More Interesting Brit expressions

1. Bless their cotton socks - "Those guys, bless their cotton socks, are a pain in the neck!"
2. Wobbler - "Whoops, that was a bit of a wobbler". (in the US we might refer to that as a 'brain dead moment', or a 'blond moment')
3. Good Shout - "Good shout, I didn't think of that one!" (in the US we might say, "good thinking")
4. Used in anger - "At what point will the system be used in anger?" (when will it go into production, or when will it be used for real)
5. Get my coat - "Okay, well I'm getting my coat" - (I'm done, let's call it a day)
6. Skip - A skip is a 'dumpster' in the US, often the kind used on construction sites for debris.
   
7. Slip - Not what you are thinking guys ... A slip road is an exit off of a highway.
8. Give it a think - "I'll give it a think." Let me think about that.
9. Dog's Dinner - "They've made a dog's dinner of that." - They've made a mess of that. (a dog's dinner starts out in a bowl, ends up all over the place)
10. Nutter - "You are a complete nutter!" - You are nuts!
    

British Beach Trip - Bournmouth in August

In all fairness, I'm told we've had an atypical summer. But it was cloudy and gray, windy, cool and with just a hint of mist in the air. Altogether, not beach weather.
But the beach looks much like beaches everywhere ... sand, a pier, and lots of tourist stuff. Shirleen remarked that it looked a lot like a beach we went to in France, and she was right. One interesting note, Mary Shelly - author of Frankenstein - is buried there.

One thing interesting to me is the number of changing cabins, called 'chalets' they have available. They line the beach in both directions.

And last but not least, I learned a new word.

Nope, not what you are thinking, it's a seawall to prevent erosion.

AFA York

Well, since I have been able to take internal pictures in very few cathedrals, I made up for it in the amazing York Minster Cathedral.
York is a great town, a major tourist destination, and a lot of fun. It was founded by the Romans about 2,000 years ago. Later it was taken over by Vikings and called Jorvik. That evolved to the simple, 'York.' York is in Yorkshire county, just like Glouscester is in Gloucestershire county and our hometown Ascot is in ... you guessed it ... Berkshire county.
The city still has the walls that used to protect it, they are in good condition and you can walk them. When driving into the heart of town, you actually drive through a tunnel in the walls.

This is the exterior of the cathedral. Absolutely huge.

Assorted pictures inside the cathedral ...

These are stone carvings of all of the Kings and Queens of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI . The carving is amazing.

The east wing of the cathedral has the largest expanse of medieval stained glass window in the world. Below is what we could see of it ...


(it was covered for repairs)

And lastly, look at these figures. What in the world????

AFA Durham

Coming home from Edinburgh we decided to stop and see the beautiful, and quite famous, cathedral at Durham. I actually read an article about it in my hometown newspaper in North Carolina. It was an article about the most beautiful cathedrals in England.

It did not disappoint. The place is absolutely HUGE! Sadly, as is normally the case, no pictures on the inside. Trust me, it was very impressive. But you can go up on top of the tallest tower, and the view (and the weather) was great. Here are a couple of shots. That is us on top of the cathedral - no that is not my unmentionables showing, it's my white hat. I took it off in the church. I needed both hands while climbing the (exactly) 325 steps to the top of the tower, so I stuck it in my belt.

AFA Edinburgh #6 Tattoo

The main draw that got us to Edinburgh was something called Tattoo. We had no idea what it was, but our ex-pat friends who had been in the UK about two years, and had gone everywhere in Europe and the UK, said this was their #1 favorite thing they had seen. Well, considering London, Paris, Rome, Cairo and everywhere else they had been, that was quite an endorsement. So on that endorsement alone, we signed up a few months ago because tickets are hard to get.
It turns out it is a performance of military bands. Having had kids in marching bands, we'd seen many similar events, so we weren't as overwhelmed as our friends, but nevertheless - these were incredible marching bands. There was one from the US, one from Hong Kong, one from India, and several others. Most featured bagpipes, but by now I'd heard so many bagpipes that it was starting to sound good. I even bought a CD of a bagpipe band called ... (I'm not kidding) ... 'The Red Hot Chili Pipers." Bagpipes playing rock music! What could be better???
The event takes place on the Esplanade in front of Edinburgh castle. The setting alone was worth the price.

