"Where are its buxom maidens and buck-toothed solicitors?"

I now recall my first day in England, which was a total dive. My aunt Maureen insisted on cooking a "proper Englsih pot roast", which apparently requires that it be cooked for some 6 to 8 hours in advance of dinner, until "medium rare" becomes defined as "possible to cut with a knife", and "medium well" becomes "chainsaw required". Furthermore, this meal was complimented by liquidy Yorkshire pudding, and vegeetables cooked to a standard grey. The Johnstons cannot cook. The meal, needless to say, was a wash. Thankfully my jet lag gave me excuse to excuse myself.

The second letdown came when it turned out that my laptop's AC adaptor was not sufficient, power wise, to handle the English system...and thus blew the fuse in the plug adaptor it was using. So...I couldn't use my adaptor. I was quite distraught till we figured out that I'd need to get a voltage convereter. That was OK, but still a major let down.

Now...compare that with today. My aunt Kath made a PHENOMENAL steak pie with beautifully fluffy Yorkshires, and a wonderful blueberry pie for dessert. We went to another member of the Burrow family's place for a big family BBQ, and that was a delight. my relatives were quite fun to hang about with. ANd now I'm at the computer, online.

Now, if I can just get to this Camarilla regional event in Reading this coming weekend, I will have found my buxom maidens, and probably more than a few buck-toothed solicitors.

Rule Britannia.