funny british things, part 1

1. i had kind of forgotten about man-pris (my name for capris worn by men), but england is full of them and they continue to crack me up.  i mean, women wear capris.  and men in america wear shorts that are shorter than man-pris and pants that are longer than man-pris, so what's so funny about them?  I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, OKAY?  maybe it's that man-pris kind of taper in to follow the leg like pants do, but are shorter than pants.  they are EVERYWHERE.  the best link i could find to show you a picture was this one, and these men are models, which makes it look even sillier.  but you get the picture.

2. before the us-ghana soccer game, the sports channel here was doing a little pre-game show with interviews and commentary, and at the bottom of the screen they ran headlines...so-and-so will be back for germany for the next game, the british team is training in this location, etc.  and this was an actual headline, deemed worthy of being put on the screen: "on sunday, england will wear all red for the second game in a row."  this was its own headline!  and then i found this link: http://www.thefa.com/England/News/match-centre/2010/SloveniavEngland/MatchPreviews/RedKit  i have now learned that this wearing all red thing is DIFFERENT and LUCKY and IMPORTANT and obviously worthy of its own headline.  but can you imagine this kind of headline, detailing information about what jersey will be worn, on ESPN?  i cannot.

3. last summer i blogged about one of my favorite places to eat in oxford, but we ate there recently and i was reminded of how much i love it.  it's a pub called the old tom and i love it for two reasons: one, it if you walk all the way through the pub and out the back door, there is an outdoor seating area that fits about 20 people.  it is walled in, with thick ivy covering every wall, and you feel like you're on your own little island.  so cozy, and so peaceful.  two, it serves a full british pub menu plus a full thai menu.  yes, A PUB THAT SERVES THAI FOOD.  and it is hands down some of the best green curry i've ever had - coconut broth, just spicy enough, with lots of vegetables and meat or tofu.  IT IS A PUB WITH TOFU. let's just have a moment for that.  a nice metaphor for england maybe...tradition with a dash of modernity mixed in.