Festival Fever: The Scotland Fringe 2016

I was lucky enough to get a break from work over the last week, and I used it to go with my partner to visit a friend who lives an hour outside of Edinburgh. For the entire month of August, Edinburgh transforms from a quaint British city to a performing artists heaven, The Fringe Festival. Every day of the month, there are multitudes of various shows put on by musicians, poets, comedians, magicians, burlesque dancers, mime's, and every other kind of performer you can imagine. The best part is that a large number of the shows are free (with a recommended donation) and nearly all of them take place in bars. Since all of the Fringe venues are in the city centre, visitors can walk to them all! Meaning you can drink to your hearts content, and laugh until your sides hurt.

A gorgeous Scottish Castle

I attended The Fringe for two days in 2015. The first show I saw happened to end in female nudity and involve an awkward American poet doing live 'film noir'. It was jarring. I saw several good shows last year, but unfortunately my friends and I also saw some duds. I chalk it up to us being Fringe virgins.

This year was entirely different. I put in the time every morning to select the performances we went too. My group also branched out and saw a poet/rap battle called "The Harry and Chris Show" (check it out on Youtube, very impressive stuff, and it was free!!). I participated in a walking Harry Potter tour of Edinburgh. Did you know that it's actually the basis for a lot of J.K Rowling's scenery in the books? As well as home to several cafe's where she wrote the first three books of the series! I had a good geek out. Overall, The Fringe is amazing, and if you can manage to make your way up to Scotland in August 2017, you should. It is a cheap way of seeing talents from around the world and have tons of laughs.

The Wandering Blonde's Top Fringe Activities from 2016:

1. Operation Dead Drop: One of the escape rooms in Edinburgh designed a special city wide escape game exclusively for The Fringe Festival. In teams, you and your friends are given a map, log on to an app, and run around the city trying to answer questions about Edinburgh to earn points and solve the mystery. The team at the end that has the most points, wins! My group (Team NoChris) came 2nd on our night, and placed in the top ten teams of the entire Fringe Festival. In order to participate you need to be good with working out riddles, able and willing to run around and dodge "chasers" (people hired to steal points off of you and make you run around even more), and up for lots of fun. Note to the wise, you cannot google the answer's to all the riddles. The makers designed the game to work around that. (Not that I didn't try)

2. Andrew Roper-Superhero Secret Origins and Battle of the Superhero's: If you are a nerd like me, any show that have the word superhero in the title is a winner. Andrew Roper's show was an informative comedy about Wonder Woman and women in comics. He highlights the issues with costuming, posing, constant rescuing, all while making me laugh until I couldn't breathe. Battle of the Superhero's was a combination of comedians from shows around The Fringe taking on hero (or villain) persona's and trying to persuade audience members to vote on them as "The Best Superhero". I was lucky enough to see the finale, and I can tell you that Jericho won (google him, he is an interesting, if odd, hero).

The inspiration for Diagon Alley

3. Any of The Fringe Walking Tours: I mentioned that I partook in the Potter tour of the city. It only took an hour, walked at a reasonable pace, was super informative, and it cost my group of three a tenner (roughly $12-$14). You get to see so much of Edinburgh, and it is cheaper than if you signed up for a tour through a tourist agency or by other means. I know that they offer free underground tours, haunted tours, and various architecture tours.

Finally, while in the city, whether you are there for The Fringe or not, visit Scoopz Ice Cream Shop. It is so cheap, has HUMONGOUS milkshakes, and unusual flavors such as; Iron Bru.

The Top 5 Imported American Chain's in Britain

As much as the Brit’s make fun of America for our over indulgence in food and the super-sized meals that we eat on a regular basis, they secretly LOVE our food. All one has to do is glance around at their service stations (rest stops with food) and see that they are full of American joints. The menus may differ slightly, but a burger is a burger no matter what side of the pond it’s made on. I have compiled a list of the top five most common fast food joints I see in England. This list purposely excludes pizza restaurants because that is a whole separate conversation.

1. Surprise, surprise, the most common American place I see is McDonalds. The Brit’s may mock the big portions, but they sure do gobble up the fries. It is hugely popular among teens, kids, university students and adults. The menu is pretty much identical, serving your basic McNuggets, burgers, fries, pies, and the token salad. There is however some variation in portions. A large Coke in England is the size of a regular in America. The children size fry in the US is actually a small in Britain. So, I guess I have to give them credit for indulging in our delicious delicacies, but doing so in a more reasonable way.

