Kisses on the end of txts

One of the bizarre things I have noticed while being back home in the UK is that British people put kisses on the end of their txts whilst their Canadian counterparts do not. Has anyone else noticed this I wonder?
You may think this is a weird subject but I find it quite intriguing. Is their some sociological or psychological factor behind this?
If you are unsure what I am talking about altogether, let me explain. Whilst txting friends, family or even partners in the UK, most people always end the txt with a kiss in the form of an X or x. What I have found on this trip is that more people are putting several kisses (xxx) as a sign of loving endearment. With unlimited txt packages most people don't care how long their txt is so a few extra characters on the end of their message doesn't matter but what really do these kisses mean. I remember when I was a young teenager and you would see how many kisses or any at all a boy would put on his txt to you. For some reason we thought the presence of a kiss would symbolise that he liked us romantically.
Nevertheless, what I have found in Canada is that people in general don't put kisses on the end of their txt. Why I am not sure.

I now try and stop myself putting kisses on my txts whilst in Canada but sometimes it's just habit. Maybe us Brits are more liberal with our love and affection for each other, after all a kiss is free to give and the best things in life are free!

Rain...

I am really enjoying being back home for the holidays, however there is one thing that is bugging me...the rain. Since I have been back it has rained every day. The air is damp and everything is wet. Now you would think I would be use to this and I am, but trust me when I say it is depressing and it does get everyone down. Maybe that's why us Brits drink so much tea and booze!

So today I had to venture out in the rain. My Mum gave me an umbrella to use...awesome I thought. Turns out this brolly was broken but even if it wasn't the wind would have blown it inside out.

Don't you hate it when this happens!

I suppose I should do the British thing; stop complaining and get on with it. So I will, but I have checked the forecast for the next few days and it doesn't look good. White Christmas...more like Wet Christmas. And even if the Mayans are right and the world does end tomorrow, it's already dark and gloomy here so we won't be able to tell if it's happening or not!

Aeroplane jukebox

I flew back to the UK last night and was happy to learn that the aeroplane had personal entertainment systems. I always prefer this as otherwise I'm usually in the worst seat to see the hanging screens. After looking through and deciding against watching any of the movies, I turned my attention to the music section. There was a wide selection of albums to choose from, and I spent the next 5 hours exploring them. Here is the list I sampled with an accompanying album track:

Sloan - The Double Cross

Adele - 21

The Guess Who - American Woman

Sarah McLachlan - Laws of Illusion

Gord Downie - The Grand Bounce

I couldn't resist a bit of country...

Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party

These are a few of my favourite things - festive edition

I am flying home on Sunday for the holidays and I honestly can't wait. After spending last Christmas in Canada, I am looking forward to experiencing a British Christmas again with all it's unique quirks.

Here are a few of my favourite things about the festive period in the UK:

• Cheese board - I love cheese, especially British cheese. All throughout Christmas Day I snack on cheese

• Turkish delight thins - my Mum puts these in my stocking ever year. Delicious!





•  Brussel sprouts - Christmas dinner isn't the same without them

• Christmas pudding - with lots of booze please



 

• Board games - my family is extremely competitive

• The Queen's Christmas message - to be honest I usually miss this when it's broadcast live but I always catch it later on the BBC. She's our Queen after all.

 

 

 

 

Burnt popcorn!

So yesterday I sat down to watch a cheesy Christmas movie, you know one of those made for TV ones, and thought to myself that a bowl of popcorn would be a great addition to the experience. I have a terrible track record with making popcorn however, I never can seem to get it right even when I follow the instructions. It is either too well done or I have loads of kernels still in the bag.
Since I was alone I had no other option but to try my best. I noticed the popcorn button on the microwave and thought to myself, 'surely this will work.' In went the bag and on went the microwave. A couple of minutes went by with the usual popcorn making sounds and the microwave beeped. I couldn't wait to have a yummy snack with my below average festive film. I opened the bag and what was inside...BURNT popcorn. Damn it...it happened again! Why, oh why!

I can't explain why my popcorn making skills are so bad...maybe it is my Britishness, after all back home we would just buy already made popcorn from the store.

I hope one day I will make the perfect bowl...here's wishing

R.I.P John Lennon

It was on this day, December 8th in 1980, that John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Clapham outside the musician's New York apartment building.

I often wonder what the world would be like if Lennon was still alive. We can only IMAGINE...

Needless to say his music and philosophies still continue to influence people and probably will do for years to come. Without John there would be no Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership which means this Beatles classic and one of my favourite songs wouldn't exist:

It's Yuletide fireplace time again!

