Anglotopia

Post-Paddy Bubble & Squeak

ProdigalTourist — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:03:15 +0000

Cabbage, spuds, and bacon...my version of bubble & squeak

Stuck with leftover St. Patrick’s Day cabbage and spud? Here’s my home version of another cornerstone of English cuisine: Bubble and Squeak. So easy, not a real recipe really. I cook up some bacon and fry up the chopped, leftover spuds and greens in the rendered fat. I let everything brown for a few minutes without touching, then stir up and brown the other sides. That’s it! It all goes down very well with everyone, even Kate, though we keep her away from the Guiness…just kidding, Prodigal Wife is not a Guiness fan either.

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Brit Celeb Radio #1 – All Things British and Langdon

Catherine — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:00:59 +0000

Catherine Lyn Scott

Editor’s Note: This is the start of an exciting new weekly column on Anglotopia – Catherine Lyn Scott is a British publicist in Los Angeles who specializes in representing British Celebrities in Hollywood. She also happens to host the brilliant Brit Celeb Radio on LA Talk Radio. Catherine has kindly consented to post about the show every week and share it with Anglotopia’s readers. Enjoy!

Welcome to the first Brit Celeb Radio show played on ‘Anglotopia’…

Brit Celeb Radio is a fun filled British celebrity based show. Each week a special celebrity guest joins bubbly British host Catherine Lyn Scott in the studio. Get your British celebrity fix with weekly reports from our Brit Entertainment Reporter Emily, who will share what those naughty British celebrities are up to.

Emily

If you love London, British Accents, Brits or anything British – this show is a must. You can hear it each week LIVE on www.latalkradio.com at 1pm PST or 9pm GMT (UK time) or check back here and listen.
Past shows can be heard here: http://www.latalkradio.com/Catherine.php

This week those naughty British Celebrities are at it again… Listen to the show to find out who Brit Hottie ‘David Beckham’ took a bath with, news about Kate Winslet, Pop Group Girls Aloud and much more. Here it from the Brits about the amazing ‘Notting Hill Carnival’, British TV and tea drinking from the Brits! We were also joined in the studio with Radio Celebrity Langdon from Langdon Nation.

Listen to this week’s show now!

Brit Celeb Radio March 18, 2010.

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BA Strike Latest: Video Message from British Airways CEO to BA Customers

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:37:46 +0000

British Airways have just released this video message from BA CEO Willie Walsh directed at BA customers affected by the strike that is going to start at Midnight and last until Monday.

Here’s another statement:

British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh has released an online video message to customers reassuring them of practical measures in place to support their travel plans over Unite’s planned strike this weekend.

Talking directly to customers, he apologises for the disruption they may face and explains contingency plans to allow more than 60 per cent of customers to keep flying through Unite’s strike period of March 20, 21 and 22.

The first online video was launched last Friday (March 12) and has since received approximately 100,000 hits from a combined audience of ba.com and YouTube, as well as external websites hosting the video and BA’s internal staff website.

Chris Davies, British Airways head of digital marketing, said: “We have been working around the clock to provide the most up to date information on ba.com, as well as provide bespoke video updates for customers. We have also been engaging on social media sites and travel forums.

“It is our highest priority to provide the latest information to our customers and reassure them that a strike will not ground our airline.”

The BA strike begins in a little under 6 hours.

Big Sale at the BBC America Shop – Coupon Codes Inside

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:30:50 +0000

The BBC America shop is having a great sale right now, with some items up to 50% off. The sale is only good until the end of March. Some of the products are pretty cool and unique. See below for some coupons codes to save even more money.

Here’s a sampling of the products on sale:

BBC America Coupon Codes

Save $5 off a $50 or more order enter at Checkout: US510
Save $15 off a $100 or more order enter at Checkout: US1510
Save $25 off a $200 or more order enter at Checkout: US2510

Anglophile Alert: Late Summer Sale at the BBC America Shop – Coupon Codes

BA Strike Latest: British Airways/Unite Talks Break Down – Strike is a Go

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:43:24 +0000

Well, despite last minute efforts to come to an accord, talks between British Airways and Unite have broken down without an agreement and the strike starting tomorrow – March 20th – lasting until March 22nd will go forward as planned.

