"Course you can!"

One of the most delightful new phrases we have learned is "course you can." When asking for ice at a restaurant, the waitress will pleasantly respond with this phrase. We believe it can universally apply to lots of things: driving on the left side of the road OR having a yellow light precede the green so you can get a running start OR multiple lane roundabouts where only the aggressive can get off and on the correct exit OR parking on both sides of a two lane street OR car doors that don't open the same direction..."course you can!"

Our little Vauxhall Meriva has an interesting door configuration... built for easy access. But it's a bit confusing as to how the doors can open together, one-at-a-time, front only or back only. The back doors swing open opposite the front... But we've figured out how to load and unload in very confined parking spaces by having a "course you can" attitude.

Parking occurs on both sides of a two-lane road. Every day we travel this little lane to go through the round-about on Stratford Road (yes, it's to Stratford-upon-Avon) to get to the office. Roads have replaced the little lanes where carriages and horses once hauled the commerce to the High Street (Main Street) for market. Now cars line the roads and it takes a bit of maneuvering to get around.

With parking at a premium in the UK as evidenced from our photo above ... We "dodge" cars every morning going to the office..."Course you can!" Here is the real miracle reflecting the graciousness of this lovely country. Round-abouts work, narrow lanes work, parking on the street works because people are generally very, very considerate. It's every-other-one even in "rush hours" because it's the "course you can" attitude of the people.

Let's introduce some other of our favorite expressions. Guess what these expressions mean. (Answers will be at the end of this blog post).

"Gently earwigging..."

"Illuminate, pray tell..."

"Pear-shaped day..."

"Mind the gap..."

"Paper over the cracks..."

Things we love about the United Kingdom

Uniforms for school children and respect of the educational system seems to be paramount values to most English students who have very limited choices without higher education in their future.

Everyone walks to school... come rain or shine the groups of students with their school bags are off to school. "Course you can" walk and not ride everywhere!

We love the train and the convenience of having a station just two blocks from our flat. You can take the train to Birmingham or Stratford for free when you are "elderly people." Course you can...

The Royal Shakespearean Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon is a 30 minute train ride from our local rail station (Shirley). We love the cultural and heritage opportunities that are so accessible. We jumped on the train after office hours yesterday and enjoyed the long summer evening taking in the beauties.

 White Swan on the River Avon

Our forefathers must have been just a bit shorter... McDonalds has super-sized us! By-the-way, there is a McDonalds on every corner in the UK. Where are those Wimpey Bars of my youthful mission days that offered those silver dollar-sized hamburgers? In what may be the exact opposite of culture, 5 Guys Burgers and Fries will be in the Touchwood Mall right across the street from our office in Solihull in a few weeks. England has given us Shakespeare, the Magna Carta, Churchill, Lord Nelson, the BBC, Cadbury Chocolate, Soccer and English Common Law. We (Americans) have given the United Kingdom McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Campbells Soup and Heinz Ketchup. Pretty fair exchange, huh?

Joyce, the River Avon and the Stratford Church where Shakespeare is interned. Magnificent Scenery... we love the green landscape.

The gardens of Great Britain are magnificent... This one is in Hyde Park, just a couple of blocks from the chapel on Exhibition Road!

We enjoyed a stroll through Hyde Park with at least 100,000 others on a sun-filled day.

We enjoyed a weekend in London at the BYU Management Society/London LDS Business Forum Conference on Saturday. One cannot describe the talent in the church... Highly educated LDS presenters from Oxford (John Hoffmire), BYU (James Faulconer), Duesche Bank (Sam Norton), OnTrack (CEO Kevin Johnson) as well as Elder Clifford Herbertson (Area Seventy) made it a very informative and instructive day. Sunday brought us to two sacrament meetings at the Hyde Park Chapel that were filled with visitors, children, wonderful talks and a vibrant feel to the church. The Bishops were young returned missionaries about 30 years old (with cute little families) which gives us so much hope for the future of the church in the UK. When President Hinckley dedicated the Preston Temple he promised a resurgence of the growth of the church in England as in the days of the early twelve in the UK. We believe that this growth will be gradual in terms of converts, but astronomical in terms of young, faithful families growing up in the gospel.

We spent time with the London Mission President (David Jordan), Elder Herbertson and the Cardalls (of KSL editorial fame).

  With the Cardalls (Directors of London Visitor's Centre) outside the Hyde Park Chapel on Exhibition Road.

American answers to British phrases

Gently Earwigging means listening to another's conversation.

Illuminate, pray tell means explain your point.

Pear-shaped day means the day isn't going well. 

Mind the gap means watch your step (especially getting on a bus or train).

Paper over the cracks means covering up one's faults.

We are off to a Human Rights Conference in Oxford on Saturday, the 14th. Driving to Southampton to fly to Guernsey for two days on Wednesday, the 18th, where a television station (Channel ITV) wants to follow two missionaries around for a day filming them. Back to London on the 24th for the BYU Centre re-opening with President Worthen and leave on the 26th of June for Scotland for two days where we deliver Spokesperson Training to Stake Presidents and Public Affairs Directors.