England’s Working Forests & Woodlands:

The Difference Between Coppiced and Pollarded Trees

Many of England’s surviving forests and woodlands have been heavily worked throughout historic times, as revealed by the way trees were cut.

Coppicing and pollarding are two techniques of woodland management, begun by Neolithic farmers, used throughout history, and now being revived through woodland conservation efforts.

Definition of Forest in England

A forest in England is not just a collection of trees. Historically, it was a Medieval legal term whose definition had nothing to do with the flora but everything to do with fauna! A Forest was a designated area for deer kept by the king or another lord of the manor for feasts and gifts. Moreover, it incorporated much more area than the deer’s habitat, including associated villages, grasslands, and infrastructure such as roads and ponds. Each designated Forest had its own special laws and an administrative body to uphold them.

The idea of designated Forests was apparently introduced by the Normans after 1066. The Domesday Book (1086) first records the existence of Forests, and in the early 13th century 143 were known, but the Magna Carta of 1216 forbade further Forest creation (Rackham 1986:131). A legal Forest may or may not have included woods (deer can inhabit moors, heath or marshes), and of course many woodlands existed outside legal Forests. Whether woods were within a Forest or not, commoners had rights to exploit them for firewood, for wood to make tools and artefacts, and to graze animals. Forest Law survives somewhat in New Forest, Epping Forest and the Forest of Dean, but serves the villagers rather than the Crown or landowners (Rackham 1986:146).

The Enclosure Act of 1777 spelled the end of many Forests, but the modern conservation movement did not start until the late 19th century in order to save Epping Forest from the depredations that nearly destroyed nearby Hainault forest in the 1850s (Rackham 1986:139). However, modern conservation efforts have had equivocal results (see the Hainault Forest website below).

Coppiced Woods

New branches of coppiced trees

Where commoners had rights to exploit woodlands — whether in a Forest or not — they often continued a practice known from Neolithic times: that of coppicing trees such as hazel, oak or alder in order to regularly harvest the regrowth every five to six years. Coppicing involves cutting a tree at or below ground and allowing new shoots to grow from the ‘stool’ (stump) for several years before harvesting branches of the desired circumference. Branches can be culled individually or all harvested at once. Coppicing has been revived in post-war Britain as a woodland management technique.

Coppicing, however, does not mix well with grazing animals, since new shoots are immediately eaten. One strategy to keep animals away from coppiced woods was to enclose the woods with a fence or rampart. When this happened in a legal Forest, it is called a compartmented Forest (Rackham 1980). Woods in which grazing was allowed are known as ‘wood-pasture’; Forests that entail wood-pastures are, by Rackham’s definition, uncompartmented Forests.

Wood-Pasture and Pollarding

To protect trees from grazing animals yet still exploit their wood through regular harvesting, the trees were ‘pollarded’. Instead of being cut near the ground like coppicing, the trees were cut between 2-5m off the ground, so new shoots grew above animal head-height. Epping Forest, an uncompartmented Forest east of London, has been exploited as ‘wood-pasture’, attested by the grand pollarded beech trees still standing there.

Two beech trees pollarded above head height

Pollarding is also known from Neolithic times through the discovery of wood rods used in trackways, but the first mention in historical documents dates from the early to mid-10th century (Rackham 1980:135). The designation of legal Forests did not disrupt this ancient practice but incorporated it into commoners’ rights. In Epping Forest, the wood-pasture system continued until 1860 and pollarding until 1878 on a twelve to thirteen year cycle (Rackham 1980:187, 323).

 

Where to See Pollarded and Coppiced Woods

The Epping Forest Act of 1878 succeeded Forest Law, and a charity The Friends of Epping Forest was formed in 1968 “to represent the varied interests of all sections of the public who appreciate and use Epping Forest,” as stated on the charity’s website. The Friends host many guided walks during the year, including an annual day-long walk the full length of the Forest in September to celebrate the 1878 Act. Loughton & District Historic Society also offers on-line information for six self-guided walks, based on the book by Chris and Caroline Pond, by which many pollarded beeches in the former wood-pasture can be seen in Epping Forest.

