Another visit to Granny's

Josh and I visited his Granny again a couple of weeks ago, but this time, his brother and his parents (and Charlie the dalmatian) were there too. We took the dog on a long walk over hill and dale (quite literally). Charlie found a dead sheep and tried to eat it, which made me very upset.


On the way home we visited an ice cream farm. They grow the scoops on little bushes... Just kidding. It was a petting zoo that also sold ice cream. They had a Christmas Pudding flavor, but it wasn't that good, so I got a capuccino-flavored one. While eating my ice cream, I got to hold a sweet kitty and look at some afro-chickens (they really did have 'fros). Oh, and bebeh cows.



The next day we all went to Platt to church then my friend Lucy took Sam and the rest of us around the dorm where she's a tutor (the British word for an RA). Her hall is very old and prestigious-looking. It's no Hogwarts, but I could definitely see where it might look good in a Dead Poets' Society-like film.

Hmmm...not much else has happened except for going to shows. I saw the Ting Tings (from Manchester!), then the Kaiser Chiefs (both with Dorian). I went to see the Travelling Band Friday night with Josh. All three were good. There was a teeny tiny little girl at the Ting Tings show (about 4) who sang all the words and cracked me up, although by the last song she had passed out (it was almost 11).

At the M.E.N. Arena for Kaiser Chiefs, they had these awesome people with keg backpacks walking around, and all I could think was that a lot of my friends back in Atlanta would want one for personal use.


The lights at the Kaiser Chiefs were about the most elaborate thing I've ever seen stagewise, and I would have been pretty content to listen to a CD with the light show.




At one point, Ricky was in the audience on this big stand right next to me!

Valentine's Day(ting) and American Sweet(ie)s

First, I have found the Holy Grail. I feel sure that if Arthur, Galahad, Gawain and the other were really sure what they were looking for, they would have discovered Lucky Charms in the last supper's cup. At Selfridge's, a really expensive, Neiman Marcus-like department store, I found the following:

Skippy peanut butter
Double-Stuf Oreo's
Lucky Charms
Aunt Jemima pancake mix
Aunt Jemima syrup
Hershey's candy of all kinds
Willy Wonka sweeties**
Vosges chocolate bars.

It was like American heaven. They did not have Sour Patch Kids, but I'll just have to wait till Easter (maybe the Easter Bunny will send me some, hint hint). Here's a photo of the other delicious items I didn't realized I missed until I no longer had them:



The Lucky Charms were amazing, although Cinnamon Toast Crunch would have been better.

Last weekend, I went on a double date with Josh, Josh's (now former) flatmate** Jim, and Jim's girlfriend, Rachel. They were really nice, and we went to the Trafford Centre, which is essentially a ginormous mall. It's about the same as Phipps Plaza, size wise, but much prettier. There were lots of restaurants, but we weren't too keen on any of them. TGI Friday's had a pretty short wait, so that's where we went. I came to England to experience all kinds of new things, and we ate at TGI Friday's! Who knew? However, I had a margarita, and it was amazing. Yet another thing I miss from Atlanta. Also, I never noticed how everything at TGIF has some kind of Jack Daniels sauce with it. Josh and Jim both had some kind of monstrous four patty burger with back and onion rings on it. It was a little disturbing that they both ate them and still had dessert. Here are pictures:







Finally, last night was my first Valentine's Day. Okay, not my actual first Valentine's Day, but it was the first one I've ever had with a sweetheart. And what a sweetheart he is! He gave me the plushest, softest bathrobe ever and some pretty "posies". I got him tickets to see Blur in Manchester at the end of June. I wore a new dress that has a "carwash" skirt with black sequins, and it's beautiful. Thankfully, Josh did not wear a paisley shirt, and he even let me put a posey in his buttonhole.



For dinner, we went to Gaucho, and it was marvelous. The restaurant is a renovated Baptist Church with even the organ left in (appropriate), and there is cowhide just about everywhere. It was very politically incorrect, but I thought it boded well for the cuisine. I had a strawberry margarita, and it was absolutely AMAZING. Josh had the mojito. For starters, we shared the scallop ceviche and sweetbreads**. Josh had the rump steak and I had a fillet**. I have now converted someone else to the wonder that is the Pittsburgh/black and blue steak. My steak was perfect, and I did not have to send it back (which, for those of you who have ever eaten steak with me, is a rarity). For dessert, Josh had the chocolate truffle cake (lush), and I had the braised fruits and a dollop (definitely not a scoop) of ice cream.





