Brits speak funny! (Sorry, but it’s true). Here are some changes in vocabulary that I have become accustomed to over the past month:
Napkins (nappies) = diapers
Serviette = napkin
Boot = car trunk
Mackintosh = jacket
Jumper = sweater
Porridge = oatmeal
Trousers = pants
Pants = underwear
Chips = French fries
Crisps = Potato chips
Loo = toilet
Post = mail
Flat = apartment
Lorry = truck
Chemist = pharmacist
Patch = bandage
Hoover = vacuum cleaner
Motorway = highway
Stone = 14 pounds
GP = General Practitioner
MP = Member of Parliament
One way to speak like a Brit is to overuse the word “lovely” when referring to things you enjoy. For example, “Isn’t the rain lovely today?” or “Isn’t this lovely porridge?”
Here’s a funny thing: this evening they actually served dessert after the meal. I made the mistake of asking what it was. “It’s rhubarb custard pudding with clotted cream!” Isn’t that lovely?
Fr. Perry
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Chester
Our visit to the city of Chester, England, was probably one of the highlights of my travels so far. Chester was founded by the Romans in the 1st century as an outpost to govern the behavior of the people of Britannia! As a result of ongoing excavations, the city is a mix of ancient and modern sites. I went to one museum that recreated what Roman society might have looked like in the 1st century. Along with a collection of very impressive artifacts from the Roman era, the museum actually had excavated sites where you could look down about 8 feet to see different levels of buildings from Roman, Saxon, Medieval and post-Medieval times. It was amazing to see how well preserved the stonework from the Romans was! Apparently, much of the city is built upon layers and layers of ancient history.
Chester is one of the few cities in the world that has an almost complete Roman wall surrounding it. My tour of the city consisted in walking on the wall for nearly 1 mile. This gave me a good vantage point for checking out the sites.
The most magnificent building in Chester is the massive Chester Cathedral. Originally buiilt by the Saxons over 1000 years ago, it eventually became a Benedictine Abbey and, finally, "taken" by King Henry VIII for the new Church of England. Even though it is an Anglican house of worship, there are very many facets of the church which are strikingly Roman Catholic like the tabernacle, altar and statuary. The stained glass windows are brilliant against the vaulted ceilings. Honestly, aside from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, I have not seen a more spectacular church when it comes to architectural style and artistic arrangement. The "chancel" part of the church, for instance, has choir stalls which were hand carved from wood nearly 800 years ago.
Chester is one of those towns that tourists come to in order to shop. In fact, people come from all over England to browse through the hundreds of shops that are located in medieval structures. The streets were filled with people (it was a warm Saturday) and I enjoyed window shopping until I noticed that the prices of most thing were well beyond my reach! So, I settled on a "smoothie" (cost: $4!)
Next weekend I'll be in Scotland. My blog entry will follow after the first week of June.
Fr. Perry
Chester is one of the few cities in the world that has an almost complete Roman wall surrounding it. My tour of the city consisted in walking on the wall for nearly 1 mile. This gave me a good vantage point for checking out the sites.
The most magnificent building in Chester is the massive Chester Cathedral. Originally buiilt by the Saxons over 1000 years ago, it eventually became a Benedictine Abbey and, finally, "taken" by King Henry VIII for the new Church of England. Even though it is an Anglican house of worship, there are very many facets of the church which are strikingly Roman Catholic like the tabernacle, altar and statuary. The stained glass windows are brilliant against the vaulted ceilings. Honestly, aside from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, I have not seen a more spectacular church when it comes to architectural style and artistic arrangement. The "chancel" part of the church, for instance, has choir stalls which were hand carved from wood nearly 800 years ago.
Chester is one of those towns that tourists come to in order to shop. In fact, people come from all over England to browse through the hundreds of shops that are located in medieval structures. The streets were filled with people (it was a warm Saturday) and I enjoyed window shopping until I noticed that the prices of most thing were well beyond my reach! So, I settled on a "smoothie" (cost: $4!)
