When The Smiths Come to Town

Last week Warren's aunt and uncle came to visit us and I had a great time playing tour guide in this wonderful city. Here I am with Warren's aunt on the Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the background. Some may recognize this bridge as the one destroyed by Death Eaters in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 

We walked past this beautiful carousel on our walking tour of the Queen's Walk along the River Thames. It was fun to see some parents and kids going for a spin even on a cold and rainy afternoon. 

The Queen's Walk took us all the way down to Tower Bridge, which looks absolutely amazing lit up for the evening. 

Over the weekend, Shelly and I went shopping and bought these matching scarves on Oxford Street. Great timing, too, since the weather has started getting really cold. 

We went out for dinner at the new Dishoom location in Soho. Below is a photo of our desserts: Pineapple and Black Pepper Crumble (left) and Chocolate Pudding with Kashmiri Chili Ice Cream (right). Both were delicious!

Shelly and I went to see Matilda Sunday afternoon and then met up with the guys at Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden. This is my favorite fish and chips place in London and it was just as good as ever. 

On our way back after dinner we walked through Chinatown. It was busy even on a Sunday evening. 

We had such a great time with our visitors. I was sad to see them go, as usual. I was surprised that even Poppy had a good time since she usually doesn't like having intruders in her space. 

Crime Museum

The Metropolitan Police have loaned some of their Crime Museum artifacts to the Museum of London for a special exhibit. The crime museum began in 1870 and is typically used in training new officers and detectives. 

The exhibit includes original evidence from some infamous cases including the Kray brothers, the Great Train Robbery, and the Acid Bath Murderer. Below is a photo of an old lantern outside a police station, also on display.

The exhibit shows how solving and punishing crimes has changed since the Victorian era. There were displays with general information on courtroom drawings, evidence used to convict the accused, death masks, and capital punishment. Then in the second room they had information on specific crimes including the perpetrator, the victim, and how the crime was solved. It was really fascinating and the entire exhibit was put together really well. 

 I went on a weekday afternoon with my friend Lisa and was surprised that the museum was packed with people. But I suppose this is an opportunity to see things typically not available to the public and I'm glad I was able to go. 

Queen's English as a Second Language Part 10

Wahey--an exclamation to show delight possibly like "yahoo." Pronounced wuh-HEY!

Toilet cubicle--toilet stall

Get caught out--caught unprepared in a difficult situation, as in "I got caught out by the rain this afternoon." 

Hundreds and Thousands--sprinkles, as in "I'd like a cupcake with hundreds and thousands, please." The name most likely comes from the fact that there are so many that they are innumerable. I will say that they are the harder type of sprinkles, not the soft ones. Also, notice two jars down that if you order ice cream with fudge on top you will be surprised to get pieces of hard fudge and not the warm chocolate sauce. I learned that the hard way. 

Muster point--meeting point, as in "Make sure everyone knows the emergency muster point." We use the term "muster" in the US but mostly to say "muster up the courage" to do something.

Right--real, as in "that guy was a right jerk!"

School leaver--someone about to finish secondary/high school. Early school leaver can mean someone who dropped out of school and didn't finish. It seems that the term "dropout" is also used here but "school leaver" sounds much nicer in my opinion. 

Bin--to throw away, as in "I'll bin this later when I get a chance." I know I've mentioned that a bin is a trash can before, but this seems like a bit of a different definition. In the US we use the term "trash" as a verb in the same manner. 

Blooming--used to add emphasis, as in "London is blooming expensive!" This is almost exclusively pronounced "bloomin."

Speak soon--talk to you later, as in "Okay, speak soon, bye." Of course, these are completely interchangeable but you will almost exclusively hear Americans say, "talk to you later" before hanging up the phone whereas Brits say, "speak soon."

And now a short note about pronunciation. These next two photos would never work in the US. This first one is making a play on words with the term "has been" but in the US that is pronounced "has bin" instead of "has been." 

And I'm assuming this sign below is meant to rhyme but there is no way this rhymes with American pronunciation because we pronounce it "fit-er" and "peet-uh" whereas here...I have no idea how it is pronounced here. I can't make the rhyme work in my head.  

So You Think You Know Britain Part 6

As if navigating London isn't hard enough, there are some streets that are called different names on either side of the street. These signs below are just one example of this. 

Movie ratings are a bit different in the US and UK. Here is a list of US and UK ratings, but the ratings aren't straight across the board. I've seen movies rated R in the US advertised as either 15 or 18 here and movies rated PG-13 rated 12 or 15 here. Also, the 12A rating is for the cinema release and 12 is for the video release. 

US ratings and their UK counterpart:

            

G (general audience)----U (suitable for everyone)

PG (parental guidance)----PG (parental guidance)

                

PG-13 (suitable for 13yo)----12/12A (suitable for 12yo) or 15 (for 15yo)

                          

R (restricted to anyone under 17----15 (suitable for 15yo) or 18 (suitable only for adults)

The legal drinking age in England is 18 which is much lower than 21 in the US. Sixteen and seventeen year olds in the UK can even drink beer, wine, or cider with a meal in a pub if they are accompanied by an adult. 

This Henry vacuum cleaner is super popular here, which surprises me. All vacuums I've seen in the US are nameless, faceless, and upright. Oh, and on this one the hose goes into what appears to be his nose. 

Something else that really surprised me is the language used by Transport for London to explain certain delays. It feels rather insensitive in my opinion. 

I made sure to pack loads of sturdy reusable shopping bags when I moved to London, expecting it to be like the rest of Europe where they charge you for plastic bags. So I was surprised to find that they are only now introducing charges for plastic bags. Too bad I got out of the habit of carrying canvas bags over this last year!

