My visit to Derby
So my boss hands me his credit card and tells me to book my travel to Derby. The one in England. Rhymes with Terence Trent D'arby.
I feel like, as an adult, pulling this off seamlessly is somehow proof that I have my shit together. It isn't really. It's not an adventure. It's situation normal: in business, you fly to another continent, use different money and voltages. It's just part of what you might do for work.
These days you can get a passport quickly, from a big city Customs House. You need proof from your employer that you need to fly within two weeks. The letter saying so has to be on official letterhead. My employer faked a date within two weeks, and I was off to get a passport.
(So, appreciate this: you can get a passport fast, if you have a letterhead Word template. You should probably use a color printer to make it look more, like, real and expensive and stuff, but the clerk probably doesn't care.)
Then there had to be an official certifying of my birth by departments of whatever fuckin' records they keep on you in various county offices. It was actually important that the paper certificate had a raised seal, signifying that... someone had an embosser.
In this day and fuckin' age, we are still depending on pieces of paper. Now I'm not in favor of connecting all the IT systems of every government everywhere, but if they're going to employ someone to operate an embosser, surely they can employ someone to answer the phone, look up a record in a database, and tell the federales that Toad, first name Under, is not fibbing when he tells you although he had the misfortune of having been born, at least he got lucky and did so in the U S of goddamn A, which means he is a citizen, according to how they set things up here.
It turns out that you can't pay for your passport application with another person's credit card, even if it's the card of the employer who signed your letterhead document. So I had to pay cash. The price of a last-minute passport is $195. I had $200, all in twenties. They don't give out change, because of course that's simply not possible. Not possible. The Department of State can't operate cash drawers. What do you think they are, a retail operation?
So I paid $200. But after all that, the government checked my shit over and said it is OK for me to leave the country.
Suckers.
The big question is will they let you return? :eek:
I was lucky, after 9-11 the government required all defense contractors the verify all employees were wholesome good guys and not nogoodnik terrorists, by eyeballing an original birth certificate complete with embossed seal. Boeing said don't have one? Sign here, we'll get you one, eyeball it, and mail it to you. That made the passport thing much easier. Funny, I didn't need it for my first passport many years ago.
Be careful on your trip. There are some mighty strange folks in England. I think it is the in-breeding or something from being stuck on that itty-bitty island
These days you can get a passport quickly, from a big city Customs House. You need proof from your employer that you need to fly within two weeks. The letter saying so has to be on official letterhead. My employer faked a date within two weeks, and I was off to get a passport.
(So, appreciate this: you can get a passport fast, if you have a letterhead Word template. You should probably use a color printer to make it look more, like, real and expensive and stuff, but the clerk probably doesn't care.)
Then there had to be an official certifying of my birth by departments of whatever fuckin' records they keep on you in various county offices. It was actually important that the paper certificate had a raised seal, signifying that... someone had an embosser.
Noted Al Q.
The price of a last-minute passport is $195. I had $200, all in twenties. They don't give out change, because of course that's simply not possible. Not possible. The Department of State can't operate cash drawers. What do you think they are, a retail operation?
Had mine done at a post office somewhat recently. They wouldn't even let me pay with my
own credit card. I was very lucky to have exactly $110 cash on me which was the fee to be sent to the passport office itself, and then they let me pay the post office fee (another $40) with my card. Also, I had to walk down the road to get my picture taken at Walgreens, because while the post office claimed to do photos, the woman told me it was "broken right now." I wish I could reproduce her face and tone to you now, but believe me when I tell you that it 100% said, "We both know I'm lying, and you can't do anything about it, bitch."
Passports are bullshit.
Passports are bullshit.
I agree 100%.
When you go to the website that discusses the fees, and read between the lines, they admit that the fees are outrageous, but they explain that the high fees cover not only the passport but also the emergency services a tiny minority of US travelers need when traveling abroad. Seems like those services provided by US embassies should be part of the State Department's budget.
Pshaw, the state department budget barely covers the alcohol and drugs. ;)
I agree 100%.
When you go to the website that discusses the fees, and read between the lines, they admit that the fees are outrageous, but they explain that the high fees cover not only the passport but also the emergency services a tiny minority of US travelers need when traveling abroad. Seems like those services provided by US embassies should be part of the State Department's budget.