Next weekend I'll be in Scotland. My blog entry will follow after the first week of June.
Fr. Perry
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Read all about it
The newspapers in England are unique. We receive two publications. The first is simply called “The Daily Mail”. I would compare it to the National Inquirer. It has bold, sensational headlines that are not always kind. It mocks Prime Minister Tony Blair and continually carries pictures of Prince Harry or Prince William. It is also obsessed with supermodel Kate Moss who has appeared in almost every edition of the paper. Sometimes it will actually superimpose the faces of popular people onto the bodies of other people. It’s always good for a laugh! The second publication is The Guardian. It is comparable to the Fresno Bee and contains a broader perspective on news items in and around Britain. Surprisingly, I find very little news about the U.S. in British tabloids with the exception of some grotesque editorial cartoons about President Bush. While there were news stories about the Queen’s visit to the U.S., they were brief and not very detailed. Sporting news is dominated completely by soccer and each paper carries several pages of pictures about local teams. Occasionally, one sees a picture of Roger Federer or even Tiger Woods but that is the exception to the rule.
The big news in England these days is the abduction of a little girl. She and her parents were vacationing in Portugal when someone nabbed her from her bedroom. This family has been the subject of intense news reporting and have been featured on the BBC Evening News every single day. Perhaps I’m a bit jaded since this seems to happen with regularity in the U.S. but it appears to be a very new experience for the British people.
Much talk in Britain these days focuses on outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair. I don’t really understand British politics but I know that Blair (who has been in office for 10 years) headed the Labour Party which still won seats in Parliament but is going to be headed up by a Scotsman. Remember, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom (along with Wales, England and Northern Ireland) and, while each country has MP’s (members of Parliament), it is unheard of to have a Scot heading up the British government. One interesting thing is that British politicians speak ill of each other as much as U.S. politicians do. The Brits just do it with more eloquence!
The big news in England these days is the abduction of a little girl. She and her parents were vacationing in Portugal when someone nabbed her from her bedroom. This family has been the subject of intense news reporting and have been featured on the BBC Evening News every single day. Perhaps I’m a bit jaded since this seems to happen with regularity in the U.S. but it appears to be a very new experience for the British people.
Much talk in Britain these days focuses on outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair. I don’t really understand British politics but I know that Blair (who has been in office for 10 years) headed the Labour Party which still won seats in Parliament but is going to be headed up by a Scotsman. Remember, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom (along with Wales, England and Northern Ireland) and, while each country has MP’s (members of Parliament), it is unheard of to have a Scot heading up the British government. One interesting thing is that British politicians speak ill of each other as much as U.S. politicians do. The Brits just do it with more eloquence!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
They call me the wanderer
I wasn't very adept at understanding the works of William Shakespeare while in high school so I carried a bit of ambivalence within me as we visited his home: Stratford-Upon-Avon. Avon is the river which runs through the area. Stratford itself is an ancient town (Shakespeare was at his prime in the early 17th century) that was been largely rebuilt in the 19th century. Even so, I was able to visit Holy Trinity Church which houses his tomb along with that of his wife, Ann Hathaway, and some of their other relatives. Her thatched-roof cottage can still be seen on the other side of town and Shakespeare's place of birth is another tourist site. As you might guess, Stratford has several theatres including the old Shakespearean theatre which still produces plays throughout the year. There are also smaller, more contemporary theatres that run shows as well. The city is very colorful with river boats, barges and smaller vessels moving gracefully along the Avon River.
Another site we visited (that is less known) is the Coldswals. This area of green rolling hills, valleys, and rivers is really the heart of England. Several smaller towns can be visited along the motorway (highway): Bourton-On-The-Water, Moreton-On-The-Marsh and other interestingly named places. Each of them is really quaint. What the Coldswals are really known for, however, is that all the homes and places of business are made of coldswal stone-- a yellowish limestone that is native to the area.
Our final stop was in a small town named Broadway. True to the sound of its name, this town is home to many British celebrities-- most of whom I have never heard of! I could see huge castle-style structures off in the hills which would put the nicest homes in Fresno to shame. I can only imagine what the cost of such homes might be. Everything is fairly expensive here in England.
