There have been a few things recently that have made me giggle ~ but none of them were elaborate enough to create an entire post, so I thought I'd do a compilation of them:
Two guys walking by the Thames, one was English, one was not. Non-English guy says "Oh, so in North London?" English guy says " No, no, not North London, OOOP North!!"
Saw a guy on the tube this week, he looked 20-something, he was wearing boat shoes, tight-ish cream dockers rolled up a couple of turns at the bottom (I kid you not), a plaid shirt over a t-shirt, and he had all these bands on his wrists ~ looked almost like those metal snap-around things, and a big, chunky, brightly colored watch band. OH! and he had James Dean hair! It occurred to me that he probably looked ok out with his friends, but all alone on the train he looked really out of place!
Speaking of guys on trains ~ there was one last week... sheesh! Older guy (50's??) wearing lilac trousers, (yep, you read that right) pink socks (and I don't mean pale pink either!) with a green and orange plaid shirt. I was trying to read but kept finding myself just staring at him... lol... how the hell do people leave the house thinking they look ok????
The rest are random things my son has said, he cracks me up regularly, but this week he has been on fire! lol...
"Hey, eating a piece of cake is a piece of cake!"
"Did you try the vanilla milkshake, Mum?" Then EXACTLY as I took a sip "you drink it and its good and then after a second it FIRES all the vanillaness at you!!"
"We have a class pet now! There's this fly and he comes in the classroom every day and flies around ~ we called him Steve" This story in particular had me in hysterics ~ just the way he said it, so matter of fact with this big grin, it was sooo funny!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
I know it's English, but......
I've been reading a lot recently (2 hours a day on the train plus some lunchtimes), so I'm getting through a lot of books.
I recently read autobiographies by Michael McIntyre (brilliant!) and Stephen Fry (very surprising), "How Hard Can It Be?" by Jeremy Clarkson (funny), "Rivals" by Jilly Cooper (yet again) and finally ended up at the library in search of something new and free.
After wandering aimlessly for a while in our small local branch I ended up in the "classics" section. It occurred to me that I now have the dedicated reading time to get stuck in to all the great classic literature I never read under the lame pretense of "not having time". So where to start? Which piece of writing should begin my literary catch-up? How about Jane Austen? We were recently at Winchester Cathedral where she is buried, so it seemed an appropriate place to begin.
And so, on Tuesday morning, I began reading "Sense and Sensibility".
I feel it is relevant at this time to mention that "Rivals" is 716 pages and I whipped through it in 5 days of train rides. It's one of those books that is reviewed as being "unputdownable" or "a wickedly good read" ~ that kind of thing. It's brain candy, a guilty pleasure, and I love it.
Maybe it wasn't the thing with which to precede Jane Austen.
Now I know I wasn't feeling particularly well on Tuesday morning, but I got off the train after an hour having read less than 20 pages. I say 20 pages, but if I were to add the paragraphs I read twice, thrice, and fourscore times to the end it would have been a lot more. In comparison to last weeks 716 pages, this week I read 255.
It's not that I don't know the vocabulary (although I admit there have been several I've had to "sound out" in my head), and I know that language was very different back then, but there are just so many big words in so many very long sentences!
Let me give you an example:
"To the former her raillery was probably, as far as it regarded only himself, perfectly indifferent; but to the latter it was at first incomprehensible; and when its object was understood, she hardly knew whether to laugh at its absurdity, or censure its impertinence, for she considered it as an unfeeling reflection on the Colonel's advanced years, and on his forlorn condition as an old bachelor."
I'm getting through it though, and now that I'm getting used to the phrasings I can concentrate more on the story, which is good. I'll tell you something though ~ I'm glad I wasn't born back then! The way those women were expected to live and behave... :: shudders at the thought ::
So I've almost finished this one, and I have "Emma" to read next, but I thought I'd ask what YOUR favourite classic novel is? Maybe I'll give it a shot next!
I recently read autobiographies by Michael McIntyre (brilliant!) and Stephen Fry (very surprising), "How Hard Can It Be?" by Jeremy Clarkson (funny), "Rivals" by Jilly Cooper (yet again) and finally ended up at the library in search of something new and free.
After wandering aimlessly for a while in our small local branch I ended up in the "classics" section. It occurred to me that I now have the dedicated reading time to get stuck in to all the great classic literature I never read under the lame pretense of "not having time". So where to start? Which piece of writing should begin my literary catch-up? How about Jane Austen? We were recently at Winchester Cathedral where she is buried, so it seemed an appropriate place to begin.
And so, on Tuesday morning, I began reading "Sense and Sensibility".
I feel it is relevant at this time to mention that "Rivals" is 716 pages and I whipped through it in 5 days of train rides. It's one of those books that is reviewed as being "unputdownable" or "a wickedly good read" ~ that kind of thing. It's brain candy, a guilty pleasure, and I love it.
Maybe it wasn't the thing with which to precede Jane Austen.
