It’s been a while since we created our original list of quirks about living in England. So we figured we would pool our minds together as a family and come up with another list. Enjoy!
- Spring is a proper season here. Oh how I missed this version of spring from my childhood. Daffodils bloom in March. Tulips are blooming now. The trees are flowering beautiful colors. You’d think it would get old but it gets me every time. My breath catches in my throat a bit when we bike along a street with trees that scream, “aren’t I fabulous today?!” Why yes, you are. Pictures just don’t do it justice.
- It is really common to hear dance/club music as top hits in the music scene over here. This is legit a thing. The British Phonographic Industry says it’s the second most popular genre. I googled it just to make sure I wasn’t feeding you biased information based on what we hear on the radio and around town. It’s amusing sometimes to feel like we’re clubbing midday, especially if contractors are blasting and singing to it outside while working on a home.
- Doctors that are surgeons are called Mr. or Mrs. not Dr. I’m not even going to attempt to explain this but here is a link that gives a short paragraph or two of the explanation. Click on the question, “Why are surgeons in the UK called Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs, rather than Dr?” Seems like some outdated shiitake mushrooms. It totally trips me up. If we refer to the Mr./Mrs. incorrectly as Dr. the receptionist can/will correct us and say Mr./Mrs. Talk about underlying pressure to honor someone with respect by calling them the same title you would seem them have if you ran into a stranger at the grocery store!
- Speaking of titles. Every account, organization, form you fill out must know your title. It’s not optional most times. Why thank you for asking, yes, I AM a duchess and my dad thinks I’m a princess. Can I check all that apply? I’m not joking there are literally options to say whether I’m a lady, lord, earl, dame, countess, etc.
- Time is trippy here, but it’s feeling easier to interpret with time (no pun intended, or did I?). People refer to times as half past the hour, a quarter past, 20 minutes past etc. Whenever I’m scheduling appointments, it trips me up. They’ll say, “Okay so I’ll schedule you for twenty past three then.” Then I’ll say, “ok so 3:20?” Then an awkward pause ensues and they say, “yes, 20 past 3.”
- Time is also commonly documented in the 24 hr time format aka military time.
- Behavior in school or lack of proper behavior can be referred to in the context of sensibility. For example, so and so can’t stand in line together because they are not acting sensible. Until we moved here, I think I only used this word when it was in the same sentence as Jane Austen. If you told me years ago that I would use it so nonchalantly as an adult, I would have laughed and said you were the one who wasn’t being sensible.
- Poorly or ill are also common words to describe ‘not feeling well’ or ‘being sick’ as Americans call it. One time I was biking with Hedgehog to swim lessons from school. We got into a really long, emotional misunderstanding. She was trying to tell me she was feeling poorly. I thought she was saying swimming was boring. Once we connected it was all fine and then she went off to swim (she was okay). She’s a great at embodying different physical actions with different words. She will say, with her little British accent, as she flips her palm out to the world and rests it on her forehead, “I’m feeling poorly.” However, she doesn’t do this if she’s just feeling sick lol.
- Proper is also a common term used a lot. I haven’t been properly sick in a while. Now that’s a proper hamburger. If you want to uplift yourself and confidence, just walk around and say, “now that’s a proper way to open the door.” Feeling proper never felt so good by just saying the word over and over and over.
- Give it a go is another phrase. I actually love using a lot. It’s a way of saying have a turn or go on or give it a try. You’ll hear parents use it at the playground, at work, on the street, etc. It just feels so empowering like, “I don’t know what’s going to happen but let’s just go for it!”
- The word bum is used more than butt. I think I’m finally getting used to it. Originally, I wanted to laugh when I heard my kids use the word bum in a sentence. Here’s a current favorite book in our house.
- They have different speed limit signs here (and road signs in general). Go back to the picture for #1 and see if you can find the speed limit sign!
- Speaking of speed. Speed limits are in mph here and distance can be measured in miles or kilometers. Yet temperature is in Celsius. It’s a great way to keep sharp with both the imperial or metric system.
- The Mexican cuisine sphere is sadly lacking, both in restaurants and in the grocery store. This is a hard one for us to adjust to. Especially finding a proper (see #9) tortilla chip.
- Mailmen deliver mail in the city pushing a cart and walking the mail door slot to door slot. It’s such a delight to see this! There are other vans that can deliver larger parcels etc. but for the standard mail, this is what you see. With narrow streets and houses close together it makes sense.
- ‘Anyone fancy….’ is another commonly used term. It’s a way of saying does anyone want/need anything or is anyone up for x,y, or z. It just about tickles me pink to fancy anything.
- Brits (and probably Europeans in general) think anything that’s over an hour of driving for a trip is crazy. I remember the looks we got when we told some people we went to Wales for a long weekend. There’s a running joke over here that, Americans think 100 years is long and Brits think 100 miles are long.
- Common space is well utilized here and people gather around these areas. Cows are also used to help maintain the areas too, so watch out for poo!