Also, I've been put through to the semi-finals of Manchester's Student Pop Idol competition. I sang "Falling" from Smokey Joe's Cafe for my initial audition, then "Over the Rainbow" and "Tears of a Clown" for the last two callbacks. The semi-finals are Monday week, and the theme is "Songs of the Beatles". I chose "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" because I figure it's basic 12-bar blues and I can do a lot with it and actually be entertaining without doing 7 minutes of Hey Jude. If I get through this round to the finals, I'll get to sing with a big band, which is my aim (rather than winning the competition, although it would be nice).

** sweeties - any kind of candy, though usually sold at a convenience store
flatmate - the British term for roommate, which is actually more accurate, since no one shares a room
sweetbreads - fried glands of cow, yum! The waiter asked if I knew what they were, since sweetbreads does sound pretty non-gross, like escargot or osso bucco.
fillet - what the Brits call a "filet", but it sounds like "fill-it" steak

Snowdaze

Okay, it's now snowed (really good) twice. Monday, it snowed around 4 or 5 inches, but on Tuesday, it looked like it never had. Then, I wake up this morning and Voila! More snow. I made my first real snowman (not made on the trunk of my mum's car!) in the park with Lucy, and we saw the cutest yellow lab puppy in the snow. He kept trying to eat my snowballs! Of course, I forgot my camera, so there are no pictures of my awesome snowman, but here are some lovely vistas anyway. One other awesome fact I learned: Sometimes, snowflakes are so big that they make this kind of splatting noise as they hit the ground, but it's not sleet.

A "Wendy" visit with "Granny" on an "Estate" (and other January events)

I went to the lovely market town of Macclesfield last weekend to visit my boyfriend's Granny. I have a grandmother named Granny too, so it's nice to have a proxy in England who also makes yummy comfort food and has a sweet home filled with things to read and family pictures and knick-knacks covered in grandchildren's fingerprints.

Macclesfield is about 30 minutes south of Manchester on the train, so we were there in no time flat. Macclesfield used to be a silk mill town, but obviously that was sent overseas many years ago. Macclesfield is also on the edge of the Peak District, so it's always a little chillier than Manchester.

Josh's Granny lives on an estate, which I originally thought was some sort of manor or stately home. As it turns out, it's basically what Americans would call a subdivision. However, it's on a hill and has an amazing view of Tegg's Nose and some other big hills. We had a delicious tea (dinner) and pudding (dessert) on Friday night then watched tv. Saturday, we had a lazy morning then a walk near Tegg's Nose (a 380 metre hill named after a "teg" or sheep in Norse). It was so windy, I could lean backwards and not fall over. It was so windy that I had to hold on to Josh not to fall over. It was so windy that I had to hold onto his Granny for fear that she would blow away. Needless to say, we did not make it all the way up the hill, even though I did buy nice hiking shoes for the occasion.

Yes, this is me riding a stone sheep.

This is by some heather, which is apparently not always purple like in the Secret Garden or Wuthering Heights. If it weren't so cold, I'd have been sorely tempted to wear my hair down and run through the moors in an empire waist dress.


Saturday afternoon I took a nap (short due to Josh's snoring-I still love you!) and then we did crosswords and played Scrabble with Josh's Granny. You wouldn't think that Scrabble with someone's granny would be very dirty, but it was! I started it, sort of, by making "S-E-X", but of course, I needed the double letter score on 10-point "X" and I mean male or female, people. Then, on the very next turn, Granny made "P-U-B-I-C"! Don't worry, the raciest word we had after that was "QUESTS" on which I scored over seventy points, thankyouverymuch. I won the game of course, but I won't toot my own horn too much (especially since...well, keep reading). Sunday, we went to a lovely little church on a hill down the street from Granny's house. Josh's Grandpa Naylor is buried in the cemetery there, so it's very special to him. He was in the navy and Josh has his old scarves and sweaters and loves to wear them. Sunday afternoon we came (very reluctantly) back to the reality of school and class today.

