 Dear Anglophiles: So, you think you have the heart and soul of a Brit, do you? Well, here's a chance to test yourself and discover the truth! From BuzzFeed Go to: WHAT IS AN ANGLOPHILE? Go to: BRITISH TEA CUSTOMS Go to: BRITISH DRINKS Go to: BRITISH CLOTHING Go to: HOMEPAGE 
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Dear Anglophiles: Today's guest post is written by author Jennifer Richardson, an American who enjoyed an expat life in Britain. She gives us a scrumptious-sounding recipe too. Let us know if you try it! Ode to the Pheasant: It's turkey time, but I've got pheasant on the mind by Jennifer Richardson  My move to the Cotswolds started in 2007 with a rented cottage for weekends away from London. It only took six months until my husband and I were seduced by the countryside into buying our own place, where we, along with legions of other Londoners, continued the weekend ritual of self-imposed exile for the next year. Then, finally, in 2009, I took a job within commuting distance of our weekend village and left the city behind for good. It was not, however, my status as a full-time resident that made me finally feel like a local. This, instead, was marked by the evolution of my attitude towards a bird, a feathered creature that dominates the English rural landscape by virtue of both its abundance and airheadedness. I write, of course, of the pheasant. My early encounters with the creature were marked by fawning. While out on a bike ride I would stop to admire the miniature beasts as they foraged the fields: the male with his crimson masquerade mask over a hood of teal, the female cloaked in a humbler but still handsome pattern of nutty browns. (I couldn't help admiring mother nature for the role reversal from humans in giving the male the responsibility for seducing a mate with his sartorial flair.) But soon my fawning and photographing morphed into annoyance. Too often when caught off guard—which was, apparently, always—the pheasant would panic and scurry toward our bikes rather than away. On the steep downhills of the wolds, the pheasant became responsible for one too many near misses of going head over handlebars. The same was true for driving; these birds are drawn to rather than repelled by headlights. I suppose it was inevitable, but the time finally came when such an encounter ended badly for both bird and car. It happened too fast to be sure, but there, on the steep downhill-side of the Fossebridge dip in the moments before impact, I'm sure I spotted this death-wish-with-a-plume flying straight for the car grill. Not long after, I had my second encounter with a dead pheasant, this time in a farmhouse kitchen where my husband and I had been invited for Sunday lunch. This weekly gathering is a fixture of English life, and a ritual I had admired since we first moved from Los Angeles to London. Now we had been invited to our first Sunday lunch since becoming residents of the Cotswolds, and we were titillated at the prospect. We joined our hosts and two other guests around a weathered pine table, where the pheasant pie was served in a puff pastry-topped casserole dish, much the same as an American chicken pot pie. When I remarked with enthusiasm to the hostess that it was the first time I had ever eaten pheasant, she dismissed the dish as an excuse to rid her freezer of them. (Hers is a sentiment I imagine is shared by hundreds of other spouses of game shooters all around the English countryside.) Despite this, I enjoyed the meal, relieved to learn there was a savory use for this majestic if dopey bird. The afternoon continued to deliver on all my expectations of a proper English Sunday lunch. By the time snowflakes started dancing outside the kitchen window, I wouldn't have been surprised if Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson had walked through the door and joined us for the cheese course. My transition from London expat to Cotswold local had been gradual, marked by subtle milestones—the first time I wore tweed without irony, for instance. But it wasn't until I asked for a second helping of pheasant pie in that farmhouse kitchen that I felt like a real Cotswoldian for the very first time. Should you ever be in the position to make use of a pheasant that has met with an unfortunate end, here's that recipe for pheasant pot pie. PHEASANT POT PIE Ingredients 3.5 tbsp (about half a stick) butter 1/2 lb. pancetta 4 leeks, cut into large chunks 3 celery sticks, sliced 3 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced 2 bay leaves 3 tbsp plain flour 1 and 1/4 cups cider 2 cups chicken stock 2 tbsp double cream 6 pheasant breasts, skinned and cut into large chunks 3 tbsp wholegrain mustard 1 tbsp cider vinegar 1 package of puff pastry plain flour, for dusting egg beaten with a little milk, to glaze Directions Heat the butter in a casserole dish and cook the bacon for 1 min until it changes colour. Add the leeks, celery, carrots and bay leaves, and cook until they start to soften. Stir the flour into the vegetables until it goes a sandy colour, then splash in the cider and reduce. Pour in the chicken stock, stir, then add the cream. Season, then bring everything to a simmer. Add the pheasant and gently simmer for 20 mins until the meat and veg are tender. Stir through the mustard and vinegar, then turn off the heat and cool. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the mixture into a large rectangular dish. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface, place over the dish and trim round the edges, leaving an overhang. Brush the pastry with egg, then decorate with any leftover pastry, if you like. