Spot the Canadian

Back in February, I blogged about snow in a mild climate. Well it has snowed again here in southern England and once again there is chaos on the roads. I will cut slightly more slack for yesterday, when it rained in the afternoon which slowly turned to snow as the temperature dropped. That, on top of the snow that has been around since Friday made for very slippery conditions. People in the nearby towns abandoned their cars and walked the couple of miles back home, rather than spending another several hours in stopped traffic. I've read accounts of people taking over an hour to move 200 metres down the road and four hours sitting at the bottom of a hill with plenty of others stuck in their cars for company.

Once again, I was one of only two people who cleaned off our sidewalk. It surprises me how ingrained it is into me to shovel off the snow, but it is. The only other person I saw removing the snow last week? A woman sweeping the snow away from the front of the pharmacy. She used to live in Germany, so once again the old connection pops up (read my other blog post if you don't know what I mean). As I'm the only house that has clean sidewalk, if you live in Cookham, it might be fairly easy today to spot the house where I live, hence spot the Canadian.

I know when I walk down a snowy street I find myself alternately thanking and cursing the owners of the house I was walking past, depending on whether they have bothered to clear their sidewalks. I'm not bothering to curse at anyone, but I am feeling slightly smug, thinking that people might be inwardly thanking me for my consideration of them. They may be thinking I'm a fool to have bothered, but I will continue to take pride in having a cleared sidewalk. As long as it remains a novelty of once or twice a year at least!

Mission plan

We have a mission. We have the attack clones, now we have our mission. We've decided while we are here in Britain, to try and spend the holidays that take place in this country visiting the various British major island groups. So far we have been to the Isle of Wight and to the Inner Hebrides; specifically, the Isle of Mull. That takes care of two of them. What do we have left? Well, the Outer Hebrides obviously, the Shetland Islands, and the Orkney Islands in Scotland for a start. If we get through all of those, we can start to work on all the little "Firth" groups up there. The Isles of Scilly and the Islands of Furness in England. Anglesey in Wales and then the separate islands of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Oh, a visit to Northern Ireland too. I think I've covered the major ones, because there are thousands of little islands around the British Isles. But if I've left something out, please let me know. I am after all, an uncivilzed colonial who doesn't know any better and I will need to add any missed ones to the list.

Why the mission? Because I think it's a good way to get to know the country we are living in. We might be here for just another few years, we might end up spending the rest of our days here, but either way, I wouldn't like it if at the end, I couldn't say I had seen a variety of places around the country. Our families live far away, so that will always slow us down from exploring locally, but local exploration does need to be done.

So if you have any great tips or ideas of when to visit any of these places, where to stay or the address of your great-aunt Bessie who would love to have cake and tea with us while we are visiting near her, let me know. The mission has started.

A Glorious Week

The past 7 days have been absolutely spectacular spring weather. It's been sunny and warm every day. It's still only spring, because as soon as you are out of the sun you can feel there is still a nip in the air, but out in the sun you would think it was late May rather than late March. Lena and I have been enjoying the backyard and also trips up to the park and the allotment. Lena is much more into the allotment this year. She enjoys digging around with the little trowel. I have a toy one for her somewhere which I should find as sometimes I need the trowel and she's not quite willing to give it over. The hoe is also something she enjoys; by pretending it's the see-saw and singing Margery Daw while on it. I'm very impressed at how well she can sing it. I'm also happy to say she has no fear of bugs or worms or anything, whenever I find a worm to show her, she wants to have a "little talk" with the worm and give it a kiss. One day after being up at the allotment and putting in potatoes, I told her to tell G what we had planted. She happily told him, "We plant worms!" 

To me, it's unusual to get such a long period of time with steady good weather here in the UK, so I have really been enjoying seeing the sun everyday. Coming from one of the sunniest parts of North America, (Alberta gets more sunshine hours per year than Florida) it makes it easier to get things done and to get out and about when the sun is shining. Of course, now that I've blogged about it, it will likely rain to biblical proportions or descend into the next ice age or something.

Snow in a Mild Climate

This week it has been snowing all over in the UK. And this is actual snow, not just what Canadians would dismiss as dust. Monday, February 2, was a big downfall, followed by another load overnight to wake up to on Thursday and now today it's snowing again as I type. It's pretty warm still, hovering around zero, so it's not going to last forever. But it was enough snow to build a snowman on Monday and it's been cold enough that until yesterday that he held his shape (although he did look like he was doing the Limbo as the head tilted backwards with the melt). Here he is in his full glory:

 

It snows so infrequently in the southern parts of the UK, and it usually melts so quickly, that the country is really unprepared for snowfall. I understand that it's a silly waste of resources to have a fleet of sanders and snowplows when they get used at most once a year, more likely every 3 to 4 years. None the less, I find how the whole country shuts down because of snow quite amusing. There was about 6-7cm when we woke up on Monday morning and every school in the area closed. If that were the amount of snow that would close schools where I grew up, I would have stayed home from mid-November until April. 

