This Side of the Pond

I was explaining to a friend the other day that being English in these parts has turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. The curse comes with the fact that, even now, I find myself using the wrong words or going about things in an unconventional manner and this can sometimes cause confusion that takes a while to properly unravel.

I’ll still ask a grocery store attendant to put my bags in the boot of my car before my brain has a chance to do the translation, for example, and I still won’t open my presents on Christmas Eve (although it might just be my impatient husband who has a problem w...