National Puppy Day

Apparently, today in American is National Puppy Day.  Who knew there was such a thing?  It's to encourage people to adopt from shelters and not buy from puppy mill pet stores. 

This comes in a bit handy since only three weeks ago we had a new family member arrive at our house.  This is him

Yes, he is a teeny tiny pitbull puppy.  The poor little fellow has to live with that bad pitbull reputation for the rest of his life, bless him.  But he will be protected by his big brother Charlie.  [Not sure 'protected' was the correct word here, actually, what with all the bad connotations the word pitbull conjures up with some people].

Big brother will look after him

It took a while to name him but we finally settled on Spencer.  (Pronounced with an English accent of course.... Spensahhhh).

I'm not going to get into the whole debate about pitbulls and Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), but will say they are the most lovable dogs who grow into 90 pound lapdogs and will love you forever.  If you are interested, this is a really good article by Jake Flanagin from Pacific Standard: "The Tragedy of America's Dog"

I was thinking we should have called him Marmite.... because him being a pitbull, people either love them or hate them!!!!

How could you NOT love that face?

How Rude!

I was just wandering around the world wide web the other day, as you do, and I came across this little gem in Wikipedia.

Inselaffe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inselaffen [plural] is a German word meaning "Island Monkeys". It is used, perhaps pejoratively but mostly light heartedly, to describe the people of England, UK. The word is generally used fondly and as part of the friendly and often humorous, competitive banter between the two countries.

The actual meaning behind it refers to the German (and other European countries) stereotypical image of the English as heavy drinking, violent, criminalistic and yobbish. These characteristics of the English are regularly witnessed by Europeans when visiting the UK, while on holiday elsewhere or at football matches, where many Europeans have been victim to the internationally infamous English hooliganism.

German people offer this behaviour as evidence to a tongue in cheek theory that evolution stalled on the island of Great Britain.

Although the phrase is used in reference to the people of the British Isles, the same stereotype mainly refers to the people of the regions Scotland, Ireland and Wales, who, it is considered, have a much more violent and aggressive nature, though still suffering the same commitment to inebriation and constant fight to avoid sobriety.

Well, bugger me, that's a bit rude, isn't it?  I've never in my life heard this word, let alone known anyone to actually use it.  And why would someone think it necessary to write a Wikipedia post about it?  Who's out there looking this stuff up?  That's just down right cheeky.

Apparently, whoever wrote of the "...friendly and often humorous, competitive banter between the two countries..." has quite obviously never been on a package holiday to Majorca, where you have to get up at 4:00 a.m. to put your towels on a sunbed so you can beat the Germans at their own game! [Yes, I did just go there...]

Too late, the German's got there first!

I'm not so sure this is actually a 'tongue in cheek' Wikipedia entry, but seeing as I am, in fact, English I am going to ignore it and reaffirm my commitment to inebriation and avoid that fight with sobriety, .... I'm going to have a drink! 

Cheers!

We're a lovely lot - don't know what they're talking about!

The Real Football Experience

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to a pub some 60 miles away to watch a football game.  Nowadays most of the games are on television (well at least on ATT UVerse anyway) so I all need to do is get my morning cuppa and some toast and watch in my pyjamas.  (Because I'm in California the games start at 4:00 a.m. - although it's very rare I ever see those games!  I'm usually just about awake for the 6:00 a.m. ones)

But, whilst watching the footie this past weekend there was an advert for an App so that you can find out where to watch games.  It’s called NBC Sports Matchmaker and I though I would take a look and see what it had to offer.  Apparently, according to the advert and the blurb in the app “Diehard football (soccer) fans know the only thing better than watching football is watching it surrounded by other fans.  But sometimes, finding other fans to watch with can be a challenge…”  [Yes, soccer was in brackets in their description].

That description should have been my firrst warning that this wasn’t for ‘real’ football fans… reading a bit further there is a list about who the app would be helpful for:

• Fans who are new to the game or their neighbourhood and want to know where to watch their team play [If you are new to the game, why would you have a team? – oh wait, it would probably be Man. Utd]
• Fans who are away from home and need to find where other fans are congregating [ok, that makes sense, but ‘congregating” – sounds like there will be trouble]
• Fans who want a way to organize their regular football watching meet up [Umm, wouldn’t you just meet at the pub/bar?] 