I also know I'm the only Canadian or North American who lives on my fairly long street, as our sidewalk was the only one that was swept clear of snow first thing in the morning on the days it snowed. It must be ingrained in my system. I belong to a mail group for parents in the area and there was a mail this morning from another Canadian woman, suggesting to people that they clear their sidewalks of snow as well. I wrote back to her as I thought it was funny that all the Canadians in the area were out there cleaning snow. She said she received several responses from Canadians and Germans, all who had cleaned off their walks and were the only ones to do so. This made me laugh even more, that the Germans did it too. The two countries I've lived in previously have obviously had some impact on my behaviour.

So if you still have snow in front of your house here in England, "be nice and remove your ice". I'm sure everyone walking past will appreciate it. 

Getting Done

So I have another check on my list of British experiences. My bank card details have been stolen. There was a call yesterday from my bank's fraud department, asking to call back urgently. I only got the message this morning and dutifully called. After doing a few security check questions, it seems that someone has been trying to use a fake copy of my debit card in Canada and the U.S. They managed to get out around 150 pounds on the card. Apparently we won't have to pay it back after filling out the requisite forms (stay tuned if that isn't the case), but it's still a bit upsetting to have it happen in the first place. After reading the front page of the weekly local newspaper, Maidenhead Advertiser, it seems that the gas station (aka petrol garage) that I filled up the car earlier this month is the likely culprit. Well to be fair, they aren't the culprit, they are victims too, as it's likely the station was targeted by a gang of criminals. What annoys me is that I never fill up there, this was the only time. Argh. Ah well, it's not the end of the world, but for some people whose accounts have been cleaned out, it might feel like it. And it comes on top of our phone not working yesterday because someone had stolen the copper wiring from the local exchange overnight. (See the story What NO Phone, NO Internet? for more details.) So right now, this week, I'm not really enjoying the local British life that much.

English and the Cold

A few Decembers ago, I was in Manchester for a few days. I stayed at a very nice hostel and was witness for the first time to an English phenomenon. It was Saturday night and quite cold, being December and all. I was wearing my ski jacket, but everyone else who was obviously headed out for a night on the town was dressed like it was a summer night on a Mediterranean island. The gents were in thin, short-sleeved shirts, the ladies in short skirts (the shortness of skirts in this country is another post altogether) and sleeveless tops!

Coming from a cold country, I was really in shock to see people walking around without jackets on a cold evening. Okay, sure, they weren't going to get frostbite in 10 minutes on their exposed skin, but it really must be uncomfortable. I wondered why they weren't all dead from catching their death of a cold. Over the years I have come up with a theory why they have survived such behaviour and today it was confirmed.

My theory is that the English get used to the cold by walking around in inappropriate clothing from an early age. By wearing next to nothing in cold weather, they kill off the weak ones and the strong ones survive to the age where they can go clubbing in January in mesh tops.

Today, this idea was backed up when I walked past the primary school (elementary school to my North American readers) and I saw some young boys running around outside in short pants. Short pants! On a day where the frost never left our lawn. On a day there was a fairly thick circle of ice on the water barrels at the allotment. The high for the day couldn't have been more than 2°C. I can't understand why they are wearing shorts rather than regular pants (trousers, to my non-North American readers) on such a cold day, other than for my fore-mentioned theory. Maybe there's something to it.

England vs Germany - Tonight!

Germany is playing England in football today. It's taking place at the new Wembley Stadium, which opened just this year. It's a friendly game, meaning it doesn't count towards a tournament or anything. Which is just as well, as both teams are missing several of their best players.

What I find interesting is that this is the first time I'll be watching a game from the English side. In big soccer competitions, I've always cheered for Germany. I would cheer for Canada, but sadly we're pretty crap at the international men's level. Anyways, I cheered for Germany because I lived there and that was a good enough reason. But now, the shoe is on the other foot. Now I live in England. But I'm not really ready for the idea of cheering for England yet. I don't mind cheering them on when they are playing a neutral country, but Germany (along with Canada and Australia, obviously) still wins favour over them for me.

So, I'm sorry England. I know you are hoping history will repeat itself in the form of your 1-5 win over Germany in Munich a few years ago. Personally, I'll be hoping for a different repeat of history. The last game played in the old Wembley Stadium was also England vs. Germany and Germany won that 0 - 1.

Actually, I'm not that wrapped up in worrying about the result. Since it's a friendly, I'd rather just see a good game. Nice and clean with lots of skill on show. We'll see if I get my wish.