Now I know I wasn't feeling particularly well on Tuesday morning, but I got off the train after an hour having read less than 20 pages. I say 20 pages, but if I were to add the paragraphs I read twice, thrice, and fourscore times to the end it would have been a lot more. In comparison to last weeks 716 pages, this week I read 255.
It's not that I don't know the vocabulary (although I admit there have been several I've had to "sound out" in my head), and I know that language was very different back then, but there are just so many big words in so many very long sentences!
Let me give you an example:
"To the former her raillery was probably, as far as it regarded only himself, perfectly indifferent; but to the latter it was at first incomprehensible; and when its object was understood, she hardly knew whether to laugh at its absurdity, or censure its impertinence, for she considered it as an unfeeling reflection on the Colonel's advanced years, and on his forlorn condition as an old bachelor."
I'm getting through it though, and now that I'm getting used to the phrasings I can concentrate more on the story, which is good. I'll tell you something though ~ I'm glad I wasn't born back then! The way those women were expected to live and behave... :: shudders at the thought ::
So I've almost finished this one, and I have "Emma" to read next, but I thought I'd ask what YOUR favourite classic novel is? Maybe I'll give it a shot next!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Take a walk with me...
I don't know why, but I thought it might be fun to have you walk to work with me. Granted, this is more likely to be fun for the non-Brits amongst you, but it gave me something to do this morning as I wandered along, so walk with me you will! :0)
As I have mentioned before, I take the train/underground to London Bridge station and walk in from there. It's a quick 10 minutes, but I pass so many cool things that make me smile every morning. I am including the pics of each as well as handy dandy links for more information on each site ~ in case you're interested! :0)
The first thing we find is Southwark Cathedral, I walk through the grounds and one day I'm going to have to stop and try to read some of the very worn out, very old inscriptions in the stones on the ground. It really is a beautiful building.
So from here I go past the market ~ which is AWESOME at lunchtimes and has lots and lots of yummy fresh things, from fresh fruits and veggies to the biggest meringues I have ever seen ~ and then around the corner to the full size replica Golden Hinde. This was the ship that Sir Francis Drake was knighted on.
Round the corner from the ship (and I mean right around the corner) are the ruins of Winchester Palace. I find this particularly fascinating as the one remaining wall has been incorporated into a newer building ~ I can only imagine to hold it up!
Directly past the palace ruins down ye olde cobbledy street, is the Clink Prison Museum. It stands on the site of the historic Clink Prison, which my research tells me was THE most notorious prison of medieval times!
Past the Clink is a really cool brick tunnel which has lights on the ceiling that light up to make a firework display of sorts ~ I like it :0)
Next we go through the tunnel and to the right where we end up almost at the river bank and at the view that earns my biggest smile of the morning...
No, no, no, no.. not the pub! Look past that! lol...
The office is on the South side of the bridge on the 9th floor, so the view is fabbo!!
The last part of our journey is to go under the bridge and up the old stone steps to the main entrance..... until the evening, when we do it all in reverse and much, much faster! lol...
Well thanks for walking with me today, I hope you enjoyed your short tour. Please fill out your comment cards and feel free to tip your guide! :0D
As I have mentioned before, I take the train/underground to London Bridge station and walk in from there. It's a quick 10 minutes, but I pass so many cool things that make me smile every morning. I am including the pics of each as well as handy dandy links for more information on each site ~ in case you're interested! :0)
The first thing we find is Southwark Cathedral, I walk through the grounds and one day I'm going to have to stop and try to read some of the very worn out, very old inscriptions in the stones on the ground. It really is a beautiful building.
 |
| http://goldenhinde.com/ |
Round the corner from the ship (and I mean right around the corner) are the ruins of Winchester Palace. I find this particularly fascinating as the one remaining wall has been incorporated into a newer building ~ I can only imagine to hold it up!
 |
| http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/winchester-palace/ |
Directly past the palace ruins down ye olde cobbledy street, is the Clink Prison Museum. It stands on the site of the historic Clink Prison, which my research tells me was THE most notorious prison of medieval times!
 |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clink |
Past the Clink is a really cool brick tunnel which has lights on the ceiling that light up to make a firework display of sorts ~ I like it :0)
Next we go through the tunnel and to the right where we end up almost at the river bank and at the view that earns my biggest smile of the morning...
The pub is very pretty though, and it's a maze of small rooms, low ceilings and knock-your-block-off wooden beams inside!
We're almost there now, past the pub is the river and Southwark Bridge.
The office is on the South side of the bridge on the 9th floor, so the view is fabbo!!
The last part of our journey is to go under the bridge and up the old stone steps to the main entrance..... until the evening, when we do it all in reverse and much, much faster! lol...
 |
| Southwark Bridge from below |
 |
| The old stone steps |
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Shoes for thought....
I am now a commuter. I take 2 overland trains and 2 underground trains a day. I get on the train in Bracknell to get to Waterloo, get on the underground at Waterloo, stay on through Southwark, and get off at London Bridge, then the reverse to get home. It amounts to about 80 minutes of train time each way. However, the trains are PACKED during rush hour, so I spend those sardine-like hours trying to find somewhere to look whereby it doesn't seem as if I'm staring at someone or the other.
