Walking with God

One word British people use a lot is "sorry."  We are constantly saying sorry to each other. You get so used to saying "sorry" it becomes part of your DNA. At the museum I was working at today, I found myself saying sorry it was so hot in the museum as if it was my fault we're having this prolonged heatwave and the lack of airconditioning.  On the bus home, this man and woman got on. Just as they were about to sit down, the bus lurched forward, and he fell back crushing my knee with his huge rucksack. I pushed him forward and told him to mind his rucksack. Immediately, the woman he was with said, "sorry" and they continued chatting as if nothing had happened. Although I was still feeling resentful about my knee, I could feel the pain in my knee and my grievance melting away.  By the time I got off the bus, 15 minutes later, my knee was perfectly fine and I was back to my joyful self. When I got home, my flatmate's cat, Zeus, was in a bad mood. His ...

I was making a tentative arrangement with a friend via text to meet up. I then said, "We'll play it by ear. " After sending the text, I wondered if she knew what that expression meant. Then I thought she must do as she's been living in the UK now for donkey's years. (My friend is from Poland). I soon received a response from her saying she didn't have a clue what I was on about. I explained to her that the expression means, "we'll see how it goes" and she understood. I'm sure all countries have their own quaint idioms which baffle others. 😊

A work colleague and I were sharing fun horror stories about looking for places to rent and flatsharing in London.  She's in her twenties and originally from Germany, but now lives in London. I told her about when I was looking for a flat to share with a friend. We went to look at this flat above a shop. The rooms were a good size. Although there was this gaping hole in the living room, we decided we could live with that. The kitchen was not only tiny, there was an actual bath in the kitchen. My friend and I joked that while she's cooking, I could be taking a bath. When the landlord returned, he asked us what we thought about the flat. My friend and I replied in unison, "We'll let you know." We then literally ran out of the flat and burst out laughing.  We couldn't believe the landlord seriously expected people to live in that flat? "Why didn't you tell him the truth?" my colleague asked me. "We had to be polite, it's the British way,...