"I'll have some of his spotted dick"

According to the 2009 census 35% of Londoners commute to work by car with everyone else taking walking, biking, taking the bus or the metro. A government tax scheme is in place which allows for a 42% discount on bikes purchased for commuting. The number of people involved in the program increased by 7.9% from 2011 to 2012. Despite the isolated usefulness of those statistics it is obvious that the bicycle is becoming a dominant means of commuting in London.

 

When it rains the royal guard gets a break from the tourists posing with him. According to the Beefeater tour guide, the guards at the tour of London had recently returned from Afghanistan.  Despite carrying an assault rifle I wonder how he feels being a tourist attraction standing at the entrance to the crown jewels.

Server: Will you be having anything for dessert?
Julian (with casual control): I will have the spotted dick.
Everyone, server included, contained their reactions well and she turned to another in my party.
Server: And anything for you?
Deanna, straight faced: I'll have some of his spotted dick.
At which point most of us at the table lost it. Even the server who, I am sure, has had plenty of orders for the steamed suet pudding with currants and custard could not contain herself.

 Yum.

The spiritual home of fish and chips

 Brighton Pier is apparently the spiritual home of fish and chips according to Heston Blumenthal the Chef of The Fat Duck the 3 Michelin-stared best restaurant in the UK. These fish and chips were from a pub near by and were lovely. I must say though that you really need to have a gut of steel to eat that with any frequency. It could have been that I didn't use enough "salad cream."

Brighton even in the poor weather is lovely enough. The Prince of Wales built his "pleasure palace" here before he became King George the IV. Honestly if I had a "pleasure place" it really wouldn't matter where it is. To this day Brighton is still a popular location for a "dirty weekend." When I asked the barman in the pub for the password for the wireless he looked at me and said "marry me please" which I had to ask him to repeat and he obliged sheepishly smiling all the while.

Thanks to Justin and Val for showing me a good time for a few days despite the sickness.

Captured in Egypt by the British Army

The best way to learn a language is through osmosis. As I am in London it shouldn't be too long before it rains.

Otherwise it is spring and the weather is breaching the balmy 50 degree mark. Londoners are sun bathing with their sunglasses on and an ice cream cones in hand.

 (photo credits: Justin Shenk)

hotdog roll vs. pizza? how about both?

Fast food is not the same the world around. Years ago in Guatemala I had frijoles pizza from Domino's. It was actually quite brilliant; pizza crust with a layer of refried beans, some tomato and topped with cheese. Despite that experience I'm not ready to trust that this one "tastes so right!" Good luck finding this in America but honestly aren't you surprised this isn't an American staple? I'm sure the Brits think it is.

I can't resist duck cooked in its own fat.

When the British were putting forth their best efforts at subjugating the world, they realized their national cuisine left a lot to be desired so they brought the food of these dominated people back to the UK as evidenced by the plethora of African and Asian cuisine available. By contrast, thanks to the cultural domination of the rest of the world by the United States, while in London, I have had no difficulty finding a KFC, MacDonalds, Subway or Starbucks. If our television programs don't manage do in the exercise, these institutions will take care of the diet part of the health equation. As I am not quite satisfied by my indulgence in stereotype I am going to make out with this duck confit sandwich.

If it wasn't raining I'd feel ripped off.

 The friends that I'm visiting said "I think you brought some warmth and sunshine with you!" I'm sitting inside on my bed looking out at what looks like the perfect weather for producing May flowers. In all fairness this weekend appears as though it should be drier while getting into the mid 50s and 60s. Not quite the 80 degree bluebird days I left in VA but that'll do (boy, tha'll do). Despite the 6 hour time difference I think I have managed to make jet lag look like child's play. I woke up unassisted at 0815 locally and then again at 0900 which is equivalent to 0400 in C'ville. Thank you night-shift.