Here’s a statement directly from British Airways:

We are very disappointed that, despite lengthy negotiations, Unite has rejected the chance of a settlement and resolved that its strikes should go ahead.

We are confident our cabin crew would accept our latest offer if Unite put it to them.

In recent days, we have shown considerable flexibility in the interests of protecting customers from the effects of this completely unjustified industrial action.

We have put forward proposals that would secure long-term pay protection for all existing crew, new opportunities for crew at Gatwick and modernisation of our industrial relations framework.

Despite the recognition by the High Court that our changes to onboard crew numbers were valid and reasonable, we have also been prepared to make some modification to these changes to allow Unite to call off the strikes.

It is a great pity that Unite continues to show such disregard for the interests of our customers and our business – and for public opinion at large.

We will continue to strengthen our contingency plans to ensure that as many customers as possible can fly to their destinations during the strike period.

We know that many cabin crew will work normally in the days ahead, and we look forward to their contribution – and that of tens of thousands of colleagues across the airline – as we keep our customers and our aircraft flying.

British Airways has a strike plan in place and expects to fly at 65% capacity this weekend. If you’re going to be affected by the strike, visit the British Airways strike staging page for more information on how it will affect you.

Cornish Fisherman Singers Net £1 Million Record Deal

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:30:52 +0000

File this under feel good news of the day – a group of Cornish Fisherman singers have netted a record deal after being spotted by a talent scout in the music industry.

From ITN News:

A group of Cornish fishermen have signed a million pound record deal after being spotted performing in a pub by a music scout.

Awesome! Can’t wait to hear the album!

A Pint of Bitter: Brown’s plan for May 6th; the BA strike; and England’s Achilles heel

Carl — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:55 +0000

So now we’re sure the general election will be held on May 6th. Not officially. Firm knowledge on the day Gordon Brown decides (and it is his personal decision) to take the short car ride to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. Which she certainly will, according to constitutional convention and because Parliament is near is legal end in any case. No, the unofficial confirmation of the date comes from the other various announcements that have been made, for instance about the budget – that’ll be held next Wednesday, the 24th – and about the Parliamentary Easter recess, which is from 30th March to the 6th of April. It’s then – just less than three weeks away – that we expect Brown to see the Queen. The election is almost upon us.

Downing Street | CreativeCommons

What this tells us is, first, that the Prime Minister feels fairly confident about the economic statistics that will be published at the end of April, figures that will say whether Britain continues even a fragile recovery or slips back into recession. He still might panic and go to the country before then, but would be visibly running scared. If there’s a chance the figures will look good, there was always a strong argument for his waiting for them. They may be politically priceless for him. Secondly, they tell us Gordon Brown may be preparing for a short election campaign, something that surprises some political commentators, since the long attritional period of pre-election talk has seen Labour narrow the gap with the Conservatives. Why not stretch the fight out even longer?

For two reasons, I think. First, precisely because the “phoney election” is going so well for Labour. Brown wants to stretch this surprisingly helpful period out as long as possible before changing the dynamic to the real campaign. Second, because Labour wants to fight a new type of campaign. The party is in real financial trouble, and while money from trades unions will come, it needs to neutralise what will surely be the Conservatives’ bigger spending power. The idea is to replace the type of election we’ve become used to – leaders expensively touring the country in helicopters day in, day out, glad-handing voters – with a much more concentrated fight centred on the three massively important, and entirely new, leaders’ debates. It’s not just about money, either. Psychologically, Brown wants to follow the phoney election, in which Tory support has gone soft as doubts have crept in – with a short, sharp wake-up campaign to focus minds more intently than ever on the choice between him and David Cameron. I’m sure he believes a short, intense campaign will help create the drama of choice he wants to produce.

