Thanksgiving - Bristol Style

While Thanksgiving isn't really celebrated here, there are enough Americans around that you can find a good meal with some thankful people. We joined the Americans in Bristol facebook group for a potluck Thanksgiving last Saturday. It was a feast tasting of home with a few British influences thrown in.

We were at a church fellowship hall so set up tables and decorated a bit. Brian and I joined the set up committee (way better plan than helping with clean up! ;)

A few of the random decorations people brought. In the end, they all came together and the place was pretty festive.

And of course, there was lots and lots of food! I think there were 3 turkeys, at least 4 different kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potatoes a few different ways, and pigs in blankets.

Wait . . . what?  Pigs in blankets?

So, I mentioned that little British influence above? That would be the pigs in blankets. Back home, pigs in blankets are a breakfast dish - sausage links wrapped in pancakes or crescent rolls.  But here in the UK, pigs in blankets are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. Yes, it is as delicious as it sounds and something the Brits serve with Christmas dinner (although you can find them in the grocery stores all year round I think (I hope!). Being the inclusive and welcoming people we are, we decided to happily add pigs in blankets to the Thanksgiving meal tradition.

And for dessert there were a number of pumpkin and sweet potato pies, and apple pie and I brought a pumpkin struesel cake that was a hit. The challenge with anything pumpkin is that the canned stuff from Libby is hard to find here. I even tried Amazon, but decided I wasn't paying 8GBP for a silly can of pumpkin. I ended up making my own with a little pie pumpkin from the grocery store. Not too hard actually, but doesn't have the concentrated flavour of the canned stuff. Not to worry though, we had plenty to eat and no one went home hungry - just as it should be.

 

Someone even brought an American flag and below is our group photo from the day.

 

And what do a group of Americans in Bristol talk about over Thanksgiving? All the funny difference between American and Queen's English of course. Well, that and where to find the best fish and chips!

Musical Lunch Hours

As I've shared with many of you, my new job with the University is quite different from my last with the Airline. I now have a 35 hour work week which includes a 1 hour lunch. Quite a shift from the lunch at my desk that made up the last 5 years of my career.

And because I work at a University, there's always lots going on and often over the lunch hour. To date, I've seen a number of different music concerts and am loving every minute of it. Here are some highlights.

The first concert was the University of Bristol Laptop Band. Yes, they played their laptops and made . . . music? I'll admit it was a little out there for me, but still a fun way to spend a lunch hour. And interesting to hear how the School of Music is researching and pushing the limits.

This is the Victoria Rooms building - home of the School of Music and where a number of the concerts take place. A 5 minute walk from my desk so couldn't be more perfectly placed.

When not in the Victoria rooms, the concerts are often at St. Paul's Church, just up the street. I've seen a chamber orchestra group, a piano/organ concert, and a choral concert so far. The acoustics are nice and it's a cute little venue for the concerts.

This was back in the Victoria Rooms and was a piano duo concert. Apparently one of the most famous piano duet teams in the UK and known throughout the world. It was a very nice concert and reminded me of the duets I used to play with my brother way back when. (well, they were a little better than we were!)

A Little Wine Tasting in Bristol

When you move to a new city and have no friends or family around, you need to work hard to get out and meet people. It can be tempting and easy to stay home and burrow in, but we've learned from our experiences that the sooner you get out, the more chance you have of meeting some new friends. And while the friends part hasn't really happened yet, we have been meeting some nice acquaintances, getting to know the city, and exploring through our various adventures. A few weeks ago, that adventure was a wine tasting event at Avery's, which is one of the oldest wine cellars in Bristol. And I do mean wine cellar literally - have a look.

We were greeted with a glass of bubbly and, after a brief introduction to Avery's history, split into 4 groups. The afternoon would consist of four 30 minute sessions, each focused on a different region or type. The sessions were: Italy, Germany, New Zealand and Sparkling.

The Sparkling guy brushing up on his session before we got started. By the time we met with him (#4) he was feeling pretty good and I swear even slurred once or twice. Who knows if we got all the information or whether it was accurate. (We didn't really care by that point either!)

Yes, it's really a wine cellar! And it was gorgeous. Lots of character and a really fun venue for a nice afternoon of tasting and meeting new people.

Renee, do you think this bottle is big enough for us?

We were pleasantly surprised by the German session (some really delicious white wines) and the sparkling (of course that might be because it was the last session and we were tipsy!) 