Modern coppicing is taking place in Northmoor Hill Nature Reserve adjacent to the Denham aerodrome in Berkshire, a short trip northwest of London [Ordnance Survey map location TQ 034 891]. Here ‘drawing’ is practiced — the culling of individual branches rather than the more usual custom of cutting all new shoots at once.

 

References:

Pond, Chris & Caroline (2002) Walks in Loughton’s Forest. Loughton: Loughton & District Historical Society. Reprinted in 2006.

Rackham, Oliver (1980) Ancient woodland: its history, vegetation and uses in England. London: Edward Arnold.

Rackham, Oliver (1986) A history of the countryside. London: Phoenix Press.

http://www.friendsofeppingforest.org.uk/

http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/9Forest%20Destruction.htm

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Toilet paper rolls (literally!)

Toilet paper rolls!

Here they make 2- and 3-ply (!) quilted toilet paper that is so heavy, when you get towards the end of the roll, it unrolls itself onto the floor. Bonkers, or what?

When we were in graduate school in the States, we lived in a house with five students. There was an almighty row between two of them over how much toilet paper one should use (reflecting on household costs, of course). One said you only need three sheets, while the other would pull off two or three swaths of TP. The argument eventually broke up the household. The one that left would have liked this British quilted TP; she could have used only two sheets and saved even more money!

What is a bacon buttie?

It used to puzzzle me, not so much the bacon but the 'buttie', or 'butty' as it is more often spelled. The Oxford Dictionary says it is a sandwich that derives from 'butter', and the word seems to be used only for hot fillings. So the sandwich filling of a bacon buttie is bacon, but what is the bread called? Up Durham way: a 'bap', of course, or a 'stottie/stotty'. Baps are soft like hamburger buns but they can grow very big, like 6" across; stotties are more dense and heavy, made as 12" cakes. Tremendous differences across England in naming these kinds of bread, though.

Bacon at St Lawrence market, Toronto
streaky bacon on left, peameal slices in
middle, peameal bacon loaves on right

   So, a bacon buttie is a bacon sandwich. The filling? Bacon – what Americans would call 'Canadian bacon' (made from pork loin), more solid than normal bacon which the English call 'streaky bacon' (made from pork belly) and the Canadians call 'side bacon'. The Canadians themselves have 'peameal bacon', so named because the log of pork loin meat is rolled in ground dried peas; when sliced, the bacon pieces have a rim or crust of peameal. Because of its excellent preservative qualities, this kind of bacon was apparently the biggest Canadian contribution to England during the war; it was called 'lorry' or 'boot' bacon because of its transportability.
   I learned all this from our trip to Toronto recently where we ate peameal bacon sandwiches at the St. Lawrence market (highly recommended to us). And upon returning to England, I decided it was high time I tried a bacon buttie, which I had been avoiding all these years. Rather than being disgusting (because all there is is bacon, butter and bread), it was actually very very tasty, probably due to the six kinds of umami in bacon which are thought to be addictive (see the Wikipedia article on 'bacon' – very informative!). Apparently bacon sandwiches were a favourite food of Fergie (the Duchess, not the footballer) before she went on her various diets. And they are ubiquitous in England – many people eat these for breakfast on the run.
   So how do bacon butties compare with peameal bacon sandwiches, and BLTs for that matter? Though sparsely appointed, a bacon buttie goes down very smoothly, while I struggled to finish even one half of my peameal bacon sandwich (had to take the other half away) because it was so stuffed with 8 layers of bacon. I presume the peameal bacon and BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) sandwiches are better for your health because they at least have some vegies in them, and the latter can be made with wholemeal bread. But I must say, that bacon buttie was sure tasty, probably because it was hot bacon and had more fat in it than the cold peameal bacon sammie. (The British Sandwich Association gives an annual Sammie Award; maybe I should nominate the bacon buttie.) Now converted, I'll have to try not to make them a habit. Maybe a 'chip butty' is next.