2. The shocking second most common US place I see is actually Starbucks. They are everywhere!! Not that I can blame the UK for loving it, having tried tons of coffee and hot chocolate all over England, I still think Starbucks is the best. They serve pumpkin spice lattes for a shorter time than in America. The cup sizes are all the same. And overall, I would say it is like a little slice of Seattle (where Starbucks was founded) dropped into the middle of quaint ole’ Britain.

3. KFC also has a big market over here. If there is a McDonalds on one street, you can be sure that a KFC is within a few blocks. They don’t serve quite the same food, England experiments a bit more I would say with seasonings. They do not offer mac and cheese as a side option. But the original recipe wings are still the mouthwatering goodness we all adore.

4. Britain likes to think of itself as a healthy country, so it isn’t a surprise that Subway has done well over here. There aren’t many sandwich shops that let you build your own, so Subway pretty much has that market sector cornered. It has most of the same subs, but also offers ‘chicken tikka’ as a meat option. Which is a British Indian food usually accompanied with rice as a curry. However, Subway puts it on bread. I myself only occasionally visit this shop. I find that the pre-made sandwiches and baguettes I can get from British places are cheaper, and usually more to my palate. But it is reassuring to pass by a Subway and get that waft of cooking bread smell that I associate with home.

5. Picking my fifth restaurant for the list was a challenge. England has a lot of our food. But I decided to go with Five Guys. It is a bit more of an upscale fast food place, but widely popular. I believe it is because of the Cajun fries served there (and the free peanuts). Cajun seasoning is something exclusively seen in America, especially the south. So the Brit’s flock to Five Guys for a taste of it. The burgers are also a higher standard than you can get from a lot of pubs (in my opinion). Never burnt, not too greasy, and with unlimited toppings. Plus it has the drink machines that offer fifty different soda’s for people to try (and free refills to boot!).

If you ever visit the UK and find that the bangers and mash, fish n’ chips, black pudding and English breakfasts aren’t too your taste, rest assured that you can easily find any one of the American businesses serving the food you are familiar and comfortable with. 

You Should Watch Ladies of London and Here is Why [TV Review]

The Ladies of London Season 1

I've admitted a reality show addiction. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I have a subscription to Hayu. A streaming site similar to Netflix, except that it only offers reality television such as; 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians', 'Don't Tell the Bride', 'Snapped', etc. One show I stumbled across was called 'Ladies of London'.

I am a firm believer in trying to learn about the culture around me. When I moved to Missouri for a year, I attempted to watch 'Duck Dynasty' which was really popular in the area. Naturally, I decided to give Ladies of London a try.

'Ladies of London' is a Bravo show that is filmed primarily in London.The show follows the lives of three aristocrats (like the upper class of the elite) British woman who live around the capital of England. It focuses on their social lives, the parties and restaurants and excursions that occupy the time of the wealthy English. But as a twist, it also follows the lives of several rich American expats living in London and mingling with the same posh British woman.

United States v. United Kingdom

Initially, in the show their is a very big divide between the Brit's and Americans. The Brits find the Americans very loud and uncouth. At a horse race the American's are shouting loudly and dancing around to cheer on the jockeys, as the British watch on judgmentally. Meanwhile the Americans are baffled as to why the British woman are so closed off. When a Brit insults an American, the American very publicly calls her out on her actions on the street. This is common in the States, but as I have written about previously, in the UK you simply do not cause public displays of any emotion.

While the wealth that surrounds these woman is not truly representative of life for most of us in England, the cultural clashes and differences shown though out the show are actually really on point. Almost every issue the Americans face with the Brits, is one I have dealt with as well.

An Elite British Star of Ladies of London

I recommend watching this show, and looking past the obvious scripted cat fights. Because when you do, you will get a brief peek at how many differences there are between British and American women. Plus, I just love this show and think everyone should at least give an episode a try!

Do You Take Nappies, or Change Them?

These are nappies and or diapers

As a much needed supplement to my writing career (which isn’t much of a career at all) I work part time at a nursery (daycare) as an assistant. Yes, in England daycares are called nurseries. In the US a nursery is the room where babies go when they are newborns in a hospital, or the area they have at their house. Babies sleep in the nursery, parents sleep in the master bedroom. The place where they go while their parents work is a daycare. Because they care for kids during the day. Super clever, right?

 This is something I am constantly explaining to friends and family in America. Otherwise they might get confused and think I work in the medical field and find me far more impressive than I actually am.

Anyways, at my nursery (daycare) I occasionally have to deal with soiled infant bottoms. However, this is not called changing diapers. Instead it is called changing nappies. The first time I was asked to do it, I just stared at the person blankly. What’s a nappy? Do I need to put the baby down for a nap? A nap means going to sleep in America. Perhaps they just call it nappy in the cutesy way people talk to all babies.

