@@jamieandtherandomstuff I literally know noone who calls Elizabeth Tower by it's proper name, I have lived in London, my sister lives in London and I have lived close to london nearly my entire life and the only time that I have heared it refered to as Elizabeth Tower is on RUclips. lol 😂
I hope you had a wonderful time. I wouldn't worry about pronunciation and people picking faults, the main thing is, you came and you explored. You invested your hard earned money and time.
@@paulhenman9907 I prefer Hot Cross Buns sliced, buttered and cold, Mind you I always have cold buttered toast too... guess I don't like melted butter then
I totally disagree with both the above. Hot cross buns, like teacakes, should be sliced in half and TOASTED! Then, of you wish, either eat them as they are or 😮spread margarine/butter and/or jam on each half and eat the halves separately. What you call English muffins we call crumpets. They should also be toasted (but not sliced) and spread before eating.
Born and bred in London and technically we all know the bell is Big Ben but we still commonly refer to the tower as Big Ben. If you showed me a picture of the Tower (The Elizabeth Tower) I would call it Big Ben. Lived in London for 65 years.
Exactly, it's like an American Calling calling it the the Statue of Liberty by its official name Liberty Enlightening the World.. Nobody would say that, they would say statue of liberty And the same goes for Big Ben
I think it's very cool that so many people are paying attention to each and every detail of your initial England video (which was such a fun video!) and that you turned all this constructive feedback into a new video for your channel that has more than 10K views in about 2 days. GOOD FOR YOU!!! Loving your channel and rooting for your continued success here on RUclips!!!
@@TesLUCKY Hey friend! Appreciate your encouragement so much! Yes - isn’t it funny that if we listen, people tell us exactly what they want to see? Although… my response video to comments about getting monetized didn’t do nearly as well so 🤷♀️some flop some bop!
Bless ur heart ❤. Honestly, pay very little attention to the comment section. The Vlog was brilliant and your contagious and enthusiastic energy was what made it very enjoyable to watch 🎉🎉
Oh bless you - don't take the comments to heart, Sierra. People just care and want to help you (and fellow Americans) understand and get a true perspective, therefore enriching your experiencing of the UK. 🙏😉🤗. BTW hot-cross buns should be sliced (like a burger bun), lightly toasted and spread with butter + served with a hot mug of tea 😋
Love it! We can be a bit tricky with a few of our quirks, but we love it when people from overseas try to understand our eccentricities. Looking forward to more!
I come from a small medieval wool town called lavenham in Suffolk (check it out on RUclips) we love going to London for concerts ect But we are always glad to get back to our sleepy town.
Hot Cross Buns are just a seasonal variant of what we call a teacake really, if you go into a traditional tearoom in the UK and order a teacake and a cup of tea you'll be served a teacake which is simply a fruited bread bun, sliced in two and toasted, and they'll give you some butter to spread on it too, and we eat hot cross buns exactly the same way, personally I've never seen anyone eat a toasted hot cross bun or teacake without butter, lots of butter! ...and forget jam or any other spread, just butter.
I sometimes call the amber light yellow,and im english. And plenty of English people call the Elizabeth tower big ben...some people just like to knit pick.
@@thegroovetube3247 saw a woman at Asda moaning that the Adsa stock cubes was not in fact a cube, i told her to go to sainsburys and see if they have "lifes" for sale because you are in need of one, cashiers burst out laughing
I admire your good humour and willingness to correct prior errors. Also, that you admitted to having been told of your mistakes, and hope not too many people were aggressive in their corrections... Well done for trying the words you dont normally say as we say them. I think its easier to remember the right way to do or say something, if youve got it wrong first, because we all make mistakes, but we try our best to learn, just as your are. Thankyou for taking the time to share your experiences with us and being so kind as to let us share your learning processes too.
@@brigidsingleton1596 I love learning! People were for the most part very sweet in their comments - I always want to improve and learn so didn’t mind at all. Just thought it was interesting when people started commenting on the same things over and over! 😁
Some people are so anal, I’m a born & bred Londoner & have no problem with the tower being called Big Ben, amber lights being called yellow or any of the other perceived mistakes, I challenge those people to travel to another country & get everything right, we’re just happy to see tourists from around the world coming here to appreciate our beautiful country, I would say that people that say to go up north too are so correct, the Lake District or the villages in Yorkshire will blow your minds, go to Wales, go to Scotland, you’ll be amazed, thank you for visiting us & hope to see you again 💙
@@grampstin9375 🤣🤣🤣your comment is cracking me up. I honestly took no offense and love to learn. We did visit Scotland while we were there too! Check out that video if you like. Thanks for commenting! 😄
I think you’re lovely and especially so in trying to patiently and charitably address what was obviously an avalanche of people correcting you. Please don’t think that we’re all offended pedants because we’re not. As a British person who lives in London all I’m interested in is that you had a nice time and that my fellow British people were kind to you, and that’s all that really matters. Bless you and your family.
@@albertsmyth9616 thank you so much. We had an amazing time and this video was really more for fun than anything. We’ll be back - everyone was very nice in person! 🤗
As a generalisation, Buckingham Palace is the office and Windsor Castle the home. The monarch will normally have Mon-Thursday at the Palace & the weekends at Windsor. Obviously, that's not strict as various events, ceremonies and whatnot will cause things to be changed around here and there. The other way of telling if the Monarch is in the Palace is by looking at the two entrances that lead into the Quadrangle. If there's just one guard at each entrance, that means that the Monarch is not there. If there are two guards at each entrance, then the Monarch is there.
The rest of the UK is STUNNING, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have beautiful scenery. Just a word of warning regional variations in English language can change from village to village, let alone county by county. To list the places to visit outside of London would take many days to complete.
Loved this video it's good that you are learning I had to learn differences when I went to america even though I did do research there was thing i found out when I got there, the people i met there were very nice and helpful.
Great vlog hope you had a great time sod the pronunciation of things and places just doesn’t matter, thankyou for wanting to visit our beautiful country.
Hi Sierra! It's the first time I've viewed your vlog! I'm British & born & live in England. Usually, it's hum & not ham in the end of place name pronunciations. Of course, Ham in Hampshire is pronounced that, but this countie's abbreviation is HANTS! I'm going to S California next year, so hopefully, I can pronounce & understand the lingo!!! Cheers!
I enjoyed your video, yes it did have some issues and being born in the north (Manchester), lived in East Anglia, Midlands and Scotlands I was grated by the southern focus. That said, big thumbs up for doing this video, you have a wonderful innate curiosity and growth mindset so you’re clearly a nice person. Keep being you and do your videos 👍
Good that you can see the funny side of being taken to task so much! And at least you are not defensive, and are willing to learn! Despite these comments, your original video showed you had a good time, at least, which is the whole point of travelling after all.
We had a great time. I actually loved that it generated so much feedback - proves to me how much pride residents feel in their country which I appreciate and admire! I'll be back!
Pronunciations are tricky. There's much inconsistency you just sort of have to know them. For example, you might fly into Gatwick ("Gat-wick") airport, but if you go to a bit north of London you might go to Flitwick ("Flittick"). The one where an American tourist really baffled me was when they asked for directions to "Looger-Beruga". It took me a while before I twigged they were after Loughborough ("Luff-br'") If you do return and go north, I highly recommend Durham as a great small city. And you have to try the fish & chips in Whitby.
@@simonmeadows7961 inconsistencies are so common with American pronunciations too! Our crazy shared language! OK but my fav part of your comment is the new word “twigged” for me! Googled it and now I twig it. 🤣🤣🤣
Pronunciation in the UK is a minefield and can vary between villages, let alone cities or regions. You got Buckingham right eventually (Bukin'h'm), but Hampshire would be ('Ampsh'r) because we drop the H before a vowel, at least round here.
