You say tomato, I say tomato

Yesterday, I was asked to fill in for an absent church member to read the fourth lesson at our annual service of lessons and carols. I, in turn, found another willing member from "the bench" (or should that be pew?) as I was reluctant to commit. I have to say that Maria, who is of Austrian birth, read the lesson beautifully, as did all the other readers.

The reason for my reluctance is that I am aware of my English, very English, pronunciation of Isaiah. I've always been used to saying "ai-ZIRE-uh" and it has always sounded strange when read in church here as "ai-ZAY-uh". Now I would be the last to say which is right or wrong - now there IS a novelty - and to be fair, our wonderful vicar, who is Canadian by birth, has always encouraged me to "be myself" when reading and indeed was quite happy for me to use my English pronunciation if I decided to read the lesson.

This lead to a discussion on the different ways we English pronounce, never mind spell, common words. As usual food played a significant part - in which the Americans got full marks for saying PAR-sta, it is Italian after all, while us English say PA-sta, emphasizing the short "a". I was reminded of my embarrassment when on my first visit here I ordered a fil-LET steak and emphasized the "t", as any Englishman would. I got the same reaction from the American server (and my American family) as I would have done if I ordered a cod or plaice fil-LAY in an English "chippy" (fish-'n'-chip shop)! Understandable from the American point of view as even the English don't say bal-LET, but bal-LAY.

To-MATE-toe I do say now rather than to-MAR-toe (probably the only American pronunciation Gail can't, or won't, say). Another great food example is AP-ricot as opposed to English APE-ricot.

Of the non-food differences there is, of course SKED-ule as opposed to SHED-ule (the American version does make sense, no one pronounces school "shool"). Syllable emphasizing is another part of the language that takes some getting use to. IN-surance as opposed to in-SUR-ance, warran-TEE against warran-TY and sem-EYE versus sem-EE, are examples that come to mind.

Thank goodness we do understand one another. Even if we do pick up the pronunciations of our new home and alter our spellings, we are still of English stock. As our very talented choir director tells me, "be proud of your heritage", just as she is of her Filipino roots.

A Joyous Christmastide

As I will not get another chance to post before the happy day, Gail and I will take this opportunity to wish you, together with all our friends and family in England, Eire, Spain and here in the USA, a Blessed and Joyous Christmas.

Gail is about to get to our church to prepare the turkey she will be cooking for our annual Christmas dinner, which will follow our evening Holy Eucharist.

The church is looking more beautiful then ever, thanks to Kate and Monty and helpers and we are looking forward to worshiping with our friends both new and old.

Peace be with you.

Dress sense

A chance remark had be thinking on our "separated by a common language" theme again. I was talking about shoes and mentioned that so many people of all ages nowadays wear trainers. What are trainers?
Okay, let's have another session on American English and [British English]:
Sneakers or tennis shoes [trainers]
Pants [trousers]
Vest [waistcoat]
Tee-shirt [vest] as in underwear
Windbreaker [windcheater]
Suspenders [braces]
Cuffs [turn-ups]
Slicker [anorak]
Coverall [boiler suit]
Tuxedo [dinner suit]
Robe [dressing gown]
Sweater [jersey, jumper, sweater]
Panties [briefs, knickers]
Turtle neck [polo neck]
Panty-hose [tights]
Galoshes [wellington boots, wellies]
Purse [handbag]
Pocket book [purse]
and finally, a more delicate one:
Fanny pack [bum bag]

So, so different

I’m currently reading “The Anglo Files” by Sarah Lyall. Its sub-titled “A Field Guide to the British” and I must admit its great fun to be reminded of the differences we English and Americans either don’t realize or have forgotten. The author grew up in New York and is a London correspondent for the New York Times.

As a WWII baby, I was brought up on ration books (many people forget that there were severe food shortages for quite a few years after the war was over, into the early fifties in fact), so I’ve always tried to be thrifty, kept a well-stocked pantry and realized that my mother was right about the differences between “need” and “want”. Even my mother-in-law, with whom I disagreed with just about everything, was wise enough to quote the old adage “there is no such thing as a bargain if you have no need for it”.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s annual budget speeches as Chancellor of the Exchequer were well punctuated with the wonderful word “prudent”. He was often mocked for the number of times he used this word when spelling out the nation’s economic situation. I think prudent is how many of us, on both sides of the Atlantic, will become before the current recession is over. I was amazed at Sarah’s revelation (to me anyway) that a nation that used to be well known for being thrifty had become “awash in debt, about £1.35 trillion of it by 2007 – giving it the highest ratio of debt to personal income in the developed world”! That’s about $2.1 trillion by today’s exchange rate. Staggering!

Okay, so the English have that in common with our American friends, but Sarah points out the huge differences between our two countries. You notice that when I refer to Great Britain I use “nation”, when referring to England I use “country” (most of my friends here are aware of my dislike of being called a “Brit”). She has really reminded me of these differences. It’s not just differences in vocabulary, or the so-called “politeness”. It goes much deeper than that and thank goodness it does.

Upon reading her comments on the Englishness of not turning on a lamp until we can hardly see to find the switch, had me laughing out loud – we still do it here and it often amuses us to see neighbors having lights on all day.

