(no subject)
In the old glory days of LJ, memes were common. They rarely pop up these days but there's one that I've seen via two lovely people on my Flist. I loved doing them and I'm going to do this one even though it really doesn't apply to me. With commentary.
How British Are you?
1. Marmite- love or hate?
I think I have tried it. Didn't like it. I don't think G. likes it because he never has it in when I'm there.
2. Marmalade- thick cut or thin cut?
Thin I think. Not something i have regularly but it's ok.
3. Porridge- made with milk or water?
I make it with water, then pour some cream on it. Haven't made it for years, though I would like to do it in the slow cooker and have it for winter breakfasts. With dried fruit and other goodies on it.
4. Do you like salt, sugar or honey on your porridge?
We used to put brown sugar on it when we were kids. I'd probably just put fruit on it now.
5. Loose tea or teabags?
Teabags.
6. Where on your door is your letterbox?
Live in an apartment building so the letterbox is a common community style one in the lobby.
7. What's your favourite curry?
Ooh, I tend to love the hotter ones.
8. What age is the place where you live?
The city where I live was founded in 1749-50 but my immediate area was built up in the 50-60s
9. Where do the folks running your local corner shop come from?
I think he's Korean
10. Instant or fresh coffee?
Fresh but i rarely drink it. I am a tea person.
11. How far are you from the sea?
I live in a seaside city. Harbour is 5 minutes' drive.
12. Have you travelled via Eurostar?
Yes, twice
13. If you were going to travel abroad, where's the nearest country to you?
Nearest to me is the United States. Though France is quite close too since the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon are off the coast of Newfoundland.
14. If you're female (or possible even some males) do you carry a handbag?
Handbag, though we call it a purse.
15. Do you have a garden? What do you like growing?
No garden.
16. Full cream, semi skimmed or skimmed?
Whole milk, if that's what "full cream" means. Tea and milk, not tea and cream. *shudder* I don't drink glasses of milk so i can get away with whole milk though i do buy semi skimmed sometimes, too. 2% or 1%
17. Which London terminal would you travel into if going to the capital?
Heathrow ;)
Euston for travel to and from Manchester.
18. Is there a local greasy spoon where you live?
No.
19. Do you keep Euros in the house?
No but i keep an Oyster card!
20. Does your home town have a Latin, Gaelic or Welsh alternative name?
Nope
21. Do you have a well known local artist or author?
Sarah MacLaughlin (Canadian Singer) and Ellen Page (actor) are both from here, probably the best known ones from recent years.
22. Do you have a favourite Corrie character?
Too many to count!
23. Are your kitchen sink taps separate or a mixer?
mixer
24. Do you have a favourite brand of blended tea?
Tend to get Tetly or PG Tips if i can. I love Starbucks' old blend of Tazo Awake but I only buy that if it's on sale and use it as a "treat". It's expensive even when it's on sale. G. usually gets me Yorkshire or PG when I"m over visiting.
25. What's in your attic if you have one?
No attic. I do have a storage area containing luggage, Christmas tree and decos, and some other junk
26. If you go out for a cream tea, what jam do you like on your scone?
Clotted cream and whatever jam they have on offer. The cream is the main attraction here!
27. Talking of scones- scon or scown? Jam or cream first?
scown. cream first
28. Barth or bath?
Bath
29. Carstle or castle?
Castle (cassle in Canadian-speak)
30. What flavour of crisps do you favour?
I love cheese and onion but it's very difficult to get here. Otherwise my fave is sour cream and onion.
31. If you go to the chippie, what do you like with your chips?
We really don't have chippies here. I know! Even little Chinese take out places aren't like chippies in the UK.
But when in the UK, if we go, I'll put salt and pepper on my chips and maybe some malt vinegar.
32. Take away, take out or carry out?
Take out.
33. If you have one, what colour is your wheelie bin?
We have green ones for the residents with signs on them for recycling, compost, paper.
34. What colour skips does your local skip hire use?
Green mostly
35. Do you celebrate Guy Fawkes?
We don't do that here.
36. Dettol or TCP?
Oh Dettol when i was growing up. I don't have any of that now, though I think I have some peroxide that will do the trick if i needed to disinfect a cut.
37. Do you have a bidet in the bathroom?
No.
38. Do you prefer courgettes or aubergines?
Neither. (zucchini or eggplant in Canadian-speak)
I can manage zucchini if it's in a cake and eggplant if it's chopped up in Moussaka, though.
39. In the 'real world', do you have friends of other nationalities? Which nationalities?
A few, yes. Coworkers mainly, American, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish (central America). Outside of work, loads of British friends and some Irish ones, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand
40. Do you have a holy book of any sort in the house?
No
41. Do you prefer a hankie or tissues?
Tissues though we use the all-purpose brand word Kleenex to refer to any sort of tissue.
