So what to do if you find yourself here in the UK when the weather’s showing itself to be rather difficult? I’m glad you asked. In this, the second volume of What To Do When It’s This Bloody Cold Outside, we’re going to visit the National Media Museum in Bradford. Formerly called the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, the name became the National Media Museum in order to keep up with the rapidly changing face of media in Britain. The museum includes such attactions as the first IMAX cinema in Britain (built/opened in 1983), “TV Heaven,” an exhibit that allows visitors to view classic British television dating back as far as 1946, and many other educational exhibits focusing on the history and future of media in all of its forms. The BBC has a functioning studio within the museum where visitors can see news stories being assembled and broadcast on the web for BBC West Yorkshire, and one of the exhibits even lets visitors take a live part in a “broadcast” that can be seen by other visitors on a monitor.

If you’re a follower of my personal blog, Isn’t the Lettuce Brave?, you may remember my post about my experience seeing the movie Avatar in IMAX 3D at the NMM. The movie aside, I want to praise the staff and the overall experience. I have been in other IMAX theatres and rarely have I found the seats as comfortable as those at the NMM. Trivial thing to some, I know, but when you’re sitting through a movie as long as Avatar, it becomes important. The staff are also welcoming and very helpful. My husband is six foot five inches tall, and as a result didn’t fit comfortably in the seats in the General area. A quick word with one of the staff and we were moved to the Disabled area (due to there being empty seats at that showing) where he had more legroom and could enjoy the film.

Making a Dalek's acquaintance at the NMM, Summer 2007

All in all, this is a fantastic day out during the season when the days are dramatically shorter. The museum is a five minute walk from Bradford Interchange railway station and accessible by the Free City Bus that stops at Bradford Forster Square railway station.

If you’re coming to the UK in the winter, however, you may need to look into alternate opportunities to soak up British culture, especially if you’re outside of London and the Home Counties.  Many of the attractions that you might have on your list are not open in the winter time, simply because they don’t have heat.  So I’ve started a series of posts designed to give you some other ideas for days out in the cold, and I’m starting, again, with what I know.

Tropical World in Leeds offers an afternoon of sub-tropical educational entertainment and it’s mostly indoors!  To be fair, I visited Tropical World in the summer, but the only part that I remember as being outdoors were the ring-tailed lemurs whose enclosure is just outside the exit.  Included in the walk-through are such exhibits as The Desert House, Butterfly House, and Amazon Tank.  The Desert House is by far my favourite, simply because it has meerkats.   Not this kind, though, sadly:

This kind:

In addition to these cute and furry residents, Tropical World is home to butterflies, spiders, snakes, and birds, all represented in their natural habitats as much as possible. Birds and butterflies roam freely in their “rooms,” and visitors soon feel as though they’ve been transported to a rainforest – a very nice change from the ice and snow just outside the walls. If you’re feeling adventurous, you’ll find more pictures of my visit to Tropical World within my Flickr set of my 2007 Yorkshire Vacation.

Currently at Tropical World is a new exhibit, Morelets Crocodiles (Crocodylus Moreletii). They are young as of yet, but when they reach adulthood they will join whistling ducks and a pair of macaws in the South American House. Be sure to bring a good camera and take your time walking through all the houses at Tropical World. This link provides virtual tours of each to give you an idea – or just warm you up a bit.

Opening times & Charges (updated May 2008):
Summer (BST)
10am until 6pm (last admission at 5:30)
Winter (GMT)
10am until 4pm (last admission at 3:30)
Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Admission charges
Adults £3.19
Children (aged 8 – 15yrs) £1.96
Under 5’s free
Leeds/Breeze card holders free
Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

The next installment will find TOB visiting the National Media Museum in Bradford. Stay tuned!

It was then that his frustration level reached its zenith. The Chris Farley-esque man throws down all his luggage, his coat, and his bottle of Coca Cola in order to pitch a fit. Screaming at the top of his lungs, but at no one in particular he screams the title of this post. I didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed, scared, or laugh at him. So I did all three.

With that in mind, here’s a run down of the UK currency.

Much like the U.S. system, they operate on pence (our cents) and pound (our dollars). Their currency breaks down as follows:

• Coins
  • 1 penny coin (small, round copper coin)
  • 2 penny coin (large, round copper coin)
  • 5 pence coin (small, round silver coin)
  • 10 pence coin (large, round silver coin)
  • 20 pence coin (small, 7 sided silver coin)
  • 50 pence coin (large, 7 sided silver coin)
  • 1 Pound Coin (small, thick , golden coin)
  • 2 Pound Coin (large, silver and golden coin)

All coins have the head of the reigning monarch stamped on the front.