I can thoroughly recommend this book. Americans will be amazed at some of the author’s experiences and observations, the English may be horrified, but will ultimately recognize themselves and like me laugh about it. That’s another subject for a blog posting – our different senses of humor.

Photos by Ian Britton, freefoto.com

O Come, all ye Faithfull

At church yesterday we were invited to join with the Altar Guild next Sunday in dressing the church with greenery. Our wonderful organist and choir director, Lyn, will be leading the choir in helping us willing workers along by singing our favorite carols.

Although since living here I’ve found I’m singing familiar hymns to unfamiliar music and vice versa, I still have favorites from my Norfolk boyhood, singing in the choir at our wonderful neighborhood church of St. Andrew’s, Great Yarmouth. I can still remember the first hymn I sung in that choir, probably aged 10. It was at our Harvest Festival service – “Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home”. Amazing how it still brings a lump to my throat when I hear it over fifty years later.

Advent and Christmas hymns and carols are no exception. Two in particular evoke such wonderful boyhood memories, not to mention that they were favorites of my parents. My mother adored “In the Bleak Mid Winter”. I also get quite emotional when singing this beautiful carol written by Christina Rosetti to the wonderful music of Gustav Holst.

Mum went to a Catholic school and was instructed to sing many carols in Latin (that certainly came in handy)! She did however take great delight in trying to pass this on to me. To my shame I can only remember the refrain from “Adesle, fideles, laeti triumphantes” (O Come, All Ye Faithful) and still sing this: Venite adoremus, Dominum.

Perhaps my strongest recollection of boyhood and teenage Christmas mornings was my father singing his favorite, "Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn!", whilst climbing the stairs at 3am to "awaken" a bleary-eyed me to breakfast of pork pie complete with HP sauce, before going with him 30 minutes later to deliver milk. He would never let his customers down, even on Christmas Day! “Christians Awake” was sung to the tune “Yorkshire” written in 1750 by John Wainright, and although not that well-known here, has been put on the list for this coming Sunday. Lyn, you can expect a few tears from this ol' Norfolk boy.


St. Andrews Church, Great Yarmouth. [Photo: Cliff Richard Temple]. The infant school I attended connot be seen in this view, but was attached to the church on the left.

Driving me crazy - part 2

The inspiration to write this post came whilst driving from home to the grocery store [supermarket]. In less than three miles I witnessed several drivers total disregard for other road users. Examples included not using turn signals [indicators], chatting on their cell [mobile] phones, drinking coffee or other beverages, and a real dangerous maneuver [manoeuvre] - pulling out in front of me when, although I had a green, they were turning “right on red” without stopping.

I must explain the latter to UK readers. In North Carolina (although not in all US States), it is permitted to turn right on a red signal at an intersection (unless signage instructs you not to) if, and only if, it is safe to do so. In the UK, this is the equivalent of turning LEFT at a red signal [traffic light]. As this is a RED, you must also STOP before continuing but it seems that whilst behind the wheel, stop is a word many Americans seem incapable of interpreting and it is not unusual to see many do what is known as a “Californian roll” at any stop sign.

Traffic circles [roundabouts] are very few and far between here, although there seems to be a move by some local authorities to introduce them. Most neighborhood intersections [junctions] are controlled by a stop sign in the minor road. Where two major roads intersect a “Four-Way” stop is used. This is a very civilized (if at first scary) system whereby the first vehicle to arrive goes first. Outside neighborhoods, on the major roads, traffic signals are the norm with filters, just like Europe, depending on the size of the intersection.

Whether driving standards are any better or worse here than in the UK or continental Europe, it’s difficult to say. I do know that it seems acceptable to travel a few miles per hour over the posted speed limit here and my biggest gripe is that only a minority use turn signals and many who do use them do so after making the maneuver – grrrrrrrr! Old school I may be, but I consider I was taught well, to always make a turn signal, even if I was the only car on the road (a good habit to get into) and to always follow this basic rule – "mirror, signal, maneuver". Okay, it's time for me to polish my halo and get on with the American-English – [British-English] translations:

Vehicle or automobile [car], usually pronounced “veer-he-cal” especially in the South.
SUV [4x4, even when it’s a 4x2], SUV = Sports Utility Vehicle
Minivan [people carrier]
Van [minibus]
Muffler [silencer or exhaust pipe]
Trunk [boot]
Hood [bonnet]
Fender [bumper], although common usage as in “bumper sticker” not “fender sticker]
Antenna [aerial]

There are many differences in vocabulary associated with actual driving. For example: Let’s say we are going on a trip [journey]. You crank [start] the engine [car], back-up [reverse] off your driveway [drive] into the street [road]. You might pop [open] the trunk [boot] to get something out or crack [open] a window to get some fresh air. Our son told us when he first came here he would mix American and British English in the same sentence, e.g., to his wife “honey, can you “pop” the “boot”, I need my jacket”!

Whilst driving (on the right of course) you will need to be careful as being involved in a wreck [accident or RTA] is the last thing you want. Of course you will not want to be pulled over by a cop, deputy or trooper [police officer] in his/her cruiser [patrol car]. There are very few “Yield” [Give Way] signs here, mostly “stop” signs or traffic signals [traffic lights] (see part one). We will want to get onto the highway or interstate [motorway] as soon as possible so we carefully merge from the ramp [slip road] into the right lane.