The Toronto peameal bacon sandwich
from Oink, St Lawrence Market

Bacon buttie at the Dun Cow in Durham
 served 11-2, Mon–Thurs

FOUR things England should borrow from Japan

1. Lowered passenger-side windows on trucks/lorries
In Japan as well as England, bicyclists risk getting squashed by trucks turning left. Back in the 1970s there was such an uproar about housewives getting killed while going shopping on their bikes that the government mandated that the windows on the passenger side of trucks had to be lowered so drivers could see the bicyclists alongside them. Here, 35 years later, Brits are catching on that lorry-caused bicyclist deaths are unacceptable; there are thus a few lowered windows around but they are not mandated...

2. Fully descriptive station signs
Note this subway sign has the name of the station as well as the previous and next stations, with an arrow pointing in the direction the train is going. Below in orange is the name of the major commercial area in front of the station. Note also the green circles; these are colour coded to the train line, the colour appearing on the train itself as well as on train-line maps, and here the stations are numbered, so even if you cannot read the station name, you know where your stop is if you can count.

    I pity the poor tourists coming in for the Olympics (or any time) dealing with the London tube network. Not only are most of the trains unidentified on the sides of the trains as to which line it is, the lines are not identified in the digital signs showing arrivals. I don't know how many times I have been asked to differentiate the Circle, Hammersmith&City, and Metropolitan from the digital signs showing destinations. Why should anyone know or care where the train is going (unless one is interested in that stop) – what is vital is the name of the line and what the next stop is.

3. Men's toilets with baby-changing facilities
Back in the 1980s, at the height of the bubble, young Japanese men began deserting the Salaryman route to a career in droves. They valued family time more than 12-14 hour days in the office. These 'new men' have infiltrated Japanese society now to the extent that men's public toilets are beginning to appear with baby-changing facilities. Now, when do you think these will ever become popular in England??

4. Subway track shields
Japan has a high rate of suicide, with many choosing to throw themselves in front of a train. The subways are now being equipped with barriers on the platforms, so that people do not have access to the tracks very easily. London could use some of these, to keep people from falling, being pushed or jumping in front of tube trains. Note that the barrier doors open exactly in the same spots as the train doors, and arrows in front of them mark where people should queue to get on. Standing directly in front of the opening doors is therefore discouraged. London could use some of these, too.

Tickets & barriers in British train stations

Britain is a country that has traditionally operated on the honour system. You did what was expected of you without question. But that old morality has changed in recent years, especially with the increase in slackers, who try to get away with anything, and immigrants who don't know the system.

   Bendy buses (the articulated kind) with a back door entrance were chronically abused: people boarded there without paying the fare. These buses were instituted by former Mayor Ken Livingstone to alleviate congestion (they take more people, leaving fewer buses on the road) and to increase safety (because they replaced the hop-on hop-off kind without a door). Well, the upshot is that nobody liked the bendy buses and they were a financial disaster. So this year, they are all being replaced by the current Mayor Boris Johnson with new hop-on hop-off buses without doors. We'll see how they fly financially.

The new ticket barriers at Durham station

   Meanwhile, most British train stations have not had ticket barriers. You were expected to buy your ticket and show it to a ticket inspector on board, if ever any inspector showed up. This was really a hit and miss operation, and it was easy to avoid the ticket inspector by going to the loo at the time. So this past year, stations all over England (at least) are having ticket gates installed. Thank goodness these are better designed so that the flaps don't close on you or get caught by your luggage going through – as do many of the tube barrier gates. In order to teach people how to use these gates by feeding your ticket through (!!), station staff stand at the barriers and feed your ticket through for you. Lots of labour time, here...

   But not so many people are now shirking on their tickets.
• Firstly, I implore you: don't get caught out! The penalty is wicked. You have to buy a ticket on the train for an inflated price that is not sold on-line or at the ticket counters. I once did not have my seat reservation ticket, without which my ticket was not considered valid. Instead of using my £9.95 ticket, I had to buy a new one at £143.00. No kidding. Luckily I was able to claim the cost back because I had actually purchased a seat reservation but left the ticket in the ticket machine.