Caribb | CreativeCommons

Two political issues have high saliency right now. First, the fact that Brown has had to correct his evidence to the Iraq inquiry, having wrongly claimed that defence spending rose in real terms in every year he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. That was a blunder that’s done him more harm that the spending record merits, in truth. Second, there’s the British Airways strike, planned to start on Saturday. The strike is politically embarrassing for the PM because the union involved, UNITE, is the biggest donor to the Labour Party. David Cameron tried at Prime Minister’s question time to make the strike a partisan issue; Brown must stay above it, and hope next week’s budget blows it out of the headlines. Yes, many people fly with BA. But in truth, the strike will affect Anglotopia readers, on average, more then the woman in the number 98 bus or the marginal Labour voter, who probably won’t leave the UK until summer, if then. And those Brits who are affected won’t necessarily blame the union or Gordon Brown.

CLF | CreativeCommons

In non-political news, England’s footballers are living up to two of their deserved reputations. First, John Terry who I wrote about a few weeks back (and who was later stripped of the England captaincy) is in trouble again, this time for injuring a steward while driving, apparently after having had a drink following a game. Second, it was always on the cards that one of England’s stars would be injured before the tournament: that always happens. If it happens to Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard, England really will be sunk. But it’s happened to David Beckham, still England’s most famous footballer internationally, although football watchers here know he’s past his best and would only have had a supporting role in the World Cup in any case. This is, in effect, the close of a distinguished sporting career. I’ve always thought Beckham overrated as a player, certainly not in the class of real England legends like Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore. His considerable PR skills having gained him the international profile he enjoys. But even I can’t deny he was a very good player, who made important contributions that swung games for England at crucial times. Or that he was generally speaking a positive example of a well-behaved footballer. He once claimed to have no books in his expensive house, which didn’t impress me. But we may think worse of his coarser colleagues when he’s gone.

Inside the Lamb | Ewan-M | CreativeCommons

Beer? Happily, my local the Queensbury now sells real ale, I’m pleased to say: the quality of life in Willesden has just gone up a notch. Otherwise, I went to the Lamb, in Lamb’s Conduit Street, one of London’s fine old pubs, just north of Holborn. I’m very much hoping, whatever other cautious measures Alastair Darling takes in next week’s budget, that he doesn’t put more than a penny or so on a pint of beer. Much more than that, and all confidence could drain from my personal economy.

Lorry Pushes Car Down the A1 and Doesn’t Notice

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:52:57 +0000

This video has to be seen to be believed. An 18 wheeler failed to notice that it was pushing a hatchback down the A1 in Yorkshire at 60 MPH.

Eventually the truck did notice. Thankfully no one was injured.

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UK Immigration: Big Changes Ahead for the UK Points Based System – Good Changes

jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:25:06 +0000

One of the hardest things about being an Anglophile is that it’s extraordinarily hard to move there and make a living. There are many visa options out there – the most popular being the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Visa. The Tier 1 visa is a highly skilled visa that people can get if they meet the requirements and once they get it, they are free to live and work in the UK. The Tier 2 visa relies on employer sponsorship to go to the UK and work. Neither are easy to get.

This time last year, in an effort to appear ‘tough on immigration’ in a bad economy, the UK Border Agency tightened regulations on the Tier 1 visa so that anyone wishing to get it had to have a Master’s post-graduate degree to qualify for it. This gutted my wife and I as neither of us have a Master’s and it wasn’t an option for us to go back to school.

The Tier 2 visa is practically impossible to get because it’s very hard to find an employer willing to sponsor a foreign worker in this bad economy and the regulations behind the visa mean that the employer has to prove that no one in Britain and the European Union is available to do the job – which basically means the Tier 2 visa is closed to most peoples unless you’re a high dollar executive and you’re worth the trouble it entails.

I reported last December that the Migration Advisory Committee, or MAC – the non-partisan organization that advises the UKBA on it’s policies, issued it’s yearly report and recommended that the Master’s requirement be removed and require a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, with raised previous income requirements.

This filled us with hope. The MAC submitted their report to UKBA – which always accepts their recommendations – and in traditional civil service expediency promptly did nothing for the last 3 months.

Until today.