One of the many phrases which get a confused look is if we ask someone if they “want a lift”. No thanks, I don’t have to reach for anything and anyway I don’t think you can lift me! We soon realized that the question should be phrased “would you like a ride?” There, easy isn’t it?

Getting back to intersections and traffic signals – Americans tend not to slow down when approaching a “green”. We soon discovered that this is because the yellow [amber] holds for a lot longer than in the UK, so if green is just changing or changed to yellow you still have plenty of time to cross before it changes to red. That’s the theory anyway. And just like continental Europe, after red, it changes direct to green, not red and amber.

I must admit, that one place where drivers here take it easy and are extra vigilant, is on parking lots [car parks]. Pedestrians always have right of way. I know that’s the case in Europe, but the Spanish in particular treat pedestrians as “fair game” and assume that the species has no earthly right to actually walk from car to store. That’s a big plus for American (at least Southern) courtesy.

Whatever nationality you are and wherever you drive – “Let’s be careful out there”!

Footnote: Why is it that the car that overtakes you is going too fast (probably driven by a mindless moron) and the one you overtake going to slow (probably driven by a doddery old fool)?

Driving me crazy - part 1

It had to happen. I knew from the minute I published my first posting that sooner or later I would make a comment about driving standards. Remember the original idea for this blog? It seems I sometimes forget too. It was (and is) my intention to comment and reflect on the everyday differences of living here in the USA, North Carolina in particular and the land of my birth, England. We lived in southern Spain for five years so that may just creep into postings now and again. So differences in driving and all things associated with the automobile are fair game.

I learned to drive as soon as legally permitted at 17, so have 48 years experience and many, many thousands of miles under my belt, 15,000 miles a year being quite a lot by UK standards. I can now imagine my son reading this and thinking to himself “I wonder what it felt like crawling along behind the guy with the red flag”!

Cars (the design, power and more importantly the sheer number), roads and drivers have change tremendously during that time. When I first started driving there were just two sets of traffic lights [signals] in my home town, now there seem to be hundreds. My first car, a Morris Minor 1000 (an identical vehicle is pictured below), is now a classic collectors’ piece. But I think the most important change is in driving standards. The UK driving test is quite exhaustive, much more so than when I took it, but even then is was still much more intense than the test here. Of course, as soon as you had passed and received your full license [licence], your driving habits changed. For example you no longer shifted down a gear (lucky to have four then), slowed down and looked both ways at every intersection, even if you had the right of way. You were now free to travel the Queen’s highway!

Oh dear, this is going to be a long one . . . like previous subjects, I’m going to have post in installments.

To be continued . . .

Photo by Ian Britton, courtesey freefoto.com

An eye opener

A fellow church member recently spent a week in Haiti, the purpose of which was to see for herself the plight of this, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. She attended a conference in which various church and other aid organizations discussed how they can coordinate their efforts to help. We often hear of the problems of this and many other nations in the media, but after our Sunday service, when Lisa shared her experiences with a group of us, it somehow became more “real” and not so distant.

Another friend was telling me that a mutual acquaintance of ours, a renowned expert on tropical diseases, was extremely concerned about the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, and the effect on southern Africa this could have.

I get so frustrated when I think of various governments who cannot (or do not want to) do anything to improve the plight of their citizens, yet seem to find money to keep themselves and their hangers-on in comparative luxury as well as to equip and organize an army to force their own ideals. I'm not suggesting this is the case in Haiti, but given that nearly 60% of that country's economy comes from US, Canadian and EU aid, there surely is something wrong.

There is so much hunger, poverty and injustice in this world, where do we start? I try not to be controversial or preach on this blog, but apart from the previous paragraph there is nothing controversial about millions living on less than a dollar a day - it's a fact. Perhaps we should give more than a thought and a prayer, although we should do that, but give practical help, in whatever way we can - buying “Fair Trade” products whenever possible, by stopping and thinking before cancelling or reducing our charitable gifts, etc. It is even more important in these times of economic recession. Maybe we haven’t much to spare, but “every little helps”.

Thanks Lisa for opening my eyes even wider and to my daughter-in-law Ellie for her comments on the previous posting and for giving me the encouragement to post this one.

. . . . Oh, and when you switch on your Christmas lights, or enjoy those in your neighborhood, perhaps you might just give a second or two to think of those who haven't even one electric light bulb.

Chritmas lights - to be or not to be?

Power stations must be gearing up for the annual surge due to the Holiday season lights. Our neighborhood is gradually lighting up and some homes seem to be competing with Blackpool [British readers] or the Vegas Strip [American readers]. For the first two years here we did the same, gradually buying more lights.

Okay, hear it comes . . . . “Scrooge”, “Humbug”, you will be thinking, but this year we decided to keep things more simple by not adding to the light pollution in our street (not to mention reducing our carbon footprint and maybe seeing a smaller December electricity bill).

To be honest the real reason is that all the “glitz” of “Christmas” wears a little thin when we consider the plight of millions worldwide who have no electricity, no clean water and hardly any food, not to mention nearer to home, our many “neighbors” who have no roof over their heads, never mind one lit with hundreds of light bulbs.

We shall decorate, albeit not so early as previous years, but more conservatively. Of greater importance, we shall enjoy the Christmas Season by remembering its true meaning.

Swede, neep or rutabaga?

Our third Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.