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. The pie can now be frozen for up to 1 month; defrost completely before baking. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins before serving. GUEST WRITER BIO JENNIFER RICHARDSON is the author of Americashire:A Field Guide to a Marriage, the 2013 Indie Reader Discovery Award winner for travel writing. The book chronicles her decision to give up city life for the bucolic pleasures of the British countryside. You can find Jennifer online at: Americashire.com GoodReads Go to: BRITISH FOODS Go to: BRITISH DRINKS Go to: BRITISH TEA CUSTOMS Go to: BRITISH HOMES Go to: HOMEPAGE BUY paperback version of Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage HERE or Kindle version HERE  Okay, here is a word-association test: What country comes to mind when you hear the word “manners”? I’m willing to bet a winning Lottery ticket that it wasn’t “United States,” and I strongly suspect…without going too far out on a limb here…that it was “Britain.” Perhaps your mental image included a monocled gentleman with a walking stick, tipping his bowler to a lady. (Though in all fairness, I know that today many Brits lament the decline of manners on that side of the pond too.) Even so, I think the British pride themselves on manners more than Americans do because manners are part of Britain’s national identity. Just as “rugged individualism” is a strong component of national identity in the States, reserved, proper conduct is a strong component in Britain. I, for one, would like to see nice manners find their way back into our lives on both sides of the Atlantic. (Well, actually, across the globe, right?) Rules of etiquette exist, after all, so that we can show respect and courtesy to our fellow human beings. And really, in this day and age, when one wonders if manners are taught in the home at all, having lovely manners sets one apart from the crowd in a most positive way—particularly when mannerly conduct comes naturally, rather than forced, as though being trotted out for a special occasion. How do manner come naturally? Though constant practice, of course! Especially in one’s home. Regardless of where we live, I’m sure we've all witnessed bad manners that have made our faces curl in disgust. And our own behavior…ahem…is always exemplary, right? (Okay, okay, dear Anglophiles! I promise to start putting up my cell phone at the dinner table, and to never again practice origami with my dinner napkin, despite my obvious talent for doing so....) My pet peeves include seeing someone push food onto their fork with their fingers at the dinner table. People elbowing others as they pass on a busy street--or crowding elderly pedestrians who walk slowly. And, of course, people who stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk and text cell-phone messages. (Frankly, I've been guilty of this far too often, but I'm striving to improve.) On subway cars here in New York, I've even seen people pick their nose and cut their fingernails and toenails! Oy! A young British gentleman involved in etiquette education, Mr. William Hanson, has recently come to my attention. He’s charming, with a gift for being authoritative, yet good-natured and amusing. Regarded as one of the world’s youngest etiquette experts, he’s cropping up on television, radio, magazine pages, and the public speaking circuit, dishing advice on general rules of etiquette, royal protocol, and conduct in our modern, technology-driven world, where rules of behavior with cell phones, emails, and other technologies are brand new. (His website even offers “etiquette apps” for iPhones and iPads, one of which is a free download.) Mr. Hanson also teaches etiquette at The English Manner, a British-based company with locations in London, Toronto, and New York, which offers etiquette classes to individuals and corporate groups, as well as teaching “household arts” to aspiring nannies, au pairs, and valets at its Household Academy. (After training at the Academy, one may land a gig with the rich and famous, anywhere in the world, as the Academy’s confidential client list is, supposedly, VIP laden.) Below are several videos featuring Mr. Hanson William Hanson on TV: Let’s Do Lunch with Gino & Mel
AMERICAN-STYLE ETIQUETTE Rules of etiquette in Britain and America differ little. Most notable is the fact that we Americans hold our knife and fork differently and that the British recognize royal protocol when dealing with the Royals. I offer several videos below featuring American etiquette expert Nancy Mitchell, based in Washington D.C. Ms. Mitchell owns The Etiquette Advocate, a firm teaching etiquette and protocol to government agencies, embassies, universities, etc., as well as to individuals. In these videos, Ms. Mitchell addresses standard table etiquette, but you can find additional videos of her expounding on finer points, such as proper use of finger bowls and napkins. Nancy Mitchell: Basic Dining Etiquette: Table Taboos
OTHER INTERESTING VIDEOS.... If you're lucky enough to land a job in the UK, you may appreciate this video, Working with the British Etiquette training needn't be didactic; indeed, learning the ropes can be quite humorous as the video below about "pavement etiquette" illustrates [Note: This is a continuation from yesterday’s blog in which I presented Britishism that began with the letters “a” through “g.” Today, I present those beginning with “h” through “l.”]
