Another Hurdle Done

Leeds on a Saturday Afternoon
Originally uploaded by Nancy Dunne

My brother in law, Dave, had warned me that going to the cinema for the first time would be an experience over here. He was right. For the 2+ hours that Simon and I were in the theatre watching the new Star Trek movie (which is AWESOME, by the way) I could very well have still been in America. With the exception of the adverts shown prior to the previews, the movie-going experience is no different here than it is in the States...with one tiny exception.

Butter.On.My.Popcorn. As in there wasn't any, at least not much. The woman at the till asked if I wanted sweet or salty popcorn. Eh? Come again? I picked salty because the idea of sweet popcorn (I'm thinking that's like kettle corn in the US?) is just wrong. You get the vat of buttered and salty popcorn to make you thirsty enough to need the barrel of soda. It is the way of the movies, friends.

Unfortunately I forgot to warn Simon "No, I don't need any popcorn, thanks" Dunne before he grabbed a piece of my popcorn. The face he made was hysterical. "What is on that popcorn? It's not sweet at all!"

I didn't get hysterical when we came out of the theatre, probably because I knew we were going to one of my favorite stores in Leeds and then to Nando's for tea, but I get what Dave meant. Things that are the same here are SO much the same that it is jarring to come away from them and be in the UK again.

One perk I have is that Simon and the folks I've met so far seem to accept and enjoy the fact that I'm an American, and don't expect me to be English. Simon knows that I don't plan to become a British citizen and he's fine with that.

Still...is it late June yet?