• Banknotes
  • 5 Pound Note
  • 10 Pound Note
  • 20 Pound Note
  • 50 Pound Note

The interesting thing about UK Notes is that the larger the denomination, the larger the piece of paper the banknote is printed on. Also, intriguing to Americans, each denomination of banknote is printed in a different color.

Now, how do we get our hands on these babies?

• Take your dollars or credit card to your departing airport. Exchange there.
• Order currency via website like travelex.com
• Get your bank to procure currency for you
• Take your dollars or credit card with you, Exchange currency upon arrival.
• Take your dollars with you. Exchange currency at a bank or currency exchange.
• Take your ATM card, withdraw currency in pounds.
• Take your credit card, let your card provider do the currency conversion for you.

There is one more option that I simply do not recommend: travelers’ cheques. They are no longer universally accepted and some places even place a service charge on you even if they do accept.

For the past 10 years, there was a general rule: the destination airport was the best place to exchange money. And this remains true, by and large. Although I’ve noticed that banks outside of touristy areas offer a decent rate, too. Another truism was that it was smart to walk around with a little pocket change for whatever country you were in but to use your credit card for most purchases. Regretfully, this is no longer a universal truth. In the search for revenue, banks no longer offer competitive exchange rates on using their card and many now charge a convenience charge for each transaction in a foreign currency.

It seems that the best exchange rates, as long as your bank doesn’t charge outrageous fees, is to do as Nancy recommends, have enough currency for a taxi, newspaper, coffee, etc for the airport but to withdraw using your ATM card.

As for us, we still like using travelex’s online ordering. Its not the best rate but they have a 100% guaranteed buy back and they fedex your currency to you. Easy Peasy.

And this brings us back to a conversation the British love: the weather.  On numerous occasions I have found great amusement in how many different ways UK weather forecasters can say, “It might rain part of the day and it might be dry part of the day, but we’re not really sure further than that.”  But what we have going here is an extended cold spell that might break records.

We have the advantage of having friends and family in the UK, so they can relay any information to us.  But if you don’t have this luxury, where does one look to find out about the weather?  I’ve supplied a list of web links I have been giving lots of traffic:

• Heathrowairport.com: While the site does not provide weather forecasts, their home page does provide some updated information.  Also, looking at the arrivals board over an extended period can be something of a help as to where flights are being allowed to land and which ones have a high likelihood cancelation.
• ba.com: We’re flying British Airways (hopefully).  All major airlines do a decent job of updating their customers but BA’s website feels dated, at best.  But it does the job.  Make sure the airport have your contact information so that they can email, text, or call in case there are last minute changes.
• weather.com: Atlanta based The Weather Channel has been a staple of american cable and satellite television.  Their website is also quite good.  Over the past few years, their coverage of international destinations has improved.
• news.sky.com: Sky News, though not my favorite source of information, provides their weather reports for streaming over the internet.   Additionally, their iPhone app provides streaming video of their weather reports.
• news.bbc.co.uk/weather: A little hard to navigate but you can access their forecasts as well as a stream of their weather report.
• metoffice.co.uk: The Met is the U.K.’s version of NOAA.  They have some decent information, if you have patience to wade through it.

Other sites to consider are your national newspapers, BBC regional newscasts, and even local papers’ websites.  All easily discoverable via your favorite search engine.

But I have also gotten some good information via Twitter.  Searching on items such as Heathrow or British Airways provides a lot of junk but also good information, if you can filter through the trash.  Also, British Airways‘ and Heathrow’s twitter account and the latter’s accompanying hashtags are good sources of more official information.

Sign advertising "Gorgeous" Pancakes, Sheffield town centre.

In thinking about Dave and his family’s upcoming trip to the UK, I started thinking about the things that might be helpful to know in terms of conversions – clothing/shoe sizes, money, temperature, etc. I’d also like to share some of the helpful online converters I’ve bookmarked in my nine months living here.

First, let’s look at money. You’ll be faced with that conversion before you even leave home. One of the best online converters I’ve found is XE Universal Currency Converter. They seem to stay pretty on top of the dynamic worth of one currency against another, and can help you know what to expect when you turn up to change out your currency for pounds sterling. Currently (as of this posting), the conversion looks like this for dollars to pounds: 1.00 GBP = 1.60281 USD. Not so great for visitors from the US, sadly, but not as bad as it has been.

