All Posts in "Yank"

Having two bank holidays in May makes this month go by really fast.  I can’t believe it’s half-term already, and the kids had only been in school for 5 weeks this time.  Unfortunately, it will mean that the other half is much longer.  I’m unsure when school actually lets out this year.  If it’s as my husband suspects (July 24th), that will mean 8 weeks after the half-term.  I suspect it may be 1-2 weeks earlier, because they will be doing their Stagecoach performances on July 11th, and the school’s drama club will be presenting theirs the week of July 6th.  Anyhow, having two bank holidays also means that sometimes you can’t get things done in as timely a manner as you’d like, because businesses are closed (i.e., banks, post offices).[ad#ad-1]

On the other hand, it does mean lots of family fun events.  There will be two nearby fetes this Monday and I’d love to see them both, just to get a feel for them.  But, unfortunately, you might not get a very good feel for either if you don’t experience everything – and that takes time.  Ah, decisions, decisions.  It’s too bad that they’re both at the same time and they only last 3-4 hours.   Then, of course, we don’t even know if our daughter has gymnastics practice that day or if they’ll close for the day like last time.  Just as long as they don’t change the time because it is half-term – I wouldn’t want her to miss out on the fun.

Yank by — May 21, 2009 in Leisure 0

The part for the car hasn’t come in yet.  We were told that it might take two weeks because it’s on back-order.  The mechanic decided to do a repair on the pipe.  He was surprised that the duct tape had stayed on.  Anyhow, the day after the repair, the car started acting up again.  In fact, it got worse.  The repair made the pipe worse and it tore it up even more.  The car kept overheating.[ad#ad-1]

In addition to frequent topping up of water, my husband had to finally resort to cutting the pipe and taking out the bit of metal that was used in the repair.  We went back to duct tape.  We still have to frequently stop and top up with water, but there are no further tears to the pipe.  We need to last out this week at least.  Luckily, the kids have half-term next week and we are expecting the part to show up by them.  I certainly hope so, because our older daughter has a gymnastics competition in a town much further away at the end of the month.

Yank by — May 20, 2009 in My Journey 3

Much has been discussed regarding English weather.  The typical non-British person assumes that we get lots of rain and fog.  I won’t disagree with that, but I will say that after having lived in areas in the US that get lots of rain, I don’t find the amount of rain here as excessive.  But I find the howling wind is unusual.  I understand that this is a common feature around England, especially in areas near the coast.  This being an island, there must be many areas affected.[ad#ad-1]

I never lived in the windy city, but we did visit a few times.  We never experienced the infamous winds, so I cannot compare it to here.  The last few days of extremely windy weather has forced me to comment on this.  During the winter months, when darkness came early, and you can see the full moon through the branches of the bare trees, the howling wind added to the eeriness and I swore it was the perfect setting for a gothic novel.  The broken doors on the worn down little sheds in the back that kept banging at intervals and our creaking gate getting blown shut added to that effect.  And, if you were lucky, you might get the blood-curdling screams of the fox’s mating call.

I remember one particular night camping out in the early autumn when we were afraid the tent was going to get blown away.  The next day we went up to Devil’s Dyke and couldn’t open the car door long enough to get out.  On a cold day, the wind really bites.  But, even as the weather was improving this spring, the wind kept a chill in the air.  The last few days have made me forget that summer really is just around the corner.  One mother commented this weekend that she had cleaned her winter coat, ready to be packed away, yet she is still wearing it.

Because of excessive draught, we covered most of our windows and the side door with a thick plastic sheet.  We have still not removed them.  Yesterday, as I passed by the door, I felt a wind blowing on me.  The sheet is bursting with the draught, but I still felt the wind.  Of course, it is good for hanging up the wash (unless it rains as well).

I normally don’t mind the wind much unless it really bites or makes it hard for me to see (because I have to squint to protect my eyes, or my hair is blowing around my face).  But when I have a headache, the wind makes my neck and shoulders stiffen, exacerbating the pain.  I’ve been having to do a lot of stretching out to loosen all these joints.  (Is it because I’m getting old or is it the way I sleep?)  Anyhow, I think it may be time for that paracetamol.

