Royal Wedding

I couldn't go without mentioning the wedding of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle.

Most of the shops I've seen have had some sort of "wedding sale," and there are loads of commemorative items for sale. You've got the standard fare, like china, mugs, buttons, and flags. Then you've got some... stranger items. Like a china KFC bucket.

From trendsetter.com

And check out this list from Cosmo. Seriously, who is buying the bathing suits?

Anyway, sales and merchandise aside, I haven't heard much about the wedding. Some people I know have mentioned it in passing, but they've never lingered on the topic. I don't know if it's just not an interest to the people I know, or if the English in general aren't bothered about it.

That's not to say that nothing wedding related is going on in our area. On the Wednesday before the event, there was a high tea celebration in town. I bought a ticket and a fascinator, and arranged for a babysitter for Clara. I was excited to dress up and go to tea.

And Miles got sick on Wednesday morning. Poor kid missed a class trip, so he was disappointed also.

I was already dressed...

The kids' school had a special tea party the day before the wedding.  There were decorations, biscuits, and a general air of excitement.

The Royal family made an appearance at drop off.

And the children had researched the states of the US as well as the counties of England.

They hadn't yet put up the US decorations when I was there

Near the end of the school day, the kids gathered in the hall for tea. The school had invited some seniors from a nearby care home, and the kids sang for them. Lily was chosen as part of a small group that sang the British national anthem . Unfortunately, there wasn't room for parents to attend, so I didn't get to see, but the teachers said she did a beautiful job. For me, the best part of the day was that the excitement really wore them all out, and they slept very well.

I did look online to see if there were any events nearby. There was one pub and one church that had something going on, but that's all I saw. We were just planning on watching it on TV anyway, so I didn't mind.

I did order these sausages, and set them out with blueberries and pea chips for the kids.

Sweet ginger and American mustard flavor

We waited until nearly 10am to turn it on, and immediately Lily was fully absorbed. She loved seeing people dressed up, and pointing out the unusual hats. She was excited when Harry appeared, then the Queen, then Meghan, and she was undistractable until the service was finished.

She piled the cushions up so no one could block her view

I found myself sucked in too. I found the American bishop particularly interesting. I haven't been to many church services here, but the English are way more reserved than that guy. Some attendees looked like they were trying not to giggle, and I wonder what the Queen thought of the sermon.

We went to a birthday party in the afternoon, and a few of the other parents did ask if we'd watched. And their impression of the American bishop was, "Well he definitely wasn't English!" (But the tone seemed lighthearted, not overly judgemental.) I also participated in a group chat with a few friends, and we happily chatted about the fashion and celebrities. So despite the lack of pre-wedding talk, there was much to be said afterward.

In all it was a lovely ceremony to watch, and I'm glad we did it in our own casual way. The couple looked very much in love, and I wish them a long and happy life together (you know, because they care what I think).

Bits and Pieces

I've been slacking a bit on blogging, I know. But right now we're just doing the day to day regular life thing. We do have a few fun things on the horizon (travel!), and hopefully once we're headed into spring we'll get to explore our area much more.
But for now, here are some random thoughts.

I've never cared much for hot tea, until I came to the UK. It was a hassle to make, and I like my hot drinks sweet. But here I'll make tea with a little milk and a spoonful of sugar, and I like it. And then there's the electric kettle. I know, how hard is it to boil water in a stove top kettle or the microwave? But I love the convenience. And it's not just for tea. There are huge varieties of cup of soup or ramen here that you make using the electric kettle. (I just won't mention the popularity of instant coffee, yuck.) Lastly, you can use the kettle to preboil water for things like pasta or vegetables. Convenient!

The kids are assimilating very well. Both of the older kids have picked up so many English terms and phrases, and when Miles is reading, he sometimes uses British pronunciation. It's pretty cute, and I'll love it if any of the kids develop an accent.

A few things I've heard from Miles and Lily lately:
- I'm cross with you!
- No, mom! Pants are called trousers, and underpants are called pants!
- I've got a cheeky little raisin!
- I keep getting all muddled up.
- We should take a picture of the telly.

Matt took Lily to a daddy/daughter dance this weekend. She was so excited to dress up and go to a dance, and it was adorable! Matt said she danced a lot, and they both had a great time.

Miles, Clara and I had a movie night while Matt and Lily were out.

