We’ve just returned from a flying visit to SW England (with a bit of NW England thrown in at the end) and what a trip it was! Being happily tired this week, here’s a quick report and a tangent or two. Perhaps I’ll include a few extra bits and pieces in future posts as and when my brain untangles the wonderful whirlwind of highlights and events.
After landing in London we travelled down to Cornwall to celebrate my mother’s birthday – one of the landmark ones. “A landmark birthday? How old?” I hear you ask? Or did you? (I’ve not lived in Britain for almost two decades, and even when I did could never be bothered to understand the stifling intricacies and eccentricities of how one “should” behave. I’m not too sure, in the post Jane Austen era, if it’s yet entirely acceptable to reveal the age of a lady, particularly the age of a lady of a certain age. I’ll simply say it is a number between 79 and 81 and leave it at that…)
By the way, some of the above will certainly influence the title of my new, and, dare I say, difficult second novel. “Portrait of a Particular Lady of a Certain Age and Certain Sensibilities in a Particular Age, An Age of Intricacy and Eccentricity”.
Catchy, hey? A comedy of manners with no funny bits. My hope is for it to be published soon after my first (also difficult) novel is completed. This will be a more modern tale, based on almost real events, and is definitely not a comedy. It attempts to capture Britain today. The title? “Black Coffee Please. Black Coffee? Of Course Sir. Milk and Sugar With That?”
Eventually I’ll write a sequel to Black Coffee Please called “Please-Thanks, Thanking You, Please-Thanks, Yes Thank You, Yes Please-Thanks and Thank You. Milk and Sugar? No thanks!” Bestsellers all, if only they existed. Order and pay for a black coffee in England and count the please-thanks. Honestly, you could write a saga poem…
Where was I? Why, in dear old Blighty! Mother had a splendid time, and it was great to catch up with family and friends, enjoy a meal or two and a drink or three in comfortable surroundings. It might have been the drink or three that had us heading outdoors every now and then to take in the bracing sea air and help a head that needed clearing.
The “brightening up” title this week is from what some British people might say as they decide to go for a walk. This makes sense if you know that often in Britain it’s just stopped raining, about to start raining or is actually raining.
I exaggerate, but not by much. “I think it’s brightening up so shall we head out?” “Nah; it’s raining. Another pint?”
Clearly my brain is travel-befuddled, so let’s leave it here for this week! Please-Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
OldPlaidCamper 
Had me brightening up all thru & thru with chuckles & untameable please & thanks! Glad that you & yours had a great visit.
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Thanks, Walt! It was all a bit of a rush, but we had a splendid time, particularly once we’d tuned back in to some of the strange (to us these days) etiquette pieces!
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I never stopped chuckling as I read this, pc, still am. Loved the new novel titles and the please-and-thanks discussion. Wonderful that you could get back to England for your mother’s birthday and I imagine it’s great to be home, too. Big smiles to you and Mrs. PC.
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Thanks, Jet! Great to visit, great to get back home! We had fun, and mother enjoyed her celebrations.
Glad you enjoyed this one – the similarities and differences between North America and Britain are head-scratchingly entertaining – and good material for a novel or two if one could find the time and not be too afraid of those already written!
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Omg goodness this made me giggle..Happy birthday to your mom, best wishes on the your future current, last and potential novel, cheers and hope it’s raining so we can have another pint.
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Thanks, Kelly! It was good to see UK based family and we had a great time!
Snow here, lots of snow… but we’ll get to that pint at some point!
Enjoy your week!
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I am glad you had a nice trip home. I saw the snow on the news. Please be safe if out driving. Can’t wait to hear about your trip. Still got Quebec City trip on the radar, might be up for the winter festival.
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I am happy for you that you got to England to celebrate your Mother’s birthday and visit with family and friends. In your travels around the world, is there a region that has more sunny days than other regions? I do have please and thank-you manners and am sure I was influenced by my grandmother who hailed from the UK. I have written many books, as you have.
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Thanks, Jane! My mother had a wonderful celebration!
I think the sunniest place I’ve lived is Calgary. SW France had the mildest climate (humid summers and lots of rain but many sunny days). Sunniest place we’ve visited is probably Joshua Tree. Couldn’t live there, but it is beautiful.
Please and thank you manners are a must (my gentle teasing of some Brits is for the need to go beyond the polite and perfectly acceptable please, thank you, and have a good day – one of each in an interaction is fine, several and more is perplexing…)
I hope your week is going well!
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So fun, Adam. I’m glad you left it a mystery as to your Mother’s age. 🙂
I think there’s a book in you somewhere. Glad you had a great trip and celebration! And PS. I’d gladly take those pleases and thank yous here in the states!
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Thanks, Jane! Yup, wouldn’t want to cross any etiquette lines…
We had a splendid trip, and mother enjoyed her birthday!
The UK might solve some of the post-Brexit self-sabotage if they could find a way to export the excess please-thanks to interested parties…
I hope your week is going well!
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What a wonderful story to make me laugh and smile on a dreary foggy rainy day!! Your mother must have loved the special birthday celebration and having you guys home for a visit. Love all the book ideas and maybe it’s time to switch to a fun latte instead of all the confusion over a black coffee. I love the Cornwall photos and hope you’ve had a chance to recover from all the birthday pints. Just saw today that Kane’s game was postponed because of a snowstorm that also hit a part of England and left people stranded on the roads. Did not know that happened over there, but maybe the snow gods followed you there. Hope you and your brother didn’t spend too much time commiserating over Everton before their big win this weekend. Enjoy the week and I’m going to start using “brightening up.”🙂
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Thank you! There is no way I’d order a more complicated coffee in Blighty – heads would explode between the please-thanks and how is that made confusion…
We got back home just before the snow fell in Blighty to find plenty had fallen here. It still is, even as I write this. I don’t think winter has even “officially” started has it?!
Commiserating over Everton?! Perish the thought (look at how they “demolished” the mighty Nottingham Forest!) Newcastle and Chelsea next. Uh-oh…
Have a great week and I hope your rain turns to snow – unless you’d rather the rain!
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