• Secondly, I implore you: be sure to check the drop box for tickets in the ticket machine very very carefully. The tickets sometimes drop down the side where you can't see them. Feel the box as you would the washing machine at the laundromat, so you won't leave any socks (or tickets) behind.

English Houses: pebble dash & crazy paved surround

And here's something we couldn't understand at first. The house we bought in Cambridge so many years ago was described in the Estate Agent (Realtor) leaflet as having pebble dash front and a garden pool with a crazy paved surround (what?). 'Surround' isn't a noun in American English; of course, it comes from the verb 'to surround' and it means something around something else. Then, 'crazy paved' isn't a verb in American English; but of course it means being paved crazily.

Crazy paving and its disadvantages

It still wasn't clear what the crazy paved surround was all about until we went to see the house. There in the back garden (not yard)* was a small pond with a concrete-tiled area around it, much like in this photo. The fact that the tile pieces were not of regular size and shape made it 'crazy'.

The other day, someone was trying to find our current house and asked me on the phone, "Is it the one with pebble dash on the side?". I had to stop and think, because I don't usually consider this house having pebble dash. But indeed, the whole west side of the house is pebble dashed!

As in the photo, you can see that pebbles are embedded into concrete. I was amazed to see this being done once while renovating, the builder having a bucket of pebbles and throwing them by the handful at the wet concrete. Some fell off and we had to clean up later. And much later, more fall off, as you can see from the empty pockets here.

Pebbledash on a house in England

Pebble dash is characteristic of inter-war houses, built between the Great War (World War I) and the Second World War (World War II) or soon thereafter. It isn't much used now: must be the labour costs are too high, to have someone standing there throwing pebbles at the house.

Just for comparison, here is an American 'crazy paving' – stencilled on at Trimble Hot Springs!

Crazy paved stencil in America

* A 'yard' in England is a paved area, like a courtyard; and 'garden', as I've said previously, means 'lawn + flowers'.

Hospital Radio – ever heard such a thing?

Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of hospital radio before. Until last week when I was in for an appointment and picked up a magazine entitled, what else but, "Durham Hospitals Radio (DHR). Apparently the Durham station has been going since the 1960s, and many hospitals in many countries have their own radio stations. I was a week in Addenbrooks Hospital in Cambridge way back, but I don't remember any radio on offer. So how many of you out there have enjoyed hospital radio?

The free issue of "Durham Hospitals Radio"
magazine, available at the hospital!

One of the articles in this magazine claims that hospital radio was initiated in the Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington DC, in 1919. The first hospital radio transmissions were then started in England in 1925 at the York County Hospital, using headphones and loudspeakers. Other countries stated to have hospital radio are Japan and The Netherlands.

In Durham at least, DHR is run entirely by volunteers and is a registered charity. It runs 24-hours a day with hourly programmes, such as Easy Listening, A-Z of Pop, The Breakfast Show, 50's Thru to 70's [sic], The Folk Show, Classical Hour, Musical Box [from musicals], Listeners Choice, 80's 90's and Noughties,* Late Show, Country, and Gospel. I note that "World Music" is absent from this list – maybe a volunteer is needed to showcase other countries' folk and court musics...

* Here in England, the 'Noughties' refers to the decade from 2000 to 2009; this is because the 00 are two 'noughts', i.e. zeros. What do you call this decade?

Fitflops – shoes Vivienne Westwood would like

Vivienne Westwood said recently (not to me personally, of course, but as reported in the newspaper) that Brits dress too dully. Vivienne would say that, wouldn't she, given her outrageous outfits. But I agree: not enough colour, not enough fun. Like when grey was the new black, and then black was the new black. It's getting better these days, though, as attested when the Marni brand at H&M sold out on March 8th. That night, the Evening Standard's Fashion Editor Karen Dacre wrote that Marni is distinguished by its "conceptualised prints, kooky colour palette, and unconventional approach to silhouette...bold prints, geometric patterns and textured fabrics".