Our overlords don't want the poor people getting out of the country. Their money needs to be spent in-house, so it will trickle up. :cool:
Be careful on your trip. There are some mighty strange folks in England. I think it is the in-breeding or something from being stuck on that itty-bitty island
Don't worry they exported the weirdos to the colonies.
:3eye:
;):D
Apparently, they're still doing it.:right:
:p:
Trip is still a while out and I can feel my nerves going on edge. My main concern is getting the social niceties right. I have to remember everyone's name and what their function is. I'm still an introvert at heart and it takes concentration.
I have a list of what to pack. I'm on Amazon comparing laptop backpacks. They're all high-end now, with TSA-friendly parts that claim it's easy to go through security. Right. My goal is to get away with only carry-on luggage.
And then there are all kinds of logistics. Should I get money before going over, or is there a chance Heathrow has ATMs with decent exchange rates? Or can I just use my boss's credit card for everything? Can I pay by card for the Underground? I guess I need currency for tipping, buying gum, and bribes for officials and police. Anything else?
When I went to England on vacation 2 years ago, I don't recall using any cash. Everything was done by credit card. There must have been some cash used, but I can't picture a single transaction. We got oyster cards for the tube and paid with Visa. My Starbucks card even worked in a Starbucks there.
Call your credit card company before you go to let them know you will be traveling, so they don't flag your charges as fraudulent and freeze your card.
I haven't been back in a long while, but unlike the antiquated American system UK cards have chips in them, a lot of small retailers my not accept the card if it doesn't have a chip, should be OK for places more used to travellers like Hotels I would have thought.
Cash is king, accepted everywhere, but pickpockets are much more prevalent than in the US
Where are you flying to, the Underground is only London?
Derby is on a major rail route, it would be fairly easy to get a train from London to Derby, but you would need to get across London fromt he airport to the train station, the tube is good for that, then a cab from the station.
Can you ask someone form the local office what they recommend, their HR for instance ?
Thanks for the hints!
Yes, the plan right now is to go Underground from Heathrow to King's Cross/St Pancras and then get an East Midlands train from there. They told me not to book a train in advance because I don't know how long airline/customs delays might be. I'll just buy a ticket for the next train out.
I've actually taken that train out of that station, many times. But it was 37 years ago and I'm told things may have changed since then.
Time passages
There's something back here that you left behind
Oh time passages
Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight
I just remembered, I ordered a slice of pizza at the Camden Lock food court and paid with cash, so I did have some with me. I can't remember where I got it.
Looks like you can
buy an Oyster card online and have it sent to you in the US before you go. Not sure how quick the turnaround is.
I can't speak for large hotel chains, but pubs and supermarkets only accept chip & pin cards now.
And small independents will not accept cards for purchases under £5 or even under £10 in some places.
Cash is king.
No idea what pickpocket rates are like in the US, but I've never been a victim in the UK myself. Not in London or the East Midlands. Although I admit I was taught to be wary from a very early age. For example it used to be a common trick to grab things from under the stall doors in public toilets. I've never lost the habit of hanging my bag on the hook inside the door, or if there isn't one, holding my bag on my lap. Nanny never put her bag on the floor anywhere, simply so she could have it on her lap without worrying where it had been. Dani admired my pink bag, which I am very happy with. It seals via popper, zip and button. Short of actual bag-snatching, no-one is getting my purse without me knowing.
I feel like I'm carrying coals to Newcastle by saying this but check the internet re the best advice about changing money. You're coming at a bad time for the pound, sadly. For you I mean, it's strong at the moment.
Last time I went abroad it was weak and it served me better to withdraw money from a local ATM than change it in the UK. It would have been better to use a card for transactions but research suggested many places only took cash or had a surcharge. *this was in Amsterdam)
There are plenty of placs to change money at Heathrow, I just can't say what will leave you better off.
Having a choice of cash or card will give you more options on the Underground if you want to get a ticket from a machine. There will be a single queue which takes in 3-8 machines depending on the station; some are Card Only, some Cash and Card, some No Change Given (gah!)
Your route across town is a fairly easy one, but I'll break it down for you if you like, just ask.
Oh - best to have cash of you want to eat or drink on the train.
Card machines have a bad habit of breaking down mid-journey and you don't want to be stuck somewhere outside Peterborough with no way of buying a cup of tea ;)
This is the motherload of information on using ticket machines in the tube.
http://oystercard.webege.com/index.htm
They will show you all the different types of machines you will encounter.
