March 16th Happy Red Nose Day!

I heard on the BBC morning news that it’s Red Nose Day.
Still not sure what this ‘semi-holiday’ is all about.
I’m going to Goodge Street Station shortly to pick up a few things at a shop called Habitat. Hopefully I’ll see something on the street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Relief

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I’m back from my errands.. seems Red Nose day is out with some amount of force. I saw a guy in the street with a red nose on while handing out free papers (see picture) also saw a few ads on the taxi’s,

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Since it’s after 8pm now, I’m watching the Big One on BBC One now. Interesting! I wish I understood more of the jokes though, I don’t seem to find it as funny as the live audience.
Hmm, this a bit like a nation wide shine-o-rama. only with much better execution.
And, apparently it’s only once every 2 years.

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ps. I can’t believe how much swearing is allowed on tv!! They sure say ‘fucking’ alot on the BBC!

A New Word! Hoover = Vacuum

From Wiki:

In Britain Hoover has become so associated with vacuum cleaners as to become a genericized trademark. The word “hoover” (without initial capitalization) often is used as a generic term for “vacuum cleaner”. Hoover is often used as a verb, as well, as in “I’ve just hoovered the carpet”.

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised with this one. In Canada we use plenty of genericized trademarks like: Kleenex, Q-tips and BandAids, but it still surprised me. I bought a used vacuum cleaner today from some guy online and he used the term hoover which totally confused me. If anything, to me, Hoover is either a name of a dam or something I associate with defensive eaters like my friend Cernik enjoying a big tray of poutine.

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Getting to Know London’s ‘burbs

I went to East Putney yesterday to visit my friend Kaila and to pick up my flat keys from her (she was kind enough to feed our cats while Jason was in Canada last week). Putney is a really nice area and reminds me just how big London is.
While in Putney I bought a hairdryer from Boots. Check that off my list of to-dos. Boots actually reminds me of the mid 80’s doing weekend shopping with Mom and stopping off at the Yonge Eglinton centre to go to Boots. I think it’s a Pharma Plus in the Y&E centre now.

Ah! Forgot to mention about my trip to Putney I decided to yet again take the bus back to Kings Cross, because well, sitting at the top of a double decker bus feels a bit like a scenic tour and this way I can see how the different neighbourhoods are connected. First bus was excellent, got to Knightsbridge in no time, made mental note that Chelsea and South Kensington is a fantastic area. At Knightsbridge i resisted the temptation to go into Harrods and walked for a bit beside Hyde Park enjoying the weather. The weather has been spectacular. Today is the 4th day in a row of brilliant blue skies, sun and spring weather. I picked up my second bus that would take me to Kings Cross, the number 10. Interesting that the night bus, the N10 goes from Putney to Kings Cross, but in the day time the 10 goes no where near Putney. Odd. But good to know that a solid night bus exists to take me back home after visiting Kaila, Jenny and their boys. Anyway, the number 10 bus goes through Oxford Circus. This was a big mistake. At 5pm, and actually I suppose at anytime of the day, Oxford Street is a zoo. I spent over 45 minutes on Oxford Street alone! I probably should have spent the extra 50p and taken the tube.

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(English) Muffins

They actually call English muffins… “muffins”.
At least they taste the same, or at least the Tesco brand ones I bought do.
Rumour has it muffins are called ‘buns’ by the brits. Well that’s just insane.

What’s also nuts is that I need to turn on a light switch to get my stove to work.

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London’s Calling … for a pub quiz!

So last night was the big goodbye – the pub quiz. Congrats to team Cornflake for taking the title after a solid 10 out of 10 result in the last round “Celebrity Nicknames … As Seen on Perez Hilton.com”. You may not have known which Star Trek Actor Directed “Three Men and a Baby” or known Johnny Quest, or even which sex of reindeer grow antlers, but when it came down to crunch time you knew exactly who Princess Frostylocks was!

It was a sad night, quite teary, and yet I’m an idiot. I forgot to bring my camera!
Goodbye – I’ll miss you all!

Goodbye Canada Part 2: Cross Country City Skiing

I do love Toronto for it’s cross country skiing. The city parks are incredible for easy access to great snow, and many of the bigger ones like High Park make you feel like you’ve left the city. My personal favourite: Sunnybrook Park. The snow today wasn’t as great as I expected. Seems that even though we were assaulted with snow this past week, the park was a bit bare in places. But my dad and I made do. I am going to miss skiing in the city.

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