Olympic Ceremonies

[PaulaSB12]

Can you watch bbc iplayer in America because the ceremony is on there so you can watch with no ad breaks. As for the ceremony I thought it was wonderful, made me proud of my country.

 

[Bonnie151]

Interesting.... Does the move to leave have a lot of support? That would be very sad indeed....

I think it's a bit too hard to tell. I suspect there are a lot of people who support independence but aren't publicly saying so. It's not so long ago that I never thought I'd see the SNP in power and here they are. Personally, I really hope we don't leave the UK.

 

[epcot.girl]

I am really sad about that impression.... I would hope most americans are interested in other countries.
My grandparents on my fathers side were from wales.

To be honest I don't know where those people get the idea from! I'd bet most of them don't know much about America (ironically!). America is just like every other country as far as I can tell, and I personally love visiting.

 

[sittinpretty]

You are very welcome, Sittinpretty. I'm a huge anglophile (as are many, many Americans) and I'm very much looking forward to my trip to the U.K. next year. I sometimes wish my English and Scottish ancesters had never crossed the pond.

By the way, did anyone notice the Pink Floyd references at the very beginning of the program when they were panning over the city? There was a floating pig over Battersea Power Station and they played a couple of bars from "Time" (Dark Side of the Moon) when the camera panned past Big Ben. That was so cool!

I've ventured back onto the main boards from the British boards to see if it is all clear, whatshisnames angry posts have been deleted by the mods I see.

You will be very welcome in the UK, we always love to see our American friends over here and I am sure that you will get a very friendly welcome. Where are you intending to visit? I live in the south east of England and am a frequent visitor to London so if you need any hints or tips I would be happy to help!

 

[sittinpretty]

Sorry I know I already quoted and answered this but what you said made me think of something.

There's an idea that Americans are 'inward-looking' and uninterested in the rest of the world. I don't think that's fair. My experience in visiting the US and communicating with many Americans online indicates that there are many, many Americans who absolutely do take an interest in the non-US world. Obviously not as much as they do their own country, but that's true of all of us for obvious reasons.

I've also had some amusing experiences with Americans who don't know much about Britain ('Oh I know Wales, it's in England!' and 'Wales? That's north of England right?' and 'So does the UK have a president or what?') but those people were well-meaning, expressing an interest and I'm sure plenty of Brits make stupid mistakes about America when talking to you guys!

Now obviously the Scottish referendum stuff isn't big important news to anyone outside the UK yet. Maybe when it gets closer other countries will notice. So the fact that you haven't heard of it yet isn't so surprising.

But I am astounded that NBC didn't even bother to look up Tim Berners-Lee. His invention changed the world and he's a professor at MIT!

Completely agree, all Americans I have ever met in the USA and elsewhere have all been very well meaning, curious and friendly (apart from a guy in Greenwich Village in 1989 who called me 'trash' for being English but I laughed that off!)

The main ignorance about the UK is from a certain section of the UK's own populace, the English nationalists who think they are very patriotic but who often know nothing about the basics of the UK. I have to listen to one of them at work and she makes me wince with her stupid ignorant claptrap. She knows not the difference between, England, Great Britain and the UK, thinks Ireland is part of the UK and that the British flag is the 'English' flag. I am forever having to correct her and like-minded people who are usually on the right, think the 'Great' in Great Britian means 'fantastic' (!), it doesn't, it is used as in 'Greater Britain', to differentiate our island from the other land of the Britons, being Brittany in France a.k.a Little Britain (I kid you not!).

Apologies for another OT post!

 

[smschex]

Completely agree, all Americans I have ever met in the USA and elsewhere have all been very well meaning, curious and friendly (apart from a guy in Greenwich Village in 1989 who called me 'trash' for being English but I laughed that off!)

The main ignorance about the UK is from a certain section of the UK's own populace, the English nationalists who think they are very patriotic but who often don't know nothing about the basics of the UK. I have to listen to one of them at work and she makes me wince with her stupid ignorant claptrap. She knows not the difference between, England, Great Britain and the UK, thinks Ireland is part of the UK and that the British flag is the 'English' flag. I am forever having to correct her and like-minded people who are usually on the right, think the 'Great' in Great Britian means 'fantastic' (!), it doesn't, it is used as in 'Greater Britain', to differentiate our island from the other land of the Britons, being Brittany in France a.k.a Little Britain (I kid you not!).

Apologies for another OT post!

Please don't apologize. You have prompted me to look it all up and and learn a few new things and remember a few I had heard before!

 

[dizcrazee]

You will be very welcome in the UK, we always love to see our American friends over here and I am sure that you will get a very friendly welcome. Where are you intending to visit? I live in the south east of England and am a frequent visitor to London so if you need any hints or tips I would be happy to help!