Whilst flicking through the TV channels with a friend, we clicked on a station I had totally forgot existed. How I forgot I don't know as this particular channel cracks me up. What am I referring to...of course the Fireplace channel. Yes everyone back home, I not pulling your leg or log should I say. The fact that this broadcasts a fireplace on screen 24/7 still boggles my mind.
Now it's December the Fireplace channel goes all festive with the Yuletide fire. Pure unadulterated crackling fire along with the best classic Christmas music...could it get any better! And do people watch this I hear you say. Why yes oh course. I remember it being played in the background whilst enjoying food on Christmas Day last year.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of witnessing this gem, here it is:

Crazy canucks...LOL!

Speed demon!

So in the past month I have received two speeding tickets...

Before these two events I have never had a driving offence or even been pulled over by the cops here or back in the UK; nevertheless I was speeding both times and totally deserved to be pulled over and ticketed.
There are a lot of things I love about driving in Canada but there are also things that frustrate me. One of these things is the national speed limit. Even if it was just 10kph higher, I think it would be better. I understand that winter driving can be hard here but in the summer the roads are perfect and only being able to go 80kph on some highways can be annoying.  The law is the law though and I always try to obey the laws of the road, although I do admit to being a bit of a speed demon. I will be watching my speed from now on and hope you do the same especially with the festive period among us. Let my two tickets be a lesson to you. I think MJ says it best with this song...

Too early for Christmas...it's still November!

On Tuesday Peterborough lit up it's lights for the Festival of Trees. With towns everywhere looking all sparkly and decorated, along with the falling snow, it's really starting to look A LOT like Christmas...however it's still November!!!

Festival of Trees

I love Christmas, it's my favourite time of the year but I refuse to buy into the festival spirit until December. I understand towns and cities putting up their Xmas decorations now but on my drive home from work I notice that practically ever house is lit up and all decked out in Christmas apparel. Jeez, even some radio stations have been playing Christmas songs since mid November. For me this is just too early. I understand the Canadian argument of putting up your outside decorations before the snow comes but you don't have to turn them on yet. I am glad to learn my Mum hasn't put her decorations up yet in the UK. Maybe we are a bit more superstitious about these things.
So I urge you to please keep Christmas for December...I'm waiting until the 1st on Saturday.

Country bar virgin

This past weekend I had my first experience of going to a country music bar, and let me tell you it was an experience!
The British rock chick in me dictates that I should loathe country music but after spending so much time in North America you can't help but hum along to country tunes, especially whilst driving down rural roads in the summer. Nevertheless, when a co-worker suggested to join her at The Corral in Oshawa, I was lukewarm about the idea. I was persuaded however, and I am very glad that I was.
On arrival at the bar, I wasn't surprised that it was packed as I heard it was a popular spot but it was interesting to see such a diverse demograph of people there, all with the same purpose of having a good time. And it certainly was a good time with the tunes playing and the drink flowing. I even got dragged onto to the dancefloor to partake in some line dancing! A live band then started to play some classic country tracks and got the crowd even more energized.

I have to admit that I had a GREAT night and even though I'm not a huge country music fan, I will definitely agree to a country bar night every once in a while. The people are fun and the songs are catching.

Here's a country act I really don't mind listening to:

WHO are you!

The Who on their Quadrophenia tour rocked out Scotiabank Place in Ottawa this past Wednesday, and will be playing at the ACC tonight in Toronto. This got me reminiscing about my experience seeing The Who.


Roger Daltrey at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. Photograph by: Ashley Fraser, Ottawa Citizen

It was back in May of 2007 which usually is a nice time of the year in Britain but instead it was a grey, rainy, chilly evening. We were sat in a soccer stadium in the north of England in all I can say not the best of seats to view the stage. Although the conditions and location could have been A LOT better, the band, or the two surviving members, still managed to rock out to the best of their abilities.
Being a huge fan and having a Dad whose teenage years were shaped by The Who's music, getting to see them live myself has always been on my wish list and I am very happy that I have been able to cross that off.

The Who will undoubtedly always be considered one of the best rock n' roll bands of all time, and have and will continue to influence other and future bands. Even Limp Bizkit were impelled to cover their hit 'Behind Blue Eyes'

The only thing good about this cover is the beautiful Halle Berry in the video!

I will leave you with one of my favourite Who tracks. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

My take on Thanksgiving

Today as you all know is Thanksgiving in the USA. As a British person I find the whole holiday both in the USA and Canada very foreign. I often get asked if we celebrate Thanksgiving in Britain. So far I haven't come up with a witty enough answer to this and I'm not sure whether I should accuse my questioner of being ignorant and stupid. Of course we don't celebrate Thanksgiving I usually state and relay some historical facts to them.


"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth"

I am not denying that to celebrate harvest time with friends and family, or be grateful of the blessings in life is a pointless holiday, on the contrary, what I find hard to digest is the cloud of media hype, sales pitches, marketing tactics and blitz commercialism, urging consumers constantly to buy what is flashed before them. What the States have done through Thanksgiving and Black Friday is total capitalism. I am not here to argue whether this is wrong or right, just to make you more aware of it.

Whilst I'll not be eating turkey today, I will be enjoying the football. After all when in Rome...