Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a harbour city with a long and proud naval history.

Its about an hour and a half train ride SW of Woking. (I now express distances in terms of travel time on the train.)

John and I went down on a Sunday to check out their awesome naval museum. It is a huge facility and pretty impressive. Definitely worth the train ride.

There are 2 former working naval ships on display that you can crawl around. A haven for boat enthusiasts. The engineer in John was fascinated. And I have to admit, I found it interesting too.

Our first stop was a ship called "Warrior" which first set sail in 1860. It was was built to protect England from Napoleon and was the first iron clad sailing ship. The shell was 4" thick! The ship operated under sail and when necessary was assisted with steam. It was the first of its kind.

Does Anyone Here Speak English?

Regent Street was packed with people Saturday afternoon. (Actually, I suspect it is probably always packed.)

Generally, I am not a People Watcher. However, being surrounded by huge crowds, with little choice, I started to pay more attention to the mass of people around me.


                                                                             
It revealed a very international crowd.

I heard so many languages that in all honesty, it got to the point that I had to look twice if I heard someone speaking English - with any accent.

Patience Required

Things don't always happen at the pace we want.

For instance:

Mobile/cell phone - took two days.

Bank account - after 10 days and two pre-booked appointments with a Banking Specialist, where the first appointment was 2 hours and the second appointment an hour, we finally have a bank account. Yeah us. Ha! We still don't have our banking cards. Hopefully they will come this week. We can't get a charge card - and can't start the application process for at least 3 months, and then, maybe we can get one in 6 months. I could do another entire blog entry on HSBC, but really, why spew nastiness in a blog that is supposed to be fun?

Bed delivery - 3 weeks. I was told they don't keep them in stock and they have to order it from the factory before it gets made.

Laundry - both the washing machine and dryer are the same machine. It takes 2 hours to wash and then at least another 45 minutes to dry. That totals close to 3 hours per load. That's a long time to be running around naked.

Shoe Heaven

I had never been to Harrods, but knew it is an upmarket store. So while I was in the neighbourhood, I figured I should check it out.

The store is huge - covering over 5 acres and a million square feet of selling space. It is the biggest department store in Europe.

According to Harrods' shop windows "Shoe Heaven" had just opened on the 5th floor.

BTW - In North America, we would call that the "6th" floor, but never mind, that is another story unto itself. Besides, I really can't imagine that I will be able to change a nation and get them to re-number all their floors to coincide with North American norms. There are many other quests that I am far more likely to succeed at.

A Tribute to Fallen Animals

I found this near Hyde Park.

It is a very touching tribute and memorial to the animals that have valiantly fought in wars.

As it so truthfully says - "Animals in War - They Had No Choice".











If you click on the pictures you can take a closer look at the words.

Language: Nuances or Barriers?

Many nations speak English, but there are variations and nuances in accents, even within the country.

For instance, my ears hear the British pronounce words that end in an "a" with a sound like an "er".

The reason I notice this..... is because I always hear that I am "Linder from Canader". REALLY!?!?

I always thought I was "Linda from Canada".

Another thing my finely tuned ears (HA!) hear, is that the British pronounce "th" as an "f".

So I hear a British person say "I fink blah blah blah.......", when in fact I believe they are saying "I THINK blah blah blah."

Where the real difficulty for me arises is with the word for 3 - for the number "THREE". I hear them saying "FREE".

Electronics and Comunications

I think its safe to say I take my electronics and telecommunications for granted.... So much so, that when they don't work, I am at a loss. (Actually, I PANIC!!!)

The day after we arrived I was so proud of myself as I headed out to get mobile phone service. Within about an hour or more, and a bunch of trips between the local Sainsbury's (grocery store) and phone store, and with much help from the phone store guy, I was able to get cell phone service on my phone. I was incredibly proud of myself!

It received calls and made calls - YEAH ME!!!! (And the phone store guy!)

However, unbeknownst to me, some minor "nuances" stood between my cell phone and getting the desired Internet service.

Managing without a car

Our objective is to live without a car.

We think its a novel concept and will be fun....

Oh..... and ONE of the realities of not having a car...... Grocery Shopping!

I think John will do a great job of carrying things!!!!

Having said that, do realize, that in reality, in most likelihood, LINDA will be doing most of the grocery shopping!

Do also realize, that in reality, in most likelihood, we will probably always be short on groceries and need to go to that local pub around the corner.....

;-)

My mother never raised dumb kids!!!!!

:-)

House Hunting with a Mission!

I hate House Hunting with a Mission.

I find it is always so stressful trying to find a place that ticks all the boxes. Or, close to all the boxes. Or, please just give me SOME of the boxes!

Now let me define House Hunting with a Mission - it is NOT looking at beautifully decorated show homes, scouting for re-modelling or re-decorating ideas, in price ranges you can't afford, and at houses you have no intention of buying, and in actuality really aren't thinking of moving anywhere anyway. That is not House Hunting with a Mission.

I'm talking about "I NEED a home, and I need it NOW, and I need it HERE, and I have a certain BUDGET." For me, I'm talking stressful. THAT is House Hunting with a Mission.