tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post6134083756793621066..comments2023-10-26T15:34:56.807+01:00Comments on Pond Parleys: After All This TimePond Parleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127142379706540812noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-13832112296069215652010-02-17T11:41:57.622+00:002010-02-17T11:41:57.622+00:00Great discussion & posts. Amazing the things w...Great discussion & posts. Amazing the things which 'get us' in different cultures. Like Brit, I live in the Balkans (albania) & I have all my kitchen sockets in a row righ tnext to each other (3 of them only) One is on the wall behind the GAS cooker so the cord ha sto drape across the cooker. Strangely I don't use that one.....<br />I agree wth the comment that it is slightly strange in a culture where you use the word bathroom/rest room, but NEVER use the word which designates what you might actually be USING it for, that Americans are so unsqueamish about the close proximity making the purpose of the room entirely self-evident by the nosies off. I mean even hearing a gushing torrent of someone peeing is slightly disconcerting when having a dinner conversation, never mind worse noises & odours & .....things.Paradise Lost In Translationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08507703496080523959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-34104165954221701502010-02-13T07:39:24.211+00:002010-02-13T07:39:24.211+00:00The bathtubs are set higher in Britain, as well. ...The bathtubs are set higher in Britain, as well. To the uninitiated, it can be painful when you get in, and startling when you step out.<br /><br />Hadn't noticed about the loos, however.MikeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530099708429116393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-79951197949758619692010-02-13T06:35:19.786+00:002010-02-13T06:35:19.786+00:00We had this tiny alcove thing near our front door ...We had this tiny alcove thing near our front door in our last place. It too, had an elusive light switch that connected nowhere - that was until my husband set up the Christmas lights outside. On flick and they were all somehow on.<br /><br />Another thing I can't get over is the difference in height of the loos here. Slightly different height and it catches me off-guard. And, the bowl is a different shape, rendering silent peeing useless.Siobhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14660525709391168707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-12227280006310118692010-02-05T21:05:17.886+00:002010-02-05T21:05:17.886+00:00Hahahahaha I've never given the "kitchen ...Hahahahaha I've never given the "kitchen loo" a second thought in my life. Hilarious.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10920104559343925583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-48202633764685545132010-02-04T15:08:59.518+00:002010-02-04T15:08:59.518+00:00Actually I don't know what I'm on about - ...Actually I don't know what I'm on about - I have a loo (sorry, powder room) right off my formal living/dining room! No hallway in between or anything. Just a very loud extractor fan. No one ever seems to mind using it either.Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-85870069597719115312010-02-03T20:50:33.355+00:002010-02-03T20:50:33.355+00:00My brother has one of those toilets off the kitche...My brother has one of those toilets off the kitchen arrangements. My wife (English)finds it shocking and on our visits would rather explode than consider using it.<br /><br />How come a country where a good percentage of people can't bring themselves to use the word "toilet" often have such potentially indiscreet arrangements?<br /><br />Peter BondAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-38599231993120183562010-02-02T19:13:35.514+00:002010-02-02T19:13:35.514+00:00Wonderful tak eon life but I will admit I woul dbe...Wonderful tak eon life but I will admit I woul dbe veryvery concerned about loos being just off teh kitchen especially if darling hubbie was caught short...I won't linger over that!Tattieweaslehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723634612274763884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-49045981979365263832010-02-02T12:21:30.568+00:002010-02-02T12:21:30.568+00:00First off -- hilarious post! I was beginning to w...First off -- hilarious post! I was beginning to wonder just why -- after decades of baking in the US -- I am suddenly unable to crack an egg here in the UK. Mike -- I share your frustration. <br /><br />In terms of the toilet off the kitchen -- I couldn't agree more! It was HIGHLY embarrassing to use the loo in my boyfriend's Mum's house during the holidays when everyone was cooking in the kitchen and could hear every little sound in the loo. Ugh.<br /><br />And finally -- the dreaded "ground circuit interrupter" conversation. I, too, really do not understand why I can't have a plug in the bathroom. I've been drying my hair in the bathroom for 31 years in the US -- and have NEVER heard of an accident involved with hairdryer, curling iron, etc. And trust me -- after a similar conversation on another blog -- much research has been done on this topic. I've worked around it by having a study desk devoted to all things hair-accessory near a mirror in another room, but I truly miss drying my hair in a towel whilst in the bathroom.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766005050803045076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-87048204921740244062010-02-02T06:42:20.075+00:002010-02-02T06:42:20.075+00:00I've been here long enough now that I don'...I've been here long enough now that I don't notice the huge plugs on everything, but when I go to the States it is jarring to see the teeny, tiny plugs (awww, that's so cute, it's like a plug, only smaller).<br /><br />But no matter how long I am here, every time I have to visit a public loo I am thankful for sensible doors and wonder just what the heck it is with the Americans and their loo doors. Surely they can do better.MikeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530099708429116393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-43746260939849392972010-02-01T20:37:55.670+00:002010-02-01T20:37:55.670+00:00I agree, even though the voltage in the Uk can de ...I agree, even though the voltage in the Uk can de serious damage when mixed with water. Or even without, come to think of it. The last time I was over I was staying at an aunt's and had to sit on the floor next to her wardrobe to do my hair because the nearest plug was behind it. <br />And yes, I've had the slatted loo door experience too, but it was in an airport in the US as I recall. A very worrying experience but it makes you pee faster!Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-60459714432626488042010-02-01T19:56:42.980+00:002010-02-01T19:56:42.980+00:00I wish you had gone into the plugs in the toilets ...I wish you had gone into the plugs in the toilets (or lack of them in the UK)! After just coming back from visiting my English in-laws I can't tell you how frustrating it was not to be able to dry my hair witin the proximity of the bathroom mirror. Many days I found myself in our host's bedroom - the only place with both a socket and a mirror - awkwardly trying to manage the world's weakest hair dryer, a brush, and a hair tie while standing (nowhere near a table or the what not). I was embarrassed that I was invading their bedroom - a place I consider to be private when one is a guest. All things said, I suppose the UK is still an excellent spot to set up shop if I was a vaniety seller!Moehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11388622532602605409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-32054090961416381422010-02-01T18:31:49.450+00:002010-02-01T18:31:49.450+00:00Some people I used to know had a downstairs loo of...Some people I used to know had a downstairs loo off their hallway which had a slatted door - you know, like venetian blinds. The 'blinds' were 'shut' of course, but if you were inside you could see down them into the open plan hall/room outside, which was very disconcerting indeed. Luckily, you couldn't see in at all, unless you lay down on the floor and looked upwards (I checked this out once, but it was my husband who was in there at the time, and for demonstration purposes only). Horrible!Mrs Baumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-54612597098689860432010-02-01T16:39:17.888+00:002010-02-01T16:39:17.888+00:00Have to agree with the gaps in the toilet doors ov...Have to agree with the gaps in the toilet doors over here. It's awful! I always feel as though the entire world can see in. Why can't they just put a proper door on?Calif Lornahttp://califlorna.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-19105353989083279292010-02-01T13:45:15.462+00:002010-02-01T13:45:15.462+00:00One thing I don't miss however are those garga...One thing I don't miss however are those gargantuan three point plugs in the UK. I mean, have you ever stood on an upturned one? Absolute agony.Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-74824202656183184372010-02-01T09:04:18.303+00:002010-02-01T09:04:18.303+00:00Why can't the world just get its act together?...Why can't the world just get its act together? We have too many adaptors for UK plugs in our less safe Belgian sockets. It's a pain.Mwahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00954216492730746581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-61788105813266294972010-02-01T07:30:07.960+00:002010-02-01T07:30:07.960+00:00This whole page, original posts and comments, is t...This whole page, original posts and comments, is the best read I've had in months. Thanks!FeatherDusterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948943117689877545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-36912134915738993122010-02-01T06:36:07.149+00:002010-02-01T06:36:07.149+00:00I'm not sure about the sockets in the States, ...I'm not sure about the sockets in the States, but the ones in Bosnia quite often have wires hanging out of them, look pretty live and are situation just above the sink. How they haven't all burned their houses down in a mysterious electrical fire is beyond me.<br /><br />(my other favourite Bosnian socket was sitatuated directly behind the hot water pipes leading to the radiator, rendering it completely useless as you'd never ever be able to actually plug anything in).Dorset Dispatcheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10457466586411004146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-76938679511786401732010-02-01T02:37:43.576+00:002010-02-01T02:37:43.576+00:00Definitely a big thing in Chicago, (I don't ha...Definitely a big thing in Chicago, (I don't have one this time but did in my last house). My in-laws in Little Rock, who built their house about 5 years ago also have one right off the kitchen.<br />I have to say though, my mother build a conservatory on the back of her house so now the downstairs loo window looks into it. It's heavily frosted and high up of course but it makes me rather tense to think that someone might be able to see in.Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-48104271228779331382010-02-01T01:48:45.093+00:002010-02-01T01:48:45.093+00:00We have different problems with the sockets here i...We have different problems with the sockets here in Long Island; they are rather crappy and often you seem to have to bend the two pronged plug a particular way to actually get it in the wall. This means all your appliances end up with bent plugs.....however, I suspect this is because it is an old-ish house. <br /><br />I have not come across the loo off the kitchen yet; indeed, the only house I know of like this was a friend's in London (and she changed the layout as she hated it so much).nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-28830593705545786082010-02-01T01:45:43.056+00:002010-02-01T01:45:43.056+00:00The only bathroom in my apartment is off the kitch...The <i>only</i> bathroom in my apartment is off the kitchen. So not only do we do our business within ear shot, it's not terribly uncommon to have someone make a run from the shower in towel while there's a guest or two around. Not really the most convenient set up one must admit.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14708599658301706496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-34263026044040487312010-02-01T00:11:27.016+00:002010-02-01T00:11:27.016+00:00I've lived in countless houses in four states ...I've lived in countless houses in four states in the US in two different regions and never seen a toilet off the kitchen.<br /><br />And the outlets in the bathroom are perfectly safe, because they have Ground Fault Interrupt circuits, something that has been mandated in the US for any outlet in a potentially "wet" area, including bathrooms and kitchens, since the 1970s but which has only been introduced in Britain in the last few years.NFAHhttp://notfromaroundhere.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-47082161743342489112010-02-01T00:11:23.094+00:002010-02-01T00:11:23.094+00:00Yes, over here there don't seem to be any rule...Yes, over here there don't seem to be any rules about kitchens and loos. I remember when I was little and we had a toilet put at the end of the kitchen, but we had to have a sort of hallway and two doors between them. The only saving thing here is that the loos quite often have a really loud exhaust fan so you just switch that on as well as the light!Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-66092603132664352402010-01-31T23:15:34.446+00:002010-01-31T23:15:34.446+00:00I thought this discussion was very entertaining. E...I thought this discussion was very entertaining. Especially the toilets off the kitchen.......<br />We had an understairs cupboard made into a second toilet (with a door!) and everything can be heard plainly from our living room. I often say to guests........ *I'm sure you'd prefer the upstairs loo.* <br />*No, no* They say I won't bother to go all that way, the downstairs one will do nicely* If only they knew!<br /><br /><a href="http://granniemay.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Nuts in May</a>Maggie Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06183886005936250976noreply@blogger.com