However, that is incorrect. They were asking me to change the baby’s diaper. I was completely fine doing that. This switch in jargon is one I struggle with severely. Almost every time I ask the staff for more diapers for a baby, I almost always use the incorrect term. I continue to speak in American, despite working a British nursery (and yes one of the staff members is almost a carbon copy of Mary Poppins). My coworkers look at me all confused, and I look at them expectantly….it is an awkward situation. Until I catch on that I used the wrong word. 

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Keeping Up With the Kar.....or is it Coping With The Kardashians?

One of the few reality phenomenons that I have not become addicted to is the Kardashians. I find it aggravating that a whole family is famous, has launched brands, gotten modelling campaigns, because one of its members had a sex taped leaked, and then decided that made them famous. Infamous would be more accurate. I think people deserve notoriety for doing something impressive. It irks me even more that unfamous women are regularly frowned upon for doing similar things like sending nudes, but here the world is admiring the Kardashians for the same behavior.

Anyways, while I might not like what the eldest three Kardashian sisters represent, I did admire them for their acceptance of their bodies. Kim and Khloe especially because they had curves for days and they were fab-u-lous. I thought that while they might be famous for doing a whole lot of nothing, at least they demonstrated a different type of body ideal. Not only did they represent it, they made it desirable. Suddenly big hips, booties and breasts were sexy again! And I applauded them for flaunting their unique shapes! I think they helped make curvy women more accepted in the media. They had episodes on their show about the big butts and the curves and showing them off. Now we have women like Ashley Graham and others continuing their work.

Which is good, because recently the Kardashians have gone mainstream. Kendall Jenner is now a model, known for being in the Victoria Secret fashion show. Not exactly showing an average woman's body shape. And then Khloe lost a bunch of weight in a bid to get healthy. Being healthy is great, but I felt disappointed that she suddenly stopped tooting her own horn for how wonderful her curves were and started to shrink them down closer to the ideal body shape.

Meme made at https://imgflip.com

And last but most certainly not least, Kim Kardashian West has jumped aboard the thin wagon. Through diet and exercise she has gotten herself down to 124 pounds. With her drop in weight, she has also dropped all respect I had for her. I don't mean to sound like I am saying eating healthy and working out are bad, they are great! But when you do it to the extreme that she has...it is no longer doing it just for health and but also doing it for appearances and fame.

The Kardashians unfortunately have the power to influence people. For a time they used that power for good and demonstrated that different body shapes are worth having. But now....they have crossed to the dark side and joined the masses that believe all women need to be skinny. I'm disappointed. But I will add that it is their personal choice to change their bodies this way.

 But we still have models and actresses like Blake Lively and Anne Hathaway preaching body acceptance. And me. Can't forget that this Wandering Blonde believes all female bodies are perfect in their natural way.

For proof that Kim has officially sold out to the thin industry look here

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/kim-kardashian-drops-to-124-lb-jokes-about-photoshopped-waist-w433865

Ya Can't Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

In America, it is welded into our minds that we have the Bill of Rights and Amendments and they will never ever go away. One of the most major of which is, the right to freedom of religion. It was why the colonists left Britain in the first place. Puritans, Quakers, and others left England to practice their beliefs, their way without the king attacking them. And it has been something we have built our country around. Freedom of religion, separation of church and State, all designed to protect our individual rights.

Private schools designed to teach along religious guidelines are protected and even promoted among some people. I myself went to a private Christian school for several years. (I was taught that my single mom was going to hell as was her fiancé who had a Buddha statue). Churches are allowed to preach what they believe, whether it is homophobic, or completely liberal, or anti-evolution, people are allowed their beliefs. And the American public would never dream of altering that.

The United Kingdom is an entirely different story. The Church of England is deeply embedded in the country, the Queen is the Head of the Church and involved in the government. The Girl Guides pray and often meet in churches. Religion is sort of everywhere. But I’m not sure it is as protected as in America. Or perhaps not protected as equally across all belief systems.

Take this possible government party leader for example, Lisa Duffy. She has publically said that she would consider, even support an all-out ban on Muslim public schools. (Public schools in the UK are the same as private schools in America, confusing I know, just think in opposites) I know Trump has said he wants to ban certain minorities, but the American people would go wild if a politician said they wanted to get rid of a certain type of religious private school. The right to choose a religious education is one we have had since our founding, and one we will never give up.

The reason is because Lisa Duffy believes these schools radicalize children and might contribute to terrorism, or causing children to be banned from or against participating in more Western cultural activities. Her reasoning is violently flawed, as a very select few pupils are radicalized in schools or elsewhere. And shutting down all of them won’t really change that. If a person is going to go down an extreme route of belief, they find a way to do so one way or another.