Re: train tickets. If you buy on the day it will be much more expensive. You can prepurchase tickets that aren't tied to a specific train - that might be your best option
you will get a crap exchange rate and fees at Heathrow. You only really need to tip a cab driver or a waiter and it ain't 15-20%. Unless you're staying in a super fancy hotel. In which case you would need a real suitcase. You can carry on a laptop bag in addition to your one piece of hand luggage by the way.
Re: train tickets. If you buy on the day it will be much more expensive. You can prepurchase tickets that aren't tied to a specific train - that might be your best option
Clarification: not talking about the subway trip, but the train from London to Derby
take a gun, they're very effective over there for prompt service, especially if you sew a Canadian flag to your jacket to really scare them. :angel:
Apparently there is an express train from Heathrow to Paddington and I am a chump if I don't take it?
Who's paying? How much of a hurry are you in? How much comfort do you want? The Heathrow express takes about half an hour and is more comfortable. The tube (subway) takes about an hour and a half and costs considerably less.
Sent by thought transference
The company is paying. On with the comfort.
right on. Maybe just get a taxi the whole way :)
Britain is 5 hours ahead of me, time zone wise. Should I start sleeping "ahead" to try to avoid jet lag?
just prepare to sleep most of the first day and you'll be good. Sleep on the train. How much of a regular sleep schedule do you keep anyway? travelling mucks up your tiredness levels anyway.
In my experience, YMMV
When I do my flights to other timezones (5 to 7 hours ahead of UK) I don't even try to sleep on the plane (which is an option). Depending on the landing time I'll either try to get about four hours' kip when I get there, or just bash on through the day and go to bed early. True, I do not have the expectation of any social activity while I'm away, but you could use tiredness as a way to get out of any Monday evening socialising, perhaps?
Interesting! I've wound up sleeping 15 hours on the second day in the past, which will not work in this circumstance.
Comfort: the business allows people to fly business class if the round trip is less than $5k.
Sadly: They told me too late to book my flight. You can't get a price under $5k this close to departure.
However: I still get economy "plus" which I think means I get an extra 5" of leg room and a refundable ticket.
:coffee::coffee::coffee::coffee::coffee::coffee::coffee::coffee:
My
laptop backpack came and it is pretty excellent. It isn't the pack that zips all the way open for TSA. That costs $30 more, and this item isn't being paid for by the boss, so I figured I would just let any security examine my electronics in full.
I can't believe I never had one single backpack in my life before this. What a fine invention.
Surely you did have them in school, right?
No back in the 70s we didn't cotton to such newfangled ways and appliances and whatnot
In college some people did, but I never studied all that hard, so I would only carry two books around at most.
I didn't have a backpack (at least I think that's what we'd call a rucksack) until I was in my '20s. All my bags, and those of my contemporaries were over the shoulder ones, or sports bags for the boys.
My dad insisted on calling them "knapsacks" throughout my childhood. Then again, he also said Nazi as if it rhymed with patsy, so clearly he had a complicated relationship with the lexicon.
I never carried my books in any bag in HS. No matter how many books I was dragging along, I carried them.
Everyone had backpacks at my college, but it was terribly uncool to hook both sides around your shoulders. Backpacks had to be slung over one shoulder only. Oh, we were so asymmetrical in the 80s...maybe the one shoulder thing was to counteract the crooked hair or the multiple earrings in only one ear?
Then again, he also said Nazi as if it rhymed with patsy, so clearly he had a complicated relationship with the lexicon.
That's how it's supposed to be pronounced isn't it? Nah tsi
That's how it's supposed to be pronounced isn't it? Nah tsi
It is supposed to rhyme with "knot." It is not supposed to rhyme with "cat."
Heeheee...I listened to the pronunciations. I say it more like the British example. The US one sounds really twangy, even to Midwest twang girl here. :)
I love listening to the different pronunciations :)
The name Craig always gets me when I hear Americans say it. It always sounds really odd to me. Over here it's pronounced Crayg whereas whenever I hear Americans say it, it sounds like Creg. Always sounds slightly cut off to me :P
Hahahahahahaahha. I just googled Craig pronunciation and there's like pages and pages on it :p
Oh, see...that drives me bonkers, when folks substitute the long a sound with a short e sound. (I'm not sure I'm describing this correctly...I dropped my phonetics class in college. HATED it!)
