England day 5

My last day in the UK started with packing. And with realizing that I need a second bag.... My suitcase had somehow shrinked... But yes, I was not able to resist shopping and so I also went to Liberty - where I only bought some ribbons - and to a stationer. The rest of the day was time for walking arround and then I saw the old Routmaster busses and had to board one.... Love them!

The last thing I did before I went to the hotel to fetch my lagguage was buying a can of custard powder... It is very hard to get it in Switzerland. I made my way to the airport quite in time but as I was a bit nervouse, I wanted to calm my down with some crosswords and forgot the time... I had to run but thanks to the helpful lady from security check I was there in time. The way back was a bit shacky and I paniced for a moment. The man sitting next to me just looked at me and when I told him that I'll be fine in a minute but that I do not like it when it is shaky, his answer was: "Have a stiff drink and sleep for the rest of the journey!" That's one reason why I love the British!

I really enjoyed my time in the UK and I already missed it when the plane landed in Zurich. But knowing that my best friend is at the airport waiting for me was even better than beeing in the UK!

 A Christmas Express lift...

 What does a zebra do at Liberty???

 One of the Routemasters still in service

How did that happend???

England Day 4

After I said goodbye to Brighton and the sea, I travelled up to London. First point on my schedule was a stop at Fortnum&Mason to buy some tea and then I headed towards Covent Garden. I was not really in the mood of some serious sightseeing and just wandered arround in town and when I got tired, I took a bus down fleet street and after a stop at a Starbucks, another bus back to Victoria Station, where I stayed in the Easy Hotel.

In the evening I went to the theatre to see "Driving Miss Daisy" Absolutely worth seeing, Vanessa Redgrave on stage is even more impressive then in movies! What a great actress she is!

After the theatre I walked all the way down from Leicester square to Trafalgar square and then along Whitehall to Westminster Abbey where I boarded a bus back to Victoria Station.

 I passed this building near Covent Garden quite some times but this was the first time I looked up and saw this lovely lion and unicorn

 Covent Garden christmas decoration

 London Eye in the dark

Love the view on the House of Parliament and Big Ben from the bridge

England day 3

I spent Sunday in Lewes. Lewes is.... Well... Half an hour bus journay from Brighton another world is waiting. Very medival, very idyllic, very British. I love all the small shops and the cafes and the lovely buildings.
I started the day with a walk along the Ouse and ended up with muddy  boots....  Then I walked arround in town, had lunch somewhere and did some shopping before taking the bus back to Brighton.

In the evening I met Cristina again. She texted me that she'll meet some friends from work and if I'd like to join. My first thought was, well, what should I do there where I know only her... But I decided to give it a try and it was such a lovely evening! We went to the Fortume of War pub at the seafront for a drink and after a while, a group of five of us made our way to Burger King as we were hungry.
Round ten, Cristina and me left and I decided to walk to the Pavillion with her. In the end we kept on walking all the way to St. Marys Church near Preston Park where she's living. It was very hard to say goodbye....

 Lewes

 and Lewes again

Some English countryside

and the pier again

Happy 77. birthday Maggie Smith!

When I think back of this year, there is one actres who really made me laugh out loud on many occasions. I've seen her in many movies over the past years, since I first saw her in the very first Harry Potter movie back in 2001. For many year she was just Professor McGonagall to me, till I saw her in other movies such as Murder by death, Hook, My house in Umbria and, last but not least, Gosford Park.
Since this spring she is first and foremost Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. In every episode of Downton Abbey I just waited for one of her quotes and laughted my heart out because of stuff like: "I have plenty of friends I don't like!" or "No Englishman would dream about dying in somebody elses house."

Dear Maggie Smith, thanks for all the great movies, thanks for portreying the Dowager Countess, thanks for so many good laughts! I look forward to many more great movies! Happy birhtday!

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England Day 2

On Saturdayafternoon, after all my shopping in the morning, it was time to go back to my beloved Preston Park. I first took a bus to ASDA-Store in Holingbury and then back to Stanford Avenue.I love going up and down Beaconfiled Villas by bus! I walked all the way through the park from the rose garden to the manor. The walled garden was closed - sad, sad! - but I was on the graveyards and took pictures of nice texts on gravestones. Then I walked up Preston Drove to Fiveways and took a bus back into town.

In the evening I joined a ghost walk tour. Well, what should I say? It was not bad, but nothing I would do a second time. Well, maybe it was my fault, as I have a book with Brighton ghost stories and knew a lot of them, so it was not all that interessting.

On my way back to the hotel I passed the ferries wheel and decided to try it out. It goes round four times and the first one was a nightmare. It stopped at the hightest point to let people out and it was sooo shacky up there. I do not really have a problem with hights as long I'm on stable ground. The last round however was just marvellous.

