Ladies Footwear

I haven’t quite figured out the footwear of choice amongst female London commuters. Women tend to wear either extremely uncomfortable (but very stylish) high heels….or they wear shoes for walking in. These walking shoes tend to fall into 3 categories:

1) “ballet-style” flat shoes: at least they’re more comfortable than high heels, although they still don’t look very comfortable to me;

2) flip-flops: seen mostly on warm days, although I did see a few idiots wearing them in the dead of winter. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the logic behind doing a lot of heavy walking in flip flops (even if they ARE very stylish flip-flops!);

3) sneakers (or “trainers” as they are called here): this is more like it and is now my choice of commuter shoes to wear after my first day on the job when I wore my work shoes and my feet ended up covered in blisters. The sneakers may not look very stylish, but at least my feet don’t hurt anymore!

British Sandwiches

British sandwiches don’t even come close to American ones. And if you’re accustomed to those normally found in New York delis, forget it. You’ll go mad with these sandwiches over here. British sandwiches are mostly bread with very little filling. And the bread is usually spread with butter, NOT mayo. Believe me, when you’re not used to a sandwich with butter, it will make you gag. Especially when you’re not expecting it, like on a tuna sandwich. Yuk.

In fact, mayo is not all that commonly used here. The Brits don’t know what they’re missing. Speaking of which, I miss Dukes Mayonnaise. The only name-brand mayonnaise I’ve seen here is Hellmans. At least it’s something.

Packaged sandwiches are very big here and people eat a LOT of them. You can find them in most corner shops, cafes, coffee bars, just about everywhere. You’d make a killing if you opened up an American-style sandwich bar with some nice deli-style sandwiches piled high with meats and cheeses!

Bits & Pieces

Bits & pieces is another commonly used expression here in England which basically means “miscellaneous stuff.” You’ll occasionally hear other variations on this, such as bits & bobs or odds & sods. But bits & pieces is the most commonly used. I guess the only thing comparable in America is perhaps “odds & ends” or “this & that” and you rarely hear those here.

For example:

• I need to run to the store to pick up some bits & pieces.
• I’ve got some odds & sods to sort out before I can leave work.
• Can you take care of those bits & bobs lying on the counter there?