To my non-American readers, one cannot express the importance of this holiday enough. Even if families cannot get together for the Christmas holiday (which here is that day only, no Boxing Day), a supreme effort is made to unite the family for the Thanksgiving feast. Families travel huge distances to be with one another on the last Thursday in November, to sit down over a gigantic meal (see below) then fall asleep during the traditional football (American version) game on TV. The origin is related to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans following the severe winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts

The Canadian’s too celebrate their own Thanksgiving, on the second Monday in October, reflecting the link to the English equivalent of Harvest Festival. Here in the US it is a Federal Holiday and as it always falls on a Thursday, the Friday is very often included so that a long weekend can be enjoyed by the family.

It didn’t take long for our son and daughter-in-law to determine that Thanksgiving would be held traditionally at our home. That isn’t a problem for my wife Gail, who loves “mothering” the extended family and is more than happy to cook for six (quite a small gathering really). The day starts off with me sprawled in front of the TV (there’s not that much to do whilst the turkey is cooking, at least that’s my excuse), to watch the magical annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York. It truly is a great couple of hours entertainment and although similar parades are held in cities throughout the land, Macy’s is the regarded as the best.

The Menu
We shall be having the traditional turkey with all the fixin’s – green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. but with two additional fixin’s. With three of the six being of English birth, we must have roast potatoes (in lieu of sweet potatoes) and our daughter-in-law’s family tradition is to have mashed rutabaga [or as the English call than Swedes, the Scottish, neeps], so we include that. The traditional dessert [pudding] is pumpkin pie, something I thought I would not enjoy, but I do! We will also have an alternate choice, probably blueberry and maybe cherry pie. On a day when I (and nobody else) will be watching their waistline, I might just have them all!

On a more thoughtful note. As much as I enjoy the traditional feast, I do realize that we have a huge amount to be thankful for. My thoughts and prayers are with those who for one reason or other cannot be with their kinfolk, or worse haven’t the food to fill their bodies or a roof over their head – and there are many of them in this, the richest nation in the world!

I shall have a lie-in on Friday. However, Gail will be up before the sun to grab the bargains (or attempt to) in the "Black Friday" sales. But that's another story.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A catholic music taste - part 3

My love of "stirring" music continued. Brass and military band music, plus the powerful symphonic compositions of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky were, and still are, favorites. The brass and military band concerts almost always included one of Suppé's [pictured here] rousing overtures, Light Cavalry, Poet and Peasant, etc. or an overture from an opera, Rossini's William Tell (naturally), The Thieving Magpie, etc. or of a Wagnerian masterpiece such as Lohengrin.

So opera was gradually introduced to me, albeit via the overtures and/or intermezzos. Again my Scottish work colleague, Jack McDonald, came to my aid when suggesting a visit to a touring version of Verdi's Rigoletto at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. I at once fell for the wonderful music and drama of Verdi. He remains my favorite operatic composer to this day. You will note that so far, my favorite composers were all of what in my opinion was a "romantic" school - Brahms and Verdi especially.

So listening to operatic arias, I began to appreciate that to be great, music didn't necessarily have to be loud or stirring. It can be just as powerful when quiet, gentle and serene. I then experimented with older composers, Bach, Mozart, Haydn - especially their symphonic works in the case of the latter, then more concertos, quartets and sonatas.

The violin concertos of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Dvořák were played on the Dansette until they virtually wore out! Another favorite was Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor. However, I can never hear this wonderful work now without thinking of the famous Morcambe and Wise TV sketch with André Previn [watch here], well worth watching, especially if you've never seen it before, although if you are English, this is highly unlikely.

Meanwhile I was still listening to "pop" and the latest trend in the alternative to rock 'n roll in England at the time, "Folk". This, like Trad Jazz during the early sixties became very popular and many folk clubs were formed, usually meeting in the upstairs rooms of the good old English pub. My best friend and I, later to become my brother-in-law, quickly became members of a local club and visited several others in neighboring towns, joining in the rousing choruses, swilling our dimpled mugs of good old English ale and wearing the uniform of "folkies" - a heavy cream colored Aran sweater and brown corduroy trousers! I cringe with embarrassment when I think of how we thought we were so "cool".

Popular folk singer and groups of the time were The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makim, Ewan MacColl, The Spinners (not to be confused with The Detroit Spinners), Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the American folk stars of the time Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary and the wonderful Tom Paxton.

To be continued . . . . . . . . . . . oh yes, there's lots more!

Fair Trade

Our weekly Bible Study group enjoyed a change of venue this week when on Tuesday we went on a “field trip” to the our local One World Market store. The object was to learn about the difference between fair trade and free trade.

Why should I, as a Christian, bother with fair trade products? Take coffee grown in a third world country as an example. Farmers very often barely survive and yet they are working to give a product (and large profits) to a huge company. The farmers remain poor because the companies do not pay them as they should.

Should we pay more for fair trade coffee? I intend to from now on and by doing so play my part in making sure those farmers get paid a fair price. Hopefully I can make a small difference in the world on behalf of the poor by purchasing coffee, chocolate and other items that have been made by companies who participate in fair trade.

A bonus is that One World Market, located on Ninth Street, Durham (not to be confused with World Market which is not a "fair trade" store as many people think) have a wonderful selection of chocolate and gifts.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maggie at OWM for opening my eyes.