My suggestion is to check with your bank and see what the currency conversion charge is and if it’s not bad, just hit an ATM when you land. Of course you’ll also want to make sure you know what the daily withdrawal limit is for your account before you make the decision to go this route. You can also plan to use your credit cards in the UK as long as you warn the person at the till point that your card does not have a chip. I still use two American credit cards and I am so accustomed to using my English debit card that I’ve almost put my non-chipped credit cards in the chip scanner!

If your trip includes other countries in the EU and you’re planning to get Euros, they will be accepted in some places in the UK but you can expect some funny looks. While the UK is a member of the EU, the exchange rate is not 1:1, so just be aware.  The same theory applies to traveler’s cheques, though I’m not sure anyone even uses those anymore.

Now that you’ve sorted your spending money, it’s time to go shopping! For clothing, the rule of thumb that I follow is that a UK size is four numbers higher than a US size. A 14 in the UK, in my experience, is a 10 in the US. I was scandalized the first time I tried on a size 14 pair of trousers, thinking they’d fit just like my size 14 jeans did “back home,” and couldnt even get them up all the way! The best thing I can say in the way of advice, though, is to always try things on if possible. A size 16 blouse for me at Primark is a good fit if not a little tight, while a size 16 blouse at Next is too big.

Men’s clothes are much simpler, as the sizes seem to run about the same in both countries. The fun comes in when my husband is looking at something that has European sizing, but we don’t see that in men’s nor women’s clothes as often as we do shoes. Men’s and women’s shoe sizes tend to be about two to two and a half numbers smaller than their corresponding size in the US, but as they sometimes are made differently I would again recommend trying on any shoe that you intend to purchase.

A great website that I’ve used many times when shopping online and, on my Blackberry, when in the shops is the European Clothing Sizes page at About.com. I admit that I’m not as familiar with children’s clothing size conversions because I don’t have any of my own yet, but from buying clothes for my nieces in both countries they seem to be about the same.

Next, let’s talk a little about weights and measures. You’ll need to fill your hire car up with petrol in order to get to the shops and the town centre, so an important thing to know is that prices will look a bit different in the UK than they do in the US. Petrol stations advertise prices by the imperial gallon, not the US gallon, so it may seem that the prices are a bit steeper than those to which you’re accustomed. Don’t worry, you’ll get a bit more for the money you pay. In my informal survey I couldn’t find anyone that really knew why the UK used a different gallon, but if you’d like to be able to do more conversions such as miles/gallon, etc, this website seems to be pretty comprehensive and easy to use.

If you’re going the self-catering route, you’ll need to visit a grocery store while you’re here.  For the most part things are similar enough that you shouldn’t have any problems, but you may notice some differences in the information listed on the packaging.  If you’re a calorie counter (on vacation?  Really?  Well, if you must…) you’ll notice that calories are listed as “energy” or in kcals.  It may be a bit more difficult to figure out the sodium content if that is something you are careful of in your eating.  My suggestion is that if you’re going to be taking care of your own food, go to UK based websites for recipes, such as BBC Food.  Copy down the ingredients you need including the amounts and take that info with you to your local Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, etc.  The British retail work ethic is all but based on fantastic customer service, so you should be able to ask a sales associate for help without much incident.  I’ve done that on several occasions!

Finally, you will notice that the weather forecast is given in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit as it is in the US.  So far I have learned that above 28C is enough to make a British person faint, 0C is cold enough to need a hat, and the whole of Scotland may very well be at -5C or under for most of the winter.  Most weather websites will let you convert from English (Fahrenheit) to Metric (Celsius), but if you want to be able to convert on the fly this website from the US National Weather Service Forecast Office may help.

“…we’ll drink a cup of kindness dear, for days of auld lang syne!”

Happy New Year from the UK-dwelling half of TOB!

On the one hand, my wife and I can hardly wait. We have not been on vacation in more than 18 months and it has been nearly that long since we last laid of foot on Albion’s hallowed ground.  And there’s the added benefit that we’ll get to see friends we haven’t seen in nearly ten years as well as family that we last saw in October.

On the other hand, there is all the fun that the Christmas Day escapades have brought us.

I’m always nervous about air travel.  No, I’m not nervous that something will happen to an airplane–that is out of my control.  What I am nervous about is that I would leave something undone that would delay or hinder my next flight like not getting to the airport in time.

With the changes that TSA has made regarding ticketing names and names on identification must match exactly, I made a phone call to British Airways to make sure everything was in order with our tickets.  Thank goodness I checked because they were not.  Since both my daughter and I go by our middle names, our tickets originally had our first initial followed by middle name on the ticket.  Apparently, this would not have been sufficient.

