In London for some business meetings, but I don’t want to talk to you about that. What I want to talk to you are some observations about sights, smells and sounds.
First up, are Pork Scratchings.
Now, if you haven’t been to England, or if you just haven’t heard of Pork Scratchings, allow me to enlighten you:
These are the leftover bits of pork, deep fried with pieces of hair. I’m talking hairy pork knuckle, deep fried.
Some locals spared no details while we were eating dinner, when explaining this local faire–even they admitted it’s not for everyone. However, they did highlight the benefits of built in floss.
Next on the docket, reading the newspaper. This somewhat foreign concept to me makes a lot of sense here. Public transit is stellar, and there are very catchy quick-read newspapers that fit easily on your lap while you’re on the train or tube. Stories are short, and you don’t have to shimmy and shake the paper just to see article you’re reading. There’s a morning paper for the way to work and an evening paper for the commute home – always fresh news. I prefer newspapers to pork scratchings, but that’s just me.
And, final observation is the love of football. I’m talking futball, not pigskins. When I got to the sports section of my fun morning paper on the train, there were 3 whole pages about soccer. Different leagues, different scandals (oh no that coach did NOT make a lude hand gesture to the opposing team). I like this. Now I’m watching Arsenal v. Liverpool and have to say it’s one of the more exciting games i’ve seen in a while. About 5 minutes into the half and the score is already 2-1 Liverpool. Great goals scored, including a sweet header.
This is all for now. Tomorrow I’m going to try and practice my accent differentiation. After one of my meetings today a Londoner gave me a quick quiz asking me if I can discern of a person speaking is “posh or not.” So far, I’m not so good but tomorrow’s another day.
Cheers!
Shanee Ben-Zur 