Black Adder

We do not normally have Sky TV, we usually have Freeview, but we have it now for a year for free because we had to move our internet provider. Recently we have been watching Black Adder later in the evenings.

Black Adder is a very interesting show. It takes place in a period in history but that time changes with each series.It is very typical British humor and was the starting place for a few famous people who you might recognize such as Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean), Hugh Laurie (House), and Stephen Fry.

Here is a good video as a taster.

It is worth watching if you see it on. It is historically correct for the most part but very entertaining!

How long have you had an American accent?

I just thought I would share this experience that made me laugh and left me speechless.

I belong to the Cam Sailing Club (my husband is the one that sails). I was helping out with the teas and  one of the members who had not been around for a long time (I didn't know who he was) asked me, "How long have you had an American accent?"

I had no idea what to say and finally I said "all my life".

It made the other members laugh. You have to love the English.

Although I have been told by Americans shopping in Sweaty Betty when I worked there and by my friends and family that I am picking up an English accent. Anytime someone tells me this I tell my husband this. The only thing I can think of is that I speak English at home because my husband is English but if I was married to an American I think that my accent wouldn’t change as much. Some English aren’t quite sure where I am from whilst I don’t have a regional accent, because I am from Colorado, but I have been asked if I was Australian accent though.

Cambridge Arts Theatre

I love going to the theatre. While I love the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, for its charm and the fact that sometimes the same show play there but for a cheaper price. The Cambridge Art Theatre is very convenient for me as my husband and I can cycle or walk in and back from here.

The tickets often sell very quickly  so if you think you want to go, you must buy them fast. I can’t wait to get the programme of what is showing there and look forward to the pantomime that I go to every year.

The Cambridge Corn Exchange

The Cambridge Corn Exchange used to be an indoor market.

Now it is a place to see plays, concerts, dancing on ice and much more!

I love to go here when things are available. I have seen Spamalot, Madame Butterfly, Just Jack and Rocky Horror Picture Show here.

Its best to get on their mailing list and Facebook as tickets sell quickly!

Punch and Judy

Punch and Judy is a Victorian traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and Judy, his wife.

The show is run with on puppeteer and has a series of short screens. The show comes from Italy and dates backs from the 16th century but was first recorded to have been in England in May 9, 1662 (Punch’s birthday).

Punch wears a brightly colored jester’s outfit. Punch is a hunchback with a hooked nose that almost meets his prominent chin. He carries a stick that he uses on the most of the other characters at his free will.

The original target audience were adults but then evolved into children’s entertainment.

Here is a playful but informative website dedicated to Punch and Judy.

Monty Python

If you watch any British comedies, you will notice a distinct difference between British and American humour. It took me a while to catch on. Which leads to a funny story because when I went to SATC with a mixture of my American and British friends. I laughed when the Americans did (loudly of course!) and I also laughed when the British did (so I was laughing all the time!).

Anyway, Monty Python was a comedy group that had a show on the BBC called Monty Python's Flying Circus. This lead to shows, movies books and musicals. You may have heard of the following movies:

• Spamalot
• And Now for Something Completely Different
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Monty Python's Life of Brian
• Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

They were a new trend of comedy and did not follow any rules. They liked to play tricks on the viewers by playing closing credits in the middle of  the movie. It is said that they had an influence on Saturday Night Live.

I suggest you rent a few, if you don't like it or understand it at least finish it. It took me a while to get into a few of the British shows like Black Adder and Little Britian and in the end I loved them.

To find out more about Monty Python, visit here.

Watching the English by Kate Fox

The first English wedding I went to, in 2007,  I was speaking to one of the guests about the differences between the Americans and the English. She mentioned that I would probably like the book 'Watching the English' written by Kate Fox. This book has popped up in conversation over the past few years, so when I saw it in the airport on our way back from Thailand, I knew I had to get it.

I loved it and wished that I read it when it was first mentioned to me. It would have saved me a lot of grief because I would have known what to expect from the beginning such as how the English are like the queues, how they are not necessarily not friendly but why, and the class system! Also I think I would have been better prepared in dealing with the English and because I would have known 'the rules'.  I laughed pretty much all the way through (it was a long read though!), I am not sure that my husband enjoyed me pointing out the things I found funny.

Also it confirmed a lot of the things I write about on here so I know I am not completely crazy! If you want to understand the English a bit better, I think that this is where you should start and I think this is a must for any American marrying an English person.

Call round

Here is just another short snippet on how American and English can be mixed up.

When I first moved here, my property manager (Jane) told me she would call round at noon on a Sunday. I thought that's fine, I was going to a car boot sale so I will take my phone with me.

Around noon, my boyfriend then (now husband) rang me and said that she was at my house.

Call in England means come around.

A quote from My Fair Lady:

Professor Henry Higgins: There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven't used it for years.