A Raffle!

Life, eh? Gets in the way of things and we have had new projects and the issue of trying to find jobs in the post Brexit Referendum EU environment. Hopefully I will get up a proper state of the gabsatrucker life post soon(ish) updating everyone about most of what's happened.  However a return to the US is in the cards in the New Year and very probably a return to trucking.

In the meantime, if you would like to win a custom artwork from the ever so fabulous Jackie of Treehuggery (I have written about her work in previous posts and we own a couple of pieces ourselves) and give us a hand as well please go check out the raffle here.

An example of Jackie's work in the size donated for the raffle. She can do runners, cyclists, snowboarders, Nordic Walkers, dog walkers...if you dream it she will do it!

It's only 5 bucks per entry and the drawing will be for the 18X43cm size (valued at 125-150GBP) and Jackie has including donating the shipping for free as well, framed in the UK, unframed everywhere else.  All the details about how to enter and when she will liaise with you if you're the very lucky winner is included in the GoFundMe post.

Be sure and get in quick, the deadline is the 22nd of December!

Also you can now follow the "us" vlog on youtube!

Obtaining your UK driving licence

Essential Reading

One of the more frequent topics on the American expat facebook groups is about driving and obtaining a UK driving licence.  The GOV.UK site does a great job of explaining the process here but it always helps to have a first-hand explanation of how to do it.

A good thing to do before you move over here from the states is obtain a copy of your no-claims history from your current insurance company, the further back the better because motor insurance here can be astronomical! Having a copy of mine saved quite a bit of money--this can also be obtained by contacting their customer service but usually the sooner you obtain it the better that way any mistakes can be corrected.  For example I didn't realise that Geico had shown that I'd filed a claim when we had called in to find out what the insurance would cover when someone had gone on a brick-throwing vandalism spree in our neighbourhood a few years back and knocked out the back glass of my pickup.  We ended up not using the insurance and paying out of pocket but unfortunately someone had clicked the wrong button and I was only able to claim 3 years of no claims versus 7 years which would have saved an additional £200.

You CAN drive in the UK on your US driving licence for up to a year but making plans to get it earlier can save an immense amount of stress. I waited until the very last moment and really wish I hadn't, I was in a near-panic with trying to get everything done in the last two months left.

No matter how good of a driver you are, take lessons! It's not about learning how to drive for most of us but it's about unlearning habits that will fail us on the exam and learning what the examiners are looking for.  Also most of the instructors will be giving lessons on the actual routes used which will help minimise mistakes.

The first step is to obtain your provisional licence by starting here, I obtained the D1 application form from our local post office, filled it out, enclosed the money and appropriate sized picture, and sent it off to Swansea with my passport. It all came back well within the 3 weeks quoted on the site.  As a bit of a segue, if you haven't obtained your NINO (National Insurance Number) do so!

After you have received your provisional you can still drive on your US licence (providing you are still with your year) but it's time to start studying for the theory portion of the test. Don't expect to give it a quick read through a few minutes before the test and pass.  While some of it is common-sense the wording here is different enough that it will trip you up, there are also a fair bit of non-driving related questions from the Highway Code that will be on the exam.  I highly recommend getting a current copy of the DVSA theory test book or software.  There are also lots of practice tests available online, take as many as possible to review/revise.

Book your theory test! Don't forget to take along your shiny new provisional licence. Take and pass your theory test! Keep your copy of this safe because you will need to take it along with you for your practical

Now book your practical, depending on where you live it can be several months before the first opening but you are not limited to taking it at your nearest test centre. Do a search of the surrounding areas to find out if you can take the test sooner at a different place. I ended up travelling to one 30 minutes away in order to get it booked within 2 weeks rather than over a month.  Also you can check the website daily to find out if there are any cancellations to get it done quicker--you can change your appointment up to 6 times without having to cancel and rebook.