Once upon a time, I worked for a very large New York City book publisher, who, periodically, gave me British books to “Americanize” before publishing the books for American readers. I changed both British spellings and British words that were foreign to Americans. Of course, being a royal (lowercase “r”) Anglophile, I loved this task! In the United States, nearly all book publishers today use the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a reference for spelling and word meanings—while UK editors use the Oxford English Dictionary. The Merriam-Webster dictionary is a direct descendant of the famous dictionary that Noah Webster wrote, An American Dictionary of the English Language. Webster, a Connecticut Yankee who studied at Yale, was a lexicographer and English spelling reformer. He thought British spellings were unnecessarily complex and simplified them—thus, for example, giving us “honor” instead of “honour.” With two English-speaking countries calling upon different dictionaries to supply “proper English,” little wonder American English and British English parted ways. Such would have been the case anyway, with the distance between our countries, but differing reference books helped cement the deal. When I first started Americanizing books, I was quite surprised to find almost all of the unfamiliar words in the British books were, actually, in the Merriam-Webster dictionary—but they were typically labeled “chiefly British variant.” Seeing words used in wonderful new ways fascinated me! And like any good Anglophile, I soon incorporated them into my own vocabulary. I hope you will too! Below is an index of British words that confound many Americans. Because the entire list is a bit long, I’ll present the information in my next few blogs posts. Enjoy! Britishism / Americanism H hair slide = barrette headmaster/headmistress = principal hire = rent hob = stove cook-top holiday = vacation holiday-maker = vacationer hooter = nose Hoover (trade name) = vacuum hot flush = hot flash housing estate = subdivision I ice lolly = popsicle immersion heater = hot water heater indicator (on a car) – turn sigle inverted commas = quotation marks J jam = jelly jelly = Jell-o (trade name) jim-jams = jammies, pajamas Jobcentre = employment office joiner = cabinetmaker judder = vibrate jumper = sweater K kerfuffle = fuss, commotion kettle = tea kettle kip = sleep kirby grip = hairpin knackered = tired, exhausted knickers = panties L ladybird = ladybug larder = pantry launderette = Laundromat lavatory = bathroom, rest room lead (electrical) = electrical cord leasehold = property that may be purchased or sold but belongs to a third-party let = offer for rent letter-box = mailbox lido = public outdoor swimming pool lift = elevator lipsalve = ChapStick (trade name) litter bin = trash can loft = attic loo = john, toilet lounge = family room ***************************** Go to: BRITISH BOOKS Go to: CHAT FORUM Go to: VISIT BRITAIN Go to: HOMEPAGE Once upon a time, I worked for a very large New York City book publisher, who, periodically, gave me British books to “Americanize” before publishing the books for American readers. I changed both British spellings and British words that were foreign to Americans. Of course, being a royal (lowercase “r”) Anglophile, I loved this task!