Oh and you can meet people through the app and via Facebook.  Something about this sounds pretty pathetic really.  I don't want to be walking into some pub to meet random strangers who may, or may not, possibly, support the same team as me... just so I can have a pint at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Because no matter where you go or how many people are there, nothing will emulate the feeling of standing on the terraces (if there were still terraces to stand on, that is).

Years ago, when there was little or no football coverage on the telly, occasionally there would be a pay-per-view game on a Saturday morning.  At that time, everyone we knew would come over to our house and have a whip round for the price of the game.  I would then spend the morning making sausage or bacon sarnies and endless pots of tea (and trying to watch the match).  It was a lot of fun and something that I do miss, although now I don’t even have to get out of bed if I don’t want to.  

But to spend the early morning with random football novice s is just something I wouldn’t ever want to do. So no, I am not downloading this app.  Sorry NBC.

The Best of British

Isn’t it wonderful when British people do brilliant things?  We’re always so self-deprecating that it’s a wonder any of us get out there in public and actually try to be good at anything.

Take Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards for example.  A worse ski jumper you will never find, but he became an absolute bloody hero in 1988 when he entered the winter Olympics.  As it says on Wikipedia (‘cos yes, he has a page):

“Finishing last in the 70m and 90m events, he became famous as an example of a plucky

underdog  or 'heroic failure', and of perseverance and achievement without funding that 

represents the British bulldog spirit.”

Even a book!

We might not be that good a skiing, but we seem to be brilliant at acting.  Maybe because it’s easier to hide behind a character than to have to actually be yourself.  

Which brings me to the Oscars last night.  Who didn’t have their fingers, legs, eyes and toes crossed for Eddie Redmayne to win Best Actor?  And what a great speech.  Here is it, if you missed it.

Didn’t he do well, bless him.

The film was extremely good and if you haven’t seen it, you must go.

I know three people who have been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or as it’s known in the UK Motor Neuron Disease) and unfortunately, all of them lost their battle with the disease and none of them survived more than four or five years.  It is very hard to watch someone die from the outside, while inside they are still themselves, trapped in their own non-functioning body.

To live with ALS as long a Stephen Hawking has, well it's pretty much a miracle.

I met him once.  Well, okay, I didn’t actually meet him, I was in the same room as him (which in my opinion is close enough).  We were at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles about a year ago and  we walked into one of the bars and a friend told me “Stephen Hawking’s over there” and there he was, in his chair in all his glory, with his nurse and, I presume wife.  And I was completely and utterly star struck.  Living in Los Angeles, where celebrities are a penny a dozen, it seemed weird that a scientist, of all people, would have me speechless.  

But that’s what happened and quite frankly, I’ve never been allowed to live it down.  My name is Sharon and I’m a Geek! (apparently)

Angry British

On a recent shopping trip I had a bit of a melt down, or a paddy, if you like.  Wandering around Fresh & Easy I got to the “Foreign” section and noticed just how small the English section had become. When I first started shopping there, there were eight shelves of English foods, yes 8!  It looked like this…

Amazeballs!!

It probably doesn't seem much to anyone who has a Tesco around the corner from their house, but in the jolly old USofA, this is amazing!  Well until now, that is.  Now, it’s been reduced to just TWO shelves of baked beans, marmalade, Heinz soup, Robinsons and gravy granules - the bottom two shelves no less.  Oh how I wished I hadn’t been so complacent in thinking it would be there forever.  If I’d have known it was going to disappear, my cupboards would look like Tescos with shelves and shelves of food I would never be able to eat because I had so much.  Well, so much for that!!  How I miss you, Bird's Custard, Ribena and HP Sauce!

And now, with bloody Hersheys taking our Cadbury’s chocolate off the shelves, my pickings are going to be getting even slimmer.

Which is where my paddy came in.  Apart from the disappointment from my lack of choice in the British food section, there it was, that ghastly Hershey chocolate gloating at me from the shelves. I could see it grinning down as if to say “Buy me, I dare you!”   So I went into a wobbly.  I will admit, a few selective swear words were uttered – because obviously it wouldn’t be a real British rant if there was no swearing.  “*^&% You Hershey” may have possibly been said a few times too!  

The Mr. turned to me and said “Do you know that when you’re angry, your English accent gets really strong?  I can hardly understand you”  He certainly knows how to calm me down!  Nothing makes me happier than to be told my accent is still there!

About that time, I walked down the aisle where the sweets are and holy-moley, all the English chocolate (at least everything they have left) was half price.  So what's better to cheer you up than seeing 'real' Yorkie bars for only 99c and buying the whole lot!  

.

