A new life; same as the old life?

If I remember my Topgun correctly, this was the plane they used, or at least one very similar, although I am sure Todd will correct me. Most of you will know that we went to see the annual Chicago Air & Water show last weekend. I won't write chapter and verse on the subject, cos Lorraine already did that . Suffice to say that it was an excellent day out, we topped up our tan, and the stunts were awesome. I don't suppose we will go every year, unless there is some astounding new reason to go, every couple of years will do. If for any reason you live in the Chicagoland and you have not yet seen this event, you really must do it next year. I of course took a gazillion pictures. I won't subject you to all of them, but a choice few are posted , you can view them as a slideshow if you like, but then you miss out on my smartass picture titles!

For those of you who are lost at this point, check it out here . I got one wrong though, but at least that's still 95%. Soooo looking forward to the end of September. Vegas Baby..yeah!

I know that some of my anti Bush readers will be hoping this is an anti Bush rant, but I don't know enough about politics to take on some of his more vocal detractors. No, this observation is about something much simpler, but to me, infinitely more annoying. As a stranger to your fair land, I often have to stick to major routes to find my way around, and only venture onto some of the lesser travelled routes when I absolutely have to, or at least have used them a few times before. In addition, when I am going somewhere, I often have to rely on signs, either temporary (eg for a Park & Ride) or permanent (eg to the All State Arena). You guys have this incredibly annoying habit of stopping signs part way through the journey, ie not directing people all the way to the actual destination. Two fine examples being those above in the brackets. The latter being the trigger for this rant. A month or so ago, Vernon Hills had a festival of sorts, Black Hawk helicopter, fairground rides, etc...

In about 5 minutes, any of my golf buddies reading this are gonna be saying "You jammy git!" That was Charlie's reaction when I told him, but I best set the scene first. A month or two ago, I decided that I wanted to join a golf club, primarily to play more often for less money and to gain an official handicap certificate, but also to try to expand my playing group here, as they are not as readily available as I would like, for the amount of golf I like to play. So I started out with the USGA to try to get a list of clubs that took members in my area, there are surprisingly few, and all of those damned expensive! They did, however, have a link to a virtual club called Golfserve Advantage who have an online score tracker, handicap calculator, etc, the kind of toy I like to play with AND they will issue official USGA handicap certificates; so I paid my $29.95 and signed right up. I put my scoring record this year on file from my other tool that I use to track the scores,...

Thanks Tacit1 for asking about this. When I was a kid, my maternal grandad or papa as I called him, was a giant among men. He was employed as a train driver, and in his spare time was a keen gardener of both vegetables and flowers, and committed significant periods of time to the support and development of cycling in the UK. When we moved back from South Africa in 1978/1979, we moved in with them in their 3 bedroom house at 38 Cessnock Place, Bellfield, Kilmarnock. I was 10 at the time and very into this new life back in my own country. I spent a significant amount of time with my papa, in the greenhouse, in the garden, in the shed in the winter and having bonfires. At the same time, I remember always having visitors from our local cycling club, the Wallacehill CC, where he was a member for some 60 odd years, and marvelling at the guys who were always really fit, had bikes that weighed about the same as a bag of sugar, and always looked up to my papa. Of course, as I grew up he was th...

Lorraine has been an excellent researcher since we got here and dug up all sorts of great things for us to do. It is a relatively short summer, May 30th (Memorial Day) to September 5th (Labor Day), at least for Americans officially, although for us, the temperatures probably mean it will feel like summer from March when we arrived through until about the end of October. So a lot of the events we want to do are crammed into a fairly short time frame, and when you combine them with golf, the schedule becomes almost impossible. Last week it was Monday - gym (yes Charlie I am still fat, but still trying!) Tuesday - Leadership dinner (undid anything I managed on Monday) Wednesday - Sinatra Tribute at the Cuneo Museum & Gardens (Great music, fantastic setting) Thursday - Cubs Game, on the rooftops at Wrigleyville Friday - Lindenfest, a local town festival (I had to cry off, I was knackered!) Lorraine went to see The Wizard Of Oz on the lawn at Ravinia Saturday - Golf at Steeple Chase , ...

The Walker Cup is kinda like the Amateur version of the Ryder Cup . It runs in the odd years, where the Ryder Cup is in the even years. It has been on the go since 1922, missing a few years for the war, and has actually been competed for more than the Ryder Cup, this year being the 40th compared the 35 times for the pros. It has an amazing history . This year saw a very diverse team with some as young as Oliver Fisher (16), and some substantially older like Nigel Edwards (37), who's dad we met, a jolly nice chap too! I joined the USGA earlier this year and as a result I can buy tickets to these events earlier than the general public. Lorraine and I decided to go on the Sunday to cheer our boys on. We got up really early for a Sunday at 7:30am and were at the course by 9:30. Team GBI had lost the first day by one point, but on past performance we felt confident that we could bring that back and finish the day on top. We watched the morning foursome playing alternate shots with ...

