Coming to America

[Gob]

What color are the directionals and rear lights on cars in the UK?

Indicators (directionals) are orange, braking lights and tail lights are red.

LJ, British food is not the unappetizing ick it used to be - it's a very multicultural society now and I bet most Brits know how to whip up a decent curry.

We should do, it's the national dish!!!

The British have long enjoyed food with a bit of bite. And 200 years ago, an Indian migrant opened Britain's first curry house to cater for the fashion for spicy food.

"Indian dishes, in the highest perfection… unequalled to any curries ever made in England." So ran the 1809 newspaper advert for a new eating establishment in an upmarket London square popular with colonial returnees.

Diners at the Hindostanee Coffee House could smoke hookah pipes and recline on bamboo-cane sofas as they tucked into spicy meat and vegetable dishes.

This was the country's first dedicated Indian restaurant, opened by an entrepreneurial migrant by the name of Dean Mahomed.

But Britons already had a taste for curry. A handful of coffee houses served curries alongside their usual fare, and in the gracious homes of returnees, ladies attempted to recreate dishes and condiments their families enjoyed on the sub-continent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8370054.stm

[Daisy]

Prior to post war rationing British food was very spiced. Our connections with the East and West Indies meant that flavoursome food was the norm. Sadly two very long wars in the European theatre meant our little islands were cut off from the spice routes.

And as for us whipping up a decent curry... I'm from Oldham, we have one of the most diverse cultural blends in the UK. Before I started primary school I had eaten food from India, Pakistan, China, Poland and Ukraine.

The Basketball Match was good fun, you might even have caught me punching the air at one point. It wasn't a unanimous hit with our little group though, my brother-in-law was unimpressed with the shenanigans during time outs.

No the beer wasn't free BSG it was quite nice though.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Welcome to the USA Daisy.
By now you see in the USA, we like everything BIG. Big houses, big cars, big meals, big... you get the picture.
Florida (told before) consists of retired NY (and new england) people. There is a law up here that when you turn 65, you have to move to Florida. And being that many of those retirees are very old and can barely walk or hear or see, it's not surprising they can't drive very well.
License plates (tags to you) are ruled by each state who can determine if there are two on your car (front and back) or one (just on the back). Flordia has one just on the back. Here in NY we have two.
Signal colors on cars are up to the manuf to make them orange or red. Brake lights must be red and there must be the standard lights on each side of the car and a third usually in the back winow. But it really doesn't matter what color the signals are because no one uses them anyway.
Now enjoy yourself but watch out for the alligators, pythons (imported from somewhere) the sink holes (Disney was built on the swamp/bog) and the occastional hurricane (it's that time of year). And if you see a flying cockroach, its a palmetto bug and it doesn't eat much.

[Crackpot]

There's a shitload of retired Michiganders there too.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Maybe that's why they added North and South Carolina to the "must retire to" states in the NY law.

[Sue U]

But it really doesn't matter what color the signals are because no one uses them anyway.

Except when driving at 35 mph in the passing lane on the interstate with the left-turn signal on.

And if you see a flying cockroach, its a palmetto bug and it doesn't eat much.

Palmetto bugs should have turn signals on them, since they're about the size of a car.

[liberty]

Surely they'll find my British accent and colloquialisms cute and endearing

This is undoubtedly true; Americans are suckers for British accents -- even (especially?) northern ones.

[quote="Daisy.

Well then , she is going to the right place; there are more Yankees in Florida than there are people.

[Sue U]

[Jarlaxle]

Some observations on Florida.

The food.

Portion sizes are mental. And they keep bringing more... They even beat the legendary eating skills of my Brother-in-law.

It's soooooo salty, I can feel my heart protesting.

Eating out is so cheap, on the other hand some of the basics in the supermarket are stupidly expensive.

The cars.

I thought that the Simpsons Canyonero parody was just that, a parody until I saw the Chevy Surburban... Who needs a car that big? What are they carrying in it, a family of moose?

The Suburban is huge, sure...most are smaller. (The Canyonero was a parody of the Ford Excursion, which is LARGER than the Suburban.) Note that my Coupe de Ville is longer than a Suburban!

Front license plates? Where are they? And how do enforcement cameras work I can't read half of them 'cause of all the pictures on them.

Most states have them...Florida doesn't, apparently.

Rear indicators... Why are they red?

Depends on the vehicle...some were amber as far back as the 70's.

Road manners, no-one in Florida has any.

You can buy my prescription painkillers off the shelf in Walgreens! Great news for me as I stupidly forgot to renew my prescription before I came out.

Probably cheaper at Wal-Mart.

But on the whole, it is quite nice. The house we are staying in is beautiful, the weather has been kind (but we do have some storms forecast for tonight). We have three cranes that come to visit the lawn area at the side of house that are so tame I could walk right up to them for photos.

Four of us are off to the Basketball tonight, leaving the other three to chill in the house and watch the storm.

Have fun. (It's 43 degrees & raining here.)

[Daisy]

One thing I can't forgive is the lavatory stalls....

Why the fuck are there gaps? Why is the loo roll holder almost on the floor?

But that aside, we went to Kennedy Space Center (there it is again) yesterday. Now that is the best day out we have had. Real Spaceships trump Harry Potter every time

[Crackpot]

The roll holder being so close to the floor is a recent phenomenon. I think it's a ploy to prevent people from toying too much paper. Annoying as hell.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Spoilsports - origami in the bogs is so much fun

[No Greater Fool]

The voice of experience?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Indeed - dry paper only (recommended)

[liberty]

There is no need to look up to me like that; it wasn't that funny.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Why the fuck are there gaps?

Some of us are shy.

[Jarlaxle]

One thing I can't forgive is the lavatory stalls....

Why the fuck are there gaps? Why is the loo roll holder almost on the floor?

But that aside, we went to Kennedy Space Center (there it is again) yesterday. Now that is the best day out we have had. Real Spaceships trump Harry Potter every time

At a guess, to be ADA-compliant.

[Daisy]

I'm sure it's good for the disabled to be rolling around on the toilet floor trying to find the "lost end".

Still not figured out why there are gaps on either side of the stall doors?

Been home for a few hours now, nice big cuddles with my dogs after a three hour drive to collect them from the sitter.

I'm going to post a few more thoughts on Florida tomorrow, when I've had a good sleep.

[Crackpot]

because americans are neither self-concious enough or preverted enough to look at or worry about being looked at. not to mention the fact unless you're really trying to get an eyefull you're not going to get one at which point it would be obvious to anyone and everyone around.