The Skinny on Bacon

Recently, I was preparing my weekly meal plan and somehow ended up with two different recipes (from back home) that called for bacon, and one that required ham. So, off I went to the Coop to pick up said ingredients, and came face to face with an endless array of varieties and not at all what I expected for ham.

Over here (in southern England at least) they have bacon, streaky bacon, rindless bacon, back bacon. They have pork, they have ham and they have gammon. If you find this confusing, as I did, let me break it down for you:

Welcome to 2017!

Before I start this entry, I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year! Hopefully this year will see you all safe, happy and healthy, and bring whatever projects or dreams you are working on to fruition.

My dreams and projects include this blog, some short story writing on Wattpad, and outlining my first novel. I've been working on it on and off for three months or so, but being my first attempt, and with no formal training (not to mention my tendency to procrastinate), I am finding it something of an uphill battle. No worries, I will continue to plod on, if only for my own personal satisfaction.

Working on writing!
(Books: Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland
and The First 50 Pages by Jeff Gorke.)

As promised, without further ado, here is my very first blog entry of 2017.

Holiday Hiatus

For the past couple of weeks, I have been organizing a Christmas holiday to Southern Italy. And as with everyone else, I have also been making sure that all the details and preparations for a traditional family Christmas (our first away from home) would be ready upon our return. Much stress was involved and I just about had a break-down last weekend (calling my dad in tears, miserable as anything)... So, you can imagine that my writing time has suffered accordingly. Please forgive this short hiatus. Eli in the UK will resume business as usual on the week of January 3rd, 2017.

Thank you all for your understanding. :)

While I'm at it, let me take one last minute to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season—

Four Days in North Wales

The last week of October was school half-term, so we took off for a week in Northern Wales. We travelled from the train station behind our house all the way to Colwyn Bay—almost a 7-hour train ride, with two changes.

Outside the Colwyn Bay train station.

If you're looking for a lovely Wales get-away, keep reading for our itinerary and reviews! :)

Changing Page Format

I've spoken about paper sizes in the UK before, how they differ from what we are used to in Canada (and the USA). Today, I'd like to give you a quick update in case, like me, your word processing software still thinks it's in Canada...

Pub Review: The Bishop on the Bridge

Sunday morning was bright and sunny despite the low temperature of 0°C. On a whim, we decided to head to nearby Winchester, to visit Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishop's Palace). As with all our days out, we love to combine ruins and history with a hearty meal at the pub—especially on Sundays, when roast is on the menu.

Unfortunately, I hadn't read the "fine print", and the castle is only open from April to October. However, I was extremely glad to have made the trip, as we got to discover another lovely pub, The Bishop on the Bridge (another pub under the Fuller's banner).

Bring Your Dog to the UK (Part 2)

This article is a follow-up to Bring Your Dog to The UK (Part 1). The governmental changes made to the health certificate are pretty minimal, so I am continuing with this series to bring you a step-by-step guide for bringing your dog to the UK from Canada.