As for other slightly more random events in my life:

1. A Question of Genius - As many of you well know, I am a "clever cloggs" as Josh says. Anyway, I entered the running for a BBC television quiz show, A Question of Genius. It's supposed to be harder than The Weakest Link and easier than Mastermind, if that means anything to you. I made it to the audition/callback portion of the tryouts and I was the only girl there, and the only American. Despite my incredibly poor showings in the categories of 20th century British politics, football, and British television, they have invited me to be on the show, which will be taped at the end of February. I have a chance (albeit a VERY slim one) to win £5000 and an even smaller chance to win 10K if I make it to the finals (which I won't). It would be nice to win the money, but being on the BBC is almost as cool to me. Here are some pictures from the audition:



2. The Inauguration - Of course I watched it, and I felt more American than when I first came to Manchester. Here was my beautiful outfit and lovely fellow citizens (and a couple of wishful-thinking Canadians).



3. Delta Spirit - The boys from one of my top 5 favorite bands were in Manchester, so I took Lucy to see them. They remembered the time that I made them pecan pie and recognized me from their couple of shows in Atlanta (and one particularly steamy one outdoors in July). Lucy and I chatted up the lead singer (pictured), and I predict, with my careful tutelage, that Lucy will have snagged a rocker boyfriend by summer.

New Year's Part Two, or Chester and Josh have Stolen My Heart

Okay, so I'm doing two posts in one day, but you have to read the other one first or this one won't make as much sense.  

Anyway, to continue the story, we went to Will's dad's sheep dairy farm - these sheep are Dorset Down breed.  We got to look at the equipment, then we went to look at the LAMBS!  I wanted to snuggle one so bad.  The boy lambs get numbers on their left side and the girls get numbers on the right.  They kept running away and Josh was trying to catch me one to pet.  I picked up one for a moment, but it jumped down.  Then, another one, No. 98, walked right up to me.  I picked it up and snuggled it a bit, rubbing its little sweet ears and it kissed me and nuzzled my neck.  It was quite content to be held and I was loving just holding it.  

Then, talking to Will, I found out something terrible.  No. 98 was numbered on his left side.  He would not get to live the sweet life of a dairy sheep.  He would get fattened up to 40 kg of organic, grain-fed fleshiness, then they chop his head off, take his innards out and sell him for £100!  I am no vegetarian, and I like veal as much as the next person, but the thought of this sweet little lamb dying so someone could enjoy chops and kebabs made me want to cry.  

To make matters worse, when I put him down, he wouldn't leave.  He followed me to the edge of the pen and bleated pitifully when I left, as if to say "Please help me, Wendy!  Don't go!"  I can't let him die!  I immediately came up with a plan to save him, and a name, Chester.  I always said if I got another cat (or dog) I'd name it Chester, but this lamb is special too.  Anyway, Tom and Will's mum had pity on me, and if I pay the £100 for him, they will keep him as one of their lawnmower sheep and let him live a wonderful long life.  

Please, please help me save Chester!  You can join our Facebook group or just mail me a dollar (every little bit helps) - Save Chester! Facebook Group  

As if it weren't enough, here are pictures of me and Josh and sweet little Chester.

Hopefully, this next picture will also appeal to the depths of your Grinch-like hearts if that didn't.  The mum of the little sheep in this picture died, and one of the ewes lost her baby, so in order that he wouldn't starve, they put the skin of the lamb that didn't make it onto the one who has no mom, and now they make a family.  Are you crying yet?

Scrooges.  Anyway, the next day, we met our friend Laura from Manchester and travelled around rural Dorset and saw Milton Abbas, a big fancy boarding school with lovely buildings, and I ate my first ever Ploughman's Lunch, which is a British institution.  Then we went to Badbury Rings, a prehistoric village with lovely views (and more sheep).

This is the Sailor's Return, a proper "country pub" with a thatch roof and everything.  Dorset (and maybe the southwest in general) is known for cider, and I drank several (okay, four) pints of cider, which, as it turns out, has just as much, if not more ABV than regular beer.  We went back to Tom's house in the middle of the night, and even though it was a straight shot walking 1/2 a mile in the pitch-dark, Josh practically had to drag me back (and he says he was carrying me at one point, but I do not remember that).  Lesson: do not drink lots of cider with boys at quaint country pubs.  Two pints is more than enough to be sociable.  These pictures were presumably taken by said boys while I was in the loo.  Note that Josh is wearing an I LV NY shirt.