A weekend in VA

We are home from our 39th wedding anniversary celebratory weekend in Virginia. Not everyone’s idea of a romantic getaway I know, but we thoroughly enjoyed our four days in the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We both love history and have nearly always spent our vacations either at or within easy reach of historical or cultural locations.

Colonial Williamsburg is awesome. The Visitor’s Center is extremely well run and informative. I suppose one can describe the historic area as a large open-air museum, but that’s not really the feeling you get when talking to the costumed guides (they really live the part, believe me). It has got to be the nearest thing to being transported back to the eighteenth century.

The "Governor's wife and daughter" talk to some visitors in Williamsburg

Our anniversary was celebrated on Sunday at Bruton Parish Church, which has served Christians from 1715 and still does. I suspect that no one could nod off during sermons through the centuries - the pews have perpendicular backs!

A musketeer gives a demonstration of his skill at Jamestown Settlement

The settlement at Jamestown is where it all began. The Visitor Center at the Settlement is impressive – a wonderfully designed building with great facilities. The galleries really give a good sense of the formation, struggles and (eventual) success of the settlement.

If Jamestown is where it began, then Yorktown, just 20-odd miles on the other side of the peninsular, is where British rule of the colonies was decided in the siege of Yorktown. It was a cold and windy afternoon that the Park Ranger took us on a tour of the battlefield. She told me that she would be “hard on the British”. Actually she was very fair and her narrative was very informative and entertaining. We took this with a smile – what else could we do, being surrounded by Americans?

An American howitzer and four mortars at Yorktown battlefield

If you get the chance and are interested in the history of this great nation, a visit to this area is highly recommended.

Baby talk

A chance word at Holy Eucharist this evening gave me the idea for another installment of the main theme of this blog.

My wife was holding the baby, literally, as a church member had brought along her six-week old son and Gail immediately gave mother a break by holding him throughout the service. Young Timothy started to whimper during our monthly, informal evening service of Eucharist with Healing, so his mother passed Gail a pacifier [dummy].

During the supper which followed (our Vicar had made a truly excellent vegetarian black bean soup), baby talk showed up some other "same language-different words" for common baby items. Gail fortunately did not have to undo Timothy’s babygro [onesie] to change his nappy [diaper], but she did have to wind [burp] him. Nor did she have to push his buggy or the older version “pushchair”, [stroller] or put him to bed in his cot [crib] or Moses basket [bassinet]. When Timothy is old enough to ride his first bike [cycle] he will probably need stabilizers [training wheels] and when his parents need a night out they will need the services of a baby sitter [child minder].

As much as I enjoyed our Vicar's soup, the icing [frosting] on the cake at tonight's supper was the inclusion of some ginger nut [ginger snap] biscuits [cookies] - yummee [yummee]!

Christmas is coming . . . .

On Thursday of last week we received our fist Christmas card. Admittedly it was from England, although why so early I have no idea. I'm sure this is the earliest ever. Unlike when living in Spain when we had a card delivered in April (just in time for Easter). No, that wasn't early, it was late!

On Friday we received our second! There was a good excuse for this as the senders, dear English friends, had posted the card in England en route to the ferry on the first part of their road trip to southern Spain where they, and their cat (who has her own passport), are spending three months in their beautiful home in Torreblanca. Experienced in Spanish life, they too, are aware of the failings of the Spanish postal service, so made sure that their card to us bore an English, rather than Spanish postmark!

Although we have, as yet, sent no cards, to England, Spain or anywhere else, we have sent the package of Christmas gifts to our Norfolk, England family. Our reasoning was threefold: we already had the gifts; it included an early December birthday gift; and we wanted to beat the bottleneck we know that the Royal Mail suffers pre-Christmas.

The US Postal Service, as usual, excelled themselves. Our daughter emailed us to let us know that the package had arrived in five days. Credit where credit is due.

Library visit and a sense of smell

I've always been an avid reader and consequently I always have had a "love-affair" with books. Not only the content, you understand, but also the actual item. Perhaps this influenced my decision to choose the printing industry as a career. When conducting visitors on tours of the book-printing plant I worked in for all of 35 years, I often astounded them with the enthusiastic statement, "the smell of a new book, turns me on"! It still does. Borders, Barnes & Noble and the like may try to disguise this by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, but it doesn't fool me. I can still breath in that combination of paper, ink and binding adhesive. It comes a close second to the scent of freshly baked bread or newly mown grass.

Alas, the same cannot be said for public libraries. They have a unique aroma and in my experience it is an international condition. I cannot remember never being a library member. We were when in England, in Spain, and didn't waste any time signing up when coming to live in North Carolina. Of course the digital age has changed the layout of many such establishments. Vast amounts of space are now taken up by audio books, CDs, DVDs and of course by many, many computers.

We have the choice of several branches, but we prefer the trip downtown to the main county library, where there is an enormous choice of the written word to be digested. It also carries copies of Trains magazine which I enjoy reading but have never got round to subscribing to. Our regular three-weekly visit was scheduled for Wednesday, but without any prior notice we found it to be closed for the day - staff meeting. Okay, while we were in the vicinity I took the opportunity to pay our annual property tax [council tax] and rescheduled our visit for Thursday.