AFA Liverpool

After leaving Wales, we stopped off to stay the night and have a short visit in Liverpool. If you are planning a holiday and considering Liverpool, I'd reconsider. There really was not much to see. It currently has the title,"Liverpool, European Capital of Culture" but we couldn't determine why. They do have a neat China town, as you can see in the pix below. It is only a couple of blocks, but has a neat archway at the entrance.

The major attraction is an entertainment complex called the Albert Wharf which did have a Beatles museum, but it looked pretty cheesy, and expensive, so we skipped it. There was an art museum there that had some pieces by a guy Amanda is studying, Klimt, so she and Mom went there. There are tours through John Lennon and Paul McCartney's childhood homes, but that held no interest.
Otherwise the only notable thing was, that night at the hostel, we played Liverpool in Liverpool.

AFA Edinburgh #5 - More About the City

The city has two main roads that everything is described in relationship to. You are either close to 'The Royal Mile' or 'Princes Street.' The Royal Mile is where all the fun was. It starts at the top of the hill at the castle and runs down the hill all the way to Holyroodhouse Castle.
The story of Mary Queen of Scots is closely intertwined with the castle and much talked about in Edinburgh. Her father died when she was a week old, making her the Queen of Scotland. By the time she was 17 she had married and lost a husband, the King of France. She then married a second time to a guy that turned out to be a bad guy and in a fit of jealous rage, he stabbed her male private secretary to death in front of her in the castle. She was in line to the throne of England, but Elizabeth I was having none of that and eventually had her imprisoned in her 20's for 18 years and then beheaded. Many of the pictures in the castle are of Mary or her family.
The last picture is from a restaurant in town called The Elephant House. You can see the view of the castle from the window. JK Rowling sat in this restaurant many days with her baby carriage beside her while writing the first Harry Potter novel.

AFA Edinburgh #4 - A Bit About the City

Pronounced "ED-un-burrow". It started at least 1400 years ago as Castle Rock, which as you will see from the pictures is a really good name for it. It was a castle on top of a hill - very defense able. Then a guy named Edin from Northumbria (northern England) came, took it over, and named it 'Edin's burgh' - "burgh" meant "fort" at the time - and there you go, Edinburgh.
The Scots also affectionately called it 'Auld Reekie' (Scotch for 'old smoky') because of the smoke from all the burning coal in the fire places. Our tour guide also mentioned it might have had something to do with the smell also. The first picture below is looking up at the castle from one point in the city, the second is looking back the other way from the castle.

It, like many cities of its day was a walled city and the inhabitants were afraid to go outside the walls. So as the city grew, rather than move the walls, the city grew upward. In the pictures below, you are looking at 'old town'. These buildings are 100's of years old. And you can see, the buildings are very tall for the time period, practically skyscrapers. They were commonly 10 stories, and one even reached 14 stores. If the pictures were to pan to the left, you'd start to see 'new town' which is much smaller buildings. There is a pub right at the edge of where the wall used to stand call, "The End of the World."

We came to see an event called 'Tattoo' which occurs right in the middle of the Edinburgh festival season. (most of August) As you can see from the pix below, the place was packed with people and the mood was festive. There were street performers everywhere, many of them excellent. The picture in the center is the square where the hangings used to take place. The red building in the first picture is a pub on that square called, "The Last Drop" that supposedly dates back to the hangings. Edinburgh evidently had a big problem with witches at one time. So when they caught them, they would tie them up and throw them in the water. If they drowned, they were proven to be good girls and given a Christian burial. If they survived, they were hanged or burned as witches. (I believe we adopted a similar practice in the US)

AFA Edinburgh #3 Bobby

You've got to love the Scots. They tell the story of a man whose dog was so devoted that when he died the dog followed the funeral procession down the street. And then for 13 years, stayed close to his grave. They erected a statue to Bobby.

AFA Edinburgh #2 Holyroodhouse - Her Majesty's Palace

Minimally, once per year the Queen comes to Edinburgh, normally the first week in July. As you will see in another post, the castle is really not fit for habitation, so the Queen stays in the Palace at the other end of town.
The name 'Holyrood' comes from the legend that the original monastery founded on this site in the 1100's was built to house a piece of Christ's cross. "Holy Rood" means 'holy cross' in Scottish. The first picture is the fountain in the courtyard of the castle. If you put the second two together just right, you see what the front of the castle looks like. (as with most palaces no pix allowed inside)