• London

    Remembrance

    September 11, 2022 - By 

    I’ve been remembering a lot of things today and in the days since the Queen’s passing, and today being the anniversary of 9/11, remembering that, too. The British are very, very good at remembering things. We’re… not but there are some memorials that we do well. Pearl Harbor is one. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is another. Some of the 9/11 memorials are meaningful to me personally (as I’m in travel, today always brings back memories of the terrible days of silence in the skies above Chicagoland during the nationwide ground hold). In November 2010, David and I took…

  • Episcopal - London

    Colin Slee: I Wish I’d Known Ye

    December 5, 2010 - By 

    The Very Revd Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark Cathedral in London, died last week and his funeral service was today in the cathedral. The sermon was given by Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, who was formerly the Theologian at Southwark, was nominated as Bishop, and in a scandalous turn, the nomination was rescinded because conservatives objected to John’s homosexuality. He noted that Slee said to him in the weeks before his death how “surprisingly un-scared” he was. I wish I’d known him; on my recent visit to London with David we actually walked past his house, where I…

  • London

    Ugly Americanisms: Two Countries Divided By A Language

    November 26, 2010 - By 

    In my ongoing love affair with all things British, I sometimes come up against things that are less loveable, such as the crankypants insularity that is a hallmark of the English national personality. I do understand, really I do; references to our popular culture, fast-food cuisine and security-theater politics are everywhere in the UK where there’s a TV, a McDonalds, or an international airport. I chuckled at this story, which quotes several peevish readers complaining about the use of American idiom and slang in the Guardian, a left-leaning newspaper. For the record, “clatch” is the German word “klatsch,” we currently…

  • London

    Dine And Dash, London Style

    November 17, 2010 - By 

    We don’t eat in these sorts of places, but I imagine it wasnt difficult to catch a man full of good food and undoubtedly very good wine. We just got back from dinner with friends at a very nice Italian restaurant near Sloan Square called Caraffini. Lovely time, fabulous food, we did dine well but definitely did not dash away. I had the chicken with chestnuts; it was memorable. For our return journey we re-enacted the “car scene” from Notting Hill; hope the doorman was amused as we extricated ourselves. LONDON (Reuters) – An unemployed man has been charged with…

  • London

    AA Website Wonders Why It Sits Home On A Friday Night

    November 12, 2010 - By 

    Because the Christian Science Monitor is not that into it, frankly. I’ve visited AA.com a number of times recently, and here we are at the gate waiting to board the London flight. In coach, because I didnt have elite mileage status (and being a travel agent is actually negative status mojo these days). I agree that AA.com is ugly, hard to navigate, and nearly impossible to use. And I also agree that RyanAir has them beat for ugly, diffuculty of use, and likelihood that it’ll time out while you’re reading terms and accepting policies. Ugh. On the other hand, WE’RE…

  • London - Traveling Along, We're Adventurers

    Making A List, Then Packing… for LONDON

    October 28, 2010 - By 

    Need to work on a packing list, we always start gathering stuff, and then laying it out, and THEN making verbal lists. And we always forget something. It’s not possible to overstate the importance of actually creating a personal packing list, and using it regularly. Such a list serves two principal purposes. First (and foremost), it’s a sort of contract you make with yourself, an agreement (and ongoing reminder) that if it’s not on your list, it shouldn’t be in your bag (because all the necessary items are on your list); this defends against last-minute attacks of “I might need…

  • Hot Off The Presses - London

    Sex In A Phonebooth

    August 17, 2009 - By 

    We naive Americans apparently think that’s what they’re for, according to London’s deputy mayor. BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Sex card challenge to phone firms Kit Malthouse, London’s deputy mayor for policing, wants the numbers on sex calling cards found in telephone boxes blocked as soon as they are identified. He said mobile phone numbers were valuable to those behind the sex industry and should be cut off. The deputy mayor has invited Vodafone, Orange, O2, 3, Virgin and T-Mobile to meet him. Mr Malthouse said: “If you are an American tourist and if you walk…

  • All Things Interesting - Hot Off The Presses - London - Only in Utah... - Parish: Holy Moly (ECUSA) - Politics, Schmolitics - Random Access Memories

    Blogyear In Review

    December 13, 2008 - By 

    While putting off the task of adding a personal note to holiday cards that MUST! GO! OUT!, I decided to review My Year In Blogging. January: Today, at Holy Moly, we had some excitement too. I ended up staying for both services just because there was a rehearsal for the big day after the second service. There was lots of laughter, a little girl threw up in front of the choir, Pat Kalicki stood in for Bishop Katharine in the run-through wearing a paper bishop’s mitre, and there was lots of chaos and general anarchy. Later on in February, Presiding…

  • London - Traveling Along, We're Adventurers

    6 London Pubs To Try

    November 27, 2008 - By 

    These look like good places to try on our next visit to London. Clamorous pub patios line the streets of London in summer, luring those who like a side order of sunburn with their al-fresco beer. But the city’s best taverns arguably come into their own in winter, when cozy quaffers hunker over dark ales before crackling fireplaces as tempests whip at the windows outside. With many of the city’s toastiest watering holes hidden just off the beaten path, here’s a six-pack of the best for those planning their next seasonal visit. Drink in London history by the pintful —…