British Christmas Panto
It’s Panto Time! One of my favorite Christmas traditions in the UK is going to see a panto. A pantomime (or panto for short)…
Big Ben Silent Minute: Chimes and Prayers for Peace
Could Big Ben’s chimes have played a part in winning World War II? At least one Nazi official thought so…
Suspects in London Fire: Baker, Pope, & Gluttony
The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed 80% of London. Who could have been responsible for this devastation?
London Beer Flood: Too Much of a Good Thing
On October 17, 1814, tragedy struck central London. A flood tore through the streets, knocking down buildings and sweeping people away. But the liquid causing the havoc wasn’t water… it was beer!…
Berets, Onions, and Stereotypes
In the mid 1900s, if you had asked nearly any British person what a Frenchman looked like, you would have gotten this description: He wears a beret, and he rides a bike with onions hanging on the handlebars…
God Save the Royal Derriere
It seems that the British National Anthem could be yet another link in the intertwined histories of the United Kingdom and France…
“G” for Guy: Guy Fawkes and his Vendetta
Remember, remember the 5th of November… A British revolutionary, executed in 1605, comes back to haunt us….
The English Promenade in Nice, France
The Promenade des Anglais, affectionately known as “the Prom”, is one of the most beautiful seaside boulevards to be found and lucky me, I live right by it. Our new apartment is about a 3 minute walk to the sea and this lovely promenade. A place for everyone… On the wide pedestrian thoroughfare, you can…
Queen Victoria in Nice
Queen or Spice Girl? One evening while dining with a British friend and his teenage daughter, we were talking about the British influence in Nice. Our friend said, “I think the tourism really picked up after Victoria came here”. His daughter perked up, “Victoria Beckham?” Afraid not No, the history of British tourism in…
British Cannon Fire over the City of Nice
If you have ever visited Nice, France, you may have been startled by a very loud noon time boom. It occurs every day at precisely 12.00 and is a remnant from the Victorian times, when a British wife couldn’t remember to go home for lunch.
