Phew!

ETA: Himself passed his practical test last week with two minor faults (a very good result, since you're allowed fifteen before you fail). I managed to pass this morning, also with two minor faults. When my examiner gave me my result, I laughed and told him I'd had a little internal competition going with my husband. When I said that Himself had also gotten two faults, the examiner said "Oh! Well if you'd told me that at the beginning I would have only given you one!" He was full of win.

And now it's done with. Hurrah!

Inappropriate clothing, cars, lilacs and WTF?

In other words, a random sampling of tidbits.

Tidbit the first: this weekend, the temps in London got up to 22 degrees C (a whopping 72F). This was apparently the signal that most of southwest London had been waiting for. In a climate that would have a number of Houstonians huddled in their parkas and wool sweaters, I was "treated" to the sight of more naked flesh then is really appropriate on my grocery run. OK, I realize it's been cold and raining for nigh on five months, but that does not make hot pants and bikini tops (thankfully not on the same person!) good ideas for a trip to Sainsbury's. Just sayin'.

Tidbit the second: my driving test is on Tuesday tomorrow (cue heart palpitations). Himself took his last week, and I'm sorry to say that my run of doing better then him in this arena is likely to be finished. You are allowed 15 minor faults on the practical test before you fail. He got two. Apparently (according to my absolutely lovely driving instructor) that's really, really, really good. So I'm bowing to the inevitable and just hoping at this point that I pass. The ALDI did give me the encouraging news* that 50-60% of people with driving experience pass on their first go. Excellent. Fantastic. Shit. So tomorrow at around lunchtime I'll either be greatly relieved or hiding under my bed.

Tidbit the third: for the first time in more then 15 years I am living somewhere with lilacs. I cannot begin to explain how happy this makes me. I have very fond memories of wallowing under the lilac bushes at my aunt's house in Somerville as a kid, and seeing those purple cones starting to flower makes me a wee bit giddy. The girls think I'm nuts, but they are infidels when it comes to lilacs. Heathens. They will be educated.

Tidbit the fourth: one of the questions I get quite a bit from people in the states is how's the food? And, for the most part, it's good. Especially in London, you can get just about any kind of food you want**, and pub food has moved towards hoity toity roast lamb with truffles kinds of things, at least at some places. But the one thing I cannot wrap my head around are the flavors the Brits chose to put on their potato chips (crisps). Last weekend at the store, I was so stunned by a display that I had to play photo documentarian (sorry for crappy phone pictures).

OK, cheese I get, Teriyaki Chicken is pretty much in line with usual choices, but Flame Grilled Steak from Argentina? I've now checked out the website, and the flavors available include: Welsh Rarebit, Argentinian Flame Grilled Steak, South African Sweet Chutney, Australian BBQ Kangaroo (???!!!!), Dutch Edam Cheese, English Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding, Scottish Haggis (oh barf), Irish Stew, Brazilian Salsa, American Cheeseburger (better then Apple Pie, I suppose), French Garlic Baguette, Italian Spaghetti Bolognese, German Bratwurst Sausage, Japanese Teriyaki Chicken and Spanish Chicken Paella.

I'm not sure what more I can say. I thought Prawn Cocktail crisps were bad, but these are beyond comprehension. Truly.

* The encouraging part being that only 10% of new drivers pass the first time.
** We have not yet found good mexican. I've been given assurances that it does exist, but we haven't found it yet.

Driving test

We (Himself and I) are getting to experience British bureaucracy in all its glory as we attempt to get UK drivers licenses. UK regulations state that we can only drive on our US licenses for a year from the date we arrived, and since the UK license-getting process can take two years, we're trying to push ahead and get it taken care of.

I had no idea how complicated this was until we started. In October. The first step is to get a provisional license, which involved filling out a form and sending it off with my passport ("Please don't plan to leave the country for 4 weeks after you send in your application...") to Swansea. Thankfully the passports came back quite promptly, to be followed in short order by a provisional license. Which looks a lot like any other license, but means that I have to put a big red L on my car (learner, not loser people) (a requirement we have totally ignored, seeing as we have 40+ years of driving experience between the two of us) (and we have US licenses that are still useful), and I can't drive on the motorway (that's highway to all y'all).

Once you have your provisional license, you can apply for a date to take your theory test. Now, I got my driver's license in 1989, and my memory may be fading a bit, but I'm pretty sure I had to take the test first before I got my permit. In any event, the UK theory test has two parts: 50 multiple choice questions taken from a pool of almost 1000, and a hazard perception test, which requires that you watch 14 video clips from the vantage point of a driver, and click a mouse button to identify developing hazards. You have to get 43 out of 50 right on the multiple choice, and 44 out of 75 possible points on the hazard perception test to pass. Once you've passed, you have two years to take your practical (driving) test.

Two years. Which is because, rumor has it, UK driving tests are second to none for nit-picking, exacting and thoroughly entertaining requirements. For example, if you are stopped on the road, you must put the car in neutral, engage the handbrake and take your foot off of the brake pedal. Ummmm...hunh? The reasoning behind this apparently is that the brake lights might dazzle drivers behind you. My interpretation (in retrospect) while driving around has been "I wonder why they don't have their brakes on?" Most people spend exorbitant amounts of money on driving lessons to be sure they pass their practical. I am thoroughly relieved that The Company will cover the cost of 5 driving lessons, because 10 hours of behind the wheel training runs about £300.

Today was my theory test. I must admit that I had the advantage here: Himself took the theory test a few weeks ago, and I got the benefit of his experience in my preparations. You can go to any newsstand and actually buy a book containing all 963 questions and answers that might be on the theory test. I did. This weekend, I answered every single question. Somewhere around #700 and 10:30 on Sunday night, I decided it would all be much more fun if I came up with my own answers.

You are preparing to turn left on to a side street. An elderly person is already in the crossing. Do you:

A. Sound your horn loudly in case they didn't hear you
B. Inch forward to encourage them to go fast
C. Wait patiently
D. Rev your engine and wave them across

My addition to this was:
E. Mow them down in a crack-induced bloodbath and drive off into the sunset cackling maniacally

Himself had nothing good to say about the hazard perception test, and the directions for said test are not terribly clear. You're supposed to click the left or right mouse button when you see a potential hazard (pedestrians, car approaching from side street, lorry pulling out from a parking space), and click again as the hazard develops. However, they never say whether you need to click on the side of the hazard, or how many clicks you should make per hazard. If you click too many times, you get no points. So let's just say his score did not reflect his actual level of awareness and observation. Having heard about his experience, I was a bit more prepared.

My test was this morning, and I'm enjoying the aftermath because it is the first (and most likely the last) time I've ever done better on anything involving driving or perception of hazards (or anything else except signal transduction cascades maybe). 50 out of 50, 62 out of 75.

Thanks for going first dear!