This is Josh's dad, Pete, and Charlie the puppy at Milton Abbas.  This was the most well-behaved the dog was the entire time.  :)

Here are part of the remnants of my Ploughman's lunch.  A ploughman's consists of: bread and butter, cheese or ham (or both), salad, pickled onion, pickle (which is actually a kind of relish), an apple, and a boiled egg.  I think the original ploughman's lunch, which presumably was fed to people plowing, was bread (a bap, or what we would call a bun), butter, cheese and pickle.  It was delicious, authentic and "mint" to use a British word.

Also, I am in love with Josh. That is all for now!

New Year's Part Un - Dorset

Okay, so I have been a little busy, mainly with two things: school and my new bf, Josh.  I worked extra hard on my essays, which were due last Monday, then I hung out with my poor, neglected boyfriend.   We both kind of have those cartoony hearts in our eyes, so I have neglected you, dear readers.  I apologize if this is overly sentimental and focused on my new beau.  Actually, no I don't.  Also, the most important part is at the end, so read to that part.

First, I have to talk about New Year.  I went to Poole, Dorset(shire) in "Southern" England on the coast to visit Josh and his family.  His mum, Lin, and dad, Pete, were both sweet and funny, and his younger brother, Sam, is a talented artiste who's going to study medicine at Uni.  The first day there we walked the dalmatian puppeh Charlie on the beach and went ice skating (re-enacting our first date, which neither of us realized was a real date till later).  I was basically wearing all the clothes I possibly could (yes, even the long underwear Mom), and it was still freezing.

The scenery in Dorset is magnificent, and we spent New Year's morning eating bacon buttys (or, as I call them "buddies") cooked by Josh's mum on the beach (well, in their cabana).  Only the Brits could come up with something so simultaneously horrible and wonderful to eat.  The recipe: You take two pieces of bread and slather each side with butter like you're making a sandwich.  Cook bacon, put it in the middle.  It is delicious, and I worry about gaining a stone just from eating them.  Back to the beach, it is beautiful, but it was as cold as... well, it was cold.

Here's a picture of Tom (Josh's best friend), Josh and Sam (the little brother).  Tom is basically what I thought every single British person is like (he's even wearing a fedora, come on!).

The afternoon on New Year's Day was one of the best experiences of my whole life.  I'm just going to throw it out there.  We went hiking to Lulworth Cove and looked at geologic formations then...to see...SHEEEEEP!  

Just to give you an idea of how much clothes I am wearing, I have on long underwear (top and bottoms), jeans, two pairs of socks, Josh's sisters wellies, a tshirt, one of Josh's fleece pullovers (enormous) AND my coat.  That's why I look like a 4-year-old on a snow day.  And to be honest, I was still cold.

You may not know this, but I have a longstanding love-affair with sheep.  They might be stupid and smelly, but the are so awesome and fluffy.  I love seeing them like little cotton balls on the English green hillsides.  I always wanted to squeeze one to see if it was all fluffy or if it was solid.  I tried to in Yorkshire, but they always ran away.  Josh's best friend Tom and his brother, Will, took me to their house (out in the country, in a town appropriately called Wool), and I got to feed their tame sheep and squeeze them, and it was GLORIOUS!

First, we went to their house to see the "lawnmower" sheep, which are tame.  The picture below is me feeding them.  The tame sheep are the Portland breed, which means they are fluffy and awesome.  I squeezed them and squealed quite a bit.

Then, we went to feed the pregnant ewes (there are lots).  I found one that had a big abcess on its face, so I actually did help Will with something other than feeding them.

This is Will and the ewes.  Isn't he a cute British sheep farmer?  If you are looking for one under 21, let me know.  By the way, sheep are kind of aggressive when you are feeding them, and they're preggers too, which probably means they are more hungry/mean than usual.  They kept biting my legs (just nibbles through my trousers) and they almost knocked me over.

ZOMBIE SHEEP!  Not really, they're just the sick/weak ewes wanting me to feed them.

Finally we got to see the lambs.  This part will actually be in the 2nd installment because there are lots of pictures as well as something close to my heart (i.e. Chester).