Good for you, Mike.

Here is an essential part of understanding the English psyche:

1. Go to a market and buy a roll of McVitties Plain Chocolate Digestive Biscuits. They don't cost much (about 99 p for a huge tube-shaped packet). Plain Chocolate means bittersweet. They also come in Milk Chocolate, but the Plain taste better, IMHO.
2. Get yourself a nice cuppa tea. This should be easy.
3. Dunk a biscuit into the tea and swirl just long enough to melt the chocolate a bit. Not too long or you end up with a cup of oat biscuit sludge ad the bottom of the cup. Delicious, but not optimal.
4. Eat.
5. Repeat until all 40 or so biscuits are gone. Then buy a bunch more and bring them back for the girls.

June's family brings me suitcases full of McVitties every time they come over to visit us.

Cheerio!

K

Wish you had a webcam and could be flashing back photos! Glad you are there safe and sound.

Ken's got the right idea, follow his advice!

I'm so jealous! Wish I was there enjoying England in spring.

Take lots of photos!

I would hope that many pictures are forthcoming. Lots of good photos of that nasty British cuisine would be bloody smashing with a kipper spanner.

If you get a chance you really need to go have dinner at Rules. From their web site: "Rules was established by Thomas Rule in 1798 making it the oldest restaurant in London. It serves traditional British food, specialising in classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings."

The Prime Rib is amazing!!!!

http://www.rules.co.uk

Have you tried to visit sites described in Quicksilver?

You must go to a pub called Filthy MacNasty's while you're there. They have live music and a good selection of whisky.

They even have a website, which is a bonus for any pub as far as I'm concerned. http://www.filthymacnastys.com/

You'll be broke soon. I live in London and it's an expensive bastard.

Try and get around without the Tube - all the best bits are a stroll in the opposite direction from all the crowds anyway.

The best place for a cuppa and a bite to eat (and cheap too) is the New Piccadilly:

http://www.urban75.org/london/piccadilly.html

Is the hot/cold/hot weather driving you nuts yet?

This relates your confiscated knives post and Great Britain: British doctors want to outlaw kitchen knives - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,158032,00.html. "Reaction from professional chefs in Britain was less than enthusiastic."

BTW, I completely agree on the first poster's comment: McVitties Plain Chocolate Digestive Biscuits and tea is the *only* way to go. Bring back some McVitties for me too please. Oh and some Cadbury's chocolate while you're at it.

On the chocy biccy front, everyone should visit the publishing phenomenon that is
www.anicecupofteaandasitdown.com. They even got a book deal off the back of this great website.

Yikes! Comment spam in the Cruftbox. The world is spinning off its axis with Michael out of the country. Make it stop! Make it stop!

One would think that a trip to Europe would make for some serious blogging on the part of our host. Or at least a mega-stream of interesting photos.

Seems not.

You Movable Type guys!

All your other posts have already fallen off the page and they are not even that old!

my only experience with the British is my sister-in-law. She eats this salty beef-stock paste on toast. My god, is it disgusting. And hot tea with milk. (the sound of me wretching...)