I'm sure this is similar in other large cities, but I am always surprised to see deliveries left on the doorsteps of businesses early in the morning. I suppose theft is rare because otherwise they would stop leaving them unattended. 

I love the honesty of this sign that reads, "Ice Cool Beer." So many times I go to purchase a soda and it is only slightly cooler than room temperature. And ice is not a given in restaurants, either. In the US we like our drinks as cold as possible. An ice cold Coke poured over crushed ice is one of life's joys.

The size of the bill/note increases with the value. In the US all the bills are the same size no matter the value. The £50 note is even larger than the £20, so it can be a real struggle fitting it in an American wallet.

The money here is also taller but shorter than American money, as you can see in the photo below. American wallets also aren't really set up for the amount of coins used. Since we use $1 bills back home coins aren't as valuable and a lot of people throw all their coins in a jar at home and then cash them in when it is full. Here they use £1 and £2 coins so you could easily have over £5 (currently worth over $7.50) just in change in your coin purse at any given time. 

Shiny New Things

Lemon curd is a smooth fruit spread that is almost like pie filling but with a stronger citrus taste. I know it is available in the US but it seems to be everywhere here in London. I've seen lemon curd yogurt, ice cream, sweet rolls, puddings, and tarts. My favourite lemon curd is this one from Fortnum & Mason and I usually just put it on toast. 

One of my new favourite stores is Telegramme Paper Company. They make these amazing cards and prints. They are really great quality with kraft paper envelopes.

I bought the card below just because I liked the outside design. But then when I got it home and opened it I found that it has two pages of lined paper inside to write an even longer card. 

Telegramme also recently came out with these animal prints and cards. I bought a collection of four because if you buy three cards online you get a fourth for free. I can't wait to see what other cute designs they come up with!

And finally, a new show I've discovered since moving to London is 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. This is a combination of two shows: 8 Out of 10 Cats (a show where teams of comedians try to guess answers to opinion polls) and Countdown (a gameshow where contestants solve math and word puzzles). In this version, the regular comedians from 8 Out of 10 Cats compete against each other with other guest comedians. It is hard to describe but definitely worth watching. 

Victorian Photography

Photography came to London in 1839 and changed the way people saw their city and fellow residents. I went to the London Metropolitan Archives to see their temporary exhibit about Victorian photography. I love seeing old photographs and these displays were really well done. Below are photos of some of my favourites.

This wall featured photography from a monthly magazine called Street Life in London by journalist Adolphe Smith and photographer John Thompson. They wanted to illustrate their findings about life for the poor to encourage social reform movements. 

The photos below came from a photography album of children who attended a fancy dress (costume) ball at Mansion House in 1899. There were several forms of entertainment at the party including a ventriloquist and the temporary photography studio was set up. 

Until the eighteenth century, London Bridge was the only way to cross the Thames River in London. The photo below shows the construction of Tower Bridge, now London's most famous bridge.

This next photo shows the opening of the Blackwall Tunnel which was attended by then Prince of Wales, Edward VII. The tunnel was another way to cross the river, this time going under the water, and combined foot, cycle, horse-drawn and automobile traffic. 

The photo below was one of my favourites from the exhibit. It shows the construction of a tunnel for the underground at Baker Street, which is a location now very familiar to me. They used an innovative cut and cover construction method to reduce costs and disruption. 

Lining the hallway were reprinted photographs from the Greenwich Heritage Centre. These street scenes included fish hawkers (and a hopeful cat), a champion pie maker, dairy vendor, buskers, and a young boy on a "Try Your Weight" machine. 

The photo below on the left shows a woman selling sherbet (a fizzy drink) while the one on the right shows a man selling ginger cakes. I love seeing how much has changed from these street vendors to the ones I purchase food from today. 

Animals in War Memorial

On the edge of Hyde Park is a beautiful monument to the animals who served and died in World War I and II. I pass this memorial at least once a week on the bus and it always makes me a bit sad. I've always been very tender-hearted when it comes to animals suffering so I decided to get a closer look at the statues and carvings. 

"They had no choice" is such an accurate description of the use of animals in war. So many of them showed exemplary heroism and they didn't even know what it was for. 54 animals received the Dickin Medal(an animal's Victoria Cross or Medal of Honor) including 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, and 3 horses. 

Rip the dog was one of these animals awarded with the Dickin Medal. He was a stray found in Poplar by an Air Raid warden and became the service's first search and rescue dog. Rip wasn't trained in search and rescue but he took to it instinctively. In one year, he found over a hundred victims of air raids in London. He wore his Dickin Medal on his collar until the day he died. 

Simon the cat was the ship's cat on the HMS Amethyst. As a malnourished kitten he was found wandering the dockyards in Hong Kong and taken aboard. He was known for his cheekiness because he would leave dead rats in sailor's beds and slept in the captains cap. He was wounded by cannon shell during an attack in the Yangtze Incident but survived with help from medical staff. He returned to his duties by managing a rat infestation and raising morale. 

G.I.Joe, a carrier pigeon for the United States Army Pigeon Service, delivered a message stopping the Allies from bombing a town that the infantry division had just taken over. He flew over twenty miles in twenty minutes. He was the first non-British recipient of the Dickin Medal. 

Judy was a ship's dog on the HMS Gnat and HMS Grasshopper. She alerted crew to incoming aircraft, found fresh water for the crew when stranded on a desert island, survived a crocodile attack, and was taken as a prisoner of war, the only dog to be officially considered so in World War II. 

I am so impressed with the sacrifice made by animals during times of war. Now when I pass this monument I'll think of Simon and all the other amazing animals who not only kept up morale but completed important jobs throughout the war.