As I begin my fourth week of sabbatical, I am sensing that time is flying by. I look forward to sharing with you more places of interest in the weeks to come!
Another site we visited (that is less known) is the Coldswals. This area of green rolling hills, valleys, and rivers is really the heart of England. Several smaller towns can be visited along the motorway (highway): Bourton-On-The-Water, Moreton-On-The-Marsh and other interestingly named places. Each of them is really quaint. What the Coldswals are really known for, however, is that all the homes and places of business are made of coldswal stone-- a yellowish limestone that is native to the area.
Our final stop was in a small town named Broadway. True to the sound of its name, this town is home to many British celebrities-- most of whom I have never heard of! I could see huge castle-style structures off in the hills which would put the nicest homes in Fresno to shame. I can only imagine what the cost of such homes might be. Everything is fairly expensive here in England.
As I begin my fourth week of sabbatical, I am sensing that time is flying by. I look forward to sharing with you more places of interest in the weeks to come!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Wale tales
Who would ever have thought that Wales would be an interesting country to visit? Traditionally known for its coal mines and slate quarries, not much more seemed attractive about this region of Britain. But I found it to be really enchanting in sight and sound.
The Welsh language is very strange to hear. Derived from Gaelic (Celtic language), it sounds extremely difficult to speak and is even more difficult to read. Some of the cities are named: Betwsycoed; Llandudno, Caerdydd, Afon Dyfrdwy and more. Llandudno is a resort city on the coast of the Irish Sea. Our visit there coincided with a great street carnival that extended nearly 5 city blocks. It seemed that people from all over Britain were there to enjoy the fun. I decided to buy a soft ice cream which cost me £1 (about $2). I learned that for an extra 20 pence I could have a "flake" which turned out to be a chocolate cookie stuck in the side of the cone. Walking along a very large pier with a cafe latte, I was interested to see little children baiting crab quite successfully!
Another stop was to Mount Snowdon. The mountains looks pretty similar to our own Sierra Nevada except that millions of tons of slate are derived from that range. This slate is exported throughout the world for use as roofs, flooring and outdoor landscaping. Since it was a "Banker's Holiday" (3-day weekend for workers), hundreds of people could be seen hiking and mountain climbing. Looking up, we were all surprised to see the sky filled with hang-gliders. I counted at least 50 gliders all swirling around the mountain top!
Our final stop was to Caernarfon where a large castle sits prominently in the center of the city. This castle was built by the English to subdue the people of that region centuries ago. Today, the castle can be toured except for a large apartment or "flat" inside the castle that is used by Prince Charles (Prince of Wales) when he is vacationing in the area.
One other interesting thing about Wales is its national flag portraying a large red dragon and the word CYMRU (Welsh for Wales). According to Legend, King Arthur had a vision of two dragons fighting. The red dragon (Wales) defeated the white dragon (England). Today Wales is still one of the principalities of Britain but independence is a subject that can still draw an excited response from this unique and colorful people.
Fr. Perry
The Welsh language is very strange to hear. Derived from Gaelic (Celtic language), it sounds extremely difficult to speak and is even more difficult to read. Some of the cities are named: Betwsycoed; Llandudno, Caerdydd, Afon Dyfrdwy and more. Llandudno is a resort city on the coast of the Irish Sea. Our visit there coincided with a great street carnival that extended nearly 5 city blocks. It seemed that people from all over Britain were there to enjoy the fun. I decided to buy a soft ice cream which cost me £1 (about $2). I learned that for an extra 20 pence I could have a "flake" which turned out to be a chocolate cookie stuck in the side of the cone. Walking along a very large pier with a cafe latte, I was interested to see little children baiting crab quite successfully!
Another stop was to Mount Snowdon. The mountains looks pretty similar to our own Sierra Nevada except that millions of tons of slate are derived from that range. This slate is exported throughout the world for use as roofs, flooring and outdoor landscaping. Since it was a "Banker's Holiday" (3-day weekend for workers), hundreds of people could be seen hiking and mountain climbing. Looking up, we were all surprised to see the sky filled with hang-gliders. I counted at least 50 gliders all swirling around the mountain top!