Yank by — May 19, 2009 in Weather 1

One of the differences I have noticed between the US and the UK is the social attitude.  On the whole, middle-class America is very conservative.  People in the UK show a more tolerant, or “liberated” view.  Which is better is left to the discretion of the reader.  I’ve seen this attitude reflected in three ways: 1.) church-going, 2.) same-sex marriages, and 3.) assisted suicides.

These issues can be sensitive and I suppose that I am experiencing this because the UK is a small country, so you have all these attitudes presented directly to you.  Whereas, in the US, the population is scattered and if you live in one community, the attitudes there might not be representative elsewhere.  Whatever the case, I believe there is still a difference.

1. Church-going.  Attendance at church has declined worldwide.  There are many reasons for this, but I’m not going to go into that.  I’ve seen many churches close, both here and in the US.  But, it is worse here.  Statistics show that about 10% of Britons go to church regularly (this is just the Christian population).  In the US, some communities report 80% church attendance.  Though that is not typical, I would say that about 50% nationwide attend church services regularly.  There are some strong atheist views here.  I’ve known agnostics in the US but not atheists.  Again, that may be the distribution of population.  As a result of the decline in attendance, many churches are closed or being sold.  Many have been turned into homes or council accommodation or other uses.  While it is good that some have been used for other purposes rather than to be allowed to deteriorate, it is such a shame to see these old buildings desecrated.  England has some of the most beautiful churches in the world, but only the most famous ones escape dereliction.  It seems that people here have very little time to explore religion or care about it.

2. Same-sex marriages.  Yes, we have those in the US, but many have been overturned and only a few places allow for gay marriages.  Britain has allowed for it outright and many profile Britons have taken advantage of this.  Gordon Brown even took it upon himself to criticise the US for not recognising gay marriages.  However, I don’t feel he has a right to dictate what he believes to another country.  Though the US is a First World country, it does not necessary mean it has to adopt liberal attitudes that other First World countries choose. It is for the people of the US to decide that.

3. Assisted suicides.  It has not been long since Kevorkian was released from prison.  Had he practiced in the UK, the Britons might have been a little easier on him.  Though I will not say assisted suicide is well-accepted over here, there is this trend in thinking that it is OK.  I’ve heard so many stories about Dignitas and there’s even a report that half of the British doctors approve of assisted suicide.  You wouldn’t find that in the US.  Even the politicians want to discuss changing their laws regarding this.  An Australian doctor recently came to lecture some elderly people about their options for assisted suicide.  There have been numerous reports on suicide pacts being carried out.  I suppose that part of the relaxed attitude towards this may be because suicide is legal, even if assisted suicide is not.  In the US, suicides are illegal.  It may sound strange, because no one can be charged if they succeed, but they can be if they fail.  Perhaps, that is why Americans, for the most part, don’t see suicide as an “option”.  Or, it may be that Americans, in general, view death negatively.  I’ve known terminally ill people refuse Hospice because they associate it with death.  On the flip side, Britons reject Hospice because they want to take their own lives when they choose.  This suggests they fear the dying, not the death.

My conclusions might be flawed, but my perception is that Americans tend to go to church more, believe in the conservative and traditional idea of marriage and family, and they fear death.  Whereas, Britons are more open-minded about sexual orientation and “equal rights”, are Bible-blasting, and want to take control of their own lives, rather than live by someone else’s dictates.  Mind you, I’m not classing everyone on either side of the Atlantic into these categories, but it is a general perception.

Yank by — May 15, 2009 in British Culture 6

We’ve seen lots of ducklings and goslings recently.  Must be their time to hatch.  Of course, we also see lots of pheasants, some as road kill.  But it’s been a while since we’ve seen a baby pheasant.  I wonder when they breed and hatch.  I also wonder what they’re called?  My older daughter insists it’s “pheaslings” (pronounced fez-ling) and whether or not we will ever find out its real name, that’s what she will call them.  She even insisted that some ducklings were pheaslings.  And she does have her glasses on.