I think your "Loughborough" American might have been taking the pee - they pronounce "borough" the same as us (or nearly the same, sometimes more like "burrow"). NYC is divided into boroughs, for example.
Next time you are in the UK if you get as far north as County Durham consider visiting the Beamish museum. Try to make it a sunny day and bring walking shoes as much of it is open air.
Fun fact: Someone who drives through an amber traffic light is known as "An amber gambler".😁 Hot cross buns: The traditional way is to slice them into two halves and heat/toast them and serve with butter. However it's personal taste and you can put jam or honey on them, or eat them cold if you prefer. If you visit the UK again here are some suggestions of places to visit depending on what you like doing. Cities: - Bath famous for it's beautiful Georgian architecture and roman baths. There is also an American museum there which focuses on the early American settlers. - York. aka 'The Bath of the North'. lots of pretty medieval buildings also the national railway museum. - Edinburgh: Again a pretty city known for it's castle and Arthur's seat. be aware that Scotland's a long way from the SE and it's a long trip by car which you may want to break up over a few days and getting the train or a flight isn't cheap. If you like the outdoors we have 15 National Parks which each has their own character and 46 AONBs (Areas of Outstanding natural beauty) which have recently been renamed 'national landscapes' . Basically smalller national parks, but sadly with fewer protections. www.nationalparks.uk/ www.national-landscapes.org.uk/ If you like trees I recommend: - The Royal Botanical gardens at Kew, London. www.kew.org/ - The National Arboritum at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire (prounoced Gloster-sher). www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum - The Eden Project in Cornwall which as a rainforest in a series of huge futuristic domes. www.edenproject.com/ Much of our most beautiful scenery is on the west coast e.g. Devon & Cornwall in SW England, Pembrokshire & the Gower in SW Wales, Snowdonia in N.W Wales, The lake disritct in NW England and the Scotish highlands and Islands. This is due to most of our mountains and hills being on the western side and the West getting higher rainfall which shapes the land and makes it very lush and green. Personally my favourites parts of Britain are the West Country and Western Scotland. Nice bits of the country on the East and south coasts include Northumbria, the Norfolk Broads, New Forrest, the Downs and Dorset on the south coast is lovely, but generally West is best!😃 We also have lots of stately homes and castles, most of which have beautiful gardens. A lot of these are run by either the National Trust or English Heritage. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/
@@speleokeir oh I love that tidbit about the amber gambler! Thanks so much for the impressive lists of suggestions. I can tell you have so much love and pride for your land! We did go to Edinburgh and it was fantastic! I made another video about it which you can watch if you like. We loved it there!
Sierra please don’t listen to some small minded individuals who have nothing better to do than pick up on others opinions and errors. Your vlog from Wokingham was fantastic. I grew up there but haven’t been back for many years so it was great to see that nothing has really changed. Keep going with the good work you are doing and thank you for reminding me about Wokingham x
@@grahvis yes I have noticed this and it’s fine - for the most part I have a relatively thick skin. I do find it an interesting study in humanity that people will comment anonymously things they would never say in person.
I have noticed a fair number of American's put "the" before landmark names when referring to them, which sounds so strange to the British ear. Examples are "The Big Ben", "The Buckingham Palace", "The London Bridge" and "The Nelson's Column". If we wanted to include "the", we might say "The market at Borough" rather than "The Borough market". But we are so lazy it will almost always be "Borough Market".
Hi Sierra, just discovered your channel and was laughing that you actually made a video about the mistakes you made on your video of your trip to England. I haven't quite got to 1,000 subscribers yet (plenty of watch hours!) mainly making videos about the island I live on and I regularly make mistakes in them, but try to forget about them! Well done to you! Oh and by the way, you possibly made another small mistake in this video.......but maybe not! I was always led to believe that the Union Flag is only called a Union Jack when used as a jack flag on a ship. However, today this seems to be a matter for debate!
Lincoln is a bit of a hidden gem, if you’re travelling to York by train you can get off at Newark (also a great little historic market town) and get another train for about 25 minutes
Lovely video, yes most British people call it Big Ben. Many have buns cold. Thanks for visiting, we travel a lot and are always finding out about new countries and make mistakes too. Too many Brits head to Spain and just want to have roast beef and English beer. Thanks
Just found your video and want to say that myself family and friends have never ever warmed up a Hot Cross Bun. I've really never known anyone to do that. Slice it butter it and enjoy. Never thought of it as a teacake to me they're different
I think most of these were just people being anally retentaive tbh.... The only one would be the hot cross bun... Should absolutely be buttered, ambient or warm, doesn't matter.
Hi Sierra, love your channel and your accent don't worry about saying things wrong because people in the UK, miss pronounce words all the time... I'm from Wrexham Wales UK, I love my Hot Cross Buns hot with butter and jam their delicious🥰
@@tinawilliams-adftina omg you are!!!???? We are obsessed with Welcome to Wrexham and saw the team play Chelsea here in California two weeks ago. Do you watch the show? Do you love it/hate it? Are hooligans real? And I will def have to try the bund with butter and jam! 🤗
@@sierralovesdogs Yes I watch the show, the whole of Wrexham are obsessed with Ryan and Rob what they have done for Wrexham football club and the town is fantastic ..they're amazing 🥰 ... unfortunately we do have a few hooligans here which spoils everything good going on ..... yeah do try butter and jam on the hot crossed buns they are yummy😄
Great vlog. Yes you did a tiny bit of South East England, Richmond is still a Borough of London. Cornwall, Dorset, Lake District, Peak District, Dartmouth, Yorkshire Dales etc all waiting for you
As a Brit, I loved watching your recent visit and getting your perspective. You dealt with the nitpickers beautifully here! PS. You and your friend were correct about Buckingham Palace - King Charles is NOT residing there while there are ongoing renovation works taking place at the palace over the next 5 years... He lives just along The Mall at Clarence House. When he is in residence in London, though, the Royal Standard will still fly from Buckingham Palace even though he's eating and sleeping just down the road. 😀
Hi, I thought your video was really good and I watched all of it, some of it twice, and I didn't notice any of the mistakes others mentioned - and I live in England! I did know that Big Ben was the bell and not the clock tower, but to be honest I usually refer to the tower as Big Ben as that's what I thought it was called for years and don't want to change it now! The hot cross buns can actually be eaten cold, I used to take them to work sometimes and have one with a cup of coffee. At home I would put them in a microwave oven for about 20 seconds with some butter on. Or you can put them in a toaster and butter them once they're cooked!. Your pronunciations were absolutely fine 👍🙂 I live in Hampshire, and many locals would pronounce it "Ampshire", but we all know what we mean, and Hampshire is really the correct pronunciation. It's always interesting to see someone from another country comment on our customs and places etc, and you did an excellent job and made it interesting too, so carry on the way you make your videos, you don't need to change anything (plus the fact I'm learning a lot from you for my own videos!😊).
@@pbcreative6388 I just think people are really proud of England and eager to share their knowledge so didn’t any offense and thought it would make a fun follow up video. Good to know about pronouncing Hampshire. Others have said cold buns are acceptable too! Thanks for your comment and encouragement! 😁
@@sierralovesdogs I think most people are proud of their home country, and it's a compliment people want to visit us! Especially in all the rain we have! ☔🙂. I went to Florida one Christmas and the weather was like our summer! I'd love to make a RUclips video in the USA, I will start saving up! Thank you also for your support, it's good to have some help/advice and encouragement 👍
- Previously also St Stephen's Tower. - Buckingham Palace is also the headquarters for the Royal Household ie the huge organisation that exists around the Royal Family. Also lots of places have ceremonial guards while someone isn't necessarily there (grave of the unknown soldier at Arlington or the White House when the President isn't there) Beyond the South East of England. Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham... All have lots to offer. Taking a canal trip across the UK can be a real eye opener. Being from Northern Cali, if you enjoy hiking then the Peak District, or the Marches (English/Welsh Borders are well worth a look).
