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.

Queuing Up

Whether it be at airport security, at Walmart, or on Blackfriday - no-one likes to line up. But in England its not calling lining up its called a queue. Although now that I think about it, I remember my English teacher (whose name I won't mention) he would get very strict and particular that we were all in a line. If the line was not perfectly straight, either he would go off at us, or we would have to re-line up. He seriously had an obsession with everyone lining up really straight. Was he preparing us for the world? For the lines that would await us in the future. The line that we take when we drive to work everyday. The line that we wait in when we make a purchase, go to the bank, or pick up the kids at school. The line that becomes part of everyday life. The line that people don't like to wait in. Have you noticed that when there's a traffic jam, there's always at least one person who thinks that they shouldn't have to wait in the line (like the rest of us) and they try to go on the extra emergency lane or they try to cut everyone else off so they can get perhaps an inch further. How about the lines at the theme parks in the blazing sun. The lines that we all wait in just to get on a ride for about 3 minutes, for those few minutes of thrill and excitement. Has anyone ever calculated what percent of our line we spend lining up.
In England they call it queing up. In America its called a line. But its the same at the end of the day.

Wow look at that queue.... but we'll still stand in it anyway. Because its the queue to our future and sometimes its worth the wait.

Sweet Tooth

I don't think the subject of candy can be written about too much. I know I've stressed about the absence of Cadbury's in the US (although you can find a small selection at an outrageous price in select store in the US) but the subject of this post refers to some other matters of the sweet kind.
I asked my niece the other day if she wanted a biscuit and she looked at me like I was crazy. Well perhaps... but.... she had no idea what that was. In America biscuits are actually called cookies. It doesn't matter what the shape of these are or what they contain. In America biscuits are actually those things you can get from McDonalds or Dunkin donuts that you have for breakfast (see below)

But in London if you ask for a biscuit... you will actually get what Americans call a cookie (see below)

Continuing with the discussion of sweet treats....
US Candy = UK sweets
so skittles are candy in America but in UK you would call them sweets.

Big Hats

Amidst the news of the Royal Wedding was of course the subject of big hats. I've always seen big hats being worn in England especially on auspicious occasions such as weddings etc. but now living in America I was seeing the hats in a different light. I tried to google some reasons why big hats were worn and to so much pomp and animation in the UK but this just appears to be a tradition that arose. Big hats are worn to racing events and weddings. So lets not argue... just watch and enjoy.

Vegetarian please

I am barely vegetarian but I have a lot of friends and family members who are either vegetarians or just eat halal meat. In London it was not much of an issue. It was easy to get vegetarian options. Only when I need to be vegetarian or am around friends and family who are vegetarian have I noticed the difference in Florida. I'm sure it is not so prevelant in other states, like New York where there is a more diverse population. Orlando is a big tourist spot, especially the theme park, outlets, shopping malls etc offer very little vegetarian choices. Each place will most likely offer a cheese pizza and if you're likely pasta with tomato sauce but that is usually the extent of the vegetarian choices and unless you want to engage in a diet of pizza and pasta you have very little other choices. I know that non vegetarian is the majority but if would be nice, especially in a tourist area, and attractions to appeal to everyone and offer choices that would be suitable to people of vegetarian and non vegetarian diets.