Leaving England – 20 Things I’ll Miss

Just 2 more working days in the office, followed by 2 days packing up the flat and a whirlwind visit to NYC, and then I’m off to start a new life in Seattle.

People have asked what I’m looking forward to about Seattle, but in this post I’ll say what I’m going to miss about Blighty:

1) English Cricket – there’s nothing like a beery day out at Lords (see above) and The Oval.

2) Real Ale – I know Seattle has some great micro-breweries but there’s few beers better than Sharp’s from Cornwall or Harvey’s from Sussex.

3) Richmond Park – so many memories of sunny (and snowy) walks among the deer and training for the London Marathon.

4) BBC Breakfast – just the best news and current affairs program to get you slowly eased into the day. Not sure I’m ready for CNN on a regular AM basis!

5) English Country Pubs – we had such a great weekend recently saying goodbye to family and friends in Sussex. Who’d not want to spend every night in The Brewer’s Arms?

6) Seaford Head – breath-taking views in the south of England of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters. If we’re there, it usually means we’re recovering from an evening with my brother Paul and his delightful family, or we’re about to hit his cheap red wine!

7) Fish and Chips – in paper of course!

8) Tony Swaitland – local butcher in East Sheen who always, always asks you how you’re going to cook his meat. His free range, organic turkey at Thanksgiving 2009, converted Ashley’s entire family.

9) London Cabbies – seriously not sure how I’ll cope in Seattle without being able to flag down, after a big night out, a black cab who’ll take me anywhere and know exactly where anywhere is!

10) Cornish Pasties

11) The West Country – Devon, Cornwall and Somerset – where my family live and have lived. I’ll never forget Ashley’s reaction to moorland, like Haytor above where we got engaged, which is beautiful geography that simply doesn’t exist in the US.

12) Rugby – a bit like American Football but for fearless, real men! [runs for cover….]

13) British Drama – we were gripped by Waking The Dead last night, plus all the costume stuff like Downton Abbey.

14) British Comedy – need I say more? MORE! Hahahahah…….ha…….

15) Trains – I won’t miss the London Underground, but I do love the train. Always so easy to hop aboard, snooze, read the paper, sip a can of lager and arrive the other end in tact, rested and raring to go!

16) Europe – being able to hop on a plane for £50 and in 90 minutes be in Nice (above) or Tuscany or Vienna or Paris or Dublin or Munich or or or or or…..

17) Proper chocolate – nothing beats Cadbury’s or some of the stuff out of Bruges or Switzerland. Kraft better not screw it up!

18) Sarcasm and irony – wondering if I’ll have to temper my gravity towards wit and candour to get a point across. Hope not!

19) The great British fry up – this morning Ashley said she was looking forward to American breakfasts again! And what is wrong with the above exactly???

20) All my fabulous friends and family that can’t wait to see the back of me, [wipes a tear from keyboard], all my colleagues in the London office and the incredible breadth and depth of talent that is the digital advertising industry in the UK.

I’ll miss more, as my cricket batting average last summer demonstrates particularly well, but later this week I’ll joy down what I’m looking forward to about the Rainy City!