Oh yes, it's Crayg!
eta: At the liquor store yesterday (ahem, um, er...) I heard the cashier telling everyone and their dog where she gets her 'nells' done. Over and over. "Oh, I won't let anyone else do my nells. I like how blahblah does my nells. I get my nells done every 2 weeks." It was like fingernells on a chalkboard.
Hahahahahahaha. Yeah that's irritating.
The one that always gets me is the Northern UK pronunciation of "air" syllables (which I hear all the time because of Lee Mack on Would I Lie to You?)
The burr sat in a churr because his hurr kept blowing in the urr...
I quite like that type of accent. Especially the more pronounced brogue kind like the accent of Bolton, Bury, or Rochdale.
Jane Horrocks comes from Rawtenstall, and that's like the classic Lancashire brogue.
[YOUTUBE]qa_lm46Zp74[/YOUTUBE]
In that accent the rs get pronounced almost like in American English - so the r at the end of car is pronounced.
Bolton has a couple of different accents, ranging from something quite similar to Lee Mack, to something closer to Horrocks
Peter Kay, a comedian from Bolton has the accent I mainly grew up around. Elements of this are in my speech, but it is a little less pronounced most of the time. His Phoenix Nights was set in Bolton, and the actors were mainly local. The white haired guy at the start was my mum's boss when she worked at Bolton Royal Infirmary, before he went off on his comedy career.
[youtube]Pzf0X72dVcU[/youtube]
For Toad to help get acclimatised:)
[YOUTUBE]J4YvM1PiB2I[/YOUTUBE]
For Toad to help get acclimatised:)
more help
[YOUTUBE]-mkYvO8zjQs[/YOUTUBE]
The hotel I'm going to stay at is right next to a cricket club. Derbyshire. If I get a good room it might overlook the pitch. My support counterpart says the team isn't so good. But that's not really the point...
You need to buy a derby hat while you are there
Americans should be advised that it's pronounced "Darby" and always has been.
Don't complain, we have so many screwed up place names pronunciations. Half of them came from Britain. But we have no excuse, for example, for the dually-pronounced "Houston" which is said one way in Houston, and another way in Manhattan. A moment of thought will tell you that "HYOO-stən" is a pretty ridiculous way to say it. "Hou" is "how" as in House.
I’m flying both ways on British Airways so I got the British Airways app on my phone. The app is just beautiful. Every time I open it, it tells me the details of my next flight. It tells me how long until check in, reminds me of what seat I’m in, and when the flight is. And it does it with awesome background images, of planes or of London. I wonder if I was flying to another city, will it change to that city? I guess I’ll find out.
British Airways also lets you select your seat. I picked the same seat on the same airplane, inbound and outbound. I had the advantage of knowing the seat layout of the plane because I looked it all up on Seatguru.
The whole check in thing. This is over now. The app lets me check in when the flight is 24 hours away. I don’t have to be at the airport or anything. At this time “check in” without bags means we are basically just promising to take the flight. “I am still planning to fly tomorrow.”
Yes, it's cool isn't it! I'm still a little antsy about e-check-in (where available) when I am in some of my weird and wonderful locations, but in the civilised world it is fab!
Against everyone's advice I am waking up earlier to try to partly combat jetlag in advance. All I know is, when I was in London on honeymoon, we were useless on day 2. We laid down to take a nap in the afternoon (no not in that way, we were sleeping, and anyway my ex was usually against sex of any kind, at least with me) and suddenly it was tomorrow.
If you can get outside in the sunlight those first days, do it.
We spent the entire first day out in the sun walking around, no naps, and went to bed at like 8:30 pm. Next day, we were a little tired, but had no trouble getting up at 6 or 7 am and staying up until 10pm. We were completely adjusted after that.
ymmv, since you'll be sitting inside in an office.
Sunlight?
Ahahahahahaha.....
No.
Awww, there may be a bit.
You're just jaded because you're an Otley girl now.
I love listening to the different pronunciations :)
The name Craig always gets me when I hear Americans say it. It always sounds really odd to me. Over here it's pronounced Crayg whereas whenever I hear Americans say it, it sounds like Creg. Always sounds slightly cut off to me :P
Hahahahahahaahha. I just googled Craig pronunciation and there's like pages and pages on it :p
And then there are people called Creg, I just assumed the guy's name was Craig, but no...
Creg.
What are they orcs?
You're just jaded because you're an Otley girl now.
Is not jade.
Is mould.
Creg.
What are they orcs?
