sallysimmons

I don't watch soaps, but the big three are Corrie, East Enders and Emmerdale (yes, that's still going but completely different I understand).

I watch a lot of property and home shows - "Location, Location" and "Relocation Relocation" are great although not on currently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg1SGI7UmXY But if you can watch back episodes, I recommend that.

"Kirstie's Homemade Home" is a fun series right now.

I also love DIY SOS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKwtWY19JEY

"Come Dine with Me" is fun. It won't sound it if I describe it but trust me, it is. Again, I think it's between series right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWaOAZMlXgo

"Downton Abbey" is a period drama that just ended and was amazing.

I've just finished watching all 4 season of "Doc Martin" via Netflix streaming. That's a drama about a doctor in Cornwall who lacks social skills. Very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbSeqGjftHI

"The One Show" seems very popular - that's a talk show that also has little features about differebt things.

We love QI - that's a quiz show with Steven Fry hosting and watching that pretty much introduces you to all the most famous current comedians in the country. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MrKxzqJhR8

My mum loves "Miranda" which is a sitcom a bit more in the old British slapstick tradition. Here is a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GymUCt_MFoY&NR=1

Lots of men like Top Gear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzwXmPuSFNc

And my current favorite that I keep posting here is "The Trip" which ends tomorrow but has been the best thing on TV for years IMO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxx2-lw4VY

On the radio, we listen to Radcliffe and Maconie on Radio 2 iPlayer. Two northern middle-aged guys who are really funny.

I honestly don't sit around watching this much TV But I watch in the kitchen while I'm cooking. Passes the time. I hope this helped. I'm sure others can add to the list with their favorites.

Derrygal

Not sure - but I believe a lot less than here - something like one half to one percent - not sure though - I'm sure someone who posts on here would know.

windsong

Thanks, Sally. I will look at ALL of these. I heard about Relocation Relocation just the other day. Maybe it is similar to the U.S. program, Househunters International.

I just opened up a video of Relocation Relocation. OMG! The house price is 450 thousand pounds lol!

cheers

Do you remember going into the corner sweet shop and asking for a 1/4lb of Dolly Mixtures and they would take down those big bottles off the shelf to get them for you? I think you maybe able to still do that but for the most part I think they have gone prepackaging.
Now as far as riding the trains all over you are going to have to compete with me on doing that. We will be bumping into each other all over the place.
Going into the stores/shops, I called that window shopping and we use to always want the best quality of merchandise. So when we came to the US we took quantity over quality. Handkerchiefs come to mind right now because we use to give them as Christmas presents.
British Malls are identical to the US malls IMO. They are beautiful and new. I was last in the UK in 2002 for 3 weeks.

ldyinlv

You wouldnt get disability if you qualified for your SS thats what you would get.

ldyinlv

I have been to the UK yankee site, and found them to be very negative, most having nothing good to say about England, Most of them seemed to be in or around London, and seemed to think that was all there was to England. They seem arrogant, if its not the American way of doing things then we are heathens..that really annoys me because lets face it..we have been doing things for a lot longer than they have..lol
Jackie

windsong

Cheers - You and I are definitely on the same page

That's one of the dreams I have of home - the jar with the sweeties sitting on the shelf. I loved dolly mixtures and there was one other. They were tiny, tiny little wine gummy things. They lasted forever because as a little girl I ate one tiny one at a time. I forget what they are called. I would LOVE to find a sweetie shop that still has the jars.

A year or so ago I looked on Google Earth at the place I grew up in in Scotland. I tried to find the sweetie shop mum used to take me to - where they had those very same jars. It had closed the year before and was replaced by some Indian restaurant. I also noticed that that same quiet little village was no full of motorways and traffic. The country lane down which we used to take our dog every evening was gone - replaced by roads.

windsong

Even if I became disabled when working in the UK, though?

Ohh, scrap that. I see what you are saying. If I begin to take my U.S. pension just as I arrive in the UK, then even if I become disabled while working at a full-time job in the UK, I would get no extra from either the UK or US because of it. Right?

windsong

I agree with this statement actually - arrogant and materialistic.

cheers

I just copied this and thought some of you would find it of interest.

It's worth mentioning that driving is very much optional in many parts of the UK, especially around London. While it's convenient, traffic can be a nightmare, and it's usually just as quick to get public transportation. I drove for the first few months I lived here (some years ago), and after deciding it was unnecessary I haven't missed it at all in any of the places I've lived, from small(ish) towns up to central London.

In fact, getting out from under the expense and work of insuring, maintaining, licensing, parking, etc. associated with owning a car has been one of my favorite things about leaving the US, and I dread ever having to do it again in the future!

Of course things are different when you have kids, or aren't able to find a place to live that's well-serviced by buses, trains, or tubes. My dread is all the more real because I know that eventually I'll need to go back to it. In the meantime though, definitely consider your requirements.

ldyinlv

I think if you where old enough to collect social security thats what you would get at that age.

windsong

Forgot to comment on the hankie topic. My mum moved here because she remarried. The man she married had a business here. She gave absolutely no thought to the lifestyle here, the politics of the country, the type of government - none of it. As a 23-year old two years graduated from grad school over there, I could see it even then. I told her she was sacrificing a life of quality for materialism. I think all she saw was a new life at 50 years of age and a life of security.

In coming here, she "garage saled" all our beautiful china from Japan, antiques, hand crocheted bed linens (edges) - all the things that are cherished here! Makes me mad to this day.

For me, it's always been, do you want quantity or quality - well, give me quality any time. So long as I have food on the table and a roof over my head and my beloved pets with me, I will take quality any time over quantity.

I still have a few cotton hankies I brought with me 30 years ago I don't use them but I wont get rid of them either. I cherish the few things I have from Britain.

callé

They still have loads of the old fashioned sweet shops in nearly every town and still have the lovely jars of lovely sweeties.

windsong

Yes, it would be somewhat of a relief to leave behind car ownership. For myself, though, I do like those Sunday afternoon rides in the countryside - somewhere new every weekend. Stop at a new cafe along the way. We used to do this every Sunday when I lived in Scotland. We'd often drive from Edinburgh down to the borders. I used to sew all my own clothes and loved to go to the mill outlet in the borders to pick up a yard or two of good fabric. It was like a mini-holiday every weekend If I don't have access to a car, I'm not sure how I would do that. I love the trains but you usually have to take a bus or taxi at the other end to get to exactly where you want to go.

windsong

Love it! Love it! Love it~

I tell you, I am going to be like a kid in a candy store myself as soon as I set foot on British soil, to live in my homeland once again