American Football = the real football?

The Superbowl parties are finally upon us, but for those Canadians & Americans in the UK, watching the Superbowl can be a real challenge.

Help your fellow ex-pats out by sharing where you’re watching the Superbowl in the UK this weekend.  Leave your comments below!

And if you’re rooting for one team over another, share your allegiance here too.

So this is my final call out to fellow bloggers – especially Canadian & American bloggers who are living anywhere in the UK.  If you want this blog to keep going, and you think you have something to add – please send me a sample blog post to victoria AT classroomcanada DOT com.  If I don’t renew www.canadiansintheuk.com by February 4th, it goes out to the world as a domain for sale.

I’ll post your article, with a brief bio & your headshot & even link back to your blog if you like.  I’m happy to post for you!  I just don’t want this blog to die a miserable blogger death.  But I am producing independent movies these days, while also running Classroom Canada while also doing workshops, seminars & workshops across North America. Help!

Thanks all. I really do love the fact that you still keep coming back here.  Makes me realize how much of a community of expats we really do have in the UK.

Dear Victoria,

I am writing to you from The Garden Productions, an independent production company founded last year by the team who made the BAFTA award-winning series One Born Every Minute and more recently, 24 Hours in A&E on Channel 4.

We are currently making an exciting new documentary series for Channel 4 about love, and are looking to talk to couples where one person is planning to make a big change in their life to be with their partner, for example relocating to the UK from abroad.    This intelligent and sensitive series will reflect relationships throughout a lifetime – from the first kiss to the final farewell and everything else in between.

We are trying to spread the word as widely as possible and as people from North America that are planning to relocate to the UK may well visit your ‘Canadians and Americans in the UK’ blog, I wondered if it might be possible to mention

our search so anyone interested can get in touch with us direct?  I’ve attached a flyer which outlines who we are looking to talk to and includes some contact details.

Any help you could offer is much appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Anna

Are you changing your life for love? Are you leaving your home, family, or friends to be with your partner?

The BAFTA award-winning team at The Garden Productions in the UK is making a new
documentary series for Channel 4 about love and relationships.

We are looking to talk to people who are planning to make a big change in their life to be with their partner.  Perhaps you are relocating to the UK from another country?
Maybe you’re changing your lifestyle or giving up something important?

Whatever your story we would like to hear from you.

Please email anna.dangoor@thegardenproductions.tv or call Anna on (44) 020 7645 3324  to find out more.

Calling does not oblige you to take part in the series.

We have quite a few Canadian and American readers who move to London to be with their partners, so I hope a few take part in this unique opportunity.  Please spread the word to others as well.

Just a shout-out to a fellow North American in London. Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving! 

 I’m actually state-side right now (Colorado), just making our plans for November American Thanksgiving Dinner back at The Marksman pub. I’m wondering if you would consider mentioning our event on your site please with a link? The page is here: 

 http://www.marksmanpub.com/?page_id=347

 Here are some details about the event itself. Last year the event was so popular, we were convinced to host a 2nd seating on the Saturday after. It’s really a sweet celebration in our friendly (and tiny) pub.

 2011 Thanksgiving Menu – 3 courses  

STARTERS

choice of 1 of the following starters:

Chicken Gumbo Soup – cornbread fritters

Twice Baked Goats Cheese Souffle – red wine poached pears & watercress

Poached Maldon Rock Oysters – lemon butter & rye bread

MAINS

Mains served family style. Guests are welcome to seconds (or even thirds):

Roast Bronze Label Turkey & Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Roast Pumpkin

Green Beans & Almonds

Creamed Leeks & Prunes

Butterd Carrots

cornbread and fluffy buttermlk biscuits

Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce

DESSERTS

Pumpkin & Bourbon Pie

Pecan Pie – clotted cream

TEA & COFFEE

Hot pots of tea served at the table

Nude espresso offered

 I’m still stuffed from Canadian thanksgiving which just passed, and have to admit that I’m still having pumpkin pie for brekky every day. YUM.  Looks like the meal above is going to be amazing as well.  Hope your American thanksgiving rocks in the UK! I’m sure it will. 