L aka Learner Plates

Remember when I mentioned taking lessons earlier? That bears repeating, TAKE DRIVING LESSONS! If you don't gel with the instructor, find a different one.  This driving test is stressful enough without having to deal with someone who you don't get along with, their job is to make you a safer driver for the UK and to do their best to get you through the test, not belittle or demean you.

 If you choose to take the practical in your own car (like I did) there are a few things to be aware of, like having the appropriate insurance, L plates, and a mirror for the examiner are only three.  Again check the gov site for further details.

In the worst case scenario if you fail your practical the first time (like I did), take an hour or three to wallow in it then look at what you need to practise to pass the next and immediately book the next available time after your mandatory 10 day wait (that's to take the test btw, not re-booking).  Again like before you can check daily to change to an earlier time--I ended up changing mine several times to get it booked for 2 weeks after not passing the first one.

Practising!

My tips:  Study!!!!! Practise!!!! Practise your reversing, emergency stops, mirror checks, hill starts, and your show me/tell me items.  Next, relax (yeah, I know easier said than done). Exaggerate your mirror checks, talk through what you are doing as you drive, if you make a mistake, just keep on, you are allowed a few minors and if it's just a one time thing rather than a repeated mistake it probably won't count against you.

Hopefully this helps for those going through the process, please feel free to ask any questions. I wrote about my test experience here with all the gory details of why I didn't pass the first time. One thing I didn't expect was that when my motor insurance came up for renewal after obtaining my UK driving licence was that I was considered a 'new' driver again and had to shop around for a cheaper policy so be aware of that.


Good luck!

Beer, a Tree, and a Horse

This will be the final post about our Great British Tree road trip back in June.  To be honest I've about let it go so long that I nearly forgot there was one more tree to add to the list! Note to self: write down your thoughts before you forget them!!!!!!!

Village of Beer

After visiting the Darley Oak tree near Upton-Cross we made our way up to Honiton to fuel up and I asked my partner how far we were from Beer, a village on the Jurassic Coast that he raved about.  Turns out we weren't that far and I coerced him into a detour so I could visit it as well.  Well worth the diversion, it's GORGEOUS.  There is something about the water especially oceans that calms and fascinates me--I am a Pisces so there must be a little something to the astrology stuff--and I could have spent hours on that stone beach. As it was we were there for little over an hour walking about and sitting in the sun enjoying an ice-cream. Hopefully we will be able to go back for an extended visit before my time in the UK ends.

Walking down to the beach

The mutts and I walking over to the chalk cliffs, yes I *had* to touch them

The walkways were quite handy because the stones were difficult to walk on, it was one step forward and 2 or 3 back

Deck chairs at Ducky's where we enjoyed our ice creams, even Ben and Elsie got to partake

Our 'detours' didn't end with Beer though, I'd spotted a picture on the web of an interesting sign posted on a bridge so of course we needed to stop and get one of our own! 

Dorset bridge 

That's one way to get to Australia, eh? This is located just outside the town of Sturminster Newton, the afternoon sun was beginning to make the driver sleepy so while he took a catnap the mutts and I went out for a walk along part of the North Dorset Trailway--adding another place to the bucket list of areas I want to run.  It was quite a friendly place and everyone was willing to allow their dogs to say 'hello' to each other which is becoming quite rare nowadays.  

Finally we were on our way to the last planned stopping place for our road trip, Savernake Forest, home of The Big Belly Oak or Big Bellied Oak depending on what you read.  The forest is actually home to quite a few interesting trees but a full day needs to be allocated to exploring the area and we didn't have time to go for a proper walk there.  The Big Belly Oak is located right next to the A346 and while we knew that there was no place to park nearby we didn't realise just how busy the road actually was so our picture was taken on the move from the passenger seat of the car.  

The Big Belly Oak

Because of being limited to 'drive-by' photography there is no picture of the Great British Trees plaque.  The undergrowth appeared to be so tall that I'm not sure we would have found it even if we could have stopped. 