I went to my second live Cubs game yesterday, and came away 2 for 2. The day started out bad with it throwing down rain and the windshield wipers on the truck up the swanee! The journey from Skokie (thanks to Lorraine for dropping us there) on the CTA trains downtown worked very well. Breakfast at MacDonalds, still raining, sitting through 3 hours of presentations of the Magic Helpdesk tool, looks pretty sweet BTW, off to one of the rooftop venues for the game, still raining. Several free beers, hot dogs, steaks, burgers, warm cookies later, still raining. We got soaked through whislt waiting for the game start, but soon dried out when the sun came out. On my last outing, they were winning when I left the ballpark, losing by the time I got to the bar accross the street, and winning again when I started to watch again. Yesterday, they led from the 3rd innings and never looked back. Derek Lee, the man is awesome, came to the plate with 1st and 2nd occupied, the Cubs down 2-1, and sent t...

I was tagged by Junegirl and Just A Girl to list the top ten songs rocking my world at the moment. So here they are, for what it's worth :-) Music To Watch Girls Go By - Andy Williams My Kinda Town - Frank Sinatra I Aint As Good As I Once Was - Toby Keith (yes Charlie, both Country & Western) The War Of The Worlds musical - Jeff Wayne, enjoying a resurgence since I saw the movie Graceland - Paul Simon (although the whole albums is great!) I Left My Heart In Fran Sanfrisco - Dean Martin Angels - Robbie Williams Wednesday Morning, 3am - Simon & Garfunkel Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits The Girl From Yesterday - The Eagles This was really hard, so I am not going to tag 5 people. If anyone wants to do it, then go ahead, and consider yourself tagged.

Appetizer : Did you sleep good last night? I hate to be picky, but my UK English dictates that I say, I did not sleep well last night. I had been out at the Cubs game, another win thank you very much. I am 2 for 2..I should definitely be their new mascot . I saw Derek Lee hit two fantastic home runs out of the ball park! The reason that I did not sleep well, of course, was that I had, as one would expect, indulged in a few libations, and in that situation, I never sleep well. Soup : What is your current computer desktop image? I don't have one because my firm locks that down, but I am about to reload webshots at home, cos I love their pictures. Salad : When was the last time you planted something, what was it and where did it go? I re-potted my Christmas tree last Christmas, from the root bound pot you get it in, to a nice decorative pot, does that count? Main Course : What's your favorite condiment? Sour cream, is that really a condiment? Since coming to the US I have been...

PureMood tagged me. I’m to list a top 10 [non-sexual] list of turn on’s & off’s. So, pretty much it’s 10 things I really like and don’t like… Here we go: Top 10 Turn Ons: -spending time with Lorraine -crisp winter mornings -the ocean and the Great Lakes -the perfect golf shot -skiing straight down the foreline -any Bruce Willis movie -thunderstorms -spicy food -apple Martinis -an oaky Chardonnay Top 10 Turn Offs: -kissass people -I don't mind how much I pay, but I hate not getting vfm -inconsiderate people -litter -untidiness -middle lane hoggers -skiing in poor visibility -poor service -people who mistreat animals -bad wine I’m also required to pass this on. So here you go Hazel , Elims , and Lorraine of course!

Appetizer : Briefly describe your living room. South facing with a balcony. Decoratively it is beige, with a yellow sofa, some Ikea furniture and a very comfortable leather recliner from which to watch my 46" TV. Soup : List 3 things you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2005. Reduce my golf handicap to the low 20s Live somewhere with a basement (although this is unlikely) Skate on one of Chicagoland's many outdoor rinks Salad : When you're online, what do you spend the most time reading/playing/doing? Suggest a site for us to visit. I spend a lot of time looking at other people's blogs and playing with golf score analysis/recording sites. Lastly I catch up with the news on-line rather than on TV. All you late 60's early 70's kids, check this out. Main Course : What would the title of your autobiography be? Restless Dreamer - I have spent most of my life moving around the UK first of all and now the US, although without changing jobs it is unlikely...

There has been a rash of these recently including me getting into a chain meme where I had to ask people 5 questions, and let me tell you I found it tough to come up with interesting questions. I saw Motherdear's questions on Callie's blog, and they were so well written I asked for some too, and as you can see, she did me proud. Q1. As someone who has had the courage to pull up stakes and live and work in another country, what are the qualities you needed to make new friends and a new life for yourself? Not sure about courage so much as sheer determination. On the friends side, I was lucky, in that the people I was coming to work with, were known to me for upwards of 4 years. Whilst that did not automatically make them friends, it certainly gave me an "in". I simply make a point of being forward, ie organising golf outings and inviting people to them, organising nights out and inviting people, that sort of thing. Most people who know me, would not think me shy, but ...

