sallysimmons

Just a few days to go!

DDL

Hi Rodders and everyone else, we just finished watching this as well. I think they said that the first tattoo was in the 1950s. It's so impressive and definitely on my list of things I want to see someday.

http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/about-th...ilitary-tattoo

Now, it's EastEnders at 8.00, then I've got BBC4 bookmarked for a 9.00 programme called 'Elegance and Decadence-The Age of The Regency' which will be a 3-part series.

We've had a lovely bank holiday week-end. We went to the Royal Egham Show on Saturday (brought home a homemade Apple & Blackberry pie, and also some Welsh Cakes), and then toured Osterley Park and House (National Trust).

Yesterday, we drove down to Dunsfold (also site of Top Gear's test track) for the big Wings and Wheels airshow but ended up not going in. It was throwing it down - and hubby failed to find out beforehand that a) you needed to bring your own chairs and b) the entrance fee was £22 per person! So we put Plan B into place and ended up visiting the Bourne Mill Antique Centre (had been there once before) for a bit of retail therapy and the best scrambled eggs on toast (in their tearoom) this side of the pond. Picked up The Sunday Times on the way home and I spent a very leisurely and thoroughly enjoyable 4 hours (at least) reading through it last night.

Today, we slept in, had lunch at our local pub (I had a Ploughman's and hubby had the steak & mushroom pie), then we walked through Windsor Great Park which is just around the corner from us. Beautiful, there - just beautiful.

Most people will be headed back to work tomorrow, but we've also taken tomorrow off to go to the (semi-monthly) Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton racetrack - it opens at 6.30am!

It will be nice going back to work on Wednesday and having the work week already half over.

Mummy in the foothills

I want to do all that

cheers

Sorry Rod you had to wait so long for a response but my afternoon nap got in the way of reading your post. I think my eyes get tired from looking at the monitor for so long so I have to take midday nap.Then I sleep briefly during the night.

Anyway here it is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-1st-time.html

See how much you miss by not reading the Daily Mail.

I was thinking that this place in Scotland increases their tourism revenue by making it attractive to take your test there. I got to hand it to the Scots.

Cheers

Isabel_7

Now this part gave me some nostalgia for the old country as well as making my mouth water. Glad you are continuing to enjoy yourselves!

cheers

Rodney you have mentioned that there are some of the small niggle things that bother you now you are living in England would you care to share them even though they be minor?

Don't go out of your way to find them.

We know no place is perfect.

Cheers.

aries

I'm shocked that you've never heard of this before.

It is on Australian TV every year. Doesn't the USA have travel programmes on TV, or show posters of other countries in the windows of travel agents? The Edinburgh Tattoo is an international event.

Mummy in the foothills

I haven't seen a travel agents in many years, they used to be everywhere. It's all online now.
I have watched it on TV when I lived in UK.

Beedubya

I believe from what I have read and seen that the USA doesn't really show much outside of the USA.......although I believe they do now have the BBC (news??) channel.

Xebedee

By the time my Wife and I return home, I will have been gone about 35 years. Fully understand your immersion into the life here in America. Tho, my own experience was for about 12 years.
Isn't it odd when you hear or read of things which have happened back home, so important and defining for them, yet complete non-events here in the US.

For example, when I reconnected with home I had no idea what Britpop was, also, the changes within Europe were absolutely amazing (the English travel so much more) Chavs???...what happened to skinheads and punks? Cameras everywhere !!! BBC Radio 5?? 6,7,8???? and as for the House prices ......

Not that I'd know for real, but I suppose the nearest thing to the experience of re-connecting after a time in the US (other than being a castaway) would be to have been in prison for many years.

Anyway, good luck to you and its nice to know someone else has made the change back.

J.J

In my experience it was the differences between before and after expat that contributed somewhat by stealth to my emotional turmoil after arriving back in UK.
We had also immersed abroad, had not attempted to stay 'British' during our time away nor made an effort to be Americans in spirit either, just been ourselves. We enjoyed our life in the USA.

In our first few months back we found UK is and isn't what we thought it would be, everything appeared generally the same but values and attitudes of people had changed, just as ours had from being immersed expats. As these became obvious to us I think they were just as difficult to perceive and grasp as it was for me in a foreign land.

In particular, humour here seemed strange, in many cases it is more like insulting sarcasm than anything remotely funny.
Politics and government policy has just as much intrigue and smoke & mirrors as anywhere else, plenty of fodder for chewing over.

On a lighter note, who knew that Artex ceilings and wood-chip paper would become undesirable. And Camp coffee no longer a chicory delight but a sugared up mutation for flavoring cakes.

Xebedee

Yes, that's the big thing which has a question mark over it. Which is why we don't plan to settle in one place, rather be gypsies and travel the waterways; basically exploring as we wish, when we want and socialising as we feel like it. That's about the best plan I can think of.

dontheturner

[QUOTE=J.J;9590500]In my experience it was the differences between ould
In particular, humour here seemed strange, in many cases it is more like insulting sarcasm than anything remotely funny.
Just for info - Here is a typical ENGLISH joke_

How to Tell the Sex of a Fly
A woman walked into the kitchen to find
her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Hunting flies" he responded.
"Oh! Killing any?" she asked.
"Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied.

Intrigued, she asked.
"How can you tell them apart?"

He responded,
"3 were on a beer can,
2 were on the phone.

OK? Don

judes

[QUOTE=dontheturner;9590700] THATS what I miss. bring on more

cheers

Good one

Cheers