Driving...

Feeling like a brand new driver, Bev and I forayed out into the world this morning, me at the wheel, and we lived to tell the tale! "Wrong" side of the front seat, "wrong" side of the road, manual, not automatic, with the extra touch of a left-handed shift, plus a wicked British invention called roundabouts (created just to confuse me further, I'm sure) where I had to stay left around a circle while watching for oncoming traffic from my right, and a chance to merge - whew, I'm overwhelmed just writing it. BUT I managed it all with flying colors, only once scaring us both when Bev told me to go right, but not that far right, into oncoming traffic. She sat like the mother of a new driver, you know, clutching the dash, white-knuckled, stomping on her nonexistent brake, but all in all, I think we both did quite well. I even parallel parked! The Roc came through splendidly... trying it on my own to follow, but that's for another day.
Next came a visit to TESCO EXTRA, our mega- supermarket. You have to put a one pound coin into a slot to get a shopping cart, which is returned to you once you return it. Not a bad idea when you consider all of the abandoned shopping carts scattered throughout our fair neighborhoods, hmm? After perusing the aisles I reached the conclusion that yes, it is true: the UK is expensive. Who would have thought that tissues would cost so much? I am already preparing a list of things to request from my US visitors. But I did find wash cloths for 19p!
Home to deal with the outcome of my first etiquette dilemma. That lovely lasagna I wrote about? Well, of course, it contained beef, which you all know, I don't eat. What to do? Ask Bev, the kind lasagna giver? Pretend I'd eaten it and throw it out? Give it away and return the dish empty? Of course, Bev would find out eventually that I don't eat red meat and it would be even more awkward. So, I asked Lisa, another of Gil's lovely friends, for advice. "Be direct and tell her," was the advice. So I did. It was perfect because this elicited a confession on Bev's part: she didn't even make it! It was given to her by a neighbor and her family couldn't eat it because of allergies. All solved. I brought it over to my next door neighbor, whom I'd met that morning in my pj's, over the side fence (can you picture it? think washing line with towels blowing a la Billy Elliot again). I've been rewarded with a roast chicken dinner invitation for this evening. And being told that one of my new mantras is "Yes, thank you, I'd love to" in response to any invitation (the other being "Stay left" while driving), I accepted. So, later this afternoon, I'm off to Louise and Glenn's for Sunday dinner.
Now, on with relish to The Sunday London Times... hope they have sudoku.