The Uffington White Horse

One final stop on the trek back home found us eating burgers at the base of the White Horse Hill near Uffington, another place that is on the list of must visit again spots since I didn't get to actually walk along it (the partner and I have very differing views on what constitutes a visit to a place!).  

Me being pouty because I was so close yet so far away from the White Horse

As you can see we packed quite a bit into a one day road trip! Hopefully we can go on another soon before we lose all the wonderful summer sun. 

Expat Adventures: 2nd Stop in the Great British Tree Road Trip

The bridges at Saltash

Part II of the insane road trip on the 10th of June had us travelling south-east from Exeter to just north of the village of Upton-Cross in Cornwall in search of the Darley Oak Tree.  This one was quite difficult to find and the sat-nav took us on some amazingly tiny roads to get there...tiny as in there was barely enough room for our Mondeo to squeeze through without brushing the mirrors against the hedgerows and there were times when the mirrors had to be brought in to avoid this.  Miles and miles of this! I am just glad I wasn't driving especially for the section where we had to reverse for a quarter of a mile to find a place wide enough to move over so an oncoming tractor could get by us.  We really should have had the windscreen mount set up for the camera to film but alas there is no photographic evidence for y'all to enjoy.  The below pic is one of the wider sections of road we travelled and where we stopped to ask a woman on horseback if we were indeed going in the correct direction.

One of the wider sections of road

The tree is located in the front garden of a group of farmhouses and from the description on various sites we were wondering if it would be easily accessible.  There was no need to worry though because it is situated right next to the drive and my partner even struck up a conversation with one of the farmers about the tree.  It was quite interesting listening to him speak because he sounded like a pirate! I'm not sure either of us understood half of what he said but it didn't seem to matter because they were over half an hour chatting.  The British reserve stereotype does not hold true once you get away from the cities! 

The Darley Oak

The Darley Oak is massive of course and is estimated to be over a 1000 years old.  While it looks like some of the branches would break off in a stiff breeze it didn't give off the air of dejection that Major Oak in Notts seems to have.  If anything it had quite a cheerful aura and I'm not one to usually ascribe such characteristics to trees.  

The 50 Great British Trees Plaque

Don't you wonder how many children have climbed and hid in this tree over the centuries?

We didn't stay there but the Oak Barn B&B across from the Darley Oak looked quite lovely if you are looking for a getaway location and if the proprietors are half as friendly as the man we spoke to then you are in for a pleasant stay.

I jinxed the weather and Juneathon Days 17-20

Going that way

The warmth was gorgeous while it lasted but it's been back to almost needing my gloves again, hard to believe that tomorrow is the summer solstice! I've also lapsed on the move and blog every day but I think I've made it further along than I usually do with Juneathon/Janathon.

Maps at the ready!

Wednesday was a road trip up to Riber/Matlock to recce routes with a couple of mates for the upcoming Footpath Relays and while I have a fairly straightforward section I am glad we ran it because there were a couple of places that might have been tricky on the navigation (Read I would have gotten my ass lost!).  It is a beautiful area of the country and some of it was technical enough to remind me of trail running back in Arkansas.  Afterwards we sat and ate a delicious picnic lunch they had prepared (I wasn't near that organised!) while enjoying the views.

Watch your head!

Today's parkrun marked the second Long Eaton event and the kids with the cowbells were even more enthusiastic than last weekend! Of course that might have had a little bit to do with me whooping and hollering along with them on the first lap then yelling 'More cowbell please!!!!' on the second. As far as the run I certainly wasn't expecting to do much better but somehow managed to eke out a 3 second personal best for my UK times.  I do seem to be stuck in the 23ish minute range again, but it is dropping and hopefully I will be able to whittle that down to sub-23 soon. The splits were not a pretty picture though! 7:17 (waaaaaaaay too fast), 7:26, 7:33, and 1:06.6 (6:22 pace) for the last .18 mile.  The club had another good result with one of ours being 4th place overall and we also had the first and third females. Well done all!