With respect to librarians, they are one of those breed of workforce that are "born, not made". I know I can be accused of stereotyping here, but I'm speaking from experience over many years and many libraries, in Norfolk England, Benalmádena Spain, and now here in Durham North Carolina. Don't take this the wrong way, this is not a criticism (although a small minority are less than helpful), just an observation.

So what am I saying here? Hardly any differences between public libraries in England, Spain and North Carolina? Actually, no, there isn't. I'm not sure though how many books one is allowed at a time now in Norfolk County libraries (it was 8 when we lived there). In Spain it was a meagre 4, but our wonderful Durham County Library allow us 50, yes fifty, at one time - that's books, audio books and CDs! Just how the most enthusiastic reader would get through this amount in the three week checkout period I'm not sure. I usually borrow four books, one a week plus a spare. Perhaps I'm not such an avid reader as I thought I was!

I never did find out what that meeting was about. My usual charitable wife did remark, after a encounter with a particularly sourly staff member, that it certainly wasn't a training session on "How to greet customers with a smile"! No coment.

History is made - 2nd (and final) update

Okay, it's now official. The North Carolina presidential ballot was won by Barack Obama. Apparently there were not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit. Therefore, the Democrats gained a clean sweep in all positions - Presidential and State

Now I can back to my blog theme of comparing everyday living in NC to Europe in general and England in particular.

History is made - update

Only one state, North Carolina, has yet to confirm whether it's Presidental vote was red (Republican) or blue (Democrat). Apparently 40,000 votes cast were "unconfirmed" and each and every one has to be checked for authenticity. Even though Barack Obama has about 14,000 votes more than John McCain, it's too close to call. Amazingly, it will not be confirmed officially until November 24th!

And I am pleased to report, and I'm sure you are pleased to hear, that the jigsaw puzzle pictured yesterday was completed by my better half - despite the help(?) she received from Nimbus 2000!

Big cat puzzle

History is made

It’s 3pm here in North Carolina and although after all the excitement unfolding before our eyes on TV last evening, we remain one of two states in which the presidential race hasn't been decided. The result is too close to call in this, the Tar Heel state (the other is Missouri).

Despite this Barack Obama piled up a 349 to 162 lead in electoral votes over John McCain. As 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency we do know that Barack Obama is our President Elect. North Carolina has 15 electoral votes and apparently it could be some time before they are decided, even though Senator McCain trails Obama by 11,000 votes (out of over million).

The Democrats had a clean sweep for other offices in the State Legislature, including the Governor . . . . . and the proposed Food Tax for our fair city was heavily defeated — good news (for now).

Meanwhile, our eleven-year old kitty, Nimbus 2000, pictured below, couldn't give a hoot - she's seen it all before!

Did you really expect to complete that jigsaw puzzle today? =^..^=

An historic day?

It’s here at last! After twenty months, countless speeches, goodness knows how many hours of TV coverage and advertising, Election Day has finally arrived. Americans are up for this one. Of that there is no doubt. Millions have voted early and long lines [queues] are expected at polling stations around the nation today.

To continue my theme of differences between here and England the US Presidential Election is a prime example. Obviously there is no such thing in England, but I suppose the equivalent is a General Election. A similar term of office is served both by the American President and the British Prime Minister (although the former is four years while the latter, normally about the same time, can call an election at almost any time before five years). I was going to say that the English, together with their Scottish, Welsh and (Northern) Irish neighbors don’t actually vote for a Prime Minister directly - the only voters who have anything like a chance of that are those living in the prospective PM’s constituency. Although at first glance it looks as if here voters do, that’s not exactly the case; the complicated (to me) business of the Electoral College does that, so to a certain extent it’s an indirect vote here. However, all voters have the chance to vote for one of the Presidential Candidates.

Although we are, as yet, unable to vote here, I do realize things are very different. The last time we voted in person in England was in 2001 in local elections. The small village hall was the venue (open, as all polling stations, from I believe 7am until 9pm) and manned by two officials plus the statutory police officer. The voting paper had at most six names, if that and an officially provided soft pencil (attached by a piece of string to the polling booth) was all that was allowed to mark your voting slip.

Here the number of polling station officials is enormous; I’m not sure about the police officer though. The voting paper is Letter size (8.5”x11”) and contains not only the presidential candidates but those for State and more local offices as well as some local issues. For example, our local County voting papers will have also the candidates for State Governor, Lieutenant Governor (a sort of Vice Governor), candidates for the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, State Treasurer, etc. A highly charged local issue is for voters to decide whether they accept the proposal by our City Council to apply a 1% “Prepared Food Tax”. This would apply to restaurants, fast food outlets, delis, etc. (Not popular in this household)! Some States are also including much more important issues than a 1% Food Tax on their ballot papers - same sex marriage, abortion, etc.

Another difference here is the very size of the country. The polls close here in NC (Eastern Time) three hours before those in California (Pacific Time).

I, like millions of others, will be sitting in front of the TV this evening watching the drama unfold. The long campaign has certainly been tiring but at times entertaining and often frustrating. Today’s result will no doubt have an effect on us all – let’s hope America has chosen wisely.

God Bless America!

A catholic music taste - part 2

Despite (or because of) the gentle persuasion of our school teachers to steer us away from the “perils” of rock ‘n roll, I liked the “devil’s music” (although my mother wasn't happy about that - I suspect today's mothers feel the same)! At the same time, I was still enjoying choral music at church, and slowly graduating from light classical to more serious stuff with a special affection for the music of two of the B's - Beethoven and Brahms.