Fitflop trainers in leopard print

Bold. I was emboldened myself by Vivienne's opinion so much that I bought a pair of Bronze Leopard Print trainers (called 'supersneakers') on sale, of course, at a 60% discount – not at H&M but online at Fitflop's website. Not that I was enamoured by the print (they are far enough away from the eyes as to be inconspicious enough), but Fitflops are indeed a dream fit. I first ran into Fitflops in a Stateside shoe store where one pair of tall boots was on display. I liked their looks immediately and tried them on. In seven seconds I had made my decision to buy, helped by the fact that they were also on sale – at a 75% discount!


The tags that came with the boots describe the Fitflop fit: they have special soles that correct posture and exercise the leg at the same time. The selling point for me was that these soles are extra thick and squishy, which means a comfortable cushion to walk on. These were engineered by a team of academics, Dr. David Cook and Darren James, at the Centre for Human Performance, London South Bank University. Their new Microwobbleboard^TM technology increases "the time your muscles are engaged every single time you take a step." They claim that "Fitflop footwear wearers have reported relief from plantar fascitis, heel pain, chronic back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis...restless leg syndrome, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease and lower leg swelling, as well as improved posture, increased energy, firmness and muscle tone." Whether they'll work for you – well, you'll just have to try them and see. I love mine!

Hosepipe ban in southern England

Several people in the States have recently asked me about the drought in southern England. This happens periodically, I say, and always there is a hosepipe ban decreed for the summer. A what? No one seems to know what a 'hosepipe' is!

English garden hosepipe and watering can

A hosepipe is your garden hose. A hosepipe ban is a ban on using your hose to water your garden. And remember, 'garden' here in England means your lawn and your flowers, not your vegetable garden – though the ban would apply equally there.

So, does everything die in the dry weather (notice I didn't say 'hot')? No, because you are allowed to water your garden with a watering can. Of course this means that only the important things get watered because the can is much too heavy and it would take too long to water the whole lawn that way. But on the other hand, very very few people have a lawn of any size – usually just a token patch of grass that hardly warrants a lawnmower.

In the north of England we don't have the problem of insufficient rainfall – at least not yet. Furthermore, we have a huge reservoir in the form of Kielder Water in Northumberland. This was built between 1976 and 1982 to supply water to the three northeastern river valleys: Tyne, Tees and Wear (pronounced 'weir'). There is more than enough water there to also supply southern England, but no pipes exist to carry it south.

James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis that the Earth is a homeostatic living system, has said that Britain will become 'battleship Britain', as it is one of the only places on Earth where the moderate climate and rainfall will be able to sustain life as the climate warms to desert level –everyone will be beating down our doors to get in. Unless Britain again is clothed with snow due to the closing of the polar door (the what?), this might well be true.

So I think we are sitting pretty at the moment before disaster begins. And if you don't think disaster will happen, you haven't been reading geology.

PS Yep, the Hosepipe Ban is now set to start on April 5th, with eleven other restrictions in place: you can't use a "hose or sprinkler to water plants, wash a car or boat, fill fountains, swimming or paddling pools, or to clean patios, driveways or windows", says the Daily Mail (13mar12), and if you do, you will be served with a Yellow Card letter from the water company to tell you to obey the law.

Bittersweet "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

This is a film about retired English folk becoming ex-pats by checking in to a retirement home for the "elderly and beautiful", in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Nothing like showing the British temperament than having ex-colonials experiencing the ex-colonies for the first time (except in one case of a return visit after 40 years absence following a childhood spent in Jaipur, 150 miles southwest of Delhi). We loved it!

Marigold at www.Flowers.vg

The cast was magnificent: Maggie Smith as an unreconstructed racist; her transformation during the film is heartening. Judie Dench as the narrator (through her blog), adrift without her recently deceased husband, trying to find meaning in life. Bill Nighy as a retired civil servant, struggling to come to terms with the loss of his pension investment and beleaguered by an embittered, sharp-tongued wife played to perfection by Penelope Wilton. Tom Wilkinson as a retired, gay judge who has come to find his childhood sweetheart (male). Ronald Pickup as a lonely man looking for companionship, rejected by Celia Imrie's character but finding an equally lonely and willing woman played by Diana Hardcastle. Greeting them in India were the hotel manager (Dev Patel), an affable but hopeless business man; his aggressive and prejudiced mother (Lillete Dubey), and his girlfriend (Tina Desae) who has a university degree and works at a call center.