If you would like me to announce your American or Canadian event in the UK on this little blog, be sure to send me an email to victoria AT classroomcanada DOT com.

 

Thanksgiving Dinner is priced at £30 per person.

Last year we were fully booked.

Book now with £15 deposit per person to reserve your place at the table for Thanksgiving 2011 in East London.

Private Group? Our Dining Room upstairs can also be booked for 10-20 guests.

Please contact us to let us know your requests and enquiries (0)207 739 7393 or bookings@marksmanpub.com

 
Thanks so much for considering! 

1. Bloggers! Send me a sample entry, why you want to blog for this lil’ blog & how often you think you’ll be able to post and I’ll get you hooked up.  This can be an amazing collaborative lil’ blog and help build your blogging portfolio.  Sadly, there’s no cash in it – but hey, that could change one day. 
2. I let it die.  Oh! Death of a blogger – you make me so sad.  I’ve been blogging for 6 years now and hate to see  a blog die a sad & miserable death.  But if I can’t blog with passion, consistency & care – then I figure it’s best to just move on. 
3. Any other ideas?  I’m open!  Please leave your comments here & let me know what you would do if you were in my shoes.  THANKS!

Not this year, buddy...

My question is- how do we watch the Super Bowl here if it starts at 6:30 on the East Coast? Don’t pubs close at 11:30? Well, it’s possible.  I’ve gathered a list of places that are showing the game- IF you have the stamina to stay awake on a school night!

Bodean’s BBQ- advertising a half-time meal fit for a linebacker and a guaranteed seat, you can enjoy the game in hog heaven… for £25.

Jetlag Sports Bar- this Marylebone sports haven is showing the game for the first time this year. The party begins at 10pm with a screening of Any Given Sunday (I don’t know about you, but I love a good sports movie, especially one with LL Cool J). They will be serving food and drinks throughout the big event and entry is FREE. Advanced booking is recommended, however.

The London Expat American Meetup Group is hosting their 9th Annual Super Bowl event, but you have to be a member to get the location. Membership is free and only requires a valid email and password. With 500 expats already confirmed, and including “great Super Bowl food all night long; from Chicken Wings to Nachos to Handmade Burgers and a special late licence for alcohol”, this promises to be a rowdy one,  I just hope the secret venue is huge!

Belushi’s- with seven locations in London, if you live in London there’s probably a Belushi’s near you. They promise a party all night long (yikes), including chili dogs, nachos, and Jungle Juice. Entry is free, but you have to get on the guest list (guestlist@belushis.com)

Like to mix your football with a little do-gooding? Watch the Super Bowl at The Social, where your £6 entry goes to charity. They’ll have DJs, entertainment, drinks, promotions, a raffle and general fun until the serious business of the game kicks off – when they’ll run all the way through to the crowning of the champions.

Make your bookings soon, have fun… and Go Packers!

PS- if the Super Bowl in the privacy of your own home sounds more appealing… BBC 1 is broadcasting live and again on Monday!

Hey, you're not THAT great...

I love Groupon, the group-discount concept that was really taking off in the States before I left. The idea is that there is a deal (say, dinner for two at a great restaurant for $25 instead of $75). If enough people sign up for the deal, the deal is ON, hence the concept of a group discount or coupon (get it? “Groupon”!). It’s great and the deals really are amazing- sometimes up to 90% off. It’s not only for restaurants, but beauty and spa treatments, lodging, concerts, shops, and more.

So imagine how happy I was when I discovered that Groupon released this concept here in the UK as well. I was (and am) thrilled. So far I’ve gotten discount haircut, movie rental, and eyebrow threading deals, not to mention cheap Express train tickets from Paddington to Heathrow (£6.50!).

Now here’s where the self-promoting comes in. I’m so excited to let you guys know that I am now also blogging for Groupon! It’s great to be able to love a company and get to work with them. I am mostly covering fitness topics, so quite different from the posts I’ve written thus far for this blog.

