Rudders at Home

I was on my way home today when I was waylaid by a young man full of Christmas spirit. As he proceeded to grab my hand and kiss it, he declared that I was both, boring AND cold.  I tried to explain to him that yes, while I was boring and cold, I was also not interested in his attention. That didn’t however, prevent him from trying to persuade me to go the same direction as him and his friend. Thank goodness for the friend. He provided a distraction as I escaped towards the underground.

Somehow I think his Christmas spirit was of the alcoholic variety.

No Comments »

The other day I was in the grocery store, moaning about the fact that I couldn’t get Karo Syrup in this country. Well, not moaning, really, but I did say aloud (quite loudly) to Paul, “You just don’t get it here. It’s something I’ve just come to accept,” and I picked up a tin of Golden Syrup.

I said it a little too loudly. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I caught the eye of an older gentleman who was walking down the aisle behind me, and he asks me, “What? What’s wrong with our country?” I must add here that he did have a mischievous smile on his face, but I was suitably chastened. I very quickly said, “Nothing at all!” He smiled again and then went on to seriously ask me what I was looking for. When I said I was looking for corn syrup, he simply said, oh, and then shrugged his shoulders a bit, smiled kindly and went about his business without another word. And left me there.

I’m not sure whether I should be embarrassed because I was speaking to loudly, or feel vindicated, because I did know what I was talking about. I think I’ll take vindicated, but next time I’ll remember to use my indoor voice at Sainsbury’s. Oh wait, I don’t have an indoor voice… Outdoor voice it is then!

No Comments »

I absolutely LOVE this Scottish advert!

Maybe this is what it will be like at the ceilidh next Friday!

Edit: Because we don’t get them in the States, you can find out all about wine gums here.

No Comments »

Ok, so went home for lunch today and got the fright of my life. Calmly turning on the facet to top up a glass of peach juice and what do I glance down and see? One of the biggest spiders in the world. Ick.
They say here they don’t have any scary creepy crawlies – you know, things that bite or hurt you, but let me tell you what, they have some of the hugest house spiders I have ever seen. Sure, it’s not going to bite me, but it may just scare the life out of me! And fall is the time of year for them. They like the cool and damp, and will crawl out of the drains or the fireplace. You never know when you’re going to come across one in the kitchen or the bathroom. Luckily, though the bedroom seems to be spider free zone.

Spiders, ick.

No Comments »