I’m happy to say that the UKBA announced that it was accepting the MAC’s advice and that on April 6th it would implement ALL their recommendations. Meaning that from April 6th anyone with a Bachelor’s Degree can again apply for the Tier 1 visa.

I honestly can’t believe they followed through, especially when April 6th is the day an election will most likely be called. I’m shocked because the policy changes can be percieved as going ’soft on immigration.’ Nevertheless, come April 6th, UK immigration is going to change for the better.

Here’s the details from UKBA themselves:

The Government has accepted changes to Tier 1 recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee

(MAC), and has set out further details of how it will implement changes the MAC recommended to Tier 2.

The changes include new points tables for Tier 1 and Tier 2, a simpler route for very highly skilled workers without Master’s degrees, greater flexibility for short-term transfers by multinational companies, and more protection against such transfers being used to fill long-term vacancies that should go to resident workers.

Borders and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

‘We’ve always said that we would run our immigration system for the benefit of the UK and that is what we are doing.

‘The changes that we are making today will build on an already robust system which is now the envy of the world. A strength of the points-based system is the flexibility to predict and respond to events.

‘By utilising the flexibility of the points-based system we are now ensuring that only those that we need to come to the UK to work can do so.

‘I will continue to ensure that immigration does not act as a disincentive for employers to employ and improve the skills of the British workforce.’

These changes are included in the latest Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, which was laid before Parliament today.

Other changes to the Immigration Rules include:

changes to the provisions governing English language qualifications for applicants applying for permanent residence to ensure that applicants relying on qualifications in English for Speakers of Other Languages will study at accredited colleges, and to clarify the progression which migrants are required to demonstrate before applying for permanent residence;

changes to prevent asylum applicants from claiming humanitarian protection where there are serious reasons for considering that they have engaged in undesirable behaviour;

clarifying interview procedures for unaccompanied asylum seeking children;

removing a requirement for an asylum seeker to be asked to sign the interview record due to other safeguards in place;

lowering the marriage visa age to 18 for serving members of the armed forces and their partners, recognising the role of partners in supporting those on the frontline and reflecting the unique circumstances in which the armed forces operate;

and adding Monaco to the Youth Mobility Scheme.

You can get all the details here.

What does this mean for us? Well, despite the rule changes we still won’t quite qualify for the Tier 1 Visa as I don’t make enough money to get enough points. However, I suspect that will change in the next year as I have a great job with good prospects. Also, if the UKBA changes the way they calculate previous earnings, which they plan to do, we may end up qualifying with my current salary. Now we can tell all our British friends that it’s now possible for us to move to the UK if we could. The British government is no longer holding us back. Now, it’s up to us to make it happen.

I just hope the Tories don’t win the election and scrap all the changes before we can make an attempt ourselves.

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British TV Podcast Show #24 – Meera Syal

BritTVPodcast — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:03:43 +0000

The British TV Podcast with Chrissy & Ryan Show #24 features a look at the career of actress, comedienne and novelist Meera Syal (“Goodness Gracious Me”). Also, the usual news about British TV, what’s on this week in the UK & US, and DVD releases including “Wish Me Luck.”

Listen to Show 24

Doctor Who: Press Launch today for the 11th Hour – Clip Inside

jackie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:12:30 +0000

The BBC held the press launch for the new series of Doctor Who starring Matt Smith today in Cardiff.

A couple news pieces came out of the event:

There will be a Christmas special for Christmas 2010

There will be a new series of Doctor Who this time next year as well

Here’s an excellent video captured by the awesome folks at Blogtor who that features an interview with new Doctor Matt Smith and also shows an exclusive clip from the first episode of the new series, The 11th hour.

Enjoy!

US Customs Stole Our Tea!

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:57 +0000

We’re not pleased American citizens at this particular moment.

Let me give a little backstory here – as devoted Anglophiles, my wife and I love to take tea. We stocked up last time we were in Britain (last November) but we were running near the end of our Twinnings Earl Grey supply a couple weeks ago. While you can buy Twinnings in most American grocery stores, it’s simply not the same. It must be processed differently or made somewhere else – it certainly doesn’t taste like the Twinnings you buy in England.

