Debit card fraud (I know that can happen anywhere, but still) The plumbing The traffic lights for pedestrians. It takes AGES for the light to turn green and in the meantime everyone has jaywalked already. The cigarette smoke. Not allowed in pubs and public buildings, so everyone smokes outside, while they’re …

Read More

in no particular order… Crumpets Sticky Toffee Pudding Sunday Roast at the Regency Pokeno Pie Shop (savoury pie plus mash & peas for £5.75! I always give my peas to Sam) Not having a car and being able to walk everywhere The daily bird ballet over the west pier at dusk Charlie and Lola on CBeebies

Read More

This morning when I checked my email, I learned from Grand-mère that someone had captured her debit card and pin number while she was the UK, and that person or persons had made three withdrawals from her bank account. Her bank had caught the irregular activity and she was in the midst of filling out paperwork to …

Read More

One recompense of the unbelievably short days here (today the sun rose at 7:56AM and will set at 3:55PM) is the visual spectacle we get to watch over the west pier at dusk. Every afternoon thousands of starlings flock around the burned out pier in the sea. But they don’t just flock. They swoop and swirl and swarm in …

Read More

I walk up St. James where there are several chemists shops and none of them open. I decide to walk back towards the flat, which will take me past the large Boots on North Street and Queen’s Road. Boots is a pharmacy chain that also sells a huge range of cosmetics, baby paraphernalia, and children’s toys. By the time I …

Read More

Despite myself, I arrived at the Doctors Surgery the next day five minutes early. I tried the door all the same, and, lo and behold… it opened. I followed the signs for my doctor’s office and came into a reception area. It was empty except for one other patient. There was no one at the reception desk. It was quiet. It …

Read More

I’ve had a headache going on two weeks now. It arrived with facial pain and an often crushing fatigue that has made me less than a joy to be around. On Thursday I decided that enough was enough and that I would call upon the doctors surgery. The way the Brits use that term is still startling to me. I think of surgery …

Read More

Three words. Six syllables. Sticky. Toffee. Pudding. Where have you been all my life? Why am I only just now, mere weeks away from leaving this chilled island, discovering your gooey warmth, the silky sweetness of your sauce, the moistness of your crumb? How do you manage to be so delectable without the aid of …

Read More

Oh My! We’ve had three great theatrical experiences during our European sojourn. And these do include two lions, one tiger and one bear. Tiger In October I took Sam to see the Brighton Royale Theatre‘s production of The Tiger Who Came to Tea. This was a special production for children, adapted from a British children’s …

Read More

The Normans introduced castles to England. Castles were the key to the Norman conquest of the island in 1066. They were built with high mottes, or mounds, which were protected by a wall or palisade. The motte was not only an effective stronghold against invaders, but it also served as a symbol of Norman power to the …

Read More