TEA - Weekend Wordsmith

Tea, a cup of tea, a cuppa: it all reminds me of the differences between the English and the American. Here on the Costa del Sol, which is like the Florida of Europe, the English make up a large part of our local population. Over the past 6 years I have worked side by side with many English at the only privately run Cancer Hospice in Spain, started by an English woman obvously, and I have been introduced to a culture and language quite unlike my American own.

The English drink Tea, most like it quite strong and stick to the standard tea we might call English Breakfast. Some may drink the different varities offered by Twinings in those lovely tins, but most like their plain, but full flavored (excuse me flavoured) PG Tips which come in round packets instead of square bags with a tag on the end. Everyone has an electric kettle that plugs in and boils water in about 25 seconds so they can get their tea fix in record time. As much as those dainty, flowered tea cups and pots are depicted in typically English scenes, it's definitely the mugs, just like our coffee mugs, that people enjoy their tea fix in.

Now don't get me wrong, they also drink coffee, but after a meal, or mid morning while sitting at an outdoor cafe people watching and usually they accompany it with a brandy. Now that gets me to another English insight. Boy can they drink! At social gatherings they usually out drink me 2 or 3 to one. Most of them don't seem a bit affected either. Now mind you, I do see the weaving, slurring, inebriated tourist on occasion, and am always amazed to see they are often retirement age. Beer and ale by the pints, wine of all colours and origins, gin tonics, scotch, brandies, champagne, boy do they go for champagne, you name it, they consume it in large quantities.

They spell their words differently: colour, organise, realise, favourite,

They use their words differently too: A jumper is a sweater, a lorry is a truck, the bin is the garbage, bin it is throw it out, do the washing up is do the dishes, pudding is desert, car park is parking garage, the boot is the trunk, the bonnet is the hood, brilliant doesn't mean somebody is extremely smart it means someone or something is fantastic, lift is elevator, cue is line, shag means have sex, a biscuit is a cookie, aubergine is eggplant and courgette is zuchinni, have you got? means do you have?, and everyone is darling, love, mate or pet. You get the idea...And don't get me started on pronunciation.....pardon me, could you repeat that please.

So love, go fix yourself a lovely cuppa and have a brilliant time having a go at TEA as the Weekend Wordsmith on your blog. It beats the tele or going to the cinema.