Things I Miss About England

It’s been 2 years since I’ve been to jolly old England and I miss it dearly. I miss my friends, I miss the cozy rainy days (kinda), and I even kind of miss being in school and writing stupid essays the night before they were due. That country gave me 3 great years and I was totally ready to spend the rest of my life back in North America…and now I miss it again 😦

Kebabs/Indian food. 

O my G. I miss these foods so much. I mean, yeah we have some good Indian places in the States and in Canada, but you could get the cheapest, spiciest, butteriest Indian food in England. So yum. I have so many memories of getting kebabs at midnight with my friends. Waiting for our meat to be sliced and put in a pita, telling the men who worked there that we needed extra garlic sauce. They would smile, we would drool. Life was good.

Pounds, Pence, and Candy.

Don’t you love the chunkiness of a pound coin? They are awesome. Just when I would think I ran out of money, I would open up my change compartment in my wallet and find about 7 pound coins. It would feel like Christmas. I would spend most of that change on candy. England has the most candy ever. They have candy stores everywhere and pic ‘n mix stations in every grocery store and movie theater. I basically only ate candy for 3 months and my skin broke out and my nails grew really long and thick. It was the scariest thing ever.

Cobblestone Roads and Quaint Cottages.

Not sure about the pose. In The Cotswolds.

I’m glad I didn’t spend my time living in London because I got to experience more of real life that way. Canterbury was a gem among the boring Kent towns. There was a small town vibe, a bustling High Street, and history everywhere you looked. I loved walking past the dilapidated buildings, the old wooden beams that held up the modern Subway sandwich place. The cobblestone roads set the scene while making the town an obstacle course for freshman going out in their 6 inch heels. So many broken ankles. So much fun.

Pub Life.

Literally living in pubs before, during, and after school.

London.

Der.

Lily in England Part 1

Now that Lily in Canada is such a popular place for people to hang out online, I sort of regret the fact that I didn’t start blogging sooner. I lived in England for three years of my life and those three short years were full of ridiculous experiences and people. I’m going to fill you in on some of the weird stuff that I observed whilst on the other side of the pond. Many thanks to Mooselicker for this brilliant idea!

I’m going to break this up into categories because it’s just better that way. Also, the list goes on and on, these are just a handful of the oddities.

Sayings:

There was definitely a language barrier. I understood every word, but I often had trouble responding. If I passed people on the streets they would quickly say “youalright?” and then walk away. Apparently the proper response is saying “youalright?” right back. I could not, for the love of all that is holy, train my brain to do that. I would start saying “Yeah, I’m good, how are you?” and they would be down the street by the time I finished. I guess having a conversation is weird? Maybe just say “hi” instead of asking me if I’m alright. Because if you ask me a question and it’s pertaining to my life, I’m sure as hell going to answer it.

The name of the club that we would go to in Canterbury was called Baa Bars. No joke. Too many times I was asked the question, “You goin’ Baa Bars?” I couldn’t help smiling every time. First of all, Baa Bars. Second of all, “you goin'”, not “are you going to.” It was just all so weird.

By the way, Baa Bars was located in what seems to be an old factory...?

Their spelling is all wrong. They have unnecessary letters thrown into words. For example, program is programme. They also spell words like they’re living in the 16th century. Tire is tyre. Center is centre. Gross.

They would also pretend that they didn’t know what I was saying. Like if I said, “Ugh I’m so tired of school.” My friends would reply, “We don’t go to school, we go to uni.” Okay, everything is school. University is a type of school. Or if I said, “Have you studied for finals at all?” they would respond, “You mean exams.” OH SORRY. YES. EXAMS.

Food:

England is really missing out on a lot of great food. They do have something called Pork Faggots though. No joke. On the back of the box it says, “For all Faggot-loving families.” Ummmhghhhh. That just shouldn’t be allowed.

More importantly, WHICH West Country?

I find it weird that everyone drinks tea there. Like, everyone likes it. A common question is “You wanna cuppa?” This translates to “Would you like a cup of tea?” They also eat a lot of beans, which makes me uneasy. And don’t forget about spotted dick.

They do have some redeeming foods though. Indian food in England is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Roast Dinners were also something of a delight. Roasts were usually at pubs on Sunday nights. They give you all the fixin’s–vegetables, potatoes, chicken (or beef or lamb), Yorkshire puddings, and loads of gravy. It’s like Thanksgiving every Sunday night. And you’re in a pub.

Stay tuned for part 2. Unless you already feel like throwing up.