Fundamentally, I think this idea of banning Muslim schools is a violation of human rights, awful, and just impossible to imagine. But I hope this will not happen. Otherwise it will be very similar to what happened a few hundred years ago when people fled England because of religious persecution and went to America. Which worked out better for us, but still, not what the Brit’s want to happen. 

Give the article a read, and feel free to share your opinion in the comment section. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/03/ukip-leadership-hopeful-lisa-duffy-wants-total-ban-on-muslim-sch/

A Very Harry Potter Week

My academic look

This will be my first book review on the blog, and I will keep it brief. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is amazing, awesome, fabulous, and any other adjective for great that you can imagine. J. K. Rowling never ceases to surprise with the wonderful twists and turns she can develop in her magic wizarding world. I love that she opted to bring in some characters that were more on the fringe in the series, such as Draco Malfoy. It was an added benefit that he was portrayed in an admirable light. Furthermore, Rowling played on the classic father son struggle that was lacking from the series. Parents were finally allowed a role in the book instead of just being ghosts hanging around. It lent a sense of reality to the book. Plus she included several modern aspects such as diet’s (Harry’s forbidden sugar), Ron’s weight gain, etc.

I admit that the script style of the book was hard to adjust to, because of it I felt that there was less background descriptions and ambience to the story. But those details will be left to the director and crew of the play. I will say that this book hasn’t beaten out Book 5 as my favorite, but it was still a wonderful addition to the Harry Potter collection.

Now for some UK-USA differences

The first book is called ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in America. In England it’s actual title is ‘Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’. But publishers didn’t think that would be as popular in America so that was changed. Wonder how J.K felt about that?

England got ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ first!!! I had it read before my friends and family in America could even get their hands on a copy. Ha Ha! A benefit to living in the UK. We got the book first, but we usually get American films and TV shows much later.

Hermione is pronounced wrong in America. It is supposed to be Her-moy-i-knee.

I always thought the names in the book were common to J.K Rowling’s birthplace, and were typical British names…not so. I have met very few Ron’s, no Hermione’s, no Harry’s, no Neville’s and no Draco’s. Now I have come across plenty of Fred and George’s. 

I'm a Buzzfeed Lover so I believe this is worth browsing through

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/more-holes-than-a-sieve

The Difference Between Visiting a Bar and a Pub [An American Explanation]

I came to the UK one week before my classes began because I wanted to participate in the Warwick International Week. It was designed to help recently arrived international students navigate their new lives in England. In reality  it was really just a week to party (which I had no problem with).

In America when you go out, you either go to a bar or a club. A bar is a place that serves drinks, and occasionally food, has places to sit, sometimes music, sometimes TV’s showing sports and all the time booze. A club is a place with alcohol, dancing, booths and partying.

So I was asked to go to a bar on my second night in England. It was on the Warwick campus and seemed exactly like every other bar I knew of in the USA. So I assumed that was what all drinking places were called bars(same as America). It wasn’t until several weeks later that I was educated about the difference between a bar and pub and taught that I had been committing a major tourist like faux pas.

A pub is a venue that serves drinks, but people usually consume beer, cider, ale or other more light alcoholic beverages. A pub serves food, typically consisting of burgers, fish and chips, chicken, beef and sausages. A pub generally caters to locals, doesn’t usually have music blasting, has tables and booths and is more of a restaurant with an attached bar (think Chili’s or Applebee’s in the USA).

A bar is a place that serves only booze, with the occasional bag of crisps/chips to soak up all the alcohol. It has some seating that is usually full. People do not sit or stand around the actual bar counter to drink or talk (something commonly done in America, to allow for quicker access to refills I think). You rarely make conversation with the bartender. And a bars main purpose is to allow the customer to get inebriated.

I admit to making the mistake of calling a pub a “bar” on several occasions.  Personally I think the American way is slightly easier. We don’t require a separate word for a pub and bar. Bars can come in all shapes and sizes and we still know it is a bar. Maybe it serves food, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you just sit/stand around and drink while mingling. Maybe you watch Sunday night football while throwing back some beers and eating chicken wings. IT IS ALL A BAR. The less confusion the better.

OTHER DIFFERENCES TO NOTE   

                                                                                        

A British shot is about the size of a thimble.Seriously, I laughed the first time I saw one. To get a normal US size, you have to order a double shot. And we wonder why everyone says America does everything bigger and better….

Cider is far more popular here…..There is no Mikes Hard Lemonade or other like drinks. They are all about the apple alcohol

Lager, Ale and Beer are like a religion. Most universities have a Real Ale Society where you just sample all the different kinds…I was a member last year.