Sunday walks

This photo was taken by Andrew during a walk we took with his dad on Sunday. The spot is a place called White Coppice, not far from where we live and where Andrew used to play cricket. Nice, huh?! More walks to come...

Weekend Plans

Originally the idea was to spend my birthday weekend in London. However, since I'd only just recently arrived, I was keen on exploring some places in and around Wigan. At the Wigan tourist info office (yes, Wigan has a tourist office!), I found material about Chatsworth, a.k.a. Pemberly from Pride and Prejudice. So that's where we went. It was absolutely beautiful; see the photos I took yesterday.

Bad hair day; or, we're not in Kansas anymore

Okay, last week I had my first set back. I was spending the day in Edinburgh while Andrew was at a business meeting. The first half of the day was lovely, but then later in the afternoon it started to rain and the rain didn't stop. We had arranged for a meeting place at the end of the day but I couldn't find the exact location and I just felt like a sad soggy soul, standing in the middle of traffic, completely lost. I was pouting during the drive back, but then, right in front of us appeared this amazing end-to-end rainbow (Terri if you're reading this - do you believe it?). We both had never seen one before; a first for us in the UK.

Funny how things sort themselves out. Without the rain, no rainbow.

The Missing Serviette

Recently, I went to Tesco, a massive supermarket akin to Walmart, to do some shopping. I found myself wandering aimlessly, trying to locate the paper napkins (strangely, there had been none in the flat). Eventually, after a ten minute, futile search, I broke down and approached a store clerk who directed me to the remote "party goods" section of the store. The only available napkins were of the fancy, party variety. Upon further investigation, I discovered that apparently the English do not use napkins at all!

Why is that; what does this mean? Are the English so different from us in their eating habits? I don't think so! Think fish & chips - greasy; bangers & mash - mushy.

Back in the US, napkin use is pervasive (dare I say wasteful - look, I'm trashing America already!). Cloth, paper, whatever; every meal comes with one or more napkins - standard.

Perhaps it is the power of suggestion or wishful thinking that explains this behavioral phenomenon: If one doesn't have a napkin, then one doesn't need a napkin. Or, to put it another way, making a mess is unlikely if one is prepared by not requiring the tools to deal with such an unlikely event.

Across the Pond

Got a wonderful send off from friends and family (check out the fantastic cake made by my cuz Jordi) before leaving for the other side. Have been spending the first week here setting up my new life - got my new mobile and library card! More stuff to come... right now we're off to Tesco!!

This is Wigan

This is where Andrew and I are living, a flat in a converted church in Wigan. More images can be found at wiganworld.co.uk

Literary References

If you don't know Wigan, perhaps you've heard of George Orwell, author of 1984?? Well he also wrote about Wigan!