How can you not love running somewhere that has a castle in the background?

Wednesday: 3.71 miles

Thursday: Club run 7.77 miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5 miles including parkrun

parkrun stats:

23:23

50/211 overall

8/94 female

1/24 VW45-49

I couldn't find a decent quality vid of the skit so this one will have to suffice

Expat Adventures: The Road Trip in Search of...

One of the best and worst things about an English summer is the extended daylight hours.  In late May it starts getting light around 3:45 am and there is a little glow in the sky until around 11 pm. This makes getting a decent amount of sleep for someone like me who rises whenever the sun does a bit tricky unless you have blackout curtains but it does make planning for outdoor activities much easier.  There is still the need to layer up because the temperatures are on the chilly side but at least you have daylight to play in!

This is what made Wednesday's epic road trip possible, we covered 712 miles down south and back home with only about 2 hours of it driven in the dark--yes our drive started at the unholy hour of 5:30 am! There was a lot of ground covered and while we didn't get to spend much time at any one place the objectives of the trip were accomplished: my partner got to do something he loves--drive through places at speed while pointing out interesting landmarks in passing, put some miles on the new front tyres, and we took a few photos of historic trees.  Yes, the objective of the trip was to visit a couple of the 50 Great British Trees.

First stop not counting the Starbucks refueling (where they oohed and ahhed over my American issued personalised gold rewards card) and to allow the dogs to do their business was the Heavitree Yew in Exeter...or it would have been but for some reason we thought the tree was at the Heavitree Pleasure Grounds.  It is quite a pretty and bustling park and we did find a historic tree, just not the one we were in search of!  Oh well, it got us out of the car and Ben got to frolic off leash (Elsie doesn't get that privilege because she has NO recall whatsoever and likes to put her front paws on people's legs) while we figured out where we should have been.

The 'other' tree

Quite old but not the green plaque we were looking for

The Voices of Heavitree Arch

The arch in the picture above is apparently quite controversial because of the amount of money spent in upkeep, it seems to be a target of frequent vandalism/graffiti as well.  What I do want to point out is the sign on the building for The Gun and Sport Shop.  Quite a few people are under the impression that ALL guns are illegal in the UK and that simply isn't true.  There is certainly a more stringent licensing and certification process but it isn't impossible to own a firearm. Anyway back to the tree!

The church through the daisies

The Heavitree Yew is in the churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels, like most here it is a very pretty church but it also has a air of being very busy and cluttered! The yew is right next to the entry and when we were walking up we were almost bowled over by a man rushing out 'in search of a body'! He was very apologetic and it was almost like a scene out of a television programme. 

The Heavitree Yew

50 Great British Trees Commemoration Plaque

I wonder how many people have sat in or climbed this tree

Quick pic of the Church interior

Beautiful sky

Always love the gargoyles

Water spout above an entry

So that was the first planned stop of our one day road trip southwards, what we didn't take time to see was the Exeter Cathedral, perhaps another day we will stop to see it but honestly I much prefer the smaller churches to the massive cathedrals so I wasn't terribly disappointed about skipping it. There will be another post or 3 about our insane drive soonish! 

All image editing courtesy of Real World Image Retouching

Expat Explorations

En-route to finding the Chestnut Tree at Morton we spied this building.  Now I would expect to see something like this in Illinois or Washington DC back in the states but it seemed very out of place in Derbyshire! Obviously we stopped to snap a few pics and to see if we could possibly go inside but it was locked up and the gardens are somewhat neglected.  After getting back home to some decent internet access a google search revealed that although it was intended to be a library it never served as one and is currently a masonic lodge.  How it came to be built here is a very interesting story!