In the United States, nearly all book publishers today use the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a reference for spelling and word meanings—while UK editors use the Oxford English Dictionary. The Merriam-Webster dictionary is a direct descendant of the famous dictionary that Noah Webster wrote, An American Dictionary of the English Language. Webster, a Connecticut Yankee who studied at Yale, was a lexicographer and English spelling reformer. He thought many British spellings were unnecessarily complex and simplified them—thus, for example, giving us “honor” instead of “honour.” With two English-speaking countries calling upon different dictionaries to supply “proper English,” little wonder American English and British English parted ways. Such would have been the case anyway, with the distance between our countries, but differing reference books helped cement the deal. When I first started Americanizing books, I was quite surprised to find almost all of the unfamiliar words in the British books were, actually, in the Merriam-Webster dictionary—but they were typically labeled “chiefly British variant.” Seeing words used in wonderful new ways fascinated me! And like any good Anglophile, I soon incorporated the British words into my own vocabulary. I hope you will too! Below is an index of British words that I think may confound many Americans. Because the entire list is a bit long, I’ll present the information in my next few blogs posts. Enjoy! Britishism / Americanism A advert = ad, advertisement amongst = among aubergine = eggplant B banger = sausage barmy = nutty barrister = trial lawyer in an English superior court baths = public swimming pool (the) beeb = BBC beefburger = hamburger blighter = contemptible person bloke = a guy (informal) bloody = damn (mildly offensive) bobby = cop bonnet (of car) = car hood boot (of car) = car trunk braces = suspenders brilliant = great, fantastic, cool brolly = umbrella bum = butt, buns busker = street musician C car park = parking lot cashpoint = ATM machine castor sugar = confectioners’ sugar chap = guy, fellow cheeky = nervy, sassy, bold cheerio = good-bye cheers = thanks or good-bye chemist (store) = drugstore, pharmacy chips = French fries Christian name = first name cinema = movie theater city center = downtown cling film = plastic wrap, such as Saran Wrap cloakroom = coat-check room or bathroom (i.e., toilets) concession (when buying admission tickiets) = discount conk = nose copper = cop cornet (for ice cream) = cone cot = baby crib council estate = public housing project crisps = potato chips cuppa = cup of tea c.v. (curriculum vitae) = resume or curriculum vitae D daft = stupid demerara sugar = brown sugar digestive biscuit = similar to a graham cracker draughts = checkers (game) dressing gown = bathrobe dummy (for infant) = pacifier E Elastoplast (trademark name) = Band-Aid (trademark name) elevenses = mid-morning tea break en suite = a sleeping room (in home or hotel) with attached bathroom estate agent = real-estate agent F fag = cigarette faggot = type of meatball fire (gas or electric) = heater fizzy drink = carbonated soda of any type flannel = wash cloth flat = apartment (rented or owned, such as a condo) flatmate = roommate flautist = flutist football (game or ball) = soccer (game or ball) fortnight = two weeks freehold = unrestricted ownership of real estate fringe (hair) = bangs G garden = yard gawp = gawk git (person) = a fool goods lift = freight elevator goose-pimples = goose bumps gymkhana = horse-show competition ****************************** Go to: BRITISH BOOKS Go to: CHAT FORUM Go to: VISIT BRITAIN Go to: HOMEPAGE  Are you an Anglophile? We Anglophiles just can't help ourselves: We need to express our British alter egos. Some display Union Jacks, as has our fellow Anglophile, the "odd man out," in this photo. Some cross the pond every chance they get. Some incessantly watch BBC programming. And some extreme types have even been know to affect a British accent and use a monocle and walking stick! Many accuse us of being an eccentric lot, to which we reply, "Why, thank you!" For today's blog, I offer you some jolly good fun with links to quizzes and lists that test your Anglophilia. Enjoy!
********************************** Go to: WHAT IS AN ANGLOPHILE? Go to: CHAT FORUM Go to: VISIT BRITAIN Go to: HOMEPAGE The gent in this New York Times article may have been delusional, but he was certainly an Anglophile!
To read article, click HERE |
ZellaI am a writer, artist, and incurable Anglophile! Thank you for reading my blog, and please feel free to join my discussions about Britain. I look forward to hearing your comments and stories! Archives
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