Culture clashes are only half the story but provide a lot of laughs. Maggie won't eat anything she "can't pronounce", Celia won't stay in a room that has no door, all are terrified by a crowded bus ride, Judie pays full price at the market, many are traumatized by the dust, noise, and confusion of the busy streets. But underneath are the voices of calm: Dev assuring that everything will be "all right in the end", Tom seeing the light and the colours and happy smiles, Judie offering philosophical takes on life, and Bill acting the understated adventurer.

We asked an acquaintance of ours from India whether the film was accurately portrayed. She said yes, everything but the Dev and Tina love relationship which she said simply couldn't happen in India: no public displays of affection or going against your mother's wishes.

The idea of 'out-sourcing old age' is not new. The Japanese tried to built a retirement complex on Australia's Gold Coast in the 1980s (the Silver Columbia Project) but failed due to bad press and criticisms of exporting the aged (Merry White 2002). A couple of years ago, doctors in the British ex-pat communities of the Alicante region began to refuse patients unless they could speak Spanish.

The isolation some characters in this film felt is real, and no indication was given of visa or work visa status – two huge hurdles in moving abroad. But how many of any country are willing to sever all ties and activities with their families, neighbourhoods, and communities to try living abroad with people they have never met.  Not everyone is adventurous, but when financial needs dictate, people draw on unknown reserves. It was a very thought-provoking film while being wildly entertaining.

White, Merry Isaacs (2002) Perfectly Japanese. University of California Press.

How to play "Pub Cricket" in a car

This is a car game that is disappearing in England. It used to be that one drove narrow A-roads winding through multiple villages to get where you wanted to go. Along the way were lots (and I mean lots!) of pubs. So somewhat like spotting out-of-state license plates (English: car registrations) on American roads, English kids instead played pub cricket...

The pub sign for the Market Tavern is a market
stall selling veggies – the man counts for 2 legs.
The Durham Indoor Market sign in red and gold
behind it has 8 legs – but it counts for nothing
as it is not a pub sign.

Every pub sign passed that has an animal on it (including human animals) has a value for how many legs it contains. The King's Head or The Shakespeare only give two legs each, while Coach & Horses or Fox & Hounds are real mother loads. Pubs like The Market Tavern, whose names don't refer specifically to animals but the pub sign contains animals (photo) do count for legs. When one meets a pub sign that doesn't have any legs, like the Elm Tree, then not only do you get zero points for that one but it becomes someone else's turn to count.*

These days, of course, everyone takes the M-roads (motorways) which don't have any pubs on them a'tall (American: adall). And besides,
the kids have screens to watch, either embedded in the backs of seats or held in their grubby little hands.

* Despite going to the Elm Tree every week, I couldn't think off hand of a legless pub (ha, ha: that's what you call someone in England when they've drunk too much – legless). So I got out the Durham phone book and the separate Yellow Pages. I was astounded to find only one (1) pub listed in each under the classifieds for 'pubic houses'.  Our old Cambridge phone book (1993-4) has seven (7) columns of public houses listed. What's become of this country? Ads too expensive? Too many pub closures? Pubs reclassifying themselves as restraurants??

Famous Author on East Coast Trains

What an interesting idea! East Coast trains (now owned by the public since GNER was forced out of its franchise by National Express, who then defaulted on their payments) run from Scotland to London down the eastern side of England. GNER used to publish a bi-monthly on-train magazine with tourist options and descriptions of their local food providers along the way. Now however, East Coast have produced a volume of short stories commissioned from Alexander McCall Smith, the celebrated Scots physician who now writes very interesting and entertaining novels in retirement.

