Last days in England

Hope you are all doing well. I hear it is sunny again in Vancouver. The weather here in England has been very erratic and constantly changes from rain to sun to rain again. I don't know whether to keep my flip flops on or off. I'm staying with an ex-coworker for a few days on the outskirts of London before flying off to Poland on Sunday. They actually have dedicated living compounds for foreign social workers here as there is such a shortage of them. There are social workers from Romania, Pakistan, etc. The place remaind me of a university dorm except it cost over $1000 cdn for a single room appartment despite being subsidized and the pay is basically the same as back home.

It was great staying with Ed and Mary and they were very hospitable. I have clean clothes, a full belly and an insight into parenting that I would never have had. Sleep is priceless and with two babies and two kids that adds up to whole lot of crying and attention. I'm amazed at what you parents do. Still I did enjoy holding Isabelle (Missy) and playing with Matthew. And the home cooked meals were as fantastic as always.

From what I've seen of England this time around from ten years ago, these are my top ten observations:

1) The people here are a hardy lot. I noticed people just learn to get by with a lot less here. The big pimped out fancy SUVs, constant shopping of clothes, big screen TVs, etc. just doesn't exist here. People don't make a lot and things cost alot which equals to little spending (except drinking at the pubs). Doing you basic things like opening a bank account, getting a phone line or finding a parking stall is simply more difficult. Plus you have to be to tough to eat the typical diet of fried food and potatoes. Fried bread, Fried sauages and chips on a bun anyone?

2) Coffee has come to Britannia !!!! I gave up drinking coffee here ten years as it was usually the instant nescafe coffee. The Englsh seem to have taken to brewed coffee and I'm happy to report it's much better.

3) Never, never, never order Mexican food. I've tried twice. Stop making the Nachos with flavored chips !!!!!

4) They love signs. There are signs for just about anything and caution signs about CCTVs, eldery people, ducks (See Photo)

5) I noticed the English end their conversations abruptly. There's no transition, lead out sentence. No "what are doing tonight or tomorrow?", "I've got to be going", or "let's meet later at", etc. The conversation just ends.

6) I love saying "cheers", "brilliant" and "lovely" here. Mind the gap please.

7) Remember chips=french fries and crisp=chips and pants= underwear and tousers=pants (good thing to know in a clothing store). Roads = carriage ways.

8) Don't convert to canadian dollars. Almost everything is double what you pay back home and it will only depress you that you just paid $8.00 for a roasted potatoe and canned tuna at a pub.

9) Space is a premium which explains why everybody drives like a maniac weaving in and out and everybody parks anyway they can in both direction.

10) The public toilets are suprisingly clean and found everywhere !!!!!

The pictures are of Isle of Wight, Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespere's Home), Oxford (the rich or smart) and Stonehenge.

All the best