An English Christmas Dinner

Last Sunday, my host mum cooked a Christmas dinner for us. She invited her sister and nephews. She wanted me to experience an English Christmas (I'm going home for Christmas so I won't be spending it here).

The menu was: smoked salmon on toast and prawn cocktail for the starter. Then we had the traditional turkey, with sprouts, parsnips, roast potatoes, sausage, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, carrots and gravy. For dessert, we had the famous Christmas pudding. That was fun because my host mum poured Brandy on it and set it alight. Then she poured some cream on it and it was ready! I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, because it's just some candied fruit and I don't like candied fruit, but it was actually quite tasty! We also had some mince pies, that my eight-year-old host sister made herself and they were yummy!

Here is a picture of how the meal looked like:


Here is the pudding:

















And the mince pies!










After the meal, we cracked some crackers. That was fun! Inside, there was a paper crown, a small gift (I got tweezers) and a joke. My joke was: - What do you call a reindeer with no eyes? - No eye deer. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha!


I had a really nice time and I'm happy to have experienced a true English Christmas!

"Chicago" and London Lights

Hello people!!

Last week end, I went to London. Yeah. Again. Before leaving for England, I told my mum I'd probably go to London once a month and it's exactly what I've been doing! And as my brother is coming in January (yay!), we'll probably go to London together, so I might go on with my "Londony" routine!

Anyway. I had a really good reason to take the train to the capital city this month; I went to the theatre to see Chicago, the musical! I've always loved musicals and really wanted to see one before Christmas. So I booked a ticket on the Internet. Easy peasy!

I took the train in the morning, because I had a couple of things to buy. Obviously, I spent far too much money, like always. But God it feels good to empty one's wallet! I went to Oxford Street and it was surprisingly quiet. After that, I walked to Covent Garden and had lunch there. Covent Garden is an amazing place if you have some money to spend, really. And I really love the covered market too, it's really nice! There was a huge reindeer made of bushes at the entrance of the market (it was Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer actually!) . That was pretty impressive! Here is a picture:


After a bit of wandering around, it was eventually time to head to the theatre. I collected my pre-booked ticket at the box office and bought the soundtrack CD (I always buy the CD!). Then I just had to wait. I had quite a good spot in fact. That surprised me, because I had bought the cheapest ticket, and there weren't many left!

Then it started. The set was really simple; the band was on stage (they're not usually), on a platform, and stayed there for the whole show. And apart from two moveable ladders, there was nothing else. The actors wore the same costume throughout the whole thing. But it was still really good! Everything was in black and white and I felt like I was in a black and white film from the 30s or something! It was really funny at times and I'm happy to say that I understood almost everything! The dancing was fabulous. All the moves were sexy, sensual and very subtle. I have to admit that the boys' bodies added to the fabulousness mwa ha ha. No but seriously, the whole cast is H-O-T. It's part of the story I guess?

So to conclude, I really enjoyed Chicago. My favourite musical remains Billy Elliot though. I don't know if any other musical will ever top that. One of the teachers in Ely recommended Jersey Boys, another musical. So I might want to see that next year! And in the Spring, I'll maybe treat myself with Mamma Mia! A fresh and feel-good show!















When I came out after the show, it was dark and all the Christmas lights were lit up. It was beautiful! I saw a shiny bush reindeer and some presents and umbrellas in Oxford Street. I also heard the mini carol concert that was being held before the massive Christmas tree of Trafalgar Square. There were dozens of Santas there, drinking and dancing. My mum told me they had paraded to Trafalgar Square; it was a Santa flash mob! Mwa ha ha!

To finish this article, here are some pictures of the Christmas lights and decorations!

Snow and Chinese Food

Good evening!

As you can read in the title, this article won't be about much. I just wanted to write an article haha. So here we go!

Last Thursday, we went to a Chinese restaurant in Ely with the Soham teachers. It was a meal to welcome some German teachers who are now here for an exchange. Well it was a nice meal. I love Chinese food! We had a good time too, even though I was sneezing, blowing my nose and coughing the whole time haha.

Also on Thursday night, it snowed for the first time in Soham! I was really pleased! It was just a couple of snow flakes, but it was snow all right! =D This morning when I woke up to go to the loo, there was a really thin layer of snow. But by the time I got up at 11am, it had all gone, so I couldn't even take a picture! =(

Well that's it for this oh-so-useless article! =)

Poppy Day (Remembrance Day) and London

In November, the British celebrate Bonfire night, but November is also a time of remembrance. What do they remember? They remember all the British soldiers who died at war, specifically since the First World War. "Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918" (Wikipedia). But you can see people wearing a poppy on their jacket for weeks! The red poppy is the emblem of Remembrance Day because of the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae. Those poppies bloomed in battlefields in Flanders during World War I. The poppies also represent the blood that was and is still spilt at war.

Anyway, now you know a bit about Poppy Day. And now I can move on to the exciting part; I saw Princes Charles of Wales in London yesterday (13th of November). I just went to London to do a bit of Christmas shopping and to soak up the busy and swarming atmosphere of the City. At around 11am, while I was walking down Downing Street, heading towards my Parliament, I saw that something was going on. Some barriers were up and the police was there, arranging some flower wreaths and talking in their walkie-talkies. So I stopped and asked one of the policemen what was happening and he said that there would be a Service of Remembrance at around noon (it's actually called the War Widows annual Service of Remembrance). So I decided I would come back later to see that! I went to my Parliament and was awed by it, as always. I stared at it for a bit and then headed back to Downing Street.

And waited....

After a (long) while, a fanfare in kilt arrived, playing the bagpipe. That was funny haha. And then, Prince Charles arrived. Although, I wasn't sure it was him then. After that, a man talked for a while, and said some prayers. I moved so I could see better and suddenly, a woman next to me said "Look! Prince Charles is putting the wreath on the pillar!". That's when I knew it was him. And even though I was quite far away, I could recognise him: tall, big ears haha. Then, he just left in a private car and that was it! I left the crowd, with a stupid smile on my face, thinking "Jeez, I've just seen Prince Charles!!" and texting my mum and host mum about it haha!

Here are some pictures to prove that I DID see Prince Charles of Wales:



And as my pictures' quality is crap (sorry about that, I only had my iPod...), here is a decent pic I found on the Internet:


And to finish with, here is a video I took of the fanfare ^^ And I think (though am not sure) that you can see Prince Charles at the very end of the video!

Enjoy! =)

Bonfire Night Party!

"Remember remember the 5th of November!"

On the 5th of November, the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. What happened on the 5th of November you might ask? Well, on the 5th of November 1605, a group of Catholics, the most famous one being Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the House of Lords in London; that is the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to kill Protestant James I, the first of the Stuart kings of England. So each year, the British symbolically burn Guy Fawkes in a celebration called "Bonfire Night". They lit fireworks and make a huge bonfire, obviously, with a puppet representing Guy Fawkes in the middle.

I went to a Bonfire Night Party last week end. Not on the 5th, but on the 6th. We were really lucky with the weather! There was no rain at all and the stars shone bright in the clear night! We had mulled wine (made by the German assistant, her boyfriend and myself), which was de-li-cious, and some chilli con carne! I had a really good time. I particularly enjoyed the bonfire. Everyone was happy it was there, because the night was a cold one! BrrRRRrrr...

Here are some pictures!

The bonfire:


Some people in the smoke:


A firework!


Tatjana (German assistant) and I, with some deliiiiicious mulled wine:


People around the fire, in the smoke!