Toast, Roundabouts & Red Faces

What food item do we eat in the UK for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner?  We each have our preferences as to how we consume this staple of the British diet, and sometimes we even have it as a treat.  If you have it hot or cold, it totally alters the experience - I'm talking about the humble piece of TOAST people!  My favorite way to eat toast is to let it go completely cold and then spread it with butter so that the butter doesn't melt.  Mmmm.  A close second is to prepare it the same way, but then top it off with hot baked beans (UK style beans, not American style).   It is perfectly acceptable to have beans on toast for any meal back home and it's not unhealthy either, which is good.  The bread over here doesn't really lend itself to be eaten so often though, it's just too sweet.   I'd do anything for a nice loaf of Hovis granary bread, and I probably wouldn't even share with my family.  I'm nice like that!

When visiting Arizona a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that there were a lot of roundabouts (traffic circles), which isn't very common over here in the US.  Americans just don't do roundabouts and they don't enjoy negotiating them when in the UK.  Anyway, it brought back memories of learning to drive in Swindon, when I was a youngster based at RAF Lyneham.  We got to take our driving lessons around this beauty:

Actual traffic sign

As seen from above

I still can't believe they took us there - the driving instructor must have had nerves of steel.  I remember feeling car sick in the back as my fellow students negotiated their way around this so called Magic Roundabout.  I myself stalled the car on one occasion, right in the middle of it, so I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt sick.  I'd like to say that driving round this monstrosity made me a great driver, but I'm pretty sure my husband would disagree...!

Had a bit of a misunderstanding in Publix the other day.  The customer in front of me on this particular day was being rather grumpy and rude.  After they left, I told the checkout lady "She really was getting the hump, wasn't she?"  Judging by the poor lady's face, I really should be more careful about using British slang phrases in public.  Red faces all round!

So that's it for this week folks, I'm off to have a nice cup of tea and a slice of toast.  The perfect start to any day, even though it is made with second rate American bread ;)