I spoke with a kind customer service representative (it’s shocking, by the way, to speak to a BA CSR and they have an American accent) who heard my concern, checked with her supervisor, and corrected the names on our tickets.  And catch this–they did it for free.

While I was on the phone with them, I asked whether the current stipulations that many report about nothing in laps during last hour of flight would effect our travel (i.e., would I need to secure a seat for my daughter).  She reassured me that, currently no, I do not have to.  But she also said to check BA’s website every few days as requirements are changing frequently.

Here’s hoping the need for all the extra procedures ends soon, and that I seem to have all my ducks in a row.

First, travel destinations and experiences fill up early, so book early. Unless you’re planning on spending your Christmas in a remote village (and I totally recommend it, the North is full of under-appreciated places!), the chances that you’ll find a place to stay that suits you dwindle the closer you get to the big day. I know that applies to most holidays, but as Dave posted in Christmas in England: an Expat Returned Home’s View, it is quite popular to travel for the holidays here rather than enjoying a holiday at home.

Speaking of the big day, the second thing I’d like to remind visitors is that Christmas Day and the day after (Boxing Day) are national holidays, so things you may want to do while you’re here may not be open. Further, if Boxing Day occurs on a Saturday the following Monday will be a holiday as well. Many places open on Bank Holidays, but some don’t so it’s always a good idea to book in advance and call ahead to check opening times.

While you’re booking things, if you’d like to see more of the country than the place where you’re staying for Christmas, you’ll need to rent a car or carry extra dosh for taxis. Train service across the UK starts to wind down on Christmas Eve at 8pm, with no trains running at all after 10pm. With the exception of specialty trains like the Keighley Worth Valley Railroad, which operates its “Mince Pie Service” starting on Boxing Day and running through 3 January, there are no trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Service resumes on 27 December, but it is always a good idea to check out how the trains are running before you head to the station.

The same advice applies to bus travel. Of course, services available will vary from place to place. Here in West Yorkshire, there were buses running until about 6pm on a regular schedule on Christmas Eve, then stopping service between 8-10pm depending on route. There were no buses making long haul trips at all, and only some volunteers running abbreviated routes (on antique buses here in Keighley, free of charge) on Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day there were buses making limited half-hourly trips from cities such as Wakefield and Shipley to Leeds and Halifax to accommodate Boxing Day Sale shoppers. Nothing else. So if you’re feeling adventurous and have a valid driving license in your home country, you might look into hiring a car. If you have a White Christmas like we did this year, a drive through the Dales in Yorkshire or out from London to Canterbury or Salisbury might provide some breathtaking vistas that just can’t be experienced anywhere else.

Finally, if you’re a sucker for a sale, retail stores in the UK start making ready for the Boxing Day sales on Christmas eve after closing. It’s like Black Friday after Thanksgiving in America here, with people rising early to make their way to their favourite stores in the hopes of snagging a bargain. You can find everything from clothes to furniture and everything in between on offer at huge discounts.

So to recap, book in advance, check on that booking close to travel time, hire a car, and come join us in some holiday cheer! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend some Christmas vouchers. Ho Ho Ho!

But since I am flying with my wife and one-year-old in two weeks time, this wreaks havoc on plans, especially packing.  And although things are in motion here’s a list of what I can find out has changed:

• We’re going to need to get to the airport earlier.  While I haven’t seen anything official about this, it seems that multiple screenings of baggage and persons are going on, even hand searching of everyone’s luggage after passing through screening.  CNN even speaks of what I consider excessive investigating of baby bottles (thank God the baby is past the day of formula).  The Guardian reports that all passengers from London bound for the U.S. are being body searched.
• We’re going to have to change how we pack. British Airways is reporting that if you are flying from Heathrow or Gatwick to the U.S., you can only have one piece of carry-on luggage.  Thankfully, they are not charging extra if you have to check more luggage due to the increased security measures.
• Any presents not packed in luggage cannot be wrapped.
• And while the stories are allegorical, and not official statements from TSA, these are also changes:
  • Passengers are being restricted to their seats during the last hour of flight.  It seems that we’re going to need to plan for this with making sure bladders are empty and baby is fed and changed.
  • All blankets and pillows are taken up for last hour.  You cannot have anything in your lap (I wonder how that will effect my daughter flying as a ‘lap baby’).
  • As you cannot get out of your seat, you cannot have access to your carry-on luggage during the final hour of flight.
  • And while I haven’t seen anything directly reported, I seen second-hand reports that electronics must be stowed and even in-flight entertainment systems being disabled for the final hour.