Manchester , Liverpool , Sheffield , Leeds , York , Durham , Newcastle and Carlisle are all great cities in the north of England all are surrounded by lovely countryside and dotted with small towns and villages with plenty of history and great things to do
Although we call the middle traffic light ‘the amber light’ it did help in a traffic safety campaign making drivers aware that they should stop and not go through on a single amber light - “Don’t be an Amber Gambler”. That was over 40 years ago and I still remember it!!
Both Big Ben (the bell) and the Liberty Bell were cast in the same foundry (Whitechapel Bell Foundry). Of course they both cracked but the returns policy didn't include intercontinental travel so Big Ben got fixed. The Liberty Bell is out of its warranty period now anyway.
Thank you for bringing back beautiful clear hazel eyes that greet us with a sparkle. (My pet peeve being dead Goth eyes.) Your inner soul sparkles with life.
I'm disappointed to hear that you had so many picky comments. Thank you for being a traveller and coming to England - whatever bit! I'm going to your country next year and hope that my, probably, loads of mistakes will be treated kindly.
If you look at the colour of traffic lights and compare with a railway signal (preferably a non-LED one). The difference between the "amber" traffic light and the "yellow" railway signal is quite distinct.
I've seen a lot of comments on here telling you hot cross buns must be buttered or toasted or never with margarine or other spreads. Absolute load of cobblers, by all means try them buttered or toasted or with or without a cuppa, but it's totally subjective. If you like them best on their own, that's fine.
Great vid. I keep seeing tic toks about all the pick pockets. Crazy and seems scary. Too bad. Bad guys rolling up on bikes and yanking your phone and purse outta your hand on the street.
I cut em in half ,toast them ,slap plenty of butter on the halves and finish off by some thick cut marmalade washed down by a cup of Yorkshire tea ( milk with a teaspoon of sugar ,not weak and insipid but chestnut coloured )NB that is hot cross buns
In the UK, when I was a kid, hot cross buns were only sold on Good Friday, would have to be specially ordered from the baker and collected early in the morning. Don't worry about your pronunciation, I'm English and live in Wales, take a look at some Welsh place names.
The " HAM" thing is very easy to understand. If you say Birmingham, Alabama than your pronunciation is perfect. If you say Birmingham, West Midlands, UK then you need to say BirmingUM. Same as BuckingUM Palace or BuckingUMshire. Get it? US pronunciation is fine in the US but please don't do it in the UK because the pronunciation we use is derived from Norse ( Viking) . Yeah I know, it's strange but that's just the way it is! 😁😁😁
I live near the English town of Harwich which is a port town in Essex. However there is also a town called Harwich in Massachusetts USA. The inhabitants of Harwich MA pronounce the name of their town with a long a and pronounce the w. But the residents of Harwich Essex pronounce the name with a short a and pronounce the w as if it was an r, But my favourite oddity about English place name pronunciations is Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster".
I loved this - but also agree with the many on here that say - ignore the nay sayers - the whole point of your content is that it is genuinely you and how you experience life's adventures. My big takeaway was to definitely heat up those buns!
Excellent video & thank you for taking the time to come visit Uk. I would personally ignore all the comments about how to pronounce certain UK words, just say it how you feel comfy saying words. You have to bear in mind that we would invariably pronounce American words differently as to how Americans would pronounce the same word. Life is a learning curve & we never stop learning. Thanks once again & come back to UK soon. 😊
The lake district( beatrix Potter)lakes in close proximity and countryside ,Yorkshire dales in the North ( james herriot country ) Cornwall in the south West is great for summer beaches so is Devon. Norfolk is good for the Norfolk broads for boating holidays.
Fun fact that annoys my sailing friends is that the Union Jack is only called that when it is flying on a boat or ship. All other times it is the Union Flag. Often this is a pub quiz question that catches people out 😂
If I have hot cross buns that are very fresh, I slice them, butter them, and add either apricot or blackcurrant jam. If they are not fresh, I slice, lightly toast, and butter them, etc.
As a lazy English man, i think a "naked" hot cross bun is perfect just the way it is. Not filled, or toasted. It even has the lines to help guide the four big bites it takes to eat one. Effortlessly delicious!
I always eat hot cross buns cold. I cut them in half and butter them without toasting. I understood they were called hot cross buns due to the spices in them, not because they had to be eaten hot.
If you asked most British citizens what the tower was called, they would call it big ben. You are correct that the King primarily lives at Clarence house which is a 2 minute walk from Buckingham Palace, the reason is that the King prefers Clarence house as that is where he had his London residence and offices when he was the Prince of Wales, also Buckingham palace is being renovated so its not practical, For dropping the H's, it depends where you could from, in Yorkshire we drop a lot of H's especially for places, eg Hull is pronounced 'Ull, Harrogate, is 'Arrogate, Huddersfield is 'Uddersfield. Its always fun to watch an American try to pronounce Worcestershire, which the British pronounce pronounced 'Wustershire' not Wor-Cester-Shire (the same applies to Worcester except without the shire), Warwick is another one as its pronounced Warrick not War-Wick.
Hi there this made me chuckle 😊, I'm 62 born and breed in Wokingham which you said perfectly at the end, in all my life I've never heard anyone call a yellow light amber never ok in the rule book it is but I've never heard it if anyone from the UK went to the US we wouldn't have a clue what we would calling thing's so i don't expect you to be a historian over here although the hot cross buns always toasted and butter, a great little vlog take care to you and your family 🍻🙏
lmao the pronunciation. fellow american here. watch some british youtube videos! you'll hear the pronunciation. the -ham at the end has more of an -um sound so it sounds like full-um for fulham. bucking-um for buckingham. i went for the first time in march and had a fabulous time! i didn't know that they'll toast the toastie for you at a pret and so waited until the last couple of days to try it. omg...it's amazing! a ham and cheese toastie. so simple and so good!
A very gracious response to criticism. I hope most people genuinely wished to inform NICELY. Just a note on the Hams as you are anxious about it! Generally speaking, hams at the end of the words are squashed in h’m. Eg Birmingh’m, Wokingh’m etc. At the beginning, they are Hams. Crazy language, eh? This comes from the language being so old, and (probably through laziness over the years?) people sliding into making it easier to say. In fact these days, many people would without even thinking say more like Birming-m. In fact locals might even say more like Bairming’m - the accent round there being very different from what we call Received Pronunciation (e.g. as spoken by the late Queen). We don’t mind at all if you get things wrong. Just remind rude people about most non-Americans having no idea how to pronounce Arkansas.
An excellent video …thanks for posting!! I agree with others about Big Ben ….we all know that Big Ben is the bell itself, but most Londoners will tend call the whole Tower, “Big Ben”! Turning to the Hot Cross Bun debate, whilst hot cross buns are available all year round in the UK, they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday! The bun marks the end of the season of Lent and different elements of the hot cross bun each have a specific meaning, such as the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him and sometimes also orange peel reflecting the bitterness of his time on the cross. As for the hot/cold quandary, eat them the way you like them. Personally my preference is to eat them cold, with a generous spread of unsalted Irish butter ….but each to their own!!! You may also be interested to learn that in the lead up to Easter Sunday, several bakeries in New York (and further afield) offer hot cross buns for sale, which are also known as “Easter buns”!
