Scarlet Ibis
The Chicken of D.C.
I'm in Manchester! I can't believe I'm here. This is the first time I've been able to get online since being here.
*waves at everyone*
I've been here for three days. On the first day I went to Kings Road and saw Morrissey's old house and the iron bridge. I climbed up onto the iron bridge and took lots of photos of Smiths-y graffiti and views of the bridge. We had dinner at a Greek tapas place nearby and then fell into a jet lag induced coma.
Our second day here was spent exploring. Getting used to the driving here was really upsetting at first, but my husband soon caught on. As a passenger I still feel like we're going to be crashed into every time we turn a corner. We went to Piccadilly for a long while and spent a good deal of time at HMV where there is a HUGE poster of Johnny Marr on the wall next to the escalators. This is surreal to me. I LOVE IT! This would never happen in America. We had lunch in a pub. I had a Yorkshire pudding. It was... not like Nigella makes. No. I think it had once been frozen. *disappointed* The waitress took it upon herself to remind me, the fatty, that Yorkshire puddings are fattening. Thank you Spindly Little Waitress. I needed to hear that. You've saved me from myself. Well done.
On the third day we went to see The Mighty Boosh live in Buxton. My husband ignored your VERY GOOD ADVICE and drove to Buxton rather than taking the train. Oh. My. God. It was the most terrifying trip by car that I've ever taken. The roads are barely large enough for two cars, the roads are winding and I was in the moors. THE MOORS! I felt like I was in the horror version of Wuthering Heights. I'd never seen a moor outside of a movie before. Beautiful, vast, scary... sheep-laden.
The Mighty Boosh show was just meh. We waited in the rain to see if we could meet them, but they didn't come out. I can't say I blame them.
At one point we went to a Tesco. I love Tesco! We bought: some pasties, some sultana scones, some double cream, some little strawberry things that claim to be a sort of cheese, but really taste just like yogurt. Um... Some sugar free Ribena. I've always wanted to taste Ribena. Intersing. Tizer. My husband drank the Tizer since there's sugar in it and I don't drink sugar. I tasted it a bit and it was quite nice.
Manchester is lovely. I can't get over the sky. The sky is exactly as I hoped it would be. Better, even. It's dark and grey with low clouds. Just beautiful. Really gothic. We're near the Quays. There is a lone swan here. We plan to feed him later today. I wonder if Morrissey and this swan have ever met.
There's a Morrissean feeling all over Manchester. I'm shocked at how many place names I recognize just from having listened to and read everything he's said over the years. Eccles, Sainsbury's, Stretford, Trafford, The Holy Name Church, Ancoates, etc.
I understand where he got his fashion sense now. Everyone here seems a touch dapper. Their clothes are mostly subdued. My husband's been calling it the Manchester Uniform. Black with hints of color. Greys, browns, dark greens.
So far I adore England. I'm glad it's all I thought it would be. I've wanted to come here all my life. This is a dream come true. I could easily live here. I fit in much better in England than I do back home. I think I've figured out why. England seems both (overall) liberal and stuffy. Like me. Also, everyone here seems free to be themselves without being thought of as a freak. I feel positively normal here.
Some things I didn't expect: The food. I have been told that English food is disgusting. It's not. It's great! Granted, some of the old fashioned dishes like pork pie (*spits*) and mushy peas are a little unpleasant, but mostly everything is fresh and tasty. I've also been led to understand that in England the portions served in restaurants and pubs is much smaller than in America. This is not so. I don't know why people keeps saying this. The portions here are every bit as huge... at least in the places I've been going to for meals. Just normal pubs and the one Greek place. Also, I don't ever want to hear again (from a Brit) that Americans eat too much sugar. The sugar situation is out of control here! The Hine's ketchup is super sweet. Everything that we have in America seems somewhat sweeter here. Also, candy is sold everywhere in England. Cadbury mostly. It's ubiquitous. Also, many foods here seem unnecessarily oily. And what's with the "sweet corn" in everything? The inclusion of corn in sandwiches and other things seems strange to me.
One thing that I really like about the food situation here is that it's made very easy to eat vegetarian. It's been normalized here. In America it's still thought of as a fringe way of eating. I now understand why so many English people are vegetarian. I think that one of the reasons Americans might put off becoming a veg, even when they'd like to try, is that it requires more effort than most are willing to exert. Life's hard. Finding food should be easy.
Most people here seem very nice. I was warned that people in shops could be surly, but I haven't found that to be the case yet. On the contrary, I have found that the people here seem to take pride in their jobs and they do them with smiles on their faces.
People seem very helpful to the dumb Americans too. For instance, at first, we didn't know how to act in pubs. We didn't know to seat ourselves and to order at the bar, etc. That's not how it's done in America. As soon as they heard our accents they told us what to do and how to do it without making us feel like idiots. A couple of people have seemed very interested in talking to us based on our accents. I had thought that most English people disliked Americans based on our current government, but I'm not finding that to be the case.
Mostly, though, I'm shocked at how much like America it is over here. I'm making some of you bristle by saying that, I suppose, but it's true for me. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in England. I barely even notice the different accent since I've been listening to it all my life. (Everyone I've ever admired has been English.) The main difference that I've noticed so far is that England is less uptight than America.
All right, I'm tired now. Later today I'm going to Trafford Center. It's been hectic so far. This is our day to relax.
Oh, and what are those wonderful black and white birds here? They're huge like crows or ravens, but they seem to be wearing tuxedos. I've been calling them tuxedo birds. I must get a photo of them.
