Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Always wanted to use that " Something Wicked..... " line. so I did.

There is evil in this world , I know for sure.

To wit. Prior to leaving for the UK, Costco ( now there is evil, in disguise, for many reasons ) I noticed blue jeans labelled " Urban Star " the Chinese kind.

To ensure my clothes would fit for the whole trip, I bought size 38 / 31 length. The jeans were a little long. Washed, the jeans were very comfortable ( now there's an evil word, just ask Stacey and Clinton of " What Not to Wear " ).
The whole time in the UK, never had a problem, those Urban Stars were comfortable all the time. OF COURSE, the material is stretch - real stretch. I don't know how much weight I put on or inches added etc. BUT those jeans still fit.
TRUE EVIL , I say. Now I'm left with some sort of feeble remorseful feeling to lose what was gained over there.
The only saving grace is that my shorts ( desperately needed , yesterday ) are a little tight.
There is justice in the world.  But there is evil

BTW : I can tell by the prickling of my thumb
      Something wicked this way comes
And then you can watch the Walt Disney movie of the same name.

Rue or rues

I'm doing the " what do you miss " for the UK.
1.  No, I'm not running through a late go at lost youth. The BMW, I'll probably, not drive one again. It was fun but economical ( see not rash youth, sober practicality ). The sucker could really go.
I did take out the extra rider on the deductible, lowering the minimum from 600 to 100 Pd. The host at Moyness House who drove a Mercedes recalled the salesperson telling him to protect the wing mirrors. Each mirror was 600 Pd for parts. 

2.In all three places we stayed in London, Edinburgh and Inverness, we could walk 4 minutes and reach a  Co-op store ( a branch of a food retailer ) or the chippie or a bakery.  I'm not sure I could find a similar bakery w/in a 5 minute drive here in T.O.. And a pub, bless the pubs. A little expensive what w/ the exchange on the dollar, very handy tho'.

3. Alright the scenery was very good in Edinburgh,Inverness, Norfolk and Whitby in Scarborough ( English one ) . Edinburgh was old and set in the hills. Inverness was wild and raw. Norfolk was English rural. Whitby was the ports of old, based on whaling and sea trade.

4. London was big, in a hurry and complicated. Parts with great history and parts spanking brand new . Got to see Billy Elliott in the Victoria Palace Theatre.
See old and new , side by side. Probably rode the oldest subway system or the oldest complex of subways in the world. The Brits hunkered down in the " tube " for the Blitz of WW II.

The song goes " there'll always be an England " maybe / maybe not.

So says the " Maestro of the round-a-bout " thats what my plaque says, anyway.

So, I clicked my heels.....

In reference to Dorothy ( Wizard of Oz ), I clicked my heels and said " There's no place like home - there's no place like home " and poof .... back in Canada.

Yeah, not quite. The walk through the Skylink from hotel to Airport went smoothly. We had no gate for the flight until,  - 5 minutes before gate time.
However, 2 movies, beaucoup de food and 1 small drink and we were home. 
Luggage was there , shuttle bus was there, car was there and bingo, bongo... home.

Oh the breakfast, was self serve. The set up was an extensive spread of hot and cold items, waiters bring the coffee etc. A lovely way to end the trip, and the expected flight / fright ahead.

OK. I'm not a good traveller. Lets get it right out there. Seven hours is mega long for me.

The movie " We Bought A Zoo " was a life saver. I was really interested. A movie where Scarlett Johansen shows she can act. Matt Damon was again different c.f. the Bourne series.

In retrospect, the UK was cute. We miss coffee, we were almost in the Goldilocks story. Too strong usually or as on the last day coffee was weak.
Didn't have a bad cup of tea. They serve really hot water so the tea steeps. They obviously are not litigious or someone would have sued for burnt lips or lap.
The sausage rolls were a disappointment much like Canadian rolls.
Steak pies were uniformly good or very good. Their burgers seem to always be meaty and tasty.
OMG, do they drink.
Sadly, we watched some American TV,  CSI / Law and Order etc.
Couldn't find the new Sherlock Holmes series w/ Brendan Cumberpatch, we'll watch at home ( taped ).
I have never watched that many game shows in an afternoon but our hosts had their favourites all set up and they know the times etc.