If you return to the UK, travel to other areas of the country. Scotland is beautiful, Edinburgh is a fab city. Belfast in Northern Ireland is also a great place. As is York in Northern England. Cornwall in the southwest of England is beautiful too. Also visit my home city of Cardiff, its a great place. North and West Wales are beautiful places too. All four countries that make up the United Kingdom have rich and fascinating places to see. I found this video really refreshing to hear you admit your mistakes, but the one about big Ben, I think most people in the UK call the tower Big Ben even though we know it's the bell.
@@johnevans799 Yes we visited Edinburgh as well (a different video)! i actually enjoyed learning from the comments and will definitely have to come back!
I really enjoyed your vlog thankyou. You have no need to make any apologies. I do have a fact you may like though? The Union Jack is actually the Union Flag. Its only referred to as the Union Jack when fyling on a ships mast. Keep up the good work.
With regards to pronunciation, the three cities which Americans have trouble with are Worcester, Gloucester and Leicester which are pronounced Wooster, Gloster and Lester respectively (any English towns or cities ending in caster, cester or chester were originally sited as or near Roman forts or military camps).
Hot cross buns - definitely toasted. Definitely butter (lots!!!) jam if you want - why not? I used to work with a guy (this is true I promise!) who would squash a Cornish pasty in between his two halves of bun!!!!! Sadly he’s dead now - not sure if there’s a connection. Most people tend to refer to the entire tower as Bug Ben - but then you take now take great satisfaction in correcting them. You are then halfway to being British!! Ignore the Tesco stuff, Waitrose is a much better shop. Costs a bit more though that’s why the more skinflint Brits prefer Tesco! You visited mainly the south - good for you you were in the best bit!
Hi , I think the important point is that people watched your vlog, they enjoyed the experience, and were so involved that they wanted to contribute. Brits' can be pedantic, but we are very proud of our nation, and getting the facts right is not an aggressive 'thing', it's just about 'putting it right'. The issue about 'north' and 'south' is akin to a competitive edge between sibling rivals, where the head of the household favours one over the other. Sheffield South Yorkshire.
@@user-man-now80 Yes that’s what I took it as: National Pride which I loved! We have the same thing with Northern and Southern California (North is better in case you were wondering).
As a South East Londoner, just over Westminster Bridge, I can Second the fact that we ALL call it Big Ben. In the 70's, from the roof of the block of flats I lived in, I could see from Big Ben, all the way East to St Paul's Cathedral!
Buckingham palace is regarded more as a setting for grand occasions with visiting heads of State, balcony appearances for big 'British occasions', administrative offices, official business, and a tourism magnet. Victoria and Albert lived there but made a great effort to adjust its lack of family facilities. In Edward VIII's time it was a place for fashionable society. George VI and family stayed there during WWII because they did want to be seen to flee the city during the blitz. Elizabeth and Philip never saw it as a home even though she was brought up there.
I'm the Oxford-born & raised one (although not lived there since 90's). I was so pleased you got to Oxford as many US visitors don't or they say I'm doing UK do a 2 days in London to then have a week in Ireland and a week in Scotland! lol I used to travel the whole UK, NI & Ireland for work & some of Europe when working & always loved the differences in areas & regions So don't take to heart all the comments & some people are way to picky - & some we mistake or do the same. AKA everyone calls the tower Big Ben although the statements are factually correct but it's not common knowledge for many or used by all here either on that one. I'm 55 and spent a lot of time with cousins in US on East Coast (especially when younger) and had lots of fun talking about all the language differences. I've always been a lover of history, countries, politics (historically) and cultures, I guess the TV movies from 80's and US Cival War interest got me to US in first place. Over time I visited several states & about 28 cities but its still a drop compared to size of US. I love to learn about countries & culture but have little lifestyle or means to do anymore. We (Brits) get a bit snooty about some stuff. As we have had so much US TV we get to know both, while in US the UK culture especially last 30 years isn't well know or publicised as much. It's so great your family visited, do the blogs & experience some of the country & enjoyed what you could with the time. Re the England thing, you never said you went to all of England - you did visit England & been to England and many of those cities like my home town Oxford is very much England. Those pointing out much more northern England areas are correct but it missing the point, and no one can do it all in one trip where you over for a wedding & certain local area. Everyone regionally is biased to there own areas & regions & rightfully so. There are many great places in all parts of UK, but some are trapped be thier own regionlism & sometimes for good reasons, but whetherin Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or other parts of England it all got such great people & history if you have a learning mind of interest. Trigger words to stay away from (very important - joking) is don't call Football Soccer (just don't) 🤣 Or Rugby is just like NFL or Cricket like Baseball 😜 I think I started on being interested in historical wars, and presidents I learnt more about USA than UK history at first but over the decades learnt about the Vikings, our Island's history, our own civil war in 1700's from 1642-51 etc) & just love to keep researching stuff. I'm revisting a lot of Jack the Ripper & London 1880's stuff atm for my sins oh joy. Spent many fun times in my US cousin's kitchens talking about stuff like: Mall = Shopping centre Elevetor = Lift Line = Queue Gas = Petrol Chips = Crisps Trunk = Boot Hood = Bonnet Freeway = Motorway Sidewalk = Pavement etc, etc & most have historical reasons influences for them etc. Always availbile for all learning & cultural understandings! Just get in touch It's all good fun & from my many visits to US from the age of 20 back in 80's (last in US in 2019 just before covid hit stopping most travel then) PS. Don't feel bad about some pronunciention as we over here still fight about whether is "Scone" or "Scon" in pronunciation and whether is cream them jam of jam them cream! Don't get me started on Pasties debate God help us all 🤣🤣
You are right about sugar in UK produce, if too much sugar is added it will fall into the Sugar Tax legislation! This tax is only applied to produce made in this county(UK).
It's only comparatively recent that you can buy hot cross buns all year round They used to be Good Friday only (although you could buy similar all year without the cross)
We lke to think when you visit our country you enjoy yourself and don't worry abou the small things. By the way I'm from the north of England and we tend to drop the H as in Wokingam. Merry travels.
I did enjoy your visit Vlog but this reply more, very well done. I just wish to point out that the train station in Windsor in your Vlog, is in fact Windsor Central. It is still a working station. Since around 1964 it has been a single line (used to have two) and connects to Slough Only. So it is a station first but has a shopping mall. It was a large station because of the royal connection. It used to have four platforms and a Royal waiting room. Windsor actually has two stations, Windsor Central - connecting to London Paddington via Slough, and Windsor Riverside - connecting to London Waterloo. Both stations opened in 1849 but their construction had been fervently opposed by Eton college. Whilst in windsor, did you manage to get to visit the only part of the UK which is USA sovereign territory ? Any one can visit and you don't need a visa! The J.F.K. memorial at Runnymede.
Big Ben is the name most folk use for the tower. The correct name for the tower is the Elizabeth Tower now, but before it was re named after our late Queen, it was officially called St Stephens Tower. both names are more often than not ignored in favour of Big Ben though.
I would pronounce Buckingham Palace as "Bucking-em Palace. I would pronounce Hampshire as Hamp-sher, soft r, rather than Hamp-shire. Hope this helps. 🙂
As a English person, there are some names that I am sometimes wonder if we deliberately make it difficult - such as Gloucester which is pronounced 'Gloster', Worchester which is 'Worster', but Rochester is pronounced 'Rochester' !
Don't let peoples negative comments get you down. The important thing is that you enjoyed your visit.
@@paulypops1 thanks for the kind comment! I didn’t mind at all. I loved hearing from people and learning new things!
As a Londoner, I can confidently say we all call it Big Ben. Thank you for coming and appreciating our country, ignore the fault pickers.