He's an orthopedic surgeon
I lied, I've been here in Derby all week. Someone should have noticed from my posting times. Do you think I'd be awake at 4:30 in the Ante fucking Meridiam if it weren't required for my continuing employment? I just didn't want to say until I'm due home, because you people would ransack my shithole rental and steal all my string. I know you.
But it's not really necessary. For fun, I set up a cheap burglar alarm. I have an expensive one that the landlord pays for, but that won't show me who has broken in. Here’s another idea.
I have a Logitech webcam, and it has a motion detection setup where it will start recording to a file when it detects motion.
I configured it to save these videos to my Google Drive.
Then I used this page:
http://www.jellybend.com/2012/12/19/monitor-google-drive-folders-with-google-apps-script/
...to set up a Google Docs spreadsheet to monitor the folder where these videos are saved. (Why a spreadsheet: Google has put a nice system of notifications where you can be notified of changes to a spreadsheet. Some clever dude hacked it to include changes to any top-level folder on your Google Drive.)
Bottom line: anything moving in my rooms is recorded, and I am sent an email of the videos.
This is good not just for burglars and ne’er-do-wells, but if there is a roof leak worse than the current one, and infrastructure tumbles or something. Of course if there’s a tornado, the FIOS link and electricity will probably be off before the damage is done. Battery backups are for the real alarm system.
But the down side:
I've been sent 44 videos so far. Whenever the sun goes behind clouds, it changes the image enough for the software to believe there is motion.
This part is to our Brits.
Americans now understand and are amused by sarcastic humor. In fact our culture is now full of it, and we practice it often.
We were not as familiar with sarcasm during the war. Our culture had to grow and expand; before modern times our communication was very sincere and direct, so we didn’t get it back then. I think most cultures have to go through that, to reach a level of sophisticated subtlety with speech. You were nicely ahead of the game and frankly superior with the language you invented. You still are, but America has reached the level where Chandler Bing can be one of the most popular characters written for television.
I know that many stereotypes die hard, but as long as you are going to continue to complain about the sorry nature of our sense of humor, we are going to persist in our outdated belief that you all say “pip pip” and “cheerio”. Which I believe you haven’t done since the 40s.
I say this because I wrote a sarcastic funny email to my boss and showed it to some of my Derby colleagues, and one of them wondered whether he’d get the humor in it, since after all, he is American. I was actually proud of that. An American WROTE the email but mate, you didn't think of that because you are accepting him as one of you. I have achieved my goal of being "half-caste" this week. (and I would be delighted if someone called me that while I'm here)
I guess you did okay with the jet leg, then?
Americans now understand and are amused by sarcastic humor. In fact our culture is now full of it, and we practice it often.
Indeed so full of it, and so often, that at my tender age I had never even known there was a stereotype of non-sarcastic Americans. Our humor is different, no doubt, but I would have labeled us as low-brow or juvenile long before I imagined us to be non-sarcastic. Chyeah.
So post some pictures already.
The idea that Americans don't appreciate sarcasm or irony came to me from American writers. I didn't know enough Americans to know any different.
Then I came here and realised that there is a real cultural difference between Britain and America, but humour has never been in question. I don't expect everyone to share my sense of humour. Even my nearest and dearest only overlap in what we find funny, and I love my father very much but it is rare we laugh at the same things. Finding the same things funny - laughing until you can barely speak - is rare and precious.
I just think the more people you get together, the lower the common denominator is. I don't know if that works mathematically :)
I just seems that stupidity multiplies better than intelligence.
So the bigger the population, the more it has to cater for the masses, and the less the masses expect.
Individual Americans are super-smart, or can be.
The American great unwashed is the same as the great unwashed everywhere, it's just more of them have tv sets than elsewhere.
Anyway.
So.
Where are the photos again.
I lied, I've been here in Derby all week. Someone should have noticed from my posting times. Do you think I'd be awake at 4:30 in the Ante fucking Meridiam if it weren't required for my continuing employment? I just didn't want to say until I'm due home, because you people would ransack my shithole rental and steal all my string. I know you.
But it's not really necessary. For fun, I set up a cheap burglar alarm. I have an expensive one that the landlord pays for, but that won't show me who has broken in. Here’s another idea.
I have a Logitech webcam, and it has a motion detection setup where it will start recording to a file when it detects motion.
I configured it to save these videos to my Google Drive.