Since supplies were running low – we asked one of our friends in England to send us some tea with our Monthly British newspaper shipment (you can’t buy British newspapers in the US anymore – at least in Chicag0) and she was happy to oblige. So, as we waited for the newspapers to come, we finally ran out of tea – it began to get ugly in the Thomas household!

I’m used to waiting for the papers – it often takes about a week for them to get here from the UK. But after a week they still hadn’t shown up. When they finally showed up another week later, the papers arrived, but the tea hadn’t. Puzzled, we examined the packaging and it had been opened by US Customs!

US Customs took our Tea! And we can’t figure out why. Generally they allow food from the UK in as long as it’s sealed in packaging, which the tea was. How did they even know it was in there?!?!? They didn’t even leave a note of explanation, just ripped open our package and left it at that.

Ridiculous. We’ve had trouble before bringing UK food into the US but this is just absrud – it’s TEA!!!! Hardly something that will bring a food born contagion apocalypse on the USA.

Oh well. I just feel bad for our friend who went to the trouble to send it to us. Thankfully, we found a source for UK Twinning Tea in the USA- the official Twinnings store. Check it out here.

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The British Invasion of the US High Street?

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:30:54 +0000

The Telegraph had an interesting article yesterday I thought was worth sharing. Most Anglophiles know that American Main Street’s are stained with the blood of failed British chains trying the American market. But, they’re making a comeback, if a little stealthily.

These chains – M&S, Sainsbury’s, Dixons, WH Smith and Laura Ashley – all had dreadful times in the US. Indeed, so grim were their experiences that they gave rise to the ‘Britons are rubbish’ platitude. M&S’s 14 year ownership of Brooks Brothers in the US was a disaster, Laura Ashley opened 30 vast flagship stores across the States in the mid-90s only to sell them for £1 a few years later, and the less said about Dixons’ American car-crash the better.

However scratch beneath the surface and British retailers are thriving Stateside. UK chains are popping up all over the country. Indeed observers are talking about a fully-fledged British invasion.

Topshop and Fresh & Easy – Tesco’s chain of West Coast convenience stores – are the best-known UK chains to open in the US recently. However smaller operators like All Saints, Ted Baker, Space NK, Superdry and Ben Sherman are also making inroads. Hotel Chocolat, the posh confectionary store, has just opened in Boston. Meanwhile Paul Smith is big in Vegas. Even Cath Kidston – the epitome of Aga-saga, home counties kitchen, flowery Britishness – is said to be on the verge of being bought by a US buyout firm.

You can read the rest of the article here.

I know Target is on the Brit bandwagon with Boots on the shelves and the new Liberty of London line. So, have you noticed a proliferation of British high street brands making inroads on the American main street?

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Humor: Most Disturbing Picture Ever – Smithy in the Bath with Becks

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:00:56 +0000

This is probably one of the most disturbing images I have ever seen and yet also the funniest.

James Corden from Gavin and Stacey and David Beckham (before his injury), together in a bathtub.

They’ve done it for Sport Relief – a charity from the people behind Comic Relief that raise money for the poor using celebrities.

See more funny Sport Relief related pictures here at the Daily Mail.

Dispatches from the South: American Things I Still Can’t Do in Britain

Mike — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:37:08 +0000

Photo from Flickr

To continue with my “I’ve been here how long?” theme, this week we’ll take a look at some of the things I would like to adapt to, but just can’t seem to get the hang of.

On the up side, I am pleased to say I can now travel around without getting lost (too often), can complain about the weather with the best of them, and even speak the language like a native. What I still cannot get to grips with however, are British eggs, electricity, aspirin and time.

The electrical sockets here are 220 volt. Yes, even for a night light or a Glade Room Freshener. This makes the Brits very cautious around electricity and practically eliminates amusing anecdotes about the time you convinced your little brother to stick a bobbie pin into an outlet. As a safety precaution, wall plugs have switches on them, so you can turn the power off “at the mains.”

