News from Across the Pond

I have finally done it. I cannot put it off any longer.....I have booked my driving test. Dmmm...Dmmm.....Dmmmm! Those loyal readers (all 2 of you) remember my "issues" when relocating to the UK. I lost a mirror (left side of course), scarred my left sided tires and hubcaps to the extreme and scared my driving instructor, the ever patient Mr. Leonard who informed me I had bad habits which I needed to overcome and was indeed worried about my sense of spatial awareness.

The English make it EXTREMELY difficult to obtain a license if you are from the States. What galls me is that expats from Japan, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada can legally exchange their licenses for a British license. Americans are legally allowed to drive in the U.K. for a period of up to twelve months on their U.S. driving license. The 12 month period commences upon the first day of your residency in the U.K. If you will be resident longer than 12 months, you will get to experience the joy of taking both a written (called theory in the UK) and driving (called practical in the UK). Additionally, you must apply for a provisional licence before taking either of these tests. There is a 42% pass rate for people taking their practical for the first time. So the country which allies itself with Britain and certainly has more in common with Britain than Japan or Canada have to go through this PIA process!!!!

I have passed my theory test which draws questions from a pool of 1500 questions. It was NOT a cakewalk even after 4 weeks of study. I have scheduled my practical for August 19th for the bargain basement price of 62£ or the equivalent of $100 American dollars. By the time I total the lessons, practical costs, theory test costs and study DVDs it will be close to $600 American.

I took a series of driving lessons with the wonderful Mr. Leonard when I first arrived in the UK. I have since signed up for some refresher courses to review maneuvers and run through some mock exams.

Mr. Leonard is from Scotland and reminds me a great deal of Mr. Rogers from my childhood days. Everyone please sing along-

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It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?Could you be mine?...

On our last lesson months ago Mr. Leonard stated that while he felt I was a very bright and earnest young woman with good intentions it was obvious that I had been driving poorly for some time without anyone correcting my bad habits.

Today was our first "refresher" lesson and to my delight Mr. Leonard stated I had "vastly improved". From the look on his face I could not tell if he was impressed or truly surprised that I had not killed a fellow Brit or totaled my little Peugot.

Here are some amusing comments from our lesson:

-Roll over the speed bumps Marjorie don't jump them.

-Remember occasionally you need to use your "cat's whiskers" to creep through these parked cars.

-Avoid the "numptys" on the road (numb above the neck drivers)

-Steady now, steady, all 4 wheels on the ground

-It's not "dodge em" stay well clear of the cars going through here. Let them see your car, weaving in and out can shield you from their line if sight.

-Remember to signal on the roundabouts, signal now, signal. I will write that down for you.....

Next lesson..........maneuvers! Ooh how exciting.

Crazy from the Heat

Center Picture- Our Dysfunctional Dog Shadow. I had to hold him down in the yard to get this picture as he is also afraid of the camera. This is why he looks so worried.

Pic on the left is our portable A/C unit which we broke down and purchased last weekend. Pic to the right shows our neighbors home which proves that we live in a high class area of England. The temperature has been hovering around 80 for the past 7 days and the humidity is sweltering. I miss central air which is quite rare in England. After all, who needs it the other 51 weeks out of the year? I can just barely fit by the airconditioner in the bedroom to my side of the bed. The hobbit house Master Bedroom is the size of our walk-in closet in California. Well there is no sense reminiscing now...... My mood has been lifted considerably by the sun and this morning when I walked outside to see that our neighbors had somehow juryrigged an airconditioner outside their window with bungee cords just made my day. How high class and so safe to boot! Let's hope no pedestrians are walking by when this sucker gets ready to go. You cannot see it from the picture but they have have a mercedes and two classic cars which leads me to believe they just have no taste instead of a lack of funds to purchase a portable unit.

My beloved turns on the portable unit as soon as he arrives home in the evenings to start "prepping the bedroom". It has been delightfully chilly with the only inconvenience centering on our 8 year old Sheltie "Shadow" who is afraid of every little noise and who has numerous other issues to mention. The air compressor has given Shadow fits. He usually sleeps on one side of the bed so that when we swing our feet out of bed we need to vault over him. The first time the air compressor went off he charged the bedroom door and scratched furiously as if the demons from hell were out to get him. We have calmed him down to the point that he now only scratches furiously 2-3 times per night just enough to disturb my sleep cycle. He wants out when the compressor goes off and then gets too hot in the hallway and then wants back in. I have always wanted to grow up to be a doorman to a dog and it seems I have achieved my dream.

I hope all is well in the States! Cheerio and all the best from the wonderful Hobbit House.