TSA has done something rather ingenious.  Extra security measures are varying from location to location.  While I am not so sure about the effectiveness of this in a time with access to services like Twitter, I think this is a lot better policy than broadcasting what we are doing to make people safe.  While the broadcasting creates a sense of safety and confidence of knowing what to expect in the traveling public, changing measures and not broadcasting them keeps anyone trying to do harm from “knowing our playbook.”

In the grand scheme of things, I guess even more apparent what airline travel has become: a bus with wings.

Traditions have long, intertwined roots.  And, as such, they are not to be tampered with lightly.  And it is no different with Christmas.  Not that one culture’s traditions are better than others.  They are just different.  Here are just a few of my favorite traditions that England observes but either does not happen or rarely happens in the United States.

Music: There are several things here.

First, it must be said that this writer loves Christmas music.  I can hardly wait for the day the local radio station converts to a 24 hr Christmas music format.  That said, it does seem wear on many.  And that is why I really like how few stations in the U.K switch over to a completely Christmas format.  The closest I can find is Classic FM, which gradually increases their Christmas-themed music as they get closer to the big day.  And even then, most of the music is religious music rather than ceremonial.  That struck me, having grown up in a nation that does not have a national religion or state-sponsored religion.

Closely tied to this is the number of concerts that every town and organization seems to sponsor.  If it is not a choir, then its a brass band.  And if its not a choir, its a local church’s service.  And if not that, then its the school nativity play or a local group’s “panto”.  But forget the town tree lighting service.  You could spend all your free time in December going to these wonderful little treats.  Additionally, I recently heard a piece on BBC Radio 2 on the Yorkshire tradition of gathering in the pubs to do hymn sings.  Apparently people travel for miles, sometimes literally across the world, to attend.  Don’t get me wrong, we have our fair share of singing in the US but I really think we’re just rank amateurs when it comes to the per capita quantity compared to the U.K.

Lastly, under the rubric of music, I must confess I really do like the tunes used in the U.K. for O Little Town of Bethlehem and Away in the Manger.

Accouterments: I really miss the Christmas Crackers and accompanying paper crowns.  I have no clue what the tradition on these things are.  But for the uninitiated, imagine small firecracker inside a festively decorated tube.  Pull at the two ends and “pop”.  You get a loud noise and some silly kind of treasure that kids (and the occasional adult) goes ga-ga over.  Also in the cracker is a paper crown.  I assume this is a figuration of the three kinds but Chrismas dinner, all dressed up and with the sterling on the table, looks delightfully silly with poor-fitting paper crowns are atop everyone’s head, including grandma who just paid to have her hair done the day before.  Lastly, I miss the children’s services with the Christingles.  Christingles are decorated oranges.  With the finished product looking something like the Queen’s orb, each part of the christingle is symbolic of something related to Jesus, his life and ministry.  Something so simple.  I know its crazy.  Every church I’ve been in back in the U.S. has had it introduced at some point.

Transportation: This something I do not really care for but find interesting. To me, its a little off-putting that a great number of people traveling for the holidays aren’t so much traveling to see family but are looking for a place where they can get a tan in December and drink the holiday away with family or friends.  Admittedly, folks in the U.S. are increasingly making destination-themed Christmas part of our lives but it seems many times its those of us in the south search for something approaching a white Christmas.  But what I do enjoy about the U.K. travel system is that just about everything in U.K. shuts down on Christmas day.  Airports are all but closed.  If there’s a train on the tracks on Christmas day, I would be surprised.  While potentially inconvenient, there is something enduring about this.  The Christ child’s birth is so important, that even the trains and planes stop for him.

“Extended Hours”: I remember being profoundly assumed that “extended holiday shopping hours” meant staying open until 8pm.  Obviously, the whole island has a few more levels to discover until they are masters of the art of “retail therapy.”  In the U.S. malls regularly stay open until at least 10pm the few nights before Christmas Eve.  But there is something nice about shorter retail days.  First of all, it means that retail employees get to be home with family and friends at a decent hour.  Also, it demonstrates that, culturally, maybe there’s not as much emphasis on the retail/ commercial side of Christmas that our friends at Coca-Cola invented for us so long ago.

And this leads me to my last point, the Christmas I spent in Britain was not as fixated on consumption as the Christmases I spend in the United States.  I realize that this is a matter of degree and that I lived in a rural area with a high unemployment rate.  Back then, I was just out of grad school and on my own.  Now, I am married and have a child.  So circumstances are different.  But still, I have the impression that while there’s great emphasis placed on gift giving, there’s not the price tag that we place here in the U.S.