 There are roses still blooming in Preston Park end of November!

 and the elms are green as well

 More Christmas decoration in the Lanes

The pier from above

England Day 1

It is already a month ago since I've been to the UK and I always wanted to tell you about it and show yoyu some of the pictures, but Dezember was just too busy to look trough all the pictures and get them into a post. So I'll do it now.

I left on Friday and was very nervouse about my first flight alone but I decided to stay calm and play the "I love flying and everything is fine" game. It worked and I felt quite ok. During the flight I wrote a letter to my best friend, but also spent time looking outside. And when England came in sight.... I spent the rest of the flight with my nose glued to the window and almost cried. All the fields and villages and trees and then London from above are just soooo stunning!
We started with one hour delay due to "minor problems" and when we landed, we had to wait for almost ten minutes for them to let us out of the plane.... Nice announcement from the pilot, so very British: "I appologise on behalf of British Airways, but I know that this does not solve the problem."

When they finally let us leave the plane and I was through boarder controll and stuff I made my way over to Victoria Station and from there, down to Brighton. Leaving a train in Brighton is always just.... Well... It feels so good! After I droped my suitcase at the hotel I decided to go down  to the seafront first thing and walked from New Steine, where the hotel is, to Regency Square and then to Churchill Square shopping center to buy a scarf. Yes, I made the mistake of leaving the hotel without a scarf.... Silly me! I should know better! After some strolling arround in town and some shopping I got tired and it was almost dark anyway, so I took a 5B bus and drove all the way to Hangleton and back.

In the evening I met Cristina, one of my friends from school. She simply decieded to stay in Brighton and works in a hotel now. She texted me that there will be a surprise. It turned out that she called our teacher and asked him to come as well. So we had a lovely evening with a lot of laughter at "The mash tun" but left quite early. As I was not really tired I walked all the way along the seafront to The Duck's mouth, then up to Eastern road and back to New Steine.

A lovely welcome in my hotel room

An old friend, a seagull ;-)

I have douzends of pictures showing the sea at various points of the day, with rain or sun or whatever

Christmas decoration in the Lanes

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Part 25 of my advents calender is not a Christmas song though somehow it is. I love watching them fly over Brighton!

Day 24

Today is the day; Christmas Eve! Until I'm able to go over to my parents there are quite some things to do, but Christmas preparation is almost as good as Christmas. Though I do not really like to wrap presents. They use to look as if an elephant had set on it. This year I'm going to put the blame on "Nilpfi", my toy-hippo I already got for Christmas as I was always singing the hippopatamus-for-Christmas-song.

Day 23

Another one of my top three songs. There is a story behind this one. It is one of my grannys favorite christmas songs as well. My granddad insisted on singing at least "Silent night" but since he died nobody really wants to sing as my granny and me are the only ones in our family who like singing. So we normally just listen to some christmas music. But whenever this one is played granny and me have to sing. She sings in German, me in English ;-)

Day 22

Christmas is coming closer and so we reach the top three Christmas song. well, beside the hippopatamus-song, which is my this years favorite! And yes, I got a hippopatamus for Christmas!

Day 21

Rocking arround Christmas three. Soon it is time for it! I'll go and buy a tree today! Soooooo looking forward!

Day 20

Another song some of you might not understand. But there is no translation as I don't understand it either... But the tune is lovely!
All I can tell you is, that it is about a family of mice and the mother warns her children of the mouse trap.

Day 19

My favorite Swiss Christmas song is not a traditional one. It is from a Christmas play, called "Zäller Wiehnacht" cause it was first played in a village called Zell. I guess almost everybody who grew up in Switzerland in the last 50 years know the song and in the meantime this one plus the one about the Star of Bethlehem even found their way into the churchs caroll books.

I'm not sure if I have English readers. I hope so of course! So I sat down for some minutes and tried to translate it a bit. I translated the first four verse. Afterwards there comes a part with another tune I don't know.... As last verse, verse one is repeated.

Oh what a night

Brought to us by the  Saviour

made the poor become rich

Have you heard about it?

Priase the lord

our Saviour came to earth

on the fields and the leas

animals wake up as well

feel this enormous wonder as well

This is the holy night

Brough to us by the Saviour

made the poor become rich

Day 19

Snow came back and now everything is white. I wonder how longe it takes for the sun to melt it again... Hope it stays!

Have you noticed how many Christmas songs are sung by Dean Martin, Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra?

Day 17

Snow has melted in the meantime, but every now and then small snowflakes fall from the sky. So I hope for some more snow! And what song is better for this than this one?