The late fifties and early sixties saw a revolution in popular music and my father decided to purchase a radiogram. Despite my enthusiasm, I think it was because one of his customers had given him a large collection of 78s that really persuaded him. It was a grand piece of furniture, finished in walnut veneer with a large central speaker and manufactured by Pye. I was about 13, just in time for me to start spending my hard-earned wages (I had three jobs whilst still at school) on 45s. Can anyone reading this remember the first record they bought? Mine was Duane Eddy’s “Rebel Rouser” – not exactly a musical masterpiece, but it appealed to me at the time. My early rock ‘n roll favorites were popular English rockers Billy Fury and Marty Wilde and of course, the King, Elvis Presley.

By the time I left Great Yarmouth College to start on my five-year apprenticeship in the printing trade I had purchased a Dansette “portable” record player — state of the art, 3-speed with auto changer of which over one million were sold in the 1950s and 1960s. I could now play my music to my heart’s content in my own room – something of a novelty in the early sixties. Apart from rock ‘n roll, there developed another musical craze in England around this time – Trad-Jazz! It was based on traditional Dixieland jazz and there sprouted a multitude of bands across the country. Consisting of a standard line-up of trumpet, trombone and clarinet and backed by drums, base and banjo and sometimes piano. Three of the best known and most successful happen to be still going strong – Chris Barber, Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk. Needless to say, I soon got hooked. This gave me a taste of many traditional ragtime tunes and this coupled with my admiration of Glenn Miller gradually pulled me away from 60s pop and more and more into jazz, blues and swing.

Johannes Brahms - isn't this a geat portrait?

A work colleague was a great classical devotee and during one of our many lunch break discussions invited me to travel to London’s Festival Hall with him and his wife. The program included Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Haydn, both still favorites. Hooked again! I lost no time in subscribing to “The Gramophone” magazine and soon was ordering LPs (as we called them then) of more and more classical music. The music of the greats soon boomed from my Dansette. I say boomed because at that time I loved the more “stirring” orchestral stuff, obviously a legacy of the brass band concerts, and I didn’t yet appreciate the subtleties of piano sonatas, chamber music and the like. That was to come with age!

To be continued . . . . . . . . . . .

Differences in Store

My main reason for creating this blog was to describe my experiences of the differing ways of life between North Carolina and England. I will later probably compare our life on the Costa del Sol, but that's another story. I have already deviated from my main theme in the previous post and I'm sure I will deviate more later, but for now, let me keep to the plot.

A great American pastime is shopping. I know it's fun(?) for many in England, but here it's more than fun, it's a passion. It is also a different experience believe me. I shall translate the terminology of shopping into British English in parenthesis. It was made very noticeable on our last visit to England (in 2005). English sales associates (assistants), although in general polite and helpful, cannot compete with their American counterparts who immediately greet you as you walk into any store (shop), frequently ask if you need help in finding things ("Please don't hesitate to ask - it's no trouble") and upon leaving wish you such a pleasant day, evening or weekend, that you wonder why you even came shopping. They truly are wonderful although it can be overpowering at first, but like a dripping faucet (tap), you get used to it! Politeness is still evident - doors are almost always held open for you - if you return the compliment you are thanked. If someone accidentally clips you with a shopping cart (trolley) an immediate "excuse me, I'm so sorry" is said (and more importantly,meant). Even when a fellow shopper walks between you and the display you are viewing at the grocery store (supermarket) he/she will say "excuse me". Of course, there are exceptions, there are rude, inconsiderate people in all parts of the world. A neighbor told us, "This is The South, don't expect the same courtesy in New York or the Mid-West".

Then there are "the sales". I'm sure there are many more now in England, although not too many years ago they seemed to only occur following the Christmas holiday and perhaps an "End of Season Sale" at the conclusion of the winter and/or summer seasons. Here, there's hardly a weekend when there isn't one - any excuse for a sale (President's Day, Valentines, Labor Day, etc., etc.). The real big one is "Black Friday", that's the day after Thanksgiving (for which there's already been a sale of course), when all that turkey and pumpkin pie is worked off by chasing around the sales. Let's face it, when it's busy like this, you may have to park the car at least twenty yards from the store entrance, and for many this is great exercise! To summarize, no one pays the ticket price for anything - just wait a couple of days for the next sale!

Coupons and store loyalty cards are big here. Most Americans (us included) have a key-ring full of loyalty fobs. They are freely given at the store (okay, you "pay" by letting the store know your shopping habits) and hardly anyone would go shopping without them. If you realize you've left yours at home when reaching the register, some kind soul in the line (queue) will lend you theirs - heaven forbid that you should miss out on the discounts. We, as seniors, even do our grocery shopping on a Tuesday so as to gain a "senior discount" of 5% on top of all the other discounts gained by the card and the multitude of coupons. Every penny (yes, the 1 cent coin is called a penny here, not that dreadful "pee") counts.

Another shock to the European shopping here for the first time is that the price you see is not the price you pay! There is no V.A.T. in the US, but on reaching the register (till or check-out) you will be required, in most but not all States, to pay a sales tax. In North Carolina it's an add-on of 6¾% (2% on food).