Then I used this page:
http://www.jellybend.com/2012/12/19/monitor-google-drive-folders-with-google-apps-script/
...to set up a Google Docs spreadsheet to monitor the folder where these videos are saved. (Why a spreadsheet: Google has put a nice system of notifications where you can be notified of changes to a spreadsheet. Some clever dude hacked it to include changes to any top-level folder on your Google Drive.)
Bottom line: anything moving in my rooms is recorded, and I am sent an email of the videos.
This is good not just for burglars and ne’er-do-wells, but if there is a roof leak worse than the current one, and infrastructure tumbles or something. Of course if there’s a tornado, the FIOS link and electricity will probably be off before the damage is done. Battery backups are for the real alarm system.
But the down side:
I've been sent 44 videos so far. Whenever the sun goes behind clouds, it changes the image enough for the software to believe there is motion.
Wow! It's almost like you have IT expertise. ;):D
Photos of my visit. Really. OK.
The air conditioner in my hotel room
These are the buttons in the hotel [strike]elevator[/strike] lift. Spot the error. I find it a feature of Britain, not a bug, that the nation is not really all that detail-oriented.
My dirty socks on the dirty carpet of my hotel room. I'm very, very sorry for this shot.
Elevator door closing buttons don't do anything anyway. You may as well replace it with a door open button that won't do anything.
My hotel room view. It would have been better but I'm only on the 1st floor. I'm happy about that because I can get 1 bar or WiFi on my tablet (0 bars on the phone and laptop)
The neighborhood next to the hotel. This is the best part of the neighborhood and it gets pretty dodgy after a few blocks. Shown here is the chip shop that closed at 2pm before I could get anything from it for lunch today. (It's at the far end of the block, you can't really see it.)
This is what I look like after I've failed to get lunch from the lunch truck, tried to work through it, walked the 20 minutes to the chip shop to find it closes at 2pm, nearly dry heaved in the bushes on the way back, and survived by eating a Cadbury Flake bar, a bag of crisps, and a pint of semi-skimmed milk. In this shot I am extremely distressed and waiting for the food to kick in.
Great foreign lands adventure so far right? Toldja this one was about work and nothing else. Missing is the absolute highlight of my time here, a box from the Isle of Arran with certain goodies in it.
Joyful: I don't have a photo but dogs don't have to be on leads in this country. All dogs I've passed have been off-lead, owners walking nearby, and beautiful and wonderful. I wish I could meet them.
The hotel lobby of the Days [strike]Inn[/strike] Hotel. It looks like every other Days [strike]Inn[/strike] Hotel lobby. Except that in this nation people enjoy the World Cup in it. Also pints of Stella, a major highlight of this trip. There are no minibars, vending machines, or even ice machines in this hotel, so the Stella, charged to my employer, is an important thing. All my beverages have been bought from the M-to-F pre-op transsexual who [strike]mans[/strike] attends to the front desk.
We walk amongst you!
Muhahahaha
Minibars come with a higher grade of hotel.
Ice machines are unknown - imagine my delight when I went to America for the first time and realised I could just get ice for free, on my way back to the room! Ice! Cold white stuff! I grew up in the 70s and we had a tiny icebox in the top of the fridge which took fishfingers, a packet of peas and at a push a cardboard packet of Neopolitan ice-cream on a birthday. Ice-cubes were a luxury.
Vending machines are usually only in downmarket hotel chains.
So you've fallen between two stools there.
Sorry bout your chippy problem.
Could have been worse. It could have been open...
On this trip I have had almost nothing to buy on my own, so I have been happy to overtip in ridiculous amounts. I do this mostly to feel better about myself, so I am not bragging. I have been leaving a 2 pound coin every day for housekeeping. That's too much. I gave the TS a pound for pouring my Stella and removing my dirty plates, and she seemed to be delighted.
I really like the two-tone 2 pound coin. It looks and feels like the valuable currency that it is. Didn't have these when I was here last time.
I hope you've figured out how to eat!
[youtube]1iDpGRuyn6k[/youtube]
I ate everything in the box from Isle of Arran, except the chocs which I have saved for tomorrow.
It was DELIGHTFUL
Meantime, for dinner I have only eaten at the hotel, and once at the awesome Indian restaurant next to the hotel. So awesome. 20 years ago the Indian restaurants were by far the best restaurants; I understand that these days Brit cuisine is catching up to the world, and the hotel restaurant is doing just fine.
But they still can't make coffee.