My solution is the floor as much as possible (when I'm not reading), which means I see a lot of shoes during the course of my travels, and I have made several observations:
1. Lots of women take a deep breath each morning and put their tennies on with their smart business suits, laughing in the face of fashion to save their feet. I applaud these women.
2. Lots of OTHER women fear the fashion gods and wear terrifyingly high heels from dawn to dusk. I am not one of these women. I think they're nuts!!
3. There are some FUGLY shoes out there!! Holy cow there are. And I'm not just talking about girl shoes either (although some of those defy the laws of nature let me tell you!), I'm talking about men's shoes as well.
My inspiration for this post, for example, was a particularly jaw dropping pair of men's shoes.
"Try to imagine, just for a moment..." (bonus points if you know where that quote came from) a business man (I'm going to guess mid-late 40's) tailored pinstriped suit, briefcase, newspaper tucked under his arm, you know the type. Professional. But the shoes!!! Black leather, polished, no scuffs, probably ridiculously expensive, normal from the heel to the point at which they should have ended.... but there was no end in sight. Instead of a rounded or even slightly pointed toe, they kept on going... and going... and going. It's like the energizer bunny had a hand in their design! I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say there was probably 3 1/2 inches or pointy shoes PAST the end of his toes.
"Winkle-pickers" my Nan would have called them, I could all but hear her say it when I saw them. I'm really not sure how I didn't actually laugh out loud when her voice popped in my head.
Now I know I am FAR from a fashionista, I'm thrilled I have a pair of actual "crocs" flip-flops, but seriously , the shoes were ludicrous!
I've given it some thought and I think that on a different guy the effect wouldn't have been so laughable. I actually know someone who wears pointy man-shoes and because he's uber-cool and stylish they don't look silly at all. Having said that though, I never saw him wear any THAT pointy!
One last thing before I go;
I am clinging to the hope that the worst footwear offenders I see are Europeans, most likely French or Italian because they think they are the rulers of fashion and can therefore wear any combination of crap and make it look "fashionable". Well you can't. Stop it!
When I'm trying to eat my lunch I don't want to see you in your lime green and black zebra print leggings that you oh-so-casually paired with hot pink and blue frilly edged wellies and your new "I <3 London" sweatshirt. It's nasty and you look like a twit.
My solution is the floor as much as possible (when I'm not reading), which means I see a lot of shoes during the course of my travels, and I have made several observations:
1. Lots of women take a deep breath each morning and put their tennies on with their smart business suits, laughing in the face of fashion to save their feet. I applaud these women.
2. Lots of OTHER women fear the fashion gods and wear terrifyingly high heels from dawn to dusk. I am not one of these women. I think they're nuts!!
3. There are some FUGLY shoes out there!! Holy cow there are. And I'm not just talking about girl shoes either (although some of those defy the laws of nature let me tell you!), I'm talking about men's shoes as well.
My inspiration for this post, for example, was a particularly jaw dropping pair of men's shoes.
"Try to imagine, just for a moment..." (bonus points if you know where that quote came from) a business man (I'm going to guess mid-late 40's) tailored pinstriped suit, briefcase, newspaper tucked under his arm, you know the type. Professional. But the shoes!!! Black leather, polished, no scuffs, probably ridiculously expensive, normal from the heel to the point at which they should have ended.... but there was no end in sight. Instead of a rounded or even slightly pointed toe, they kept on going... and going... and going. It's like the energizer bunny had a hand in their design! I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say there was probably 3 1/2 inches or pointy shoes PAST the end of his toes.
"Winkle-pickers" my Nan would have called them, I could all but hear her say it when I saw them. I'm really not sure how I didn't actually laugh out loud when her voice popped in my head.
Now I know I am FAR from a fashionista, I'm thrilled I have a pair of actual "crocs" flip-flops, but seriously , the shoes were ludicrous!
I've given it some thought and I think that on a different guy the effect wouldn't have been so laughable. I actually know someone who wears pointy man-shoes and because he's uber-cool and stylish they don't look silly at all. Having said that though, I never saw him wear any THAT pointy!
One last thing before I go;
I am clinging to the hope that the worst footwear offenders I see are Europeans, most likely French or Italian because they think they are the rulers of fashion and can therefore wear any combination of crap and make it look "fashionable". Well you can't. Stop it!
When I'm trying to eat my lunch I don't want to see you in your lime green and black zebra print leggings that you oh-so-casually paired with hot pink and blue frilly edged wellies and your new "I <3 London" sweatshirt. It's nasty and you look like a twit.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Happy New Year!!! ... Sort of!
Uh oh, Guess who forgot about writing on her blog? That would be meeeeeeee!!!! Oopsie :o)
Well, now that I've remembered I'm not sure where to start, sooooo I'm going to go away and think about it and come back to you later. I promise. I will. Really really!
See you later!
x
Well, now that I've remembered I'm not sure where to start, sooooo I'm going to go away and think about it and come back to you later. I promise. I will. Really really!
See you later!
x
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