42. Are you a fan of crumpets? What do you like on them?
Love them. Butter!!
43. Doorbell, knocker or both?
People use an intercom that rings through to my phone.
44. Do you own a car? What sort?
No. I'm close personal friends with my bus pass. I also have an Oyster card for when we go to London.
45. What sort of pants do you guys prefer? Y fronts or boxers?
Not a man. wear knickers.
46. Anyone still a fan of suspenders?
Nope but my dad used to wear them sometimes. (not stockings and suspender, mind you, the kind that holds up your trousers (which we call pants!)
47. Do you have a favourite quote from the bard?
There are so many that we use every day, it's hard to pick something that stands out as a favourite.
48. Do you like toasted muffins?
Well. What we call muffins won't fit in a toaster but we do have "English muffins" which are sort of like
crumpets but denser and i do like them.
49. Do you think a traditional trifle should contain jelly?
Doesn't matter, as long as there's fruit and lots of whipped cream and custard
50. Do you attend regular religious worship? Of what kind?
No
And then to catch up on books:
60 - A Perfect Heritage - Penny Vincenzi
Women in the beauty industry. Vincenzi writes books about several women, usually with families and husbands/partners that interact and have challenges to face. Nice long books, usually pretty good. This one is pretty good, a bit draggy in spots but I enjoyed it.
61 - Peacock Emporium - JoJo Moyes
First one by her that i've read and I really liked it. Easy to read "chicklit", about a woman who has a marriage that's hit a bad patch and opens a shop to have something of her own to focus on while things stumble along that bumpy road.
62 - Telling Tales - Ann Cleeves
A Vera Stanhope detective story. I really must watch some of the tv series they made. I know they've cast Brenda Blethyn and surely she can't be as rough and ready as Vera is in the books! Decent enough stories, not heavy reading.
63 - Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik
The second in the Temeraire (dragon) books set in Napoleonic times. Capt. Laurence and Temeraire travel to China and have adventure on the high seas en route and in China itself. Loved it!
64 - The Secrets We Keep - Jonathan Harvey
Really liked this one, too. Point of view from Natalie and her two children. Natalie's husband Danny walked out 5 years previously and they're all still dealing with the uncertainty of whether he's dead or not. The POV of the teenage daughter is a bit grating and overly trendy but he's certainly got the character down. SEcond half delves into Danny's past from child hood up to when he disappeared, slows things down but is important to the later story.
How British Are you?
1. Marmite- love or hate?
I think I have tried it. Didn't like it. I don't think G. likes it because he never has it in when I'm there.
2. Marmalade- thick cut or thin cut?
Thin I think. Not something i have regularly but it's ok.
3. Porridge- made with milk or water?
I make it with water, then pour some cream on it. Haven't made it for years, though I would like to do it in the slow cooker and have it for winter breakfasts. With dried fruit and other goodies on it.
4. Do you like salt, sugar or honey on your porridge?
We used to put brown sugar on it when we were kids. I'd probably just put fruit on it now.
5. Loose tea or teabags?
Teabags.
6. Where on your door is your letterbox?
Live in an apartment building so the letterbox is a common community style one in the lobby.
7. What's your favourite curry?
Ooh, I tend to love the hotter ones.
8. What age is the place where you live?
The city where I live was founded in 1749-50 but my immediate area was built up in the 50-60s
9. Where do the folks running your local corner shop come from?
I think he's Korean
10. Instant or fresh coffee?
Fresh but i rarely drink it. I am a tea person.
11. How far are you from the sea?
I live in a seaside city. Harbour is 5 minutes' drive.
12. Have you travelled via Eurostar?
Yes, twice
13. If you were going to travel abroad, where's the nearest country to you?
Nearest to me is the United States. Though France is quite close too since the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon are off the coast of Newfoundland.
14. If you're female (or possible even some males) do you carry a handbag?
Handbag, though we call it a purse.
15. Do you have a garden? What do you like growing?
No garden.
16. Full cream, semi skimmed or skimmed?
Whole milk, if that's what "full cream" means. Tea and milk, not tea and cream. *shudder* I don't drink glasses of milk so i can get away with whole milk though i do buy semi skimmed sometimes, too. 2% or 1%
17. Which London terminal would you travel into if going to the capital?
Heathrow ;)
Euston for travel to and from Manchester.
18. Is there a local greasy spoon where you live?
No.
19. Do you keep Euros in the house?
No but i keep an Oyster card!
20. Does your home town have a Latin, Gaelic or Welsh alternative name?
Nope
21. Do you have a well known local artist or author?
Sarah MacLaughlin (Canadian Singer) and Ellen Page (actor) are both from here, probably the best known ones from recent years.