My hotel room view. It would have been better but I'm only on the 1st floor. I'm happy about that because I can get 1 bar or WiFi on my tablet (0 bars on the phone and laptop)
I suppose that the lack of a sea view or breathtaking landscape, is more than compensated for by the sight of the East Midlands Demolition Company.
Could one ask for more? :D
I suppose that the lack of a sea view or breathtaking landscape, is more than compensated for by the sight of the East Midlands Demolition Company.
Could one ask for more? :D
When it comes to a room with a view, some *do* ask for more.
[YOUTUBEWIDE]tcliR8kAbzc[/YOUTUBEWIDE]
Granted, there's no Sydney Opera House... :p:
When it comes to a room with a view, some *do* ask for more.
Granted, there's no Sydney Opera House... :p:
...herds of Wildebeest, sweeping majestically...
Basil Fawlty, my hero.:thumb:
And I'm back!
PHL to Heathrow-
to Heathrow Express at Terminal 5-
to Paddington Station
to King's Cross via Underground
walk to St Pancras for East Midlands train
to Derby
to the hotel,
to work and back for five days...
And this morning, up at 5:15am Derby time to catch the 6am train back through that return round, landing at 4pm Philadelphia time where J waited for me.
I would not try to do that schedule again. Exhausting.
Got upgraded to business class for the return flight! British Airways was very strong both flights. Good food good wine. Customs both ends was under 5 minutes. Security both ends was under 10 minutes.
Signage around London Transport is perfection.
Our American credit cards are no longer guaranteed to work in European systems, because they use the chip-and-PIN system with a smart card that holds your password. I think they must use that system because it doesn't require the vendor to be online in order to process a password-protected transaction. The American "swipe" system was confusing even to the hotel's front desk personnel. (They didn't know the meaning of the term "last 4 digits", which is part of the password protection for our system.)
Next time I might just rent a car. Fuck it, I've done right-hand-drive before.
I can't speak for large hotel chains, but pubs and supermarkets only accept chip & pin cards now.
And small independents will not accept cards for purchases under £5 or even under £10 in some places.
Our American credit cards are no longer guaranteed to work in European systems, because they use the chip-and-PIN system with a smart card that holds your password. I think they must use that system because it doesn't require the vendor to be online in order to process a password-protected transaction. The American "swipe" system was confusing even to the hotel's front desk personnel. (They didn't know the meaning of the term "last 4 digits", which is part of the password protection for our system.)
Told you :lol:
Our "password" is the PIN number we use in the cahpoint machine.
It is issued randomly with the card, although it's possible to change it for something more memorable. I always keep the random number and remember it using rhyming visualisation. We use the last three digits of the security code on the signature strip for verification when buying online or over the phone as a way of enusring the card is present. Doesn't mean it's not stolen, but the thief has to know the postcode the card is registered to as well, and if goods are being ordered they will often only ship to that postcode.
Anyway.
Pretty cool to have an upgrade on the way home!
It soulds like it came at just the right time.
Your journey was longer but probably less stressful than mine home from Leeds where once again I had to wait nearly an hour for a bus (which is ridiculous when the sides of said buses trumpet that they run every ten minutes!) Buses from Otley seem to manage it, with one leaving at least every 20 minutes :confused: I hate Leeds and will never go there again voluntarily.
And there was an altercation at the back of the bus which ended with a passenger being told to get off. No actual violence, but violent words and the threat hung in the air. Apparently he was swigging from a wine bottle, and another passenger took exception to this :eek:
Nice town.
Wull there should be an answer to this... the banks here should provide a chipped card for travelers that connects to our accounts. And then they should just leave it on, because why not.
I lost 12 pounds of weight during this trip. Walking all over the place, eating an abbreviated lunch every day, hauling luggage for miles, running on adrenaline. The sensible and delicious airline food. Even with the daily Stellas, Limey's excellent treats, and the hotel's previously-frozen hash browns for breakfast.
Wait, what?
Hash browns come in a fresh variety?!
It's pretty simple. Get potato. Grate potato. Brown grated potato.
Ingredients:
Potato
:potatosmilie:
To me it's 1-2cm peeled-then-cubed firm white potatoes, in a hot skillet with bacon fat (or butter if you must), salt and pepper, browned while rarely turning.
Grating the potatoes is an acceptable local variant.
The intellectually-challenged add onions. The posh add paprika. Neither is appropriate.
In these parts, we would call those cubed breakfast potatoes 'home fries.'
But I don't think y'all got the Bob Evans around there.
