimming the tree, I thought they were giving the tree a hair cut lol because to me that's what trim means but in fact trimming in this context also means to decorate, to embellish. The phrase could also be reworded as 'trimming the house', which would basically mean to embellish the house with christmas lol or something like that. I'm sure I'm not the only English Yankee who had to take a second look at this. So, next year I guess I'll be joining the rest of you in trimming my house and tree...

Bangers and mash mainly...

One of the things I miss most about England is of course the food that I grew up with. Fish and chips, Bangers and mash, Shephards pie --- yum. Finally though - I have found a great place to have my England favorites. The pub at Pointe Orlando - is a great place because it has a wide selection of traditional English dishes, and for those that like it - also about 40 different types of beer and spirits. In fact 3/4 of their menu is dedicated to that. Hopefully this place will stay around.
Anyway did you ever wonder where the name bangers and mash originated from. For those that don't know what this is, it refers to sausages and mashed potatoes. The term 'bangers' has its origins from World War 2, because at this time sausages were under a ration so they were made with water and therefore they were more likely to explode under a high temperature if not cooked carefully.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangers_and_mash

Watching TV and ..... getting confused

So a good American friend of ours recently asked me a question. He said 'do English people who watch American TV in the UK, ever wonder about thanksgiving.' Most of the American typical shows, Grey's anatomy, Gossip Girl, 90210 etc.. are also popular in the UK and typically these shows will feature a special thanksgiving and Christmas episode although due to lag of scheduling, the timing of the shows most likely does not correspond as nicely with the holidays as it does with us in the US. However - back to the question, do people in England ever watch an American show and wonder what is all this thanksgiving. Well - living in London I had previously been a prisoner to the hype of the American shows, back then it was Beverly Hills, Melrose place, Gilmore girls etc and I did notice that there was some kind of thanksgiving event that happened in American. It seemed to me that it was about family getting together with a lot of food. I'm not sure if it is really analyzed or thought about it. I'm sure the curious would google thanksgiving or perhaps just figure out its meaning from the concepts that they would see because I know for years I had been watching American TV and thought nothing of it. Well maybe its because I multitask when I watch TV and maybe I didn't pay as much attention.... lol just kidding.
That's all for now... be back soon.