You don’t think about animal names when you are not exposed to them regularly.  Do baby pheasants have a special name?  What about baby badgers and hedgehogs?  Is it possible that there are some obscure names for them that we are not aware of?

Believe me, I have worse obsessions than this, but words are interesting.  Our language is constantly evolving and words are added everyday.  What do you call a baby pheasant?  If there is not a word for baby pheasant, then we’ll have to use “pheasling”.

Yank by — May 14, 2009 in My Journey 0

Don’t you just love it when your car breaks down?  It’s happened so often in the last few days that I’m ready to get a new one.  Only one problem.  We can’t afford to.  It our only car and if we don’t have it, we can’t get anywhere.  The problem with living in remote areas of the villages, you need a car.[ad#ad-1]

My husband thinks he’s diagnosed the problem.  We have a crack in the pipe between the coolant and the engine.  At least, that the glaringly obvious diagnosis.  Whatever else is wrong remains to be resolved after this issue is.  Unfortunately, we can’t get the part for him to fix it himself.  However, our local mechanic thinks he’ll get it in by tomorrow.  Thank God for trustworthy local mechanics.

In the meantime, the mechanic has wrapped the crack in duct tape.  We Americans fix everything with duct tape, so we couldn’t laugh at his methods.  We’re also carrying extra gallons of water in the car.  It’d be so easy if we didn’t have to drive everywhere.  I guess I should be glad we’re expecting rain.

Yank by — May 13, 2009 in My Journey 4

It’s nearing the middle of May, yet we’re still experiencing some chilly days.  So unlike this time last year.  I can make that comparison because we were here on holiday this time last year.  We’re expecting rain for the next couple of days, but the forecast has been amended several times in the last three days, so I really don’t know what to expect.

The early spring flowers have wilted, the lambs have grown so big (though one still managed to squeeze in between the wire fencing the other day to nibble on our grass), the trees have all blossomed.  Father Christmas brought our older daughter a flower-growing kit and she started that very early in spring.  So far, we’ve had a lot of growth, but no flowers yet.  One is going to be a giant sunflower, so I can expect that to take a very long time to produce a flower.  The other three are small flowering plants, so I’m hoping to see something soon out of the marigolds.  I’ve only tried planting marigolds from seeds once.  Unfortunately, that was around the time we sold our house, so I never got to find out if it bloomed.

I don’t have much of a green thumb, so I’ve left the managing of the plants to the kids and my husband.  Though I’ve helped transfer the plantings to progressively larger containers.  The plants have been kept outdoors for the last month and a half, and surprisingly, the birds did not bother with the seeds.  Or, at least, we don’t think they have.

We have a blossoming tree that flows into our yard but I have not yet identified it.  Besides the buttercups and dandelions, we have no other blooming plants at this time. The daffodils are gone and the bluebells are about to.  The roses have not come out and I wonder if they will.  They look like they could use some pruning.  I’ll have to try those shears.  You can see why I’m anxious to have some flowers growing. It just would not be an English cottage without some flowers.  Driving around the countryside, I am very envious of those beautiful cottage gardens.

Yank by — May 12, 2009 in British Culture 0

For a while there, all the news was about the swine flu and many of us suspected that it was a case of “wag the dog”.  Perhaps, we were right, though experts warn us not to be too complacent yet.  But, as people saw that it is not a major catastrophe right now, they turned back again towards the politicians.  Anyone in the UK right now will have heard all the stories, some quite farcical, about the MP expenses.[ad#ad-1]

It makes me wonder what we have across the Atlantic.  Freedom of Information does not extend to Washington, but do the politicians there have a similar expense arrangement as they do here?  Makes you wonder doesn’t it?  Where did all our taxes go?  I admit that when I file taxes, I never agree for any moneys to go into the political funds.  But did our taxes go to support our congressmen and -women and senators?