They are old there. Everything has a history and they throw around dates like 1860 or the seventh century at random.

A very friendly place to boot.

FIMLDAL

Fri In Middlesbrough Lets Do A Lot

Didn't have to drive except for the breakfast
run.

At mid morning it was off to N. Allerton and two cousins, one known and one unknown. These relatives are married - and married, usually twice each, family rule. Very pleasant people w/ lots of references to the past. This recollection fest is good for M but does make her feel she lost out on a lot ( being the lone Canadian ).

We recovered in the late aft and then were off to lamb dinner at a second cousin's - hers not mine - ha ha.

I receive a plaque from sister P - "Roundabout Maestro " and M's read " Roundabout Survivor " - which is truly unfair b/c I am the one that survived or thrived.

This is Sat in Manchester - at the Radisson Blu - a luxury hotel. Oh yeah, burgers look like a hair do and cost $ 16.  It is a pretty place tho'.
One of the best pools that I 've had a swim in. Cool water, no backwake and frolickers stay out of your way.

The train was 3 h w/ some noise - what would you expect- 6 guys and 11 beers for the first 45 min. Loud not nasty.

There is no train to Manchester Airport on Sun morning, so we needed to be here this evening. which is just as well, Sun after brekkies ( incl in the rate ) and then a walk to T 1 and the check in.

Little differences

Yesterday, was a lazy day. Shopping in the outdoor mall ( Teesdale Retail Pk ). Brekkies took place in Morrison's cafe ( chain supermrkt ). By the time it was over we could have eaten in the hotel restauarant for the same price.
Afternoon, was a lazy affair. Take away dinner at M's sister's place was les mets chinois. Great Wall lied. Their version of king prawn chow mein was shrimp chop suey in disguise.
However, the rice was like back home, yeah.

To-day, brekkies was at McD s. Brought home coffee and toasted bagel and a bacon roll. The bacon roll was cheaper than any McMuffin variety and tasted way better. BR was just back? bacon ( it is our back bacon and we haven't seen " side " bacon yet ) on a roll.
Its a concession to UKers who want what they're used to seeing.
We developed pictures at Boots, pics are great.
Got beeped again. I'm keeping score and the beepers are driving Rovers, MGS, Beemers, I think they go fast and beep everybody.

The road goes ever, on and on

I drove the clan to Whitby in Scarborough. Whitby prospered in the whaling years. Now its specialty is fish and chips.... and making tourists walk up and down the cobbled streets.
F/C were very good.

On the way home, we mostly ignored " Rebecca " the GPS unit. Our hosts took us on the roller " coast " er road. They wanted us to see the shore all the way from Whitby to Middlesborough. As well, we saw the smallest church.
We drove into and out of the Grand Canyon... twice, on a curvy /dippy road. No injuries were recorded but I almost caused panic when I missed a yield line. All was saved by some timely screaming from everywhere in the car.
Any roundabout you can walk away from is a good roundabout ( Old English saying )

I really should have paid attention when Bilbo said " be careful when you step out your door. If you're not careful, you never know where you'll end up."

We're sat in the boozer doing our thing.

In Britain

Nobody tips here or 10 % if they think about it , they are not a tipping culture  - hope they pay well ( not ).

So the Beemer, made some 550 km on 1/2 a tank ( diesel ) at 1.37 Pd / L. Or read $ 2.20 a litre here. The MPG gauge thingy read 45 - 50 all the way, I think its broke or on Beijing time.

Yesterday, the deal of the day, was 3 courses
at Lingfield Farm pub for 5.45 Pd. So a tad over $10 but trust me - we haven't seen cheaper

To-day we get chauffeured to York, a walled town. You park outside the city limits and a shuttle bus takes you into the city.

M is pleased that I'm not driving, yeah, those roundabouts are still a pain.