22. Do you have a favourite Corrie character?
Too many to count!
23. Are your kitchen sink taps separate or a mixer?
mixer
24. Do you have a favourite brand of blended tea?
Tend to get Tetly or PG Tips if i can. I love Starbucks' old blend of Tazo Awake but I only buy that if it's on sale and use it as a "treat". It's expensive even when it's on sale. G. usually gets me Yorkshire or PG when I"m over visiting.
25. What's in your attic if you have one?
No attic. I do have a storage area containing luggage, Christmas tree and decos, and some other junk
26. If you go out for a cream tea, what jam do you like on your scone?
Clotted cream and whatever jam they have on offer. The cream is the main attraction here!
27. Talking of scones- scon or scown? Jam or cream first?
scown. cream first
28. Barth or bath?
Bath
29. Carstle or castle?
Castle (cassle in Canadian-speak)
30. What flavour of crisps do you favour?
I love cheese and onion but it's very difficult to get here. Otherwise my fave is sour cream and onion.
31. If you go to the chippie, what do you like with your chips?
We really don't have chippies here. I know! Even little Chinese take out places aren't like chippies in the UK.
But when in the UK, if we go, I'll put salt and pepper on my chips and maybe some malt vinegar.
32. Take away, take out or carry out?
Take out.
33. If you have one, what colour is your wheelie bin?
We have green ones for the residents with signs on them for recycling, compost, paper.
34. What colour skips does your local skip hire use?
Green mostly
35. Do you celebrate Guy Fawkes?
We don't do that here.
36. Dettol or TCP?
Oh Dettol when i was growing up. I don't have any of that now, though I think I have some peroxide that will do the trick if i needed to disinfect a cut.
37. Do you have a bidet in the bathroom?
No.
38. Do you prefer courgettes or aubergines?
Neither. (zucchini or eggplant in Canadian-speak)
I can manage zucchini if it's in a cake and eggplant if it's chopped up in Moussaka, though.
39. In the 'real world', do you have friends of other nationalities? Which nationalities?
A few, yes. Coworkers mainly, American, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish (central America). Outside of work, loads of British friends and some Irish ones, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand
40. Do you have a holy book of any sort in the house?
No
41. Do you prefer a hankie or tissues?
Tissues though we use the all-purpose brand word Kleenex to refer to any sort of tissue.
42. Are you a fan of crumpets? What do you like on them?
Love them. Butter!!
43. Doorbell, knocker or both?
People use an intercom that rings through to my phone.
44. Do you own a car? What sort?
No. I'm close personal friends with my bus pass. I also have an Oyster card for when we go to London.
45. What sort of pants do you guys prefer? Y fronts or boxers?
Not a man. wear knickers.
46. Anyone still a fan of suspenders?
Nope but my dad used to wear them sometimes. (not stockings and suspender, mind you, the kind that holds up your trousers (which we call pants!)
47. Do you have a favourite quote from the bard?
There are so many that we use every day, it's hard to pick something that stands out as a favourite.
48. Do you like toasted muffins?
Well. What we call muffins won't fit in a toaster but we do have "English muffins" which are sort of like
crumpets but denser and i do like them.
49. Do you think a traditional trifle should contain jelly?
Doesn't matter, as long as there's fruit and lots of whipped cream and custard
50. Do you attend regular religious worship? Of what kind?
No
And then to catch up on books:
60 - A Perfect Heritage - Penny Vincenzi
Women in the beauty industry. Vincenzi writes books about several women, usually with families and husbands/partners that interact and have challenges to face. Nice long books, usually pretty good. This one is pretty good, a bit draggy in spots but I enjoyed it.
61 - Peacock Emporium - JoJo Moyes
First one by her that i've read and I really liked it. Easy to read "chicklit", about a woman who has a marriage that's hit a bad patch and opens a shop to have something of her own to focus on while things stumble along that bumpy road.
62 - Telling Tales - Ann Cleeves
A Vera Stanhope detective story. I really must watch some of the tv series they made. I know they've cast Brenda Blethyn and surely she can't be as rough and ready as Vera is in the books! Decent enough stories, not heavy reading.
63 - Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik
The second in the Temeraire (dragon) books set in Napoleonic times. Capt. Laurence and Temeraire travel to China and have adventure on the high seas en route and in China itself. Loved it!
64 - The Secrets We Keep - Jonathan Harvey
Really liked this one, too. Point of view from Natalie and her two children. Natalie's husband Danny walked out 5 years previously and they're all still dealing with the uncertainty of whether he's dead or not. The POV of the teenage daughter is a bit grating and overly trendy but he's certainly got the character down. SEcond half delves into Danny's past from child hood up to when he disappeared, slows things down but is important to the later story.