Ship's Blog
Life is hard?... Life is good?... At least it's different!.... In 2012. (The end of the world is nigh).
We will try to update the blog each day, (at least until 21 Dec.), hangovers allowing! Remember we are on a boat, and as such we may not have internet connection for much of the time. We will update as circumstances allow.
Latest post is in blue type.
January 2012
It seems a long time since I updated the blog. Probably the best excuse is that not much has happened. We are still based at North Saanich, Ten Bears still hasn't retired and we are still at war with the otters.
I have been in Canada for 30 years now, and consider myself Canadian rather than English. However, I am still asked once in a while, what is the main difference in culture between England and Canada. The easy answer would be weather, outdoor sports, indigenous people, government, but none of these would really really shock as much as going out to breakfast.
In England the call is "Full English", and one gets what you get. This usually consists of a couple of eggs, fried and basted with bacon fat, sausage, fried tomatoes, fried bread and if you really hit the jackpot, fried black pudding, - no substitutes, no extras.
The best way to describe the difference is to relate what recently happened to a friend of mine visiting from the Sceptred Isle. The conversation went thus:-
"I would like breakfast please".
"Yes Sir, which one would you like?".
"There's more than one?".
"Yes Sir, here is the menu, I'll give you a few minutes".
Reading out loud.... "Regular, single engine, twin engine, lumberjack, benny from Hell, regular benny, twin benny.......... Er... WAITRESS!".
"Yes Sir, would you like coffee?".
"Tea please".
"We have Red Rose, regular Darjeeling or Earl Gray".
"I suppose regular, but can I order breakfast now?".
Yes Sir, which would you like?"
"I would like two eggs, sausage and toast".
"How would you like your eggs?"
"What do you mean?".
"Sunny side up, over easy, boiled, poached, scrambled".
"Er.... poached".
"Light, medium or hard?"
"Er... medium".
"Sausage Sir? We have pork, beef, mild Italian or hot Italian or English bangers".
"Beef please... and I would like them medium".
"I think they only come one way! Toast... we have white, brown, multi grain or sourdough".
"Brown".
"Thank you Sir". She turned to me leaving my friend with what can best be described as a confused expression. "And what would you like?"
"Over easy, sausage brown".
"Perfect, Sir".
And that is the difference.