@@ChurchyXo ha ha I didn’t mind at all. I love learning new things! But thanks for the encouragement!
We certainly do. We all know it's the bell but we use the name for the tower. We just do.
No we don't! Please don't speak for me and the vast majority of people I know. lol 😂
@@jamieandtherandomstuff I literally know noone who calls Elizabeth Tower by it's proper name, I have lived in London, my sister lives in London and I have lived close to london nearly my entire life and the only time that I have heared it refered to as Elizabeth Tower is on RUclips. lol 😂
@@themachineandeye maybe we just hang with different people? LOL
I hope you had a wonderful time. I wouldn't worry about pronunciation and people picking faults, the main thing is, you came and you explored. You invested your hard earned money and time.
When you put butter and jam on your hot cross bun have it cold,
@@paulhenman9907 I prefer Hot Cross Buns sliced, buttered and cold, Mind you I always have cold buttered toast too... guess I don't like melted butter then
@@paulhenman9907 really?
@@Zephyrines interesting! I feel like this is a minority group! 🤷♀️
I totally disagree with both the above.
Hot cross buns, like teacakes, should be sliced in half and TOASTED!
Then, of you wish, either eat them as they are or 😮spread margarine/butter and/or jam on each half and eat the halves separately.
What you call English muffins we call crumpets. They should also be toasted (but not sliced) and spread before eating.
Born and bred in London and technically we all know the bell is Big Ben but we still commonly refer to the tower as Big Ben. If you showed me a picture of the Tower (The Elizabeth Tower) I would call it Big Ben. Lived in London for 65 years.
Exactly!
Exactly ...99% of people call it Big Ben
Indeed, Londoners refer to both what they hear and what they see as Big Ben.
0:02
Exactly, it's like an American Calling calling it the the Statue of Liberty by its official name Liberty Enlightening the World..
Nobody would say that, they would say statue of liberty
And the same goes for Big Ben
I think it's very cool that so many people are paying attention to each and every detail of your initial England video (which was such a fun video!) and that you turned all this constructive feedback into a new video for your channel that has more than 10K views in about 2 days. GOOD FOR YOU!!! Loving your channel and rooting for your continued success here on RUclips!!!
@@TesLUCKY Hey friend! Appreciate your encouragement so much! Yes - isn’t it funny that if we listen, people tell us exactly what they want to see? Although… my response video to comments about getting monetized didn’t do nearly as well so 🤷♀️some flop some bop!
@@sierralovesdogs Bop till you drop!!!
Good save! Smooth, genuine, truthful.
@@ceesjanmol thank you! 😁
Don't be so hard on yourself, I enjoyed your video, and was glad to see you and your family had a great time here in the UK.
Bless ur heart ❤. Honestly, pay very little attention to the comment section. The Vlog was brilliant and your contagious and enthusiastic energy was what made it very enjoyable to watch 🎉🎉
Oh bless you - don't take the comments to heart, Sierra. People just care and want to help you (and fellow Americans) understand and get a true perspective, therefore enriching your experiencing of the UK. 🙏😉🤗. BTW hot-cross buns should be sliced (like a burger bun), lightly toasted and spread with butter + served with a hot mug of tea 😋
i just butter them but each to their own
No, it should be a mug of hot tea.
@@whome1615 Well pointed out! 👍😄😉
@@MarkmanOTW ok I love that you added hot tea to the recipe! And I wasn’t upset at all - I loved hearing everyone’s comments!
@@sierralovesdogs 👍😊
Love it! We can be a bit tricky with a few of our quirks, but we love it when people from overseas try to understand our eccentricities. Looking forward to more!
I love learning all I can! Thanks for commenting! :)
I come from a small medieval wool town called lavenham in Suffolk (check it out on RUclips) we love going to London for concerts ect But we are always glad to get back to our sleepy town.
Hot Cross Buns are just a seasonal variant of what we call a teacake really, if you go into a traditional tearoom in the UK and order a teacake and a cup of tea you'll be served a teacake which is simply a fruited bread bun, sliced in two and toasted, and they'll give you some butter to spread on it too, and we eat hot cross buns exactly the same way, personally I've never seen anyone eat a toasted hot cross bun or teacake without butter, lots of butter! ...and forget jam or any other spread, just butter.
*markjones127*
And the best teacakes (small) are from Bird's the Bakers in the East MIdlands.
@@markjones127 just butter! Got it! I didn’t realize hot cross buns are tea cakes. Thanks for the explanation!
You are welcome here anytime. Loads more to see. Look forward to seeing next visits videos.
Come to Cambridge.
Thank you! Yes, Cambridge would be on the list for sure!
I sometimes call the amber light yellow,and im english.
And plenty of English people call the Elizabeth tower big ben...some people just like to knit pick.
Talking of knit picking ... it's nit picking.
Interestingly (or not), on the railways in the UK the "amber" light on railway signals is always refered to as yellow.
@@thegroovetube3247 saw a woman at Asda moaning that the Adsa stock cubes was not in fact a cube, i told her to go to sainsburys and see if they have "lifes" for sale because you are in need of one, cashiers burst out laughing
@@johnevans2044 oh so amber on the street but yellow for the trains? 🤔
@@thegroovetube3247 😂😂
I admire your good humour and willingness to correct prior errors. Also, that you admitted to having been told of your mistakes, and hope not too many people were aggressive in their corrections... Well done for trying the words you dont normally say as we say them. I think its easier to remember the right way to do or say something, if youve got it wrong first, because we all make mistakes, but we try our best to learn, just as your are. Thankyou for taking the time to share your experiences with us and being so kind as to let us share your learning processes too.
@@brigidsingleton1596 I love learning! People were for the most part very sweet in their comments - I always want to improve and learn so didn’t mind at all. Just thought it was interesting when people started commenting on the same things over and over! 😁
Sliced, toasted then add butter.....MMMmmmm Nice!
@@nickhuckle6298 people seem to agree! 🧈
Some people are so anal, I’m a born & bred Londoner & have no problem with the tower being called Big Ben, amber lights being called yellow or any of the other perceived mistakes, I challenge those people to travel to another country & get everything right, we’re just happy to see tourists from around the world coming here to appreciate our beautiful country, I would say that people that say to go up north too are so correct, the Lake District or the villages in Yorkshire will blow your minds, go to Wales, go to Scotland, you’ll be amazed, thank you for visiting us & hope to see you again 💙
@@grampstin9375 🤣🤣🤣your comment is cracking me up. I honestly took no offense and love to learn. We did visit Scotland while we were there too! Check out that video if you like. Thanks for commenting! 😄
I think you’re lovely and especially so in trying to patiently and charitably address what was obviously an avalanche of people correcting you. Please don’t think that we’re all offended pedants because we’re not. As a British person who lives in London all I’m interested in is that you had a nice time and that my fellow British people were kind to you, and that’s all that really matters. Bless you and your family.
@@albertsmyth9616 thank you so much. We had an amazing time and this video was really more for fun than anything. We’ll be back - everyone was very nice in person! 🤗
As a generalisation, Buckingham Palace is the office and Windsor Castle the home. The monarch will normally have Mon-Thursday at the Palace & the weekends at Windsor. Obviously, that's not strict as various events, ceremonies and whatnot will cause things to be changed around here and there.
The other way of telling if the Monarch is in the Palace is by looking at the two entrances that lead into the Quadrangle. If there's just one guard at each entrance, that means that the Monarch is not there. If there are two guards at each entrance, then the Monarch is there.
@@TripsandFeasts1 oh that’s a new one to look at the number of guards! Thanks for sharing! Also makes sense about the Palace vs Windsor!