We have revelled in his series about the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", set in Botswana with Mma Ramotswe as laid-back lady detective; the BBC TV series starring Jill Scott was a great rendition, too, now available through HBO online. But these are not his only achievements: he writes several series on "von Igelfeld" and on "Isabel Dalhousie, on "44 Scotland Street" and on "Corduroy Mansions". Prolific!

The train magazine entitled "East Coast Stories", published by The Scotsman, was written specifically for train clientele, McCall Smith says, as they "sit back and...feel the rocking of the train...hear the sound of its wheels on the rails...And sometimes there are conversations to be had." The five short stories – five contributions to a conversation between five strangers on their way from Edinburgh to London – are entitled:
Brief Encounter
Classical Landscape, With Train
The Way the World Used to Be
Train-Spotting
The Flying Scotsman

All very enjoyable indeed. Since this is a limited edition magazine of a famous author's stories, with restricted distribution, I'm keeping my copy just in case it becomes a collectors' item!

Anyone else cold out there?

Brrrr....it's 3 degrees out (C) and we sat there in an unheated station waiting area, nursing coffees while waiting for our train, and then sat on a train that was blowing cold air through the venting system. Even the locals were bundled up and complaining:

Send Us Your TXT, in the Metro this morning:
"Can someone please explain what exactly we are paying increased rail fares for when the train companies won't turn the heating on when it's minus five outside?"  Shivering, Liverpool

Why is it that warm heating is still such a luxury here?

Watching the train monitor in a cold train
station waiting area

Now back in the days of coal fires (when we first came to England), it was understood that if you moved out of the room, the rest of the house was unheated. Central heating didn't become a standard option till the mid-1980s, and believe me, we put ours in fast!

But not having grown up here and been exposed on a regular basis to cold rooms, rainy soccer days outside, short skirts/trousers in the winter – believe me also that we still haven't acclimatised (but I did spell it with an 's', so that's something).

You will never see me on the street going to a winter event in a mini-skirt, spaghetti strap top, and no coat. I mean, I can't even wear such an outfit in the "heat" of summer here. In our college town, you can spot town from gown immediately: even English from other areas don't undress like their Durham/Newcastle counterparts. Coats, scarves and gloves are the order of the day. That suits me just fine!

It's Boxing Day in England!

When I first heard of Boxing Day, I thought, gee is it like the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day – a game on the holiday? A boxing match?? Who would want to watch?

But no, apparently it's the day all good little English children would put their new Christmas gifts back in their boxes ready for storage throughout the new year. Maybe this is why antique auctions can bring in so much moola for original boxed toys.

I always feel sorry for my American compatriots who have to go back to work the day after Christmas. At least here in England, we have a day to recover. And this year we have two days! Yes, two holidays on Monday and Tuesday to make up for Christmas being on Sunday. Sadly we don't get an extra day off on January 2nd, except for this year again on Monday because New Year's is on Sunday. I see from my filofax, though, that the Scots get an extra day on Tuesday the 3rd, so it looks like Hogmanay is going to last for at least five days this year.

Well, you can imagine what these holidays do to work patterns. Almost everyone who can get away with it takes off the entire time between Christmas Eve and January 2nd. The worst Christmas I ever had, ever, anywhere, was my first in England. Alone, I was in my first house when the boiler went out about December 23rd. Absolutely no tradesperson was available to come fix it until early January. So I suffered in one room with a gas fire in snowy weather for ten days; and I couldn't even go out because zilch was open: no shops, no cinema, no library.

These days I must admit it has gotten better. The shops are open as much as possible to make a quid, and the cinemas are open if you want to see a kids' movie. But we are conversely happy to hibernate throughout the week. How about you?

Revisiting City of London bollards

My very first post was on the bollards of the City of London. Since then, I have found even more varieties that do not mark curbs but direct traffic! Specialist bollards that have cast-in places for road signs. These include one-way signs, and signs marking lanes for motorcycle and bicycle use. But don't you think the number used here is a bit overkill?

Traffic-directing bollards in the City of London