Our final stop was to Caernarfon where a large castle sits prominently in the center of the city. This castle was built by the English to subdue the people of that region centuries ago. Today, the castle can be toured except for a large apartment or "flat" inside the castle that is used by Prince Charles (Prince of Wales) when he is vacationing in the area.
One other interesting thing about Wales is its national flag portraying a large red dragon and the word CYMRU (Welsh for Wales). According to Legend, King Arthur had a vision of two dragons fighting. The red dragon (Wales) defeated the white dragon (England). Today Wales is still one of the principalities of Britain but independence is a subject that can still draw an excited response from this unique and colorful people.
Fr. Perry
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
English Meals
Well, one thing I am learning about England is that the food is not that bad but that they have different words for describing their food and have a different way of eating.
For instance, mashed potatoes are called "mash" and oatmeal is called "porridge." The mash is just like mashed potatoes but the porridge is sweet and watery. Not much to my liking!
Every morning there are hard boiled eggs. But instead of peeling them and eating them, the egg is put into a little upright holder. The top is then cut away and the egg white and yoke eaten with a spoon. I could understand doing this if the egg was soft boiled, but they are fully hard boiled. So, why all the trouble?
One thing that bugs me is that they don't have jams or jellies that are familiar to me. Only Orange Marmalade which I don't like. And, for some strange reason, I have never seen peanut butter! We have a variety of dry cereals. Often times people will cut up fruit and put it in their cereals. Of course, many of us do this back in the States.
At both lunch and dinner, there is always soup. But it is creamed soup. I've never really asked what kind of soup it is, but it always smells and tastes good. Besides the main meat, there is always a buffet table set up with salads, potatoes, and other side dishes.
My biggest gripe is that there is usually no dessert included with meals. Fruit and cheese is the way they finish off meals here. Only once did we have some kind of pudding. I guess I'll have to make special trips to the local market to get those candy bars that I am continually craving.
As you might guess, black tea is always present although you can ask for American coffee (which I usually do). English tea is taken with cream and, sometimes, sugar. It never runs out and is especially popular in the afternoon.
One thing to confess: an Irish nun encouraged me to "take some Sherry." I did and liked it.
Aside from all of this, there is good news! I saw a McDonald's and Burger King in Shrewsbury!
Fr. Perry
For instance, mashed potatoes are called "mash" and oatmeal is called "porridge." The mash is just like mashed potatoes but the porridge is sweet and watery. Not much to my liking!
Every morning there are hard boiled eggs. But instead of peeling them and eating them, the egg is put into a little upright holder. The top is then cut away and the egg white and yoke eaten with a spoon. I could understand doing this if the egg was soft boiled, but they are fully hard boiled. So, why all the trouble?
One thing that bugs me is that they don't have jams or jellies that are familiar to me. Only Orange Marmalade which I don't like. And, for some strange reason, I have never seen peanut butter! We have a variety of dry cereals. Often times people will cut up fruit and put it in their cereals. Of course, many of us do this back in the States.
At both lunch and dinner, there is always soup. But it is creamed soup. I've never really asked what kind of soup it is, but it always smells and tastes good. Besides the main meat, there is always a buffet table set up with salads, potatoes, and other side dishes.
My biggest gripe is that there is usually no dessert included with meals. Fruit and cheese is the way they finish off meals here. Only once did we have some kind of pudding. I guess I'll have to make special trips to the local market to get those candy bars that I am continually craving.
As you might guess, black tea is always present although you can ask for American coffee (which I usually do). English tea is taken with cream and, sometimes, sugar. It never runs out and is especially popular in the afternoon.
One thing to confess: an Irish nun encouraged me to "take some Sherry." I did and liked it.
Aside from all of this, there is good news! I saw a McDonald's and Burger King in Shrewsbury!
Fr. Perry
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