Learning is great but saying what you feel and know at that time is perfectly fine. Your passion for learning is enduring.
@@kenhobbs8565 thanks. I appreciate that! I just don’t want to offend anyone!
@@sierralovesdogs no one should be offended. I'm sure it's the same when Brits come to the states. ☺️
We all make mistakes, the good thing is we can correct them and learn from them. Hope you had an enjoyable time in England and visit again.
The rest of the UK is STUNNING, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have beautiful scenery. Just a word of warning regional variations in English language can change from village to village, let alone county by county. To list the places to visit outside of London would take many days to complete.
Yes! We visited Edinburgh as well! Here is a video of our time there if you are interested: ruclips.net/video/-URT6jsKCvc/видео.html
Loved this video it's good that you are learning I had to learn differences when I went to america even though I did do research there was thing i found out when I got there, the people i met there were very nice and helpful.
Great vlog hope you had a great time sod the pronunciation of things and places just doesn’t matter, thankyou for wanting to visit our beautiful country.
Hi Sierra! It's the first time I've viewed your vlog! I'm British & born & live in England. Usually, it's hum & not ham in the end of place name pronunciations. Of course, Ham in Hampshire is pronounced that, but this countie's abbreviation is HANTS!
I'm going to S California next year, so hopefully, I can pronounce & understand the lingo!!! Cheers!
I don't thinnk 'Elizabeth Tower' is a common name for that clock tower.
Everybody just calls it 'Big Ben'.
Prior to its name change it was previously known as St Steven’s tower. But totally agree people just call it Big Ben.
Everyone calls it Big Ben. EVERYONE!!! Apart from newscasters and politicians.
@@Brakdayton And complete twats.
I'm a Londoner, have been all my life. I completely understood everything you were pointing out. Love the vlog!
@@simonbaker5972 so is London England? 😁
I enjoyed your video, yes it did have some issues and being born in the north (Manchester), lived in East Anglia, Midlands and Scotlands I was grated by the southern focus. That said, big thumbs up for doing this video, you have a wonderful innate curiosity and growth mindset so you’re clearly a nice person. Keep being you and do your videos 👍
Good that you can see the funny side of being taken to task so much! And at least you are not defensive, and are willing to learn! Despite these comments, your original video showed you had a good time, at least, which is the whole point of travelling after all.
We had a great time. I actually loved that it generated so much feedback - proves to me how much pride residents feel in their country which I appreciate and admire! I'll be back!
Ignore the negative comments.
Love your post, thank you, thank you :-)
Sincere best wishes for your next visit to the UK.
I enjoyed them! People are passionate and I love that! Thanks for your comment! 🤗
Pronunciations are tricky. There's much inconsistency you just sort of have to know them. For example, you might fly into Gatwick ("Gat-wick") airport, but if you go to a bit north of London you might go to Flitwick ("Flittick"). The one where an American tourist really baffled me was when they asked for directions to "Looger-Beruga". It took me a while before I twigged they were after Loughborough ("Luff-br'")
If you do return and go north, I highly recommend Durham as a great small city. And you have to try the fish & chips in Whitby.
@@simonmeadows7961 inconsistencies are so common with American pronunciations too! Our crazy shared language! OK but my fav part of your comment is the new word “twigged” for me! Googled it and now I twig it. 🤣🤣🤣
@@simonmeadows7961 Durham… 🤔
Pronunciation in the UK is a minefield and can vary between villages, let alone cities or regions. You got Buckingham right eventually (Bukin'h'm), but Hampshire would be ('Ampsh'r) because we drop the H before a vowel, at least round here.
I think your "Loughborough" American might have been taking the pee - they pronounce "borough" the same as us (or nearly the same, sometimes more like "burrow"). NYC is divided into boroughs, for example.
Next time you are in the UK if you get as far north as County Durham consider visiting the Beamish museum. Try to make it a sunny day and bring walking shoes as much of it is open air.
Fun fact: Someone who drives through an amber traffic light is known as "An amber gambler".😁
Hot cross buns: The traditional way is to slice them into two halves and heat/toast them and serve with butter. However it's personal taste and you can put jam or honey on them, or eat them cold if you prefer.
If you visit the UK again here are some suggestions of places to visit depending on what you like doing.
Cities:
- Bath famous for it's beautiful Georgian architecture and roman baths. There is also an American museum there which focuses on the early American settlers.
- York. aka 'The Bath of the North'. lots of pretty medieval buildings also the national railway museum.
- Edinburgh: Again a pretty city known for it's castle and Arthur's seat. be aware that Scotland's a long way from the SE and it's a long trip by car which you may want to break up over a few days and getting the train or a flight isn't cheap.
If you like the outdoors we have 15 National Parks which each has their own character and 46 AONBs (Areas of Outstanding natural beauty) which have recently been renamed 'national landscapes' . Basically smalller national parks, but sadly with fewer protections.
www.nationalparks.uk/
www.national-landscapes.org.uk/
If you like trees I recommend:
- The Royal Botanical gardens at Kew, London.
www.kew.org/
- The National Arboritum at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire (prounoced Gloster-sher).
www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum
- The Eden Project in Cornwall which as a rainforest in a series of huge futuristic domes.
www.edenproject.com/
Much of our most beautiful scenery is on the west coast e.g. Devon & Cornwall in SW England, Pembrokshire & the Gower in SW Wales, Snowdonia in N.W Wales, The lake disritct in NW England and the Scotish highlands and Islands. This is due to most of our mountains and hills being on the western side and the West getting higher rainfall which shapes the land and makes it very lush and green.
Personally my favourites parts of Britain are the West Country and Western Scotland.
Nice bits of the country on the East and south coasts include Northumbria, the Norfolk Broads, New Forrest, the Downs and Dorset on the south coast is lovely, but generally West is best!😃
We also have lots of stately homes and castles, most of which have beautiful gardens. A lot of these are run by either the National Trust or English Heritage.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/
@@speleokeir oh I love that tidbit about the amber gambler! Thanks so much for the impressive lists of suggestions. I can tell you have so much love and pride for your land! We did go to Edinburgh and it was fantastic! I made another video about it which you can watch if you like. We loved it there!
An "Amber Gambler" sounds like Johnny Depp before he married her.
@@Psmith-ek5hq 😂😂😂😂
I think that most Americans' pronunciation of New Hampshire (hampsher) in the US is exactly how we pronounce all of the 'shire' counties in England
Nope certainly not in Derbyshire.
Sierra please don’t listen to some small minded individuals who have nothing better to do than pick up on others opinions and errors. Your vlog from Wokingham was fantastic. I grew up there but haven’t been back for many years so it was great to see that nothing has really changed. Keep going with the good work you are doing and thank you for reminding me about Wokingham x
There does seem to be a percentage of RUclips watchers who delight in picking faults in videos, which they gleefully point out in not a pleasant way.
@@tobycollins1636 thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts on Wokingham! Glad you enjoyed it! Appreciate your remarks!
@@grahvis yes I have noticed this and it’s fine - for the most part I have a relatively thick skin. I do find it an interesting study in humanity that people will comment anonymously things they would never say in person.
I have noticed a fair number of American's put "the" before landmark names when referring to them, which sounds so strange to the British ear. Examples are "The Big Ben", "The Buckingham Palace", "The London Bridge" and "The Nelson's Column". If we wanted to include "the", we might say "The market at Borough" rather than "The Borough market". But we are so lazy it will almost always be "Borough Market".
Hi Sierra, just discovered your channel and was laughing that you actually made a video about the mistakes you made on your video of your trip to England. I haven't quite got to 1,000 subscribers yet (plenty of watch hours!) mainly making videos about the island I live on and I regularly make mistakes in them, but try to forget about them! Well done to you! Oh and by the way, you possibly made another small mistake in this video.......but maybe not! I was always led to believe that the Union Flag is only called a Union Jack when used as a jack flag on a ship. However, today this seems to be a matter for debate!
