What can I get for ya, luv?

   During the day I’m mostly talking to the other women in my class.  We have a great group of 12 women from all over the US, a range of ages and backgrounds, and we have great fun together.  But it’s always fun to interact with people who actually live and work in London.  From buying groceries to shopping in a tourist attraction store, the people who work in the shops are who I usually interact with.  A common thing for informal meetings is to call people “love.”  Many times I’ve heard variations of “What can I get for ya, luv?” and “Here ya go, luv.”  I think this is great.  In the US we do a similar thing.  Nicknames for people you don’t know can range from “dear” to “buddy.”  But there’s something about the “love” that’s so cheerful and friendly.  I’m not saying I’m going to start using it, but if you ever get the chance to travel to England keep an ear open for its use.
  Other natives I’ve been talking to are often guides or museum employees.  We’ve had one dud as a guide, probably because it was a dreary Sunday and his frivolity rubbed us the wrong way.  Other than that, the Blue Badge guides from the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides are amazing.  They are phenomenally knowledgeable and engaging.  Hugh (who showed us around Westminster Abbey) and Patrick (our Salisbury and Stonehenge guide) were great and I’m blown away by all that they know of the history of England.  Tony, our driver to and from Salisbury, was great, as well.  It’s nice, too, that they live in the places they are telling us about.  I could research and learn about the history they are telling us, but they have a connection with their subjects and that makes a positive difference for us, the tourists.

  Another notable local interaction I’ve had is with Richard, who works at Kensington Palace.  Katie, Kristen, Callie Ann, and I were wandering through the King’s rooms when we spotted a table with a deck of cards on it.  Naturally we sat down and I started shuffling.  All of a sudden Richard sat down and said “What are we playing, then?”  As I stated, our group of 12 women has mostly been spending time with each other, so when a handsome young British man dressed formally in a coat with tails sits down and asks what we’re playing, we were delighted.  For a half hour we played “Go Fish” and chatted about what we were doing in London.  Unfortunately we had to meet up with our group at that point, so we said our goodbyes, but it was a great memory to add to my time here.

A decoration hanging from the ceiling in Kensington Palace.