Robert Watchorn was born and grew up in Alfreton but immigrated to the US when he was in his early 20s  and was very much a self-made man, the epitome of the American Dream if you will. He began working in the coal mines at age 11 and continued in that line of work in Pennsylvania after immigrating but worked his way up while continuing educating himself. Amongst his accomplishments was helping end child labour in the state, becoming Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island, and owning an oil/gas company. Robert however believed in giving back and invested quite a bit back not only into the communities where he lived in the states but also back in Alfreton--besides this library, he also built a church, school, sports ground and pavilion.  

Robert Watchorn was very much an admirer of Abraham Lincoln and what he stood for, please read more about his history and the Lincoln Memorial Shrine he founded in Redlands, California here.

A bit of local vernacular

Ey up me duck!  The local media has been all aflutter about Dolly Parton being the latest celebrity (preceded by Angelina Jolie and Prince Harry) to use the East Midlands phrase and even the BBC has waded in with today's headline Do normal people really say 'ay up me duck?'.  To answer that question, yes they do!  A day rarely passes that I don't hear it said as a greeting at least once and it encompasses most age groups.  You do tend to hear 'eyup duck' and 'hiya duck' more often though and while I haven't adopted the usage of duck, hiya has most definitely entered my lexicon.

This video explains the phrase and origins quite nicely

Also notice the pronunciation of Derby--it's 'Darby' here rather than the 'er' we usually say in the states. I can't exactly say anything since Arkansas is 'Ar-kan-saw' rather than Ar-Kansas. However I still reserve the right to shake my head over Belvoir ending up as beaver!  

Back on Two Wheels

I ride a Jamis but the sentiment is the same

After approximately 2 years of not having ridden my beautiful road bike I finally worked up the nerve to join a group ride last Sunday.  Not one to do things in half measures I ended up cycling approximately 60 miles...yes, that was not the way to get back into it! By about mile 40 my saddle was starting to feel like this:

Image via Loving the Bike who credited Bicycling Magazine

To be honest I've been quite fearful of riding here in the UK especially going it alone.  Different road layouts, roundabouts, behaviours, rules and the list goes on, I am not happy to admit to this fear and even less so that I've allowed it to keep me from pursuing something I love so much.  This extended layoff showed up mostly in my low-speed manoeuvering like through the narrow canal path gates and while working my way up along the line of cars at traffic lights.  Hard to believe that at one time I could do the rolling dismounts while entering duathlon transition areas!    

Waiting to meet up with Catherine

I did discover a new US/UK difference though! While a mate was giving the bike a once over for me (the derailleur was slightly out of adjustment) he discovered that the rear brake on my bike is controlled by the right lever. I had no clue that the brakes controls were reversed here until he asked were mine supposed to be that way--guess he learned something new as well. 

Our lovely ride leader

We also had a bit of an off-road adventure on Sunday's ride, what appeared to be a road on the gps app ended up being a dis-used track instead! Lots of fun and ended up being something to laugh about afterwards although the muddy bit we walked through made clipping in and out a challenge for the remainder of the ride.  Regardless I survived Sunday's ride despite my skill deterioration and have been bitten by the bug all over again. The fear of riding solo is still there however and I think it is going to take a while to work through. 

Current *want* from Wiggle

While I'm on the subject of cycling please go check out the Taxing Rides Cyclists series from Treehuggery.  Jackie does amazing work, these are awesome gifts for cyclists!

This is the piece of art we own from the series

Americanisms...or are they?

This list link was posted on a facebook group I'm part of this morning, I had to laugh because there are several I've gotten corrected on and it turns out they are originally English...or in the case of autumn, French!

Even Ben thinks this is funny!

American/English

Fall/Autumn

Guess (to suppose)/??? I'm not sure on this one unless it is 'to suppose'

Trash/Rubbish

Soccer/Football

Slain and slay/(another one I'm not sure about)

Gotten/???

Faucet/tap

Loan (verb)/???

Draft (selection for service)/???

Diaper/Nappy

Gotten of course is just slagged off as poor grammar and mentioning that football used to be called soccer in the UK will cause a VERY animated discussion! Please comment and let me know what the UK versions are of the words that have question marks. 