This is all well and good, as long as you remember to turn it on at the mains. I wish I had a 5 pence piece for every time my laptop ran out of power or I turned a light off and on half a dozen times wondering what was wrong with it or I returned to the kitchen after 20 minutes to see why I didn’t smell dinner cooking only to find the stove stone cold and the mains power still switched off.

And time, over here, is military-style, with trains arriving and leaving at such times as 16:34 or 19:04. And for some reason, I just cannot get used to this. The simple formula of subtracting 2 and losing the first digit (turning 18:46 into 16:46 or 6:46, for example) often has me thinking that my 18:47 train is due at 16:47 so that would make it 4:47. Even with a 24-hour watch, I would still have problems adjusting. The whole thing gives me a headache.

Which brings me to aspirin. The abiding belief that topping yourself by eating a handful of aspirin means you cannot buy it by the gross, as in the US. So I am forced to buy it in boxes of 12. And you can only buy one at a time. Consequently, when I get a headache, I have to go buy a box, take two and then put the box somewhere that I will remember it in the future. The medicine cabinet seems like a good place, and I swear that is where I put them, but weeks later, when I have another headache, the box has disappeared. So I have to buy another box.

Somewhere in this flat, there are about 187 12-packs of aspirin with 10 tablets left in them. I expect we’ll find them if we ever move out.

Photo from Flickr

As for eggs, I spent 46 years developing the perfect tapping technique for cracking an American egg and then found out—to my bitter disappointment—that the skill is non-transferable. The problem, in my opinion, is they don’t feed their chickens enough DDT or whatever it is we feed them in the States because the shells here (on their brown, not white, eggs) are hard as walnuts.

Since it is my privilege to make breakfast on weekend mornings, and since my vegetarian wife and I have a limited selection of foods in common, a typical morning meal inevitably includes eggs. A favourite of mine is eggs over easy, and my wife likes fried eggs (they are the same thing, by the way) but the odds of me getting a yolk out of an eggshell in one piece are about the same as the Labour government sweeping to victory at the polls in the next general election.

Now, I know from experience that I have to hit the egg harder than I am used to, so I steel myself and give it a good whack. Generally, the first blow glances off the armour plating leaving hardly a nick. The second blow, delivered with more determination, adds a dent and a few cracks. So the third blow is practically guaranteed to end up with me holding a dripping mass of canary yellow goo, splintered eggshell and a good deal of something that unnervingly resembles snot in my hand.

We eat a lot of scrambled eggs.

But only if I remember to turn the stove on at the mains.

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Anglophile Reviews: Admit One – My Life in Film by Emmett James

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:30:07 +0000

This was a lovely little book. Not only am I a rabid Anglophile, but I’m also a movie buff. So, I’m all for a book that combines both.

Admit One by Emmett James is the story of the Hollywood dreams of a British guy from Croydon in London who sets out for Hollywood to make his way in the film industry. We learn all about his training as an actor and all the odd jobs he did to make a living in Hollywood.

Throughout the book, we follow Emmett on his various trials and tribulations in the land of sun and movies and at turns, it’s sad, inspiring and heartwarming even when you get a little lost in negativity.

The book is built around the narrative of his favorite movies- which include many blockbusters from the golden era of the blockbuster – the early 1980’s. He manages to frame his own story well as classic movies such as Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, ET etc hit the scene of 1980’s American Cinema.

Most amusing of all are his tales of getting into the Academy Awards – even when he didn’t have a reason to actually be there! Very amusing!

The book is written with a particular British wit and brutal honesty that is always welcome when it comes to reading memoirs and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Emmet James Hollywood journey. I hope we see more excellent writing from Emmet James.

I give it 5 out of 5 Stars!

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BBC Dreamspaces: Tour of a Missile Bunker Turned Into A Home

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:08 +0000

While not very British related – it’s from a British show, so it counts for that. This is a video tour from BBC Dreamspaces of a couple former missile bunkers in the USA that have been repurposed for rather interesting things.

If you can ignore the un-enthusiastic host – it’s pretty cool.