You may have noticed I used earlier, the linear measurement of yards. Measurements here are not metric and that's something I am grateful for. Call me old-fashioned by all means but I can actually visualize what a piece of 2x4 looks like as opposed to a piece of 5.1x10.2cm before I visit the Home Depot to purchase my lumber (timber). Well . . . nearly. A 2x4 is in fact actually planed to 1¾x3¾. I can remember calling this a 4x2 in England, here it's called a 2x4. Confused? So you should be.

A catholic music taste - part 1

I've often been asked why I describe my musical tastes as "catholic"? I use the term in it's "all-embracing" or "broad-minded" sense, as defined in the OED, not in a religious sense, although as an Episcopalian I do regularly state my belief "in one holy catholic and apostolic Church".

It's a term I supposed I inherited from my father who, like me, played no musical instrument, but just loved music of all kinds. As a young boy I can remember my father singing whilst working in his dairy and when delivering milk. We were keen listeners to "the wireless" and we attended weekly brass-band concerts at the (then) wonderful Winter Gardens in our home town of Great Yarmouth. The concerts, usually on a Sunday evening when we rushed from Evensong to the sea-front, were given by a different town or village band mainly from Norfolk or north Suffolk and it is without doubt because of the variety of music played that I developed my wide taste in musical genres. Military marches, overtures from opera, light classical and Broadway melodies were always featured in the program and I tended to remember tunes quite well.

My mother's love of "Hymns: Ancient and Modern" and her total recall of virtually every hymn included, inspired me to join the choir at our local church of which we were already members. That was the delightful little church of St. Andrew (known locally as the "Wherryman's Church" - a wherry was a local, unique type of shallow-draft sailing craft, used to transport cargo to and from the coast along the rivers of the Norfolk Broads). The church had an infant school attached which I attended from age five through seven. Sadly, the church and the school were demolished in the 1960s and is now the site of retail stores - serving the modern god of consumerism.

A Norfolk wherry in full sail. Photograph by Kevin Rowe

Later, at my junior school (Priory Boys', another church school and whose main hall was originally the priory of the adjacent St. Nicholas Parish Church, pictured below, and over 900 years old), we had some wonderful teachers, who encouraged our listening to classical, traditional and jazz even. Anything, I think in retrospect, to discourage us from the evils of the emerging "rock 'n roll"!

The Church of St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, England's largest parish church.

. . . . . . to be continued.

Yard visitors

An early morning visitor to our yard (garden) is pictured here. Although we often get these delightful creatures passing through,they don't usually hang about long enough for me to get my camera. This little "dear" obliged today.

We are lucky to be visited by much more wildlife that we ever were when living in England (and that was in a country village). In the early eighties, when we moved from the city we were visited by many garden, farmland and hedgerow birds, but by the time we left for Spain in 2001, we no longer saw wrens, chaffinches or hardly a robin.

Here we are visited by a great many colorful varieties, including the wonderful NC State bird, the Cardinal. Summers see humming birds hovering over flowers and the nectar feeding bottle we hang up. We usually have a pair of morning doves picking up seeds dropped on our porch by the fussy finches and chickadees. One morning this summer I heard a crash against our study window and was amazed to see a red-tailed hawk carry off one the doves among a flurry of feathers! I really felt sorry for the dove's mate. American robins are at least twice the size of an English robin (I can almost hear my English friends saying "well, they would be!) and are not solitary but flock onto our grass to feed on the insects and grubs.

Squirrels are plentiful and we usually have a few chipmunks and rabbits scurrying about. There has been evidence of the cheeky raccoon but unfortunately we only have seen these as corpses on the highway, victims of the automobile.

Reptiles are more prevalent than we have been used to. Salamanders, toads and several varieties of snakes are often seen. The Black Racer snake is well named - they are fast!

Now, as we really get into the Fall (autumn), visitors arrive in their thousands. What are they? . . . . . . . . LEAVES! My better half enjoys raking leaves . . . . . I thank Heaven she does!

Our Americanization?

Since posting my first blog I have a couple of comments from English friends who, quite understandably, think I should anglicize my postings. One didn't like me using sidewalk or cellphone as opposed to pavement or mobile phone. I have explained that our American friends know the pavement as the actual "paved" roadway, so to them it would make no sense and at least the English are familiar with sidewalk through American literature, movies, TV shows, etc.
As for cell phone versus mobile phone, I happen to think that the former describes it perfectly - a phone which works by using a cellular transmission system, whereas the latter describes any phone that is mobile. Even my land line phone is in fact mobile.
I have two main reasons for using American terms:
(1) We have American friends as well as English who will likely read this blog.
(2) We live here now and although we are English born, we do try to fit in (the main English opposition to immigrants in England is that "they don't fit in") and are proud to, so I suppose we are becoming Americanized.
Mind you, as much as we love Southern cooking (I love grits, iced tea and biscuits) we do miss some very English culinary delights. For example, a friend recently brought us some Sainsbury's battenburg cake from a trip to London and this very morning I purchased Birds Custard Powder and some Marmite at the international section of our grocery store (they even stock Branston Pickle) and even though we drink plenty of coffee (not instant) we still enjoy our Tetley British Blend cuppas.
For all the things our great nations have in common, it IS different here and thank the Lord for that.