Overall, a great time and a wonderful way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Bonfire Night

While I was looking forward to Halloween, most Brits were gearing up for Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawke's Day) which falls on the 5th of November. Per Wikipedia, Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

Today, the holiday is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks in parks, pubs and community centres all over the city. We walked to some fireworks in our little neighbourhood of Bradley Stokes. No bonfire, but they did have some very nice fireworks. It was a little strange to be watching them with warm coat, hat and mittens but they were nice all the same.

Sunday Road Trip: A Visit to Chipping Sodbury

Don't you just love the names of the towns? I told Brian we should start planning our road trips by the names alone and see what happens.

Chipping Sodbury is actually not too far from where we live in Bradley Stoke, but it's part of the Cotswolds and the cutest little town so we added it to our Sunday road trip adventures. On this particular morning (full disclosure, a Saturday), we were actually just looking for breakfast and stumbled upon a town food fair, a little craft market, and Brian found a cute little barber shop to get his hair cut.

The centre of town is a big avenue with parking and shops on both sides. They had part of the main street blocked off for the food fair. Just look at that architecture.

As we walked along the street, we saw this decorated alley between two buildings so of course had to go an explore. Often these alleys are called Arcades and take you between the buildings from one street to the next. Since a lot of the buildings are connected to each other, they provide a nice shortcut.

This particular arcade led us to a morning market selling crafts, baked good (some amazing brownies!), plants and natural beauty products. It was very small, maybe around 10-12 stalls, but super cute.

Back on main street with a bit better view of the avenue.

This is the 'secret garden' area of a local pub. Quite common that you walk in off the street, wander through the pub and out the back to find a gorgeous open garden space. The houses in more urban areas are very similar.

And here's the barber shop. One chair, one barber so there's always a bit of a wait, but one of the nicest haircuts Brian has had in a long while. And, of course, the barber and the guy next in line loved his American accent so spent the time discussing Brexit and Trump. And this was weeks before the election. I can only imagine the conversation they would have now!

See the cobblestone sidewalk? Lots of that in this area. Thank goodness for the modern paved roads, but walking can be tricky.

I know, hard to believe this is the same place. Just outside of town is a B&Q, which is like a Home Depot or Menards. We popped in to find a few things for the house and felt immediately at home. A lot less space to work with, but still packed in everything you could possibly need for your home repairs.

More about the weather: mid-November

I promised myself to post about the weather every so often for our first year so i could compare my impressions later. It's now mid November, almost 4 months since we arrived in Bristol and here are my thoughts.

I still love it! Yes, I'm a bit cold and damp some mornings, and since I walk outside a lot more than in Abu Dhabi, the weather has a greater effect, but I love it! I love the damp smell of the autumn leaves (the Brits don't say Fall), I love the condensation on the windows in the morning that is from actual rain (not the vast difference in temperature because the air conditioning is on full blast), and I love the overcast skies that make me want to curl up on the couch with a good book or movie and two cats. I've missed fall and am enjoying every minute of it.

So, does it really rain ALL THE TIME as you've been led to believe?

No

There are beautifully sunny mornings or afternoons or whole days. In general, the sky is more overcast than sunny, but I'll bet careful observation would show a 60/40 split, not a 90/10. And as for the rain, there aren't so many big downpours, but there is a lot of misty or light rain, often hardly enough to open your umbrella. And lots of times it's just overcast, but not actually raining.

So far, temps have dipped to 35F (2C) a couple of mornings so we did have frost, which I'm told will be more and more common as winter arrives. Bristol rarely gets snow. I think someone said the last snow fall (a light dusting that didn't stick) was almost 10 years ago, so I'm hoping this is the year! ;)

The temps and damp make the perfect coat elusive. I've got a trench coat with a zip out lining that works most days, but there's no hood, which would be handy. I've also got a puffy short winter coat that I've worn on the coldest mornings, but because you're walking a lot, it's a bit too warm. Guess I'll need to do a little shopping and buy a British coat designed for the weather. (okay, yeah, that's just an excuse to go shopping!)

One thing I've learned is to always carry an umbrella (brolly) and wear good shoes. I do a ton more walking here and haven't even unpacked any of my heels - no need. My work environment is pretty casual, the city 'dress code' is casual so even a night out can be done in jeans if you want.

In fact, umbrellas are so necessary, there's even a vending machine for them at the bus station!