Today's Earworm and how to say Derbyshire like a native

Today's earworm is a catchy tune from Drenge, it sort of reminds of a cross between Buddy Holly and The Ramones.  What I really want to talk about though is David Letterman's pronunciation of Derbyshire...and why didn't his people brief him on the way it's pronounced in the UK? Someone who watched the show please tell me that he was corrected at some point.  FYI it is closer to DAHR-BEE-SHUR (or SHEER).  I hear it both ways and I'm sure my interpretation isn't quite right but at least it won't make the locals cringe. Shire is never pronounced with a long I when it is combined with another word but it is when said on its own. Confused yet? Imagine how I feel!

No Pants!

Today of course is the annual "No Pants Subway" ride. No, I did not participate...although I wouldn't rule out ever doing so if I caught myself on a subway or train when it was happening! I would choose to remain standing though, the thought of bare buttocks on icky train seats is very disturbing.

The name however undergoes a slight tweak when it comes to the UK to "No Trousers on the Tube" and it's not just because of the Underground reference. Nope, when you say pants here, people think you are referring to underwear.  This has been the single hardest word for me to transition over to saying!!!!  Actually I still haven't gotten to where trousers comes out of my mouth first instead of pants which leads to some moments of blushing both on my part and the occasional man when it happens in mixed company especially if it's something like "I forgot my pants to change into" or "I am not wearing pants."

Yep, you would think after the first few times of confused looks or coughs to cover up chuckles and the myriad of times I've been pulled aside to be told "You do know pants doesn't mean the same thing here, right?" that I would remember it, but no as of yet I haven't.  The last time just after Christmas I even went through 3 different variations of what I wanted to say before I finally got out the proper word for the context--very reminiscent of an angry parent yelling out different kids' names before getting to the correct one.

To make things even more interesting, pants is also British slang for something that is inferior quality, rubbish, horrible, etc.  The funny thing is that I do know (and knew years before moving here thanks to my habit of reading everything I can get my hands on) the differences...it's just the actual speaking part that gets me in trouble!

Some run stuff. Some expat stuff.

Bad tree!

I do love some of the imaginative signs that you see here in England--this one immediately had my mind racing making up stories about what the tree did to deserve it's outlaw status ;-) I'm also ignoring (or trying to) the fact that "of" was omitted. 

Another 20 mile marathon training run is in the books, this one while not exactly terrible, certainly wasn't the fun-fest of last week's despite having equally excellent company.  It was definitely an interesting one with the weather, I stepped outside and the skies opened up with a heavy enough downpour that I immediately went right back in to grab a water-repellent jacket. Not normally a huge deal but I was already running late so didn't take the time to shed the long-sleeve shirt. 3 layers up top meant that I should have just skipped going back for the jacket because I was soaked from sweat almost as much as I would have been from the rain!  A few miles in and we were treated to the most gorgeously blue skies for the rest of the run so I ended up faffing about with the jacket tied around my waist and it and my spibelt kept slipping around--extremely irritating to the nth degree (not the sunny sky, that was wonderful!).

Interestingly enough despite struggling to keep moving forward, today was only a couple of minutes slower than last week's 20 miler (9:28 versus 9:21 pace per mile).  I'm chalking that up to having people to run with because I'm pretty sure I would have thrown in the towel early on this one if I had been by myself. To keep things honest, I almost did text saying I wasn't going to be there and then thought about calling it good enough at 18.3 miles.  Stuck with it though and these sort of mental fights are as important to marathon training as the great runs are.  Oh yeah, do as I say and not as I do with this bit of advice:  Don't do a more intense than normal strength session the day before a long run!