@@thereluctantoutdoorsman I’ll have to do a mistakes part 2 😂😂😂
@@sierralovesdogs Beware of the corrections you've been given. A lot of them are wrong too. 😁😁
@@Poliss95 🤦♀️
In general, English never stresses a final syllable. The most common vowel sound is the schwa (ə) - the a of Buckingham.
Lincoln is a bit of a hidden gem, if you’re travelling to York by train you can get off at Newark (also a great little historic market town) and get another train for about 25 minutes
Lovely video, yes most British people call it Big Ben. Many have buns cold. Thanks for visiting, we travel a lot and are always finding out about new countries and make mistakes too. Too many Brits head to Spain and just want to have roast beef and English beer. Thanks
Ha ha - well that's like going to McDonalds in another country! But sometimes people just like what is familiar. Thanks for commenting!
Next time come to SOUTH WEST England ! Beautiful coastline , beaches , surfing and the glory of Dartmoor !!
Yes, so much more to explore!
Just found your video and want to say that myself family and friends have never ever warmed up a Hot Cross Bun. I've really never known anyone to do that. Slice it butter it and enjoy. Never thought of it as a teacake to me they're different
So our error was just not having butter? 🤣
I think most of these were just people being anally retentaive tbh....
The only one would be the hot cross bun... Should absolutely be buttered, ambient or warm, doesn't matter.
I disagree. I don't eat butter on anything. Just don't like the taste.
We never butter it. Never.
@@wncjanIf it's really good real butter, once in a blue moon, but never margarine or fake butter.
Well I like my cold with butter! It's just my taste.😋
When I used to buy these they were always cut in half and then lightly toasted under a grill and then buttered perhaps after they'd cooled down a bit.
Hi Sierra, love your channel and your accent don't worry about saying things wrong because people in the UK, miss pronounce words all the time... I'm from Wrexham Wales UK, I love my Hot Cross Buns hot with butter and jam their delicious🥰
@@tinawilliams-adftina omg you are!!!???? We are obsessed with Welcome to Wrexham and saw the team play Chelsea here in California two weeks ago. Do you watch the show? Do you love it/hate it? Are hooligans real? And I will def have to try the bund with butter and jam! 🤗
@@sierralovesdogs Yes I watch the show, the whole of Wrexham are obsessed with Ryan and Rob what they have done for Wrexham football club and the town is fantastic ..they're amazing 🥰 ... unfortunately we do have a few hooligans here which spoils everything good going on ..... yeah do try butter and jam on the hot crossed buns they are yummy😄
@@tinawilliams-adftina Wow! We’re definitely obsessed and hope to visit! Thanks so much for commenting! You made my day! A real life Wrexhamer!
@@sierralovesdogs No thank you, please keep doing your fantastic channel I love it, speak to you in your next one 💗👍🤚
@@sierralovesdogsThe other ham you mentioned should be Woke ingum, in sound.
Great vlog. Yes you did a tiny bit of South East England, Richmond is still a Borough of London. Cornwall, Dorset, Lake District, Peak District, Dartmouth, Yorkshire Dales etc all waiting for you
As a Brit, I loved watching your recent visit and getting your perspective. You dealt with the nitpickers beautifully here!
PS. You and your friend were correct about Buckingham Palace - King Charles is NOT residing there while there are ongoing renovation works taking place at the palace over the next 5 years... He lives just along The Mall at Clarence House. When he is in residence in London, though, the Royal Standard will still fly from Buckingham Palace even though he's eating and sleeping just down the road. 😀
@@glenp6301 well there you go!!! See I was right! Lol thanks for the extra information!
Hi, I thought your video was really good and I watched all of it, some of it twice, and I didn't notice any of the mistakes others mentioned - and I live in England! I did know that Big Ben was the bell and not the clock tower, but to be honest I usually refer to the tower as Big Ben as that's what I thought it was called for years and don't want to change it now! The hot cross buns can actually be eaten cold, I used to take them to work sometimes and have one with a cup of coffee. At home I would put them in a microwave oven for about 20 seconds with some butter on. Or you can put them in a toaster and butter them once they're cooked!. Your pronunciations were absolutely fine 👍🙂 I live in Hampshire, and many locals would pronounce it "Ampshire", but we all know what we mean, and Hampshire is really the correct pronunciation. It's always interesting to see someone from another country comment on our customs and places etc, and you did an excellent job and made it interesting too, so carry on the way you make your videos, you don't need to change anything (plus the fact I'm learning a lot from you for my own videos!😊).
@@pbcreative6388 I just think people are really proud of England and eager to share their knowledge so didn’t any offense and thought it would make a fun follow up video. Good to know about pronouncing Hampshire. Others have said cold buns are acceptable too! Thanks for your comment and encouragement! 😁
@@sierralovesdogs I think most people are proud of their home country, and it's a compliment people want to visit us! Especially in all the rain we have! ☔🙂. I went to Florida one Christmas and the weather was like our summer! I'd love to make a RUclips video in the USA, I will start saving up! Thank you also for your support, it's good to have some help/advice and encouragement 👍
- Previously also St Stephen's Tower.
- Buckingham Palace is also the headquarters for the Royal Household ie the huge organisation that exists around the Royal Family. Also lots of places have ceremonial guards while someone isn't necessarily there (grave of the unknown soldier at Arlington or the White House when the President isn't there)
Beyond the South East of England.
Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham... All have lots to offer.
Taking a canal trip across the UK can be a real eye opener.
Being from Northern Cali, if you enjoy hiking then the Peak District, or the Marches (English/Welsh Borders are well worth a look).
Manchester , Liverpool , Sheffield , Leeds , York , Durham , Newcastle and Carlisle are all great cities in the north of England all are surrounded by lovely countryside and dotted with small towns and villages with plenty of history and great things to do
@@johnhankinson1929 lots to add to the list!
I would also add to that - Norwich & Cambridge among others.
Although we call the middle traffic light ‘the amber light’ it did help in a traffic safety campaign making drivers aware that they should stop and not go through on a single amber light - “Don’t be an Amber Gambler”. That was over 40 years ago and I still remember it!!
The mark of a great campaign is when you can remember it years later (and not the website password you set up minutes ago! 🤣)
Both Big Ben (the bell) and the Liberty Bell were cast in the same foundry (Whitechapel Bell Foundry). Of course they both cracked but the returns policy didn't include intercontinental travel so Big Ben got fixed. The Liberty Bell is out of its warranty period now anyway.
Googling BRB
Well Hell's Bells! It checks out! That's a fun bit of trivia! Thanks so much for sharing (my exclamation seemed appropriate, don't you think? ) 😜
Thank you for bringing back beautiful clear hazel eyes that greet us with a sparkle. (My pet peeve being dead Goth eyes.) Your inner soul sparkles with life.
I'm disappointed to hear that you had so many picky comments. Thank you for being a traveller and coming to England - whatever bit! I'm going to your country next year and hope that my, probably, loads of mistakes will be treated kindly.
@@karenbartleet3744 yay! New Orleans right?
@@karenbartleet3744 I think people were just sharing. Lots of English pride which I adore! 😍
take no notice of people picking faults i hope you had a great time in england and your welcomed back anytime
If you look at the colour of traffic lights and compare with a railway signal (preferably a non-LED one). The difference between the "amber" traffic light and the "yellow" railway signal is quite distinct.
Great !! do more. I'm English and you did well !!