We took a walk along the Wey River yesterday in Weybridge.  For those who don’t know, this is a very “posh” town of the greater London area.  There are some nice, big mansions along the river, many with boats moored along the river.  As we walked and admired some of the views, I imagined what it would be like to live like the rich and famous.  It was a very quite time of the day.  Surprisingly, despite the warm weather, it was not alive with people.  There was a group playing badminton in one yard, a couple of women took their boat through the locks, a group was cruising along in another boat, and some bikers were on the path.  But it was not thronging.  Across from the mansions was what we Americans refer to as a trailer park – a group of park homes.  Usually, these homes are cheap, but in this area, I’ll bet it was expensive.  Weybridge has been home to many celebrities, many of them right now are football players.

As I look at the rich people’s homes and lifestyles, I tried to compare them to the politicians.  Many of these politicians are rich in their own rights, but even those who aren’t, they are making good money right now.  And the expense system allows them to earn even more.  There’s been considerable debate on what MP expenses should be paid out of taxpayers’ pockets, and the list of things that MPs claim for have been quite ridiculous.  I’m not saying it wasn’t right or fair or even that every penny should be scrutinised, although that is what is being done right now.  But, these rich people are so attuned to their lifestyle that they don’t realise that to us middle-class and working-class people, some of what they think they’re entitled to are just plain absurd.  Mr. Gordon Brown’s sister-in-law is a journalist and put her two-cents in about how everything they did was above board.  I’m not disputing that, but is it reasonable to expect that taxpayers pay for a maid?  Even if Mr. Brown is absent-minded and couldn’t be bothered to clean up after himself and his guests, is that reason for us to pay him to get a cleaner?

I wonder how America would react to their politicians in a similar situation?  I’m really curious to find out what expense allowances they have there.

Yank by — May 11, 2009 in Politics 1

On a more serious note, I have some questions about the ID cards that I hoped someone might be able to answer.  It was recently reported that the ID card program was launched in Manchester.  Furthermore, all foreign nationals (non-EU) were supposed to have ID cards starting last November.[ad#ad-1]

I looked into this issue and the government pages addressed those who are currently applying for visas to stay as a student or a spouse.  It mentioned that anyone applying would automatically have to apply for the ID card.  In addition, anyone who applies for an extension of their leave would get one.  It did not address those who already had extended leave.  I have a settlement visa, not a temporary one, but a permanent one.  I won’t be applying for an extension, so what do I do?  You would have thought they would have tracked people like me down to let them know how, where and when to get an ID card.  Do I have to?

Yank by — May 8, 2009 in Politics 3

Several of my colleagues have blogged about rats.  We had a mice problem, not a rat, thankfully, but I was reading an article about rat infestations today and it made me cringe.  You think immigration is bad.  What about the rat population?

The article stated that the rat problem is worsening in England due to many factors, such as, population growth, litter, bird feeding, compost heaps, poison resistance and mild winters.  There was a rat infestation in North Yorkshire, but they say it is now under control.  Pest control argued that we need stronger poison.  The rats have become resistant to the current sublethal dose of anticoagulants used as poison in those grain baits.  We have created “super-rat”, like those “super-bugs” that are resistant to antibiotics.

I was not aware that rats can produce every 6 weeks, with a litter of 6-8 babies.  Yuck!!  We had hamsters and that was bad enough.  I don’t even want to imagine rats.  Not only are rats a pain in the butt, but they do carry and spread disease, which is the worst part.

Several people commented, with a few in defense of rats.  Uugh!  Anyhow, one person commented that she tried a method recommended by PETA that kept rats away.  It was a mixture of cayenne pepper, horseradish, garlic and salad oil. You let it steep, then spray it around bins, etc.  It may work to keep rats away, but that only makes your problem someone else’s problem, as another pointed out.  In order to control the rat infestation, you need to kill them.  I agree with this.  Some people might be squeamish to use baits.  I’m sorry if I offend any animal rights activists, but I say kill them in whatever way that works.  These are pests, not household pets.

Yank by — May 8, 2009 in Wildlife 2