Probably more excited about it than I should be but after being waylaid with horrible sinus pressure headaches the past few days finding Clarityn rapid melt tabs on markdown for less than half-price at the shop has made me very happy. This in turn made me think of another difference between the US and UK regarding OTC meds--you can't buy in bulk here. Most supermarkets limit you to purchasing 2 packages at a time and each packet usually only contain between 10-16 tablets (the Clarityn were in packs of 10).  However if you go to a pharmacy you can buy in packs of 32 and twice the dosage strength (up to the discretion of the pharmacist) but it is still nowhere near the packs of 50 or more (live large and go for the 500!) that can readily be purchased in the states.  More information about this is on the NHS site.

Thanks to Jennifer Z's post on facebook this is today's earworm! While perhaps Leon Russell's cover of "The Battle of New Orleans" isn't everyone's cup of tea I do quite enjoy the sped-up version.  Check out what History.com has to say about the historic battle if you're like me and all you remember about it is from the song (don't guess I should admit that I'm horrible about recalling history!).

Jam on it Janathon!

After much hemming and hawing* I finally signed up for Janathon again this year. There probably will not be any more blog posts than usual but it is a great way to interact with other runners to keep the motivation going through the cold, dreary days of January.  I've kind of let the cross training slide a bit so maybe seeing everyone post will get me back on track with that as well.

Apologies for the earworm but for some reason Janathon reminded me of this 80s classic from Newcleus

On the subject of running, yesterday I under-dressed for the temperature and never warmed up despite running 5 miles at an 8:23 pace per mile...Today I over-dressed thinking it was going to be close to the same conditions and was pulling off the buff and gloves plus pushing up the sleeves 2 miles in.  The flip side of today despite the wardrobe miscalculation was that I planned on 30 minutes but felt so good I ran for 70 minutes instead.  Hopefully it will be this mild for tomorrow's Nordic Walking class!

Doesn't matter the distance or time I always come back muddy

*Is that phrase used in the UK? I've not heard it here but then again it is not that widely used in the states much anymore

Talking about okra

I was a very happy girl last night when I found these in the yellow sticker section of our local shop, I have been craving some roasted okra for the past few months and it's just not something that's stocked very often (at least where I live).

There are a couple of other interesting things about okra here in the UK.  First, quite a few people call it lady's fingers or ladies fingers which is not to be confused with ladyfingers the biscuits (aka cookies in the states)...yes, I was "corrected" on the name the first month I lived here!  Second, check out the original price on the package--£1.99!!!! With today's exchange rate that is equivalent to $3.05 for a tiny 5 ounce package, ouch.  Now you can see why I was so excited to get these at 20 pence.  I've mostly converted myself to not thinking in dollars but the price on these blew my mind because okra was always available fairly inexpensively in the southern United States.

A quick tip for those who have never liked this because of the "sliminess" associated with boiling it or don't want to eat it dredged in cornmeal and deep-fried, try it roasted.  Coat the okra lightly with olive oil and season with coarse sea salt and whatever spices you prefer and roast in the oven to your desired level of crispiness.  I don't bother with cutting off the ends because if the okra is young enough they are edible too. Even my notoriously picky partner who isn't crazy about okra went back for seconds when I prepared it this way for him.

Visiting Verity

Verity

Ever since I first heard about Verity I have wanted to visit her...for some reason this statue struck a chord in my heart and I am so not an art person.  Loaned to the town of Ilfracombe for 20 years (from October 2012) she inspires either adoration or disgust, there doesn't seem to be any in between--I am obviously in the former camp.

We finally visited Verity in mid-October when my partner had arranged a meeting with a mate down in Devon and he included a detour to Ilfracombe--I think this was his way of keeping me from getting too impatient and irritable during the long car ride! She (in my very humble opinion) is well worth the visit, even seeing her from the road on the hill above the harbour she was awe-inspiring. Up close, the attention to detail was amazing, even now I don't have the words as to how much it affected me.

The above photo is why I think so many had/have a problem with Verity but I think she's beautiful. I think the majority of people would have been all right with the nudity and pregnancy but the "stripped" down profile proves to be too graphic for many.  Yes, it's disturbing but incredibly fascinating as well.  

The obligatory tourist pic

My favourite shot of the day