Hopefully you’ll check out- and follow- my posts (http://blog.groupon.co.uk/author/kristin/), get some helpful fitness tips, and hopefully even find some great deals while you’re there.

Here’s the latest: http://blog.groupon.co.uk/2011/01/19/movies-to-get-you-moving/

Happy savings!!

Why can’t you take a turkey to Church?

Because they use such fowl language!

"'Fowl'...? Me?!?"

OK, sorry. I wouldn’t have busted that out if… well, if I wasn’t getting into the Thanksgiving spirit (and if I didn’t have the sense of humor of a six-year-old). But alas, a bad joke always makes me smile and so does Thanksgiving, even if it’s spent far from home.

Fortunately, being in the UK around American Thanksgiving does not mean a lack of celebration.

• Many restaurants offer Thanksgiving meals (though some sound a little less than traditional). It seems that the majority listed on the web are in London, however…
• Towns such as Plymouth, Devon have big plans throughout the weekend, including a pipes band (playing the American National Anthem nonetheless), and a traditional dinner at The Glassblowing House restaurant.
• The BBC has a Thanksgiving recipe page up on it’s website, for those of you who plan to cook:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/occasions/thanksgiving
• And, Amazon UK is offering Black Friday deals, for those of you who equate Thanksgiving with shopping and bargains!

There will also be a non-denominational service at St. Paul’s, hosted by the American Church in London:

http://london.usembassy.gov/culture/thanksgiving_service.html

Just keep that fowl-mouthed turkey at home.  

According to Time Out London, there will be no official switching-on ceremony, but other sites are mentioning music and a “switching on”. Either way, it’s FREE and there is plenty to see, so check it out…!

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/carnaby-christmas-lights-article-8843.html

As anticipated, there have been quite a few challenges to moving and getting things up-and-running. There are typical moving challenges (i.e., “how did I accumulate so much STUFF?” or “the deposit is HOW much?!”) to the challenge of learning about a whole new country.

A slightly shallow example is TV and Broadband service.

In the States, I must admit that my husband and I may have been the only people still living without cable TV. We don’t spend a lot of time in front of the television, so despite the fact that we ended up being out of touch with certain elements of pop culture (not always a bad thing- Jersey Shore), we just never found it necessary. We also have used mobile phones in lieu of a landline for several years.

London has already changed both of these scenarios. In terms of television, we were quite surprised at the price of a license (required “if you watch or record TV as it’s being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.”) At the price of £145.50/year, it comes with a bit of sticker shock.

We also turned on our TV to find that we have absolutely NO channels without subscribing to some sort of provider.

Life as a couch potato?

There are free channels, but even they seem to need some type of viewing card. I still need to do some research around this, but as of now, we’ve gone with Sky TV and have way more channels than we need. Deep down, I say, “YaHOO!”

When it comes to phone service, we planned to get new mobiles and call it a day. This has proved to be difficult so far as well. First of all, we want broadband in our flat. The only option I’ve found that will offer this without a BT landline is Virgin Media. They require a contract and from what I can tell so far, having the landline with broadband service will be less expensive. We also can opt for a landline service (again with Sky) that allows unlimited calls to the US, Canada, and 20 other international destinations for £5/ month. (I’ll check this one out and let you all know if there’s any hidden charges!)

In addition, we’ve had trouble getting new mobiles so far based on limited (no) UK credit history. I should’ve prefaced this by saying that we are trying to get iPhones and as they are expensive, the provider wants proof that we can pay the contract. Not easy without a credit history…

I’ve been using a pay-as-you-go, which is fine to some extent, but seems to run out of credit at the worst time!! I think that this problem will correct itself with a bit more leg work, it’s just one of the funny things we didn’t expect…

Anyway, after all of this (plus the delay of getting someone out to set up the TV, the phone, etc.) here I am sending this blog using my new broadband service, which is serviced through my new landline, next to my 10-billion channel TV.

And despite what sounds like a lot of grousing, it feels pretty great!