In the UK, it’s not a “backpack,” it’s a “rucksack.”

Read More

Today was the last ballet class for this term. I snapped this picture moments before the bevy of ballerinas rushed into the room. At that point Sam hopped off the bench and ran into the room, without so much as a pout or a worried look or two hunched shoulders. After weeks of dreading ballet, now she loves it. Just in …

Read More

Another linguistic note: it’s not “take out” it’s “take away.”

Read More

Read More

In the foreground is Bramber castle (just as I remember it) and, Sam informed us, a graveyard. Later Cerys and Sam flooded the castle with a bucket of water, but the graveyard remained intact.

Read More

Sam and Cerys model the Bob the Builder and Fireman costumes at playgroup.

Read More

There are a number of British words and expressions I didn’t learn from British mystery novels, James Bond films, Monty Python, and Absolutely Fabulous. “Mince” is one of them. Don’t go asking the butcher for ground beef or turkey. It’s mince, you’ll want, luv. That got me to thinking about what other words and …

Read More

Hooray for the brand new shelter at the Clock Tower bus stop.

Read More

In her Ducklings swim class today Sam swam the width of the pool for the first time. She was wearing a flotation belt, but still, this was a milestone. Previously she could make it across the pool only with the belt and one of those foam noodles under her arms. They call them “sausages” here, which always makes me …

Read More

Today was the Paddle Round the Pier Festival: hundred of people took to canoes, kayaks, rafts, and surfboards to paddle round the West Pier. Unfortunately none of my pictures captured the plethora of floats out in the water, but I did get these two girls trying to put their raft in the water, against the current, which …

Read More