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BA Strike Latest: Leaders Spar in Parliament PMQ’s, BA Ups Strike Capacity, UNITE Banned from Terminal 5

jonathan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:35 +0000

We’re days away from the beginning of the first British Airways strike now and things are heating up. The first strike begins Saturday, March 20th and lasts until Monday March, 22nd.

British Airways Strike at Prime Minister’s Questions

Things turned political in the House of Commons today as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron sparred back and forth over the impending British Airways Strike. As always, it was entertaining to watch.

Here’s a video of PMQ’s March 17th, 2010:

British Airways Add More Flights During Strike

BA originally announced that they planned to fly at 60% capacity during the strike but they have since revised that number to 65% and added more flights, which is great news for worried passengers.

If you fear being affected by the strike this weekend, check this page on BA.com for the latest updates.

Stay tuned to Anglotopia for the latest British Airways strike updates.

Dispatches from the North: BBC iPlayer for the Wii

Lisa — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:00:30 +0000

I usually try to gear my posts toward an American audience, but I know we also have a large contingent of UK-based readers so here is a little post for you.

BBC iPlayer is available for download on the Nintendo Wii

Last week I downloaded the BBC iPlayer Channel onto my Wii console. I recently saw an advertisement for the Wii promoting the improved BBC iPlayer Channel and other downloadable features and decided to give it a shot.

The first step is to make sure your Wii console is connected to your WiFi connection, all you need to do is to go into the Wii settings then go the Internet section and find the access point. Its basically the same as connecting a laptop to WiFi, a list of available networks will come up and you just choose yours, enter the network key and you are online. You can also use the WiFi connection to play some of the Wii games online with other players around the world and download a web browser that allows you to use your Wii to surf the web.

Once I got connected to the WiFi the rest was also fairly easy to do, although I wasn’t clear at first how to access the download area, but its kind of like the iTunes App Store. Some “apps” for the Wii are free (like the BBC iPlayer, an internet browser channel and a handful of other channels) and others you have to purchase points for like games and other activities. To access the Wii “apps” go to the Wii Shop Channel on the main menu, then go to the channel downloads section and BBC iPlayer is at the top of the list. Wait a few minutes (and listen to the annoying sound of Mario running across the screen collecting coins) and you will have BBC iPlayer on your Wii console!

Previous versions of the BBC iPlayer for the Wii have been a bit underwhelming and got bad reviews, but this one is pretty much the same as the web-based version. Although just like the web version, sometimes you have to give the content some time to load. That was the only downfall (and probably has more to do with our slow broadband connection) otherwise I was really impressed with the organization of the BBC iPlayer Channel and also the range of programs available to watch. I like that I can watch all the same BBC iPlayer programs in full screen on my TV whenever I want from the comfort of my couch without needing to use my laptop.

I would definitely recommend that if you are in the UK and you have a Wii that you download the BBC iPlayer. Its free and easy to navigate and you can catch up on all your favorite BBC programs right on your television whenever it is convenient.

Cool Site Alert: I Love Your Accent – Transatlantic Dating Site

jonathan — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:30:15 +0000

This came across the inbox a few days ago and is worth mentioning. For those love forlorn Anglophiles out there who want to meet a significant other with a British accent – this site is for you. I Love Your Accent is a new dating site for transalantic lovers.

It’s pretty straightforward as far as a dating site goes – not that I would know – with plenty of pictures and user profiles and a way to connect with men and woman across the pond. The site is also useful the other way around for Brits looking for Americans.

Honestly, though, I can’t give the site a proper test and I’m happily married but it looks pretty feature rich.

The only bit I don’t like are the creepy video heads in the header of the site that say ‘I love your accent’ every time a page loads. Makes the site load slow and it’s just… creepy and annoying, especially if you try to browse the site.

This is a great idea for a site and I wish them the best of luck.

I should also add that the easiest way to get a visa to live and work in Britain is to marry a Brit. Just sayin’.

Check out I Love Your Accent here.

Anglotopia

Post-Paddy Bubble & Squeak

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Brit Celeb Radio #1 – All Things British and Langdon

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BA Strike Latest: Video Message from British Airways CEO to BA Customers

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