" Now I really feel like I am living in an episode of the Simpsons " - Lorraine Cooper 31st July 2005. This proclamation was caused by our visit to the Lake County Fair this weekend. To be honest it is not really that different to the Surrey County Show . They have livestock judging and sales, fairground rides, local arts and crafts, the police and fire engines show up, even a demolition derby and a Clydesdale horse parade. The highlight of the day for me, asides from seeing the very cool vehicles that the Lake County Sheriff get to play with, including jetskis, mountain bikes, snowmobile and some sort of weird urban assault vehicle, in addition to their normal, Harleys, cars and SUVs; was the tractor pulling. On Eurosport they have really altered this time honoured tradition to some huge souped up "tractors" pulling the sled. At the fair, they were using stock tractors for the most part, or at least very close to it.

A friend on mine and regular golf partner Charlie, knows only too well my golfing records. Previously my record lowest score was 88, my US record low was 90, which Charlie recently matched, inlcuding a fantastic 39 outward 9! I was cock-a-hoop last recently when I got a real life handicap of 26. A record I am not so proud of, is my highest number of balls lost, twelve, at a course called Slinfold Park Golf & Country Club a very beautiful club with a lot of water and some very challenging holes. I scored 121 that day. Well, like I said it today was a new record. I lost 16, count 'em, 16 balls today! I scored 122 at the Bittersweet Golf Club . A gorgeous course in Gurnee, a little way North of us. Lorraine saw turtles, chipmunks and frogs. There is a lot of water and fantastic swampland with dead trees that I hope to get some pictures of, but maybe not by replaying the course! On Monday I am playing at a course called Arboretum . Apparently it is as hard or harder than Bittersw...

Appetizer : Name 3 people whom you admire for their intelligence. This one took some serious thinking and was almost too tough a question for an appetizer. Alan Turing , a hugely prolific codebreaker at Bletchley Park during WWII, who despite Hollywood claims in movies like U-571 , were almost solely responsible for breaking the Enigma code. They became so successful at breaking the code, that they often had order meant for German Field Officers, before the officers themselves! He is credited by some as having invented the first ever computer , which again my American friends had to relinquish claim to when the official secrets act released the details. Tim Berners-Lee , whilst not completely responsible for our ability to partake in this thing we call blogging, he was certainly right up there. Currently director of the World Wide Web Consortium, he wrote the first browser and first web server, going on to invent HTML and HTTP. The third on my list is probably not someone that peopl...

In a shock revelation today, the Chicago Cubs revealed that they would be appointing Gordy as their new mascot. Attending his first game yesterday, where the cubs pulled it out of the bag in the dying minutes to finish the game 4-3 , Gordon was said to be delighted with the lifetime free ticket offer and Cubs cap. Seriously though, I had a great time. The game is pretty fast moving, particularly as they have the assistance of a huge gloved hand for the catches. It is pretty easy to understand after an innings or so, which always makes any sport more entertaining to watch. The weather was perfect in the early 80s, the firm did a pretty good job with the seats, and there was a good cross section of the IS groups there. We went over to Murphy's towards the end of the game and I actually ended up staying there past the bus departure time and got the train home; I was having so much fun with the guys. A great day out, that I will certainly repeat at some point.

When I started this blog, it was intended to be a way to keep in touch with people back home and hopefully a sometimes humorous look at the differences between our two cultures. The title, an idiosyncratic phrase often used by my friends in Epsom, "A new xxxx, same as the old xxxx?" was intended to convey my realisation that despite any differences, ultimately we would lead a similar life here in the US as to home. We would still have to work, pay the bills, service the car, do the housework, etc. Well, we have been here for almost 4 months now and have settled into what I would loosely term a normal life. I go to work every day and play golf as often as I can. We watch TV in the evenings, go to the cinema, out for the occasional meal, etc. Lorraine does an awesome job keeping house, showing me what a great cook she is, running errands, is learning to play golf and quite often finds out about local events like the Taste Of Lincolnshire for us to attend. She is starting to lo...

I know it's a cheeky use of the blog, but I know a bunch of people in Illinois and Wisconsin read me, so you never know. I understand that Bears tickets are like gold dust, and I suspect even more so for the Packers game on the 4th December. A couple of buddies will be in town that weekend, from the UK, with the express desire of seeing the game, and spending some time with me as a secondary concern. So I am looking for 3 or preferably 4 tickets (although I don't suppose Lorraine will be heartbroken if she can't go) at a reasonable price for that game..anyone, anyone, Beuller, Beuller?

We went to the Taste of Lincolnshire this weekend. I was hoping it would prove better than the Taste Of Chicago , which I found a little disappointing; and it was!! The participants, although much fewer, really got it right. We had some mexican from El Barrio, some margaritas from Champps, some fantastic ice cream from Maggie Moos, chinese food from Simon Lins and some more cocktails from Carluccis. The portions were all very generous, and the pricing pretty good too. The end result being that we will definitely patronise those folks in future. They had some pretty good entertainment too, with a string quartet on Saturday afternoon and the award winning Beatles tribute band, British Export on Saturday night, complete with the haircuts , Sergeant Peppers Outfits and pretty good scouse accents to boot. Check out a sample of their stuff, here and here .