Blackouts

The final book in the Harry Potter "saga" goes on sale tomorrow. I've already heard or read more about it than I care to already. I read something about what the last word was supposedly to be and then I saw JK Rowling interviewed by Jonathon Ross a couple of weeks ago and felt I heard too much there. Twice in the past 24 hours I was listening to BBC's Radio 1 and had to quickly turn it off to avoid hearing more. They might have just been trying to wind people up by playing a prank about reading out the ending, but I really don't care. I want to find out for myself. This is the only reason I've pre-ordered the book and hope that it arrives in the post tomorrow as planned. Otherwise I could wait a while to read it, but the chances of finding out what happened are too great. No radio, no newspaper and no current TV programs either until I finish it.

That's the media blackout for me. The other blackout is I was wondering if we were going to have power in the house today. I woke up to a thunderstorm this morning. Lightning, with the thunder less than 1 second after it, woke us all up at about 7:30 this morning. A thunderstorm at dawn!?!?! Very strange weather. Perhaps not to others, but for a girl raised on the Prairies, normally I would never expect thunder and lightning before 3pm. Along with the celestial fireworks, there is a LOT of rain. Driving through Maidenhead this morning involved driving up on the curb at one spot so as to avoid the very very deep puddle that had left one car stranded in the middle of it. There were several other smaller puddle/ponds as well. You know, I understand that England has this "reputation" as a wet weather country to uphold. But I get the picture, it rains here! Make it stop!

Springing into Action

I have to give the English credit - they do a good Spring. The end of Fall that I experienced wasn't anything spectacular and Winter was a wimpy affair. But Spring is here and it's very very nice. There are flowers everywhere, the sun is shining, the air feels soft, I even saw lambs gamboling in the fields yesterday. It really is nice around here. It's so nice, I'm even considering spending more time in the great outdoors by renting an allotment. An allotment is a patch of ground that you rent from the local council to use as a garden. Most people grow vegetables, although there are some flowers amongst the mixtures too. I phoned up the Cookham parish council and rent for a "5 pole plot" will cost me the great sum of 5 pounds per year. I think I can afford that; even if I only get one line of carrots out of the thing, it won't be much of a waste of money. What's a 5 pole plot you ask? So did I. It's apparently an ancient measuring system that has been kept around to refer to allotment sizes. Must be from the same person who came up with the idea of measuring your weight in rocks. A short Internet search leads me to believe it's roughly 10 by 10 metres, so plenty big for plenty of back-breaking labour if I have to turn the soil. I'm keen in theory, but I'm not certain if my keenness will continue in practice, but as I said, at 5 pounds a go, it wouldn't be the end of the world if slugs ate all the lettuce, would it?

In other news, we went to Thame Country Show yesterday. It was interesting, very much a country thing to do. Lots of demonstrations of hunting with spaniels, with falcons, with spaniels and falcons together and even hunting with ferrets. We missed the ferret hunting demo, so I'm afraid I can't tell you how to do it. But the falcon display was pretty cool. The falcon came shooting in from a great height like a rocket, she was very impressive. There was a rabbit judging contest and the winners were out on display in a tent. Who knew there were so many different types of rabbits? Hamsters too! There was a chance for people to show off their own dogs' skills, which was quite amusing. The one event we saw was a retrieving contest. The owner held the dog (a black Lab) while the organiser put 3 balls around the course. He showed the dog where all 3 balls were as he did it and then when they were down, the dog and owner went out to get them. The owner could help by encouraging the dog to the direction of where the ball was, or by showing the dog the tunnel to get into the fenced off part where the ball was. Of course, being just an average dog, it did a pretty average job at retrieving. Meaning it remembered where the last ball was put, but not the first 2; so it took a fair amount of animation from her owner to get all three balls. There was also scurry driving, which was something I hadn't seen before either. Two little ponies pull a cart with a driver and rider through a set course as fast as possible. The driver obviously steers and the rider is there for leverage to help make tight turns. It's pretty fast and exciting, well worth a watch if you get a chance. There were also lots of stands selling all sorts of things, food products to binoculars to straw baskets to folding chairs. Everything you need for life in the country. I enjoyed the show quite a bit and it made for a nice day out. There is another big Thame show in the Fall, with lots of judging of prize-winning cattle, potatoes, cakes and that sort of thing. Not quite the same idea as this show, but I might keep in mind for us for later anyways. As C'lonials, we should take these opportunities to get to know the Brits and their ways and their award winning strawberry jams.

Lunar Eclipse

There's a total eclipse of the moon happening tonight and we are lucky enough to have clear skies for it. Here are some pictures; I'll be updating it as it happens.

Warnings!

Both of these signs can be found in Cookham village. They scream "Look out! There are criminals about!" to me. And yet, I don't get the feeling that Cookham suffers that much crime. Yes, I've read that some cars have been broken into for laptops, satellite navigation systems or mobile phones; but it's not like it's a huge number of vehicles.