Nope, not a York Peppermint Patty

I know I've posted this link before, but if you haven't signed the petition yet, here it is again:

Protest Hershey Lawsuit to Ban Cadbury's Chocolate

Being English

I don't know if it is just me, but there comes a time in an expat's life when you begin to long for anything from home - no matter what it is.

I can spot a Union Jack or a St. George's cross from a mile away and usually, I must have it. Needless to say, my house is gradually becoming "English."  Much to the dismay of the Mr.  His house, when I moved into it just over ten years ago, was a totally manly, Harley Davidson shrine with motorcycle pictures, American Indian stuff and even a bloody Jackalope [don't ask].

I began very subtly replacing his stuff with mine.  He didn't notice at first, you know, as men don't tend to, but one day, he looked around and mumbled, "What the bloody hell happened here?"  (Yes, he's even picked up a few of my quaint English terms).  He stood in front of this wall and just groaned.

And then there's the kitchen cupboard which he never, ever opens.  I think mainly because it has so much Marmite, Oxo and curry in there and he's just a little bit scared!  It looks like this:

That's a LOT of Marmite!

But it doesn't stop there.  It's not just pictures and food, it's flipping everything!  For example, there are cup and saucer sets, brollies, mugs and picture frames.  Not forgetting the cupboard full of sweets and then there’s the 100 t-shirts that I can’t seem to walk past in a shop without buying.  [I might be exaggerating a bit on the number of shirts, but not by much, unfortunately.]  Oh, and don't forget the tea bags! There's absolutely no way you can walk past an unexpected shelf of PG Tips and not buy at least three boxes!

  

Shirts???

My most recent acquisition?  This absolutely brilliant St. George’s Cross shot glass.   Do I drink shots on a regular basis, nope, not really (no, really I don't), but who doesn’t need one of these?  It's not often you find something with a St. Georges Cross, so obviously I.had.to.have.it!

Drinks anyone?

I know if I still lived in England, I wouldn’t have half of this stuff because really, who wants to live in a fake British Pub.  Plus you would look a bit naff walking around in Union Jacks all the time, but being here, it tends to make it okay. (*shame face*)

So I think I will begin introducing myself by saying  "Hello, my name is Sharon and I'm a Union Jack Hoarder"

Goodbye Cadbury, We Will Miss You!

Anyone who’s lived in America for a while, or even those that have been here on holiday and tried Hershey's chocolate will no doubt understand why us expats are getting all worked up over the lawsuit recently filed by Hershey to ban the import of British chocolate.  

Their reasoning?  They want to protect their copyright in the United States so consumers are not "confused or misled when they see a product name or product package that is confusingly similar to a Hershey name or trade dress."

Because these two are really confusing, aren’t they?

Apparently, it must be the colour of the packets, because I don't think there's any way, at all, that I could be confused about these two.  Not even if I was blindfolded and wearing boxing gloves!

And then, the most ridiculous of all, the Yorkie Bar and the York Peppermint Patty.  What the hell? These are so different, it's a joke.  It's the name, they say, it's too similar, they say.... so in general, American consumers can't read enough to be able to tell the different between Yorkie and York? Nice, Hersey, what a lovely way to treat your customers by insinuating they're all illiterate.

It started with the recipe change of Cadbury's Crème Eggs, making them taste gritty and bland (basically, just like Hershey chocolate).  They think we are just being typically picky expats when we complain about the bloody awful chocolate here.  And why wouldn’t we?  British made Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has a high fat content because the main ingredient is milk, leading to a nice creamy taste.  The main ingredient of the American version is sugar and some lovely Polyglycerol polyricinoleate and soy lecithin (yummy).  I think there might also be some sawdust and coal in there too, judging by the consistency. 

So what can we do about this?  Well, it might be a long fight, but the first thing would be to sign this petition:

PROTEST HERSHEY'S LAWSUIT AGAINST BRITISH CHOCOLATE

It's not just us expats who are taking this badly, Andrew Baker of The Times wrote:

"It will seem more likely to anyone who has ever tasted Hershey's own-brand products, and its approximations of Cadbury's, that they are instead preventing consumers from buying products which taste much better than Hershey's own," 

Oh, and then there's this:

DEFINITION OF "MONOPOLY"
A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service.  By definition, monopoly is characterized by an absence of competition, which often results in high prices and inferior products."   [http://www.investopedia.com]

So go and sign that petition now.  And a note to my family - get ready to fill your suitcases with Cadbury's chocolate next time you visit!