Photos from our trip are in the gallery
We're back from England after a very sucessful trip. It was my first Christmas in England since 1999 and Deanne's first Christmas abroad. We were fortunate enough to have my dad's car the whole time, which made a huge difference because we weren't at the mercy of British Rail. Thankfully his car has navigation which was an absolute Godsend as driving in England is rather treacherous. The nav even gives you a little diagram of roundabouts so that people like me aren't overly confused.Since our trip was longer than most of our previous trips, we were able to take things at a slightly more leisurely pace, and slip into British life. This included things like:
- popping down the pub for a quick pint
- watching Match of the Day on a Saturday evening (after going to the match in person!)
- nipping down to the village shop for a paper and some milk
- complaining about the weather and then saying "oh well, mustn't grumble"
- driving through villages with names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells
- eating "Marks and Spencer's Chicken Korma Dinner for Two" with a really bad bottle of Spanish wine
- sitting in front of the fire, doing the Times Crossword
- speeding down country lanes that are no wider than the average California bike path
- watching Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear and muttering "smug wanker"
- eating at Little Chef roadside diners
- being able to use words like fortnight, anorak, bollocks, and aerial without people staring at me
You know, the little things I miss about England.
The things I don't miss include:
- wind so cold it feels like someone is slapping your face repeatedly with a rubber glove
- roundabouts
- tiny kitchens
- smoking in pubs
- steak and kidney pie
- Countdown
- people not making eye contact
- The vacuous utterance of "Can I help?" when you're next in line
Anyway, we had a wonderful trip, visiting with friends and family, wandering around London, shopping, eating and just having a good time. For me, this is the best way to visit England - often enough to experience the things I enjoy but not long enough for the little things to start irritating me again. I maintain that constant state of nostalgia for ol' Blighty. Now if only it were a bit closer....
