London Parks

Not many people realize that London is the world's greenest capital. Over 1/3 of the city is green park land. Parks are EVERYWHERE. There are the really large and famous ones, like Hyde Park or St James Park, and then there are the smaller obscure ones strewn about on nearly every block in the city. Most residential areas (like tower blocks, etc.) all have a shared park for its tenants. All of the parks are especially nice in the spring with all the flowers and trees in bloom, the warm weather, and for just sight-seeing and watching all the people, children and dogs.

On my normal walk from Old Street station to work every day, I pass through 3 such parks. This is a photo of King's Square Garden (and St Clement Church) early in the morning.

One of my favorite London parks is Hampstead Heath, probably the largest park in London. It covers nearly 800 acres and sits just 4 miles north of the city (just north of Islington where Paul's dad lives). From Parliament Hill (the highest point in Hampstead Heath), you can get spectacular views of the city. It's wonderful.

British Cars & Trucks

Today we had to take our car in to have a new tyre put on after we had a blow out yesterday. It’s amazing how many differences there are between the UK and US when it comes to types of cars and trucks and the parts of the car. For example:

American	British
Tire	Tyre
Hood	Bonnet
Trunk	Boot
Windshield	Windscreen
License plate	Number plate
Blinker / turn signal	Indicator
Muffler	Silencer
Gear shift	Gear lever
Oil pan	Sump
Fender	Wing or mudguard
Vehicle	Vehicle (“h” is silent)
Station wagon	Estate car
Rental car	Hire car
Sedan	Saloon car
Mobile home, trailer or RV	Caravan
Truck	Lorry
Tractor-trailer truck	Articulated lorry, juggernaut, or HGV (heavy goods vehicle)
Dump truck	Tipper lorry
Garbage truck	Dustbin lorry or dustcart
Tow truck	Breakdown van
Milk delivery van	Milk float
Moving van/ truck	Removal van
Fire truck	Fire engine
Old car	Banger
Gasoline	Petrol

I’ll cover driving and road signs, etc. another day. The differences are endless.

Easter Holiday

Easter is a big treat here, mainly because everyone gets a long weekend break. Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays (or “bank holidays” as they are called, since the banks are closed). And if you’re lucky, as we were this year, the weather will be nice and sunny and warm. The roads and airlines become jam packed with people flocking towards tourist destinations such as the coastlines of England, France or Spain. It’s the perfect weekend to just stay at home!

Easter itself is celebrated differently here in England. Where I come from, kids get Easter baskets filled with all sorts of goodies (chocolate eggs and bunnies, jelly beans, dyed eggs and other treats) from the Easter Bunny. Children normally participate in Easter egg hunts and go to church in their new Easter outfits. Families gather for a special Easter dinner.

Over here, chocolate Easter eggs are the big thing. The Easter Bunny doesn’t make an appearance, but people give each other chocolate eggs, either the cream-filled variety or the really big hollow ones filled with all sorts of individually-wrapped chocolates. You don’t see Easter baskets or other types of sweets – only these Easter eggs. And no Easter egg hunts (that I saw or heard of).

People also get very excited about Hot Cross Buns, which they normally eat on Good Friday, but at my work place they were eating them all week long.

As for church, well, very few people even go to church in England. Certainly not nearly the number of Americans who go. Although families do gather for a special Easter dinner, which is nice to see.