Day 16

It is already day 17 but here comes the 16. door of our advents calendar... I have a terrible cold (which is great one week before christmas with the baking-marathon I had planned for this weekend) and was in bed by eight yesterday. Unfortunatelly I do not feel any better...

But at least my sight from the window was lovely when I got up! We have the first snow! Well, not much, it looks like somebody used a bit icing sugar to cover trees and houses, but well, it is snow! I hope for much more and for white christmas!

Day 15

Almost forgot todays song! But here it is!

Day 14

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Day 13

Just lovely!

Day 12

I had the day off today to do some christmas shopping and now met my best friend for sushi at my place. We're both very much into sushi at the moment or better into soy sauce... While we had dinner we listened to christmas music and she told me about this song.

Love it and had to download it imediatelly. I love the "and give him his massage" What a spoilt hippo!

Day 11

I'm already having my breaky as in an hour the rehearsal for our christmas play starts... Somehow I have the feeling that our choir has never ever been so badly prepared for the whole thingy... And somehow I think that it will be an over-all-desaster anyway....

So I need something nice to cheer me up now. Johnny Cash and Anne Murray singing "Christmasy feeling" Johnny Cash is one of my all-time-favorite singers - how else could it be, as I was brought up with country music - and every time I hear his songs I feel better instantly.

Day 10

I was busy all day and somehow forgot to prepare this post yesterday... But here it is, todays Christmas song. Hope you enjoy this lovely Rudolph-video.

Day nine

I'm still not in a real Christmas mood which is sad! But my problem is that by the time I'm in the mood for Christmas, Silvester is already coming up!
Maybe this song helps!

Day eight

We're already deep in December. So it is time for December child!

Day seven

My best friend would not agree to this as she had to much of Roy Orbison during music lessons at school... But I do like him and I like this song! But I don't like giftwrapping ;-)

Day six

No story about the song but about Santa in general ;-)
In Switzerland we have "Samichlaus" and his helper, "Schmutzli", who is all dressed in black. Children are told that Schmutzli will take them into his bag and take them to the forest if they haven't been nice during the year. Nice kids of course get some reward for being nice, like peanuts, chocolate and "Gritzibänzen" which is a sweet bread in the shape of a man. Normaly, Samichlaus und Schmutzli have a donkey with them.

The first Samichlaus I've seen when I was three was a bit a dissapointment, as his donkey was called "Toyota"... But it came even worse when he wanted to take my grandfather with him as helper and little me hidded under the sofa instead of telling him that I need my grandad for myself.

The topic Samichlaus was put aside, till years later my aunt started to organize a Samichlaus-evening for her kids and their friends and somehow we were invited as well. For the next few years we always met on a December weekend and went to the forest to meet Samichlaus, Schmutzli and their donkey. The donkey, however, was the one of my uncle and we were told that Samichlaus does not have an own one and is renting our donkey...
I was very sure from the first moment on that Samichlaus has the same voice as my godfather, but my parents and everbody where constantly telling me that this could not be him. The next year we even went to his place before we went to search Samichlaus and he was sitting in front of the TV.... As soon we had left he left as well....
Years and years later when I told my parents that I'm no longer believing in Samichlaus and that they should tell me now if it was my godfather or not, they told me that they had tried to tell me all these years that it was him but that I did not believed them... Thats the way parents change things!

Day five

No story behind, no special things to tell, just a lovely song. And don't we all wait for our own Christmas angel?

Day four

If there is one Christmas song that has a very special story for me, it is this one.
Ten years ago, somewhen in late November 2001, there was some kind of celebration going on in our town and I was there with my parents and my mothers godfather. During the evening there were rumours about a plane crash not fare away from our town but nobody knew more. When we came home late in the evening I was not tired enough to sleep so I went to my room and started the radio. They played "Wonderful Dream" and I felt in love with the song almost imediatelly. When the song ended the presenter announced that Melanie Thornton had died in a plane crash in Switzerland.

Day three

Jingle Bells Rock always makes me want to dance around! I guess I'll just put the candles aside and dance round the table!

Day two

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It does indeed!

Day one

This nice Christmas song by Austrian songwriter Lorenz Maierhofer always makes me think of the UK and somehow get "homesick"

December again!

I'm back from five lovely days in the UK with some shopping, a lot nice food and a lovely time just being back over there! I'll definivitely tell you more about it and also show you some pictures I've taken in Brighton, Lewes and London.

But first... It is first of December and consequently... First of advent! Time for an advent calendar! I've filled a real one for my best friend with some lovely thingies from the UK but there will be also a virtuel one on my blog. So check it out!

What else is coming up beside an advents calendar and stories from the UK? Yes, the cookies season ;-)

Have a lovely first of December and enjoy the next four weeks! They are the most busy but also the best of the whole year!

Love, Teadrinker