That's all for now. I'm hoping we have new adventures soon to blog about!

Bonfire Night

I'm a little late on this, but we got to celebrate our first English holiday on 5th November.

Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, dates back to 1605. Guy Fawkes was a member of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to kill King James I by blowing up Parliament. He was found guarding explosives underground, and he and the other conspirators were found and sentenced to death.

Historically, there was a lot of anti-Catholicism involved. Effigies of the Pope and Catholic leaders were burned. Those particular customs are no longer associated with Bonfire Night, but you can check out Wikipedia if you want to learn more.

Today, the holiday is celebrated with bonfires and huge displays of fireworks. People make effigies of Guy Fawkes, which can be burned in the bonfire.

We went to a celebration cohosted by the kids' school. Matt's mom was in town too, so she got to come. There were hot sandwiches, raffle drawings, and a bouncy castle. There was also wine and beer for the adults, woohoo!

It was really cold, so much different than the 4th of July events we've been to in the States. We were all bundled up in coats, extra pairs of socks, mittens and hats. We didn't get many pictures because we needed our gloves! Miles found a friend from school, and the kids played on the bouncy castle until the bonfire was lit. The cold didn't seem to bother them at all... yet.

Clara and me in front of the fire. I think that's Lily next to me.

Once the bonfire was going, we walked over to warm up a bit. There was a crowd, but since the fire was so big it did help. Briefly. Luckily the fireworks started soon after, and all three kids were just enthralled. By the time the fireworks were over, poor Lily was shivering, so we grabbed a flapjack for the kids and headed home.

Overall it was fun, especially for the kids. For days after, Miles talked about how Bonfire Night is his favorite day ever. I'm looking forward to celebrating again next year, and hopefully it's just a little warmer!

More Food

We finally have wifi, yay! Now I can upload pictures again with abandon (that day in the life post sucked up all of my data when I wrote it).

Anyway, we've had the chance to try a few more foods since my last post about it.

Last time, I'd mentioned that I wanted to try tea, a traditional English breakfast, and pub food.

Well I've had a lot of tea. I'm not a hot tea drinker really, but it's definitely one thing that's done better in the UK! I have a box of Yorkshire Tea at home, which I like with sugar and a bit of milk. I've also ordered tea out, but I have not yet done the full afternoon tea service with tiny sandwiches and cakes.

Lunch at a tea room with my girls

English breakfast. Well, I can't say that I've ordered the full English, but I've had most of the components. I've had the bacon, eggs, sausage, and toast together, along with sauteed mushrooms sometimes. I've had the grilled tomato with different foods, and I've tried the black pudding. Well, sort of.
We went to a small plates restaurant for dinner one night, and bravely ordered the fried cake with black pudding and duck (& something else but I forget what). It wasn't gross. It was okay, but I don't know that I'd order it on its own after that.

Do I look excited or scared?

And pub food. We've tried this category many times now, and love it. We lived in a pub for a week, so we ate there nearly every night. Our favorite was the steak and ale pie (I love a meat pie), served with chips, peas, and gravy. Also worth a try were the bangers and mash, which are sausages with mashed potatoes. And sometimes gravy. Yesterday I tried a cottage pie, which is minced beef covered with cheesy mashed potatoes, served with chips and peas, and more gravy. And this country does gravy right. Thick and full flavored, sometimes with bits of onion. Great comfort food.

Bangers and mash served in a giant Yorkshire pudding

Cottage pie

Bangers with bubble and squeak

Oh yeah, the bubble and squeak. This is a mixture of mashed or crushed roasted potatoes with leftover vegetables (typically cabbage, but can be a mixture of anything). It's made into a patty and fried until brown. The one I tried was really good, and I'll have to try to make it sometime.

On Sundays, many restaurants have a Sunday roast. This can be pork, beef, or lamb, and is served with roasted potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. And a Yorkshire pudding (made of a batter of milk, eggs, and flour). We've tried this mean once so far.

The last thing I'll touch on here is what the kids like to eat. There's not a lot of mac and cheese on children's menus here. Their favorite thing by far is fish fingers with chips and peas. I don't eat peas, so I was surprised at how much the kids love them. Lily also loves bangers with chips and peas, and every now and then they will have a burger. But there's really nothing too out of the ordinary on the kids menus.

What should we try next? Matt is voting for haggis in Scotland. I think I'll go for something a little more tame.