Random Notes on the British Isles

Here are some miscellaneous observations about the British Isles:

--The southern part of England seems to have been big on mining at one time. Tin mining has been mentioned a lot by our guides. It goes back to the medieval days, when the tin was used primarily to produce pewter. At one time, this area produced half of the world's tin. "China clay" is something else that they mined in the past and continue to mine in some places around here today -- it's used not only to make porcelain, but also as a filler in making paper, and (believe it or not) in toothpaste.

--We didn't see it, but there is a castle here at Portland called Pennsylvania Castle. It was built for John Penn, grandson of the famed William Penn.

--Around here, the tires that you put on cars and trucks are spelled "tyres." Cars are parked not in parking lots, but in "car parks."

--The car I most want to smuggle home with me is a VW Polo. It's like the Golf only a bit smaller. Great looking car and I'm sure it gets better mileage than most American cars. I haven't yet figured out, though, what I'll do about the fact that the steering wheel is on the passenger's side.

--We were boarding a tour bus the other day when the word started to spread that London and not Paris had just been awarded the 2012 Olympics. Our guide, who happened to be from France originally, said, "I heard an unconfirmed report that London has gotten the Olympics. For now I'll just carry on as if nothing happened."

--The weather has been in the 60s just about every day. The Brits say it's sunny, but where I come from, we call it "mostly cloudy." Today, however, is a spectacular day, with no clouds whatsoever.

We're on our way now to Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. These are a group of islands that belong to England but actually lie much closer to France -- like 80 miles from the French coast.