So why the very visible signs all over the place? I would think that it's only common sense not to leave valuables out on display. Why do the police have to tell us? Is that their way of passing the buck back when someone reports a car break-in? A sort-of "we told you so"?

Britain has lots of these warnings. On the radio there are regular community announcements telling you to be careful of all sorts of things. People coming to your door and offering services or telling you to not put boxes of expensive Christmas presents out for the paper recycling collection too early or in one piece (in that criminals could scope out what you got and decide if your home is worth breaking into). There's a couple such ads on TV right now too. One has a couple showing a would-be burglar around their house, showing how their burglar alarm doesn't work, how their valuables are out on display, how flimsy their back door is, etc etc. The other has a guy in a bar showing the would-be thief his new flashy mobile phone and telling him he'll just leave it on the table while he goes to the toilet so he has a good opportunity to take it.

Coming from Germany, where this type of ad or warning isn't common, I don't know quite what to think. So rather than letting myself get worked up by an ad, I went and read the EU crime and safety survey. Actually, I didn't read all 118 pages of the report, I read the press release summaries for the UK and Germany and skimmed through some of the points in the report.

All in all, the UK does have a higher crime rate than Germany. In fact, the UK has the second highest level for theft from cars out of the 18 countries measured. Only Estonia is higher. Germany in contrast, has the second lowest rate. But that isn't quite as dramatic as it sounds. Germany's rate for theft from cars is just under 2% and the UK's is 6%. So four more out of every 100 cars will be broken into. I admit, I don't want our car to be one of those extra 4 (or the first 2 either), but I'm not sure it justifies the warning signs. I think having signs like that just creates an atmosphere of fear. Perhaps others think differently...

Sunday walk through Cookham

We had beautiful weather this past weekend, so we decided to go for a nice walk around Cookham. It was also the first real cross-country test drive of our new stroller. Worked a treat, once we got the tired properly inflated.

Here you can see G. with the stroller walking down towards the train station. I don't think you can see it in the picture, but way in the background is Cliveden, a large manor near us.
G getting aquainted with some of the friendly neighbours. What's funny is that this is about 200 meters from a regular side street in Cookham Rise.
We continued our walk through Cookham village and visited the Holy Trinity Church. It is quite old, well, parts of it are old. Before this church, there was a Saxon church built here, dating back at least as far as 750 AD. It was refurbished to more along its current form in the 1400s. If you visit, there is a good explanation of the architecture and history available to read.
From the church we went to The Ferry, a nice restaurant and bar right on the riverside, for a drink. It was the first time I had breastfed Lena out in the open, which was a slightly weird feeling, but actually was no big deal.

After the drink we headed for home, but took a side path to see if it also led towards our place. It didn't and we started to encounter fairly rough countryside with just the narrowest of paths. It's good our stroller is 3-wheel drive. But along with being a bit rough, it was leading us away from home, with no easy or short way back. But we were walking right beside some houses and I could see that if we cut through the yard of one place, we could get from their driveway to the street. G wasn't keen on doing it, but I was even less keen on walking an extra kilometre or so over rough ground, especially in the wrong direction. So we decided to go for it. Sure enough, the second we were on their grass, a window in the house flew open and a woman shouted out at us, "Just what do you think you're doing?" She sounded fairly annoyed, as I would be with someone walking in my yard. But I pulled the ultimate trump card, an apologetic tone and a baby. I immediately apologised and explained we were just trying to get to the road because we had lost the path. She quickly came around and was much friendlier once she saw we had the baby and a stroller to push. She let us go across to her driveway which led to the street - it was only about 30 meters from the edge of her property anyways. I was as sorry as my tone to her indicated; I didn't want to trespass, but I'm glad we did in the end. So thanks to the lady who by the end of our little encounter was making gentle small talk with us for letting us take a shortcut home. We promise not to do it again.

Measuring our walk using Gmaps Pedometer, we walked nearly exactly 6km. (Sorry, if you want the uncivilized mile measurement, you'll have to figure it out yourself.) Not bad for our first big walk out. The weather has become far more winter-like today, so we are unlikely to repeat it this weekend, but will be trying to do more and more in the future.

January flurries bring January flowers

Today's post title is of course a play on the saying "April showers bring May flowers". In Canada, I was never convinced of this, feeling that May showers bringing June flowers was more appropriate to the climate. It doesn't seem to be that appropriate here in England either. It snowed a considerable amount early Wednesday and again there was a dusting of the stuff last night. But today, this is what I saw in our front garden - 3 different types of flowers blooming like it was spring.

With a little help from my readers (see comments), I realise this one is a crocus.

These are snowdrops, I believe.
I'm really not sure what this is. It's blue and grows on a sort of vine.

There is one flower I'm sure about. I spotted this sweet flower in her Moses basket:
She's learning to smile, isn't that cute?