I'm shocked at how many American TV shows there are in England. Baaad American TV shows. I hope you English people won't judge our society based on these shows, though I suspect you do.
*waves at everyone*
I've been here for three days. On the first day I went to Kings Road and saw Morrissey's old house and the iron bridge. I climbed up onto the iron bridge and took lots of photos of Smiths-y graffiti and views of the bridge. We had dinner at a Greek tapas place nearby and then fell into a jet lag induced coma.
Our second day here was spent exploring. Getting used to the driving here was really upsetting at first, but my husband soon caught on. As a passenger I still feel like we're going to be crashed into every time we turn a corner. We went to Piccadilly for a long while and spent a good deal of time at HMV where there is a HUGE poster of Johnny Marr on the wall next to the escalators. This is surreal to me. I LOVE IT! This would never happen in America. We had lunch in a pub. I had a Yorkshire pudding. It was... not like Nigella makes. No. I think it had once been frozen. *disappointed* The waitress took it upon herself to remind me, the fatty, that Yorkshire puddings are fattening. Thank you Spindly Little Waitress. I needed to hear that. You've saved me from myself. Well done.
On the third day we went to see The Mighty Boosh live in Buxton. My husband ignored your VERY GOOD ADVICE and drove to Buxton rather than taking the train. Oh. My. God. It was the most terrifying trip by car that I've ever taken. The roads are barely large enough for two cars, the roads are winding and I was in the moors. THE MOORS! I felt like I was in the horror version of Wuthering Heights. I'd never seen a moor outside of a movie before. Beautiful, vast, scary... sheep-laden.
The Mighty Boosh show was just meh. We waited in the rain to see if we could meet them, but they didn't come out. I can't say I blame them.
At one point we went to a Tesco. I love Tesco! We bought: some pasties, some sultana scones, some double cream, some little strawberry things that claim to be a sort of cheese, but really taste just like yogurt. Um... Some sugar free Ribena. I've always wanted to taste Ribena. Intersing. Tizer. My husband drank the Tizer since there's sugar in it and I don't drink sugar. I tasted it a bit and it was quite nice.
Manchester is lovely. I can't get over the sky. The sky is exactly as I hoped it would be. Better, even. It's dark and grey with low clouds. Just beautiful. Really gothic. We're near the Quays. There is a lone swan here. We plan to feed him later today. I wonder if Morrissey and this swan have ever met.
There's a Morrissean feeling all over Manchester. I'm shocked at how many place names I recognize just from having listened to and read everything he's said over the years. Eccles, Sainsbury's, Stretford, Trafford, The Holy Name Church, Ancoates, etc.
I understand where he got his fashion sense now. Everyone here seems a touch dapper. Their clothes are mostly subdued. My husband's been calling it the Manchester Uniform. Black with hints of color. Greys, browns, dark greens.
So far I adore England. I'm glad it's all I thought it would be. I've wanted to come here all my life. This is a dream come true. I could easily live here. I fit in much better in England than I do back home. I think I've figured out why. England seems both (overall) liberal and stuffy. Like me. Also, everyone here seems free to be themselves without being thought of as a freak. I feel positively normal here.
Some things I didn't expect: The food. I have been told that English food is disgusting. It's not. It's great! Granted, some of the old fashioned dishes like pork pie (*spits*) and mushy peas are a little unpleasant, but mostly everything is fresh and tasty. I've also been led to understand that in England the portions served in restaurants and pubs is much smaller than in America. This is not so. I don't know why people keeps saying this. The portions here are every bit as huge... at least in the places I've been going to for meals. Just normal pubs and the one Greek place. Also, I don't ever want to hear again (from a Brit) that Americans eat too much sugar. The sugar situation is out of control here! The Hine's ketchup is super sweet. Everything that we have in America seems somewhat sweeter here. Also, candy is sold everywhere in England. Cadbury mostly. It's ubiquitous. Also, many foods here seem unnecessarily oily. And what's with the "sweet corn" in everything? The inclusion of corn in sandwiches and other things seems strange to me.
One thing that I really like about the food situation here is that it's made very easy to eat vegetarian. It's been normalized here. In America it's still thought of as a fringe way of eating. I now understand why so many English people are vegetarian. I think that one of the reasons Americans might put off becoming a veg, even when they'd like to try, is that it requires more effort than most are willing to exert. Life's hard. Finding food should be easy.
Most people here seem very nice. I was warned that people in shops could be surly, but I haven't found that to be the case yet. On the contrary, I have found that the people here seem to take pride in their jobs and they do them with smiles on their faces.
People seem very helpful to the dumb Americans too. For instance, at first, we didn't know how to act in pubs. We didn't know to seat ourselves and to order at the bar, etc. That's not how it's done in America. As soon as they heard our accents they told us what to do and how to do it without making us feel like idiots. A couple of people have seemed very interested in talking to us based on our accents. I had thought that most English people disliked Americans based on our current government, but I'm not finding that to be the case.
Mostly, though, I'm shocked at how much like America it is over here. I'm making some of you bristle by saying that, I suppose, but it's true for me. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in England. I barely even notice the different accent since I've been listening to it all my life. (Everyone I've ever admired has been English.) The main difference that I've noticed so far is that England is less uptight than America.
All right, I'm tired now. Later today I'm going to Trafford Center. It's been hectic so far. This is our day to relax.
Oh, and what are those wonderful black and white birds here? They're huge like crows or ravens, but they seem to be wearing tuxedos. I've been calling them tuxedo birds. I must get a photo of them.
I'm shocked at how many American TV shows there are in England. Baaad American TV shows. I hope you English people won't judge our society based on these shows, though I suspect you do.
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