Thank you, sittinpretty! This will be my second trip to the U.K. and we are looking at early summer 2013. My first trip was a long time ago
(1980) and I was with a student group. I stayed at Richmond College and I thought Richmond was an excellent location - it was a lovely, safe area and on the tube. Do you know if it's still a good area for tourists?

I like the idea of staying in the suburbs and using the tube to get into the city. I am really hoping to find a serviced flat or something of that nature because my daughter has food allergies and we may need to prepare some of our own meals. Ideally, there would be a market and tube station nearby.

This trip is very important to me. It's kind of a "full circle" thing. I remember promising myself when I left to come home in 1980 that I would come back one day. I will be 50 when we take the trip and it's time to finally fulfill that promise to myself.

 

[sittinpretty]

Thank you, sittinpretty! This will be my second trip to the U.K. and we are looking at early summer 2013. My first trip was a long time ago
(1980) and I was with a student group. I stayed at Richmond College and I thought Richmond was an excellent location - it was a lovely, safe area and on the tube. Do you know if it's still a good area for tourists?

I like the idea of staying in the suburbs and using the tube to get into the city. I am really hoping to find a serviced flat or something of that nature because my daughter has food allergies and we may need to prepare some of our own meals. Ideally, there would be a market and tube station nearby.

This trip is very important to me. It's kind of a "full circle" thing. I remember promising myself when I left to come home in 1980 that I would come back one day. I will be 50 when we take the trip and it's time to finally fulfill that promise to myself.

Richmond in Surrey is a safe location, it is on the outer extremities of the tube network but it won't be a long trip into the city centre. Plus you have very good rail links from there too. Surrey is one of the richest parts of the UK and an excellent place to stay. It is also close to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. A flat is an excellent idea, live like the locals in a quiet location, perhaps with a garden, but be close to the centre of things.

I know exactly what you mean about the full circle thing. In the 1980s I had my own once in a lifetime trip when I travelled across the USA by Greyhound bus, starting in New York and finishing in Los Angeles. To say it was a watershed moment in my life would be an understatement. I have thought about that trip so many times over the years, time and time again. It was only my second flight on a plane and as a fresh-faced 18 year old only used to my small town it opened up my horizons so much.

As a kid I dreamt about New York in particular, I was a big Superman fan through the 70s and 80s and desperately wanted to visit Metropolis, so the thrill that I got when I was on the bus from JFK and could see the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the distance was off the scale. In my bedroom as a child I had one of those posters of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge at night on the wall and the very first thing I wanted to do when I got to the States was to go up to the top of the World Trade Center, which I did on my first day. It was such a mind-blowing, exhilarating experience for a kid from the English countryside. New York was was the start of an amazing adventure taking in dozens of sites and cities in the US and I haven't fallen out of love with the country since then. I have visited the USA five times since but never any part of that journey.

After thinking about it for like a million times, next month I am finally retracing part of that trip by going back to New York City and I am thrilled by the prospect. As then, the first place on my New York visit will be the World Trade Center although under different circumstances of course. That day in September 2001 left me heartbroken. I look forward to paying my respects to the victims who were murdered on that dreadful day.

It is so good to dream about old travels and to go back somewhere really special - after all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Mostly we visit places and think that's nice, but you wouldn't want to go to again. However I think we all have that very special place where you absolutely know in your heart that you have to revisit before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Does anyone else have that place from their past that they know they must go back to again to complete the 'full circle' in their life?

 

[dizcrazee]

Thanks so much for the information on Richmond, sittinpretty, and thanks for sharing your story. It's strange how our stories are kind of parallel - you on your side of the pond, thinking of the U.S., and me on my side, thinking of the U.K. My trip in 1980 was a huge milestone for me as well - I really consider it the beginning of my adult journey in life.

Like your love for the U.S., my love for the U.K. really began in childhood. My uncle was stationed in England during WWII. He married a lovely English girl and brought her here to live. I really adored her and always admired her style, wit, and beautiful accent. I used to love looking at her pictures from home and hearing stories all about life in England. She was the one that motivated me to take the trip to England all those years ago, and my love for her and the sceptered isle has never ceased.

I hope you have a wonderful trip to NYC!

 

[ChrisFL]

The main ignorance about the UK is from a certain section of the UK's own populace, the English nationalists who think they are very patriotic but who often know nothing about the basics of the UK. I have to listen to one of them at work and she makes me wince with her stupid ignorant claptrap.

Heh, I know of a LOT of Americans who are the same way...thinking the U.S. is #1 in everything and refuses to look at facts...but that's another story for another day.

So...NBC screws up coverage...go figure. From what it sounds like, we missed a good portion of the ceremonies and got tons of commercials added.

Oh, and you CAN watch it online, IF you have a subscription to a cable/satellite company, and I don't...had to watch it at my dad's house (Netflix/Hulu/iTunes are all I watch TV/Movies on)