Yep, them's home fries. Hash browns are grated potatoes. Use McCormicks Season-All.
Grating previously baked/jacket potatoes works very nicely and is less likely to end up soggy if you're inattentive while cooking ;)
Various finishes:
A Starbucks Coffee Venti Latte is exactly the same at Heathrow as it is at the one down the street, and no matter what you think of it, that's a pretty amazing thing.
I would happily slip right back into my South Yorks. accent as a 14-year-old if I lived there for six straight weeks. I almost had to remember to be American because that was what was expected of me.
England is fun for an American to visit because everything is just slightly different. The brands are different. The fonts are different. The birds are different. The voltage is different. The switches are different.
Most things are slightly more expensive. People tip less. Portions are smaller, except when they aren't. The cars drive on the other side. The people are slightly friendlier. The business is slightly less cutthroat. The pedestrian is liked. The dogs are trusted.
We must all drink and we insist you will drink with us and we assume completely that you will want to drink with us to the point of needing a cab and it will be funny and there is absolutely zero concern for whether you may or may not be alcoholic or have any reason to avoid alcohol in any way.
To me it's 1-2cm peeled-then-cubed firm white potatoes, in a hot skillet with bacon fat (or butter if you must), salt and pepper, browned while rarely turning.
Grating the potatoes is an acceptable local variant.
The intellectually-challenged add onions. The posh add paprika. Neither is appropriate.
Scattered, shattered, smothered, and covered.
:yum:
Scattered, shattered, smothered, and covered.
:yum:
Which is an Awful Waffle reference, and everyone knows The Waffle House uses actual hashy brown potatoes. I've been to Awful Waffles in my travels, and they're always grated potatoes.
I love some Awful Waffle, Nationwide.
You're right, monster, using previously baked potatoes is a perfect way to make great hash browns. It's all in the browning and the center.
:D and I'm an import (and hash brown convert now I've discovered what they're supposed to be like....)
I always shove a few extra potatoes in the oven when I'm baking them ;)
We must all drink and we insist you will drink with us and we assume completely that you will want to drink with us to the point of needing a cab and it will be funny and there is absolutely zero concern for whether you may or may not be alcoholic or have any reason to avoid alcohol in any way.
So it's true that our culture is more full on with the alcohol then?
It's a slightly different attitude. I think we manage to drink as much, but there's a layer of uptight about it.
J, who has previously worked for a Brit company, told me that I would be taken out and gotten drunk. My host narrowly avoided it on the last day with some nearly-forgotten spousal duty.
It was like making sure that some plan was made to entertain the hotel-bound traveler, and that was just normal, but it had to involve drinking. Going to the cricket was not an option, although I had indicated an interest in it. It had to be the pub, even though that was 10 miles away, and I had to wake up at 5 the next morning to leave for home.
Here, if it was a big company, that would be frowned upon (unless the person involved was in sales and then I think the rules differ). There is a certain amount of walking on eggshells. The visitor may be Asian (half of eastern Asians can't really drink much at all, it's biological), or religious (religions we can't identify are a problem), or alcoholic (where the culture is we assume you can't drink at all, and just mentioning it could be a horrible pitfall).
And then there's lack of public transport, combined with the .08 DUI rules which will truly fuck someone over (I don't even know what they do with foreigners who fail to appear in court). We are in this weird middle place on that, where drinking out is becoming simply not possible, and drinking at home means you're automatically an alcoholic.
And, of course, this will differ regionally. Much of the silly valley has started having beer in the office, in case it's something top software talent wants. And like a foosball table, it's less expensive than 10% more salary. Failure to have a "fun" office in the Silicon Valley can be the death knell for your company. (Where "fun" means you can drink at work, not that you don't have bosses who don't know how to manage people, and stuff.)
Yeah, Mr. Clod's company has foreign visitors fairly regularly, and the celebrations are always of the "going out to dinner" variety. Some get drinks with dinner, others don't, but no one goes beyond tipsy and no one mentions anyone else's consumption, or lack thereof.
In these parts, we would call those cubed breakfast potatoes 'home fries.'
But I don't think y'all got the Bob Evans around there.
Yep, them's home fries. Hash browns are grated potatoes. Use McCormicks Season-All.
Hash Browns:
Home Fries:
One last thing, the soap dispenser in the hotel was terrible. It only dripped a wee little bit of soap out. But I fixed that.
[YOUTUBE]nXCzslCI3RM[/YOUTUBE]