I've seen a lot of comments on here telling you hot cross buns must be buttered or toasted or never with margarine or other spreads. Absolute load of cobblers, by all means try them buttered or toasted or with or without a cuppa, but it's totally subjective. If you like them best on their own, that's fine.
I love them fresh, cold, unbuttered and in peace 😂
I've lived nr London almost 56 years and ur Always welcome, we can all make minor errors in reference no biggie ❤🤗
Thank you! I didn't mind the corrections - it was fun to read through them all and I love to learn!
Hot cross buns should be buttered. English muffins are from New York.
Great vid. I keep seeing tic toks about all the pick pockets. Crazy and seems scary. Too bad. Bad guys rolling up on bikes and yanking your phone and purse outta your hand on the street.
I cut em in half ,toast them ,slap plenty of butter on the halves and finish off by some thick cut marmalade washed down by a cup of Yorkshire tea ( milk with a teaspoon of sugar ,not weak and insipid but chestnut coloured )NB that is hot cross buns
@@johnsmith-de9wv sounds delish!
In the UK, when I was a kid, hot cross buns were only sold on Good Friday, would have to be specially ordered from the baker and collected early in the morning.
Don't worry about your pronunciation, I'm English and live in Wales, take a look at some Welsh place names.
The " HAM" thing is very easy to understand. If you say Birmingham, Alabama than your pronunciation is perfect. If you say Birmingham, West Midlands, UK then you need to say BirmingUM. Same as BuckingUM Palace or BuckingUMshire. Get it? US pronunciation is fine in the US but please don't do it in the UK because the pronunciation we use is derived from Norse ( Viking) . Yeah I know, it's strange but that's just the way it is! 😁😁😁
@@JohnCraig-y6f so drop the H not the A?
@@sierralovesdogs Almost! Drop the H but pronounce the A as U! Fun isn't it? 😃
@@sierralovesdogs The English language is really odd, just pronounce it how you want don't get hung up on it.
I live near the English town of Harwich which is a port town in Essex. However there is also a town called Harwich in Massachusetts USA.
The inhabitants of Harwich MA pronounce the name of their town with a long a and pronounce the w. But the residents of Harwich Essex pronounce the name with a short a and pronounce the w as if it was an r,
But my favourite oddity about English place name pronunciations is Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster".
@@BarnabyRudge-sx3pb love that!
I loved this - but also agree with the many on here that say - ignore the nay sayers - the whole point of your content is that it is genuinely you and how you experience life's adventures. My big takeaway was to definitely heat up those buns!
You might enjoy this YT vid - 'Why are British place names so hard to pronounce?' by Jay Foreman. It's fun
Excellent video & thank you for taking the time to come visit Uk.
I would personally ignore all the comments about how to pronounce certain UK words, just say it how you feel comfy saying words.
You have to bear in mind that we would invariably pronounce American words differently as to how Americans would pronounce the same word. Life is a learning curve & we never stop learning.
Thanks once again & come back to UK soon. 😊
4:29 Assassins, oh my word😂 He does have security. There's guards regardless and they tighten it up when he's actually there.
Don't worry my darling, your doing fine. Love from UK(England).
The lake district( beatrix Potter)lakes in close proximity and countryside ,Yorkshire dales in the North ( james herriot country ) Cornwall in the south West is great for summer beaches so is Devon.
Norfolk is good for the Norfolk broads for boating holidays.
@@philtyke747 need to go back!
Fun fact that annoys my sailing friends is that the Union Jack is only called that when it is flying on a boat or ship. All other times it is the Union Flag. Often this is a pub quiz question that catches people out 😂
Well that's another mistake! I'm going to have to do a round two of mistakes from THIS video now! 🤣🤣
If I have hot cross buns that are very fresh, I slice them, butter them, and add either apricot or blackcurrant jam.
If they are not fresh, I slice, lightly toast, and butter them, etc.
@@whattiler5102 very sound habits!!!
As a lazy English man, i think a "naked" hot cross bun is perfect just the way it is. Not filled, or toasted. It even has the lines to help guide the four big bites it takes to eat one. Effortlessly delicious!
@@andya696 ok then!!! 😁 enjoy!
I always eat hot cross buns cold. I cut them in half and butter them without toasting. I understood they were called hot cross buns due to the spices in them, not because they had to be eaten hot.
Yep, I'll happily scoff my way through a 4 pack of cold Hot Cross Buns and agree that the 'hot' refers to the fact they are spiced buns.
If you asked most British citizens what the tower was called, they would call it big ben.
You are correct that the King primarily lives at Clarence house which is a 2 minute walk from Buckingham Palace, the reason is that the King prefers Clarence house as that is where he had his London residence and offices when he was the Prince of Wales, also Buckingham palace is being renovated so its not practical,
For dropping the H's, it depends where you could from, in Yorkshire we drop a lot of H's especially for places, eg Hull is pronounced 'Ull, Harrogate, is 'Arrogate, Huddersfield is 'Uddersfield.
Its always fun to watch an American try to pronounce Worcestershire, which the British pronounce pronounced 'Wustershire' not Wor-Cester-Shire (the same applies to Worcester except without the shire), Warwick is another one as its pronounced Warrick not War-Wick.
@@Jason_L10 and yet we do and you don’t drop the h for “Herb” - aren’t languages so funny? 😂
@@Jason_L10 I couldn’t even attempt Worcestershire! 😆
Hi there this made me chuckle 😊, I'm 62 born and breed in Wokingham which you said perfectly at the end, in all my life I've never heard anyone call a yellow light amber never ok in the rule book it is but I've never heard it if anyone from the UK went to the US we wouldn't have a clue what we would calling thing's so i don't expect you to be a historian over here although the hot cross buns always toasted and butter, a great little vlog take care to you and your family 🍻🙏
@@22seanmurphy we really loved our stay in Wokingham! What a wonderful town. Glad I finally said it correctly! And toasted with butter - noted!
lmao the pronunciation. fellow american here. watch some british youtube videos! you'll hear the pronunciation. the -ham at the end has more of an -um sound so it sounds like full-um for fulham. bucking-um for buckingham.
i went for the first time in march and had a fabulous time! i didn't know that they'll toast the toastie for you at a pret and so waited until the last couple of days to try it. omg...it's amazing! a ham and cheese toastie. so simple and so good!
A very gracious response to criticism. I hope most people genuinely wished to inform NICELY. Just a note on the Hams as you are anxious about it! Generally speaking, hams at the end of the words are squashed in h’m. Eg Birmingh’m, Wokingh’m etc. At the beginning, they are Hams. Crazy language, eh? This comes from the language being so old, and (probably through laziness over the years?) people sliding into making it easier to say. In fact these days, many people would without even thinking say more like Birming-m. In fact locals might even say more like Bairming’m - the accent round there being very different from what we call Received Pronunciation (e.g. as spoken by the late Queen). We don’t mind at all if you get things wrong. Just remind rude people about most non-Americans having no idea how to pronounce Arkansas.
@@tessakulik6710 thanks for the HAM tips! 😁 yes our language is crazy! Oh do people say the last “s”? I love when you say squirrel and schedule!
An excellent video …thanks for posting!!
I agree with others about Big Ben ….we all know that Big Ben is the bell itself, but most Londoners will tend call the whole Tower, “Big Ben”!
Turning to the Hot Cross Bun debate, whilst hot cross buns are available all year round in the UK, they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday!
The bun marks the end of the season of Lent and different elements of the hot cross bun each have a specific meaning, such as the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him and sometimes also orange peel reflecting the bitterness of his time on the cross.
As for the hot/cold quandary, eat them the way you like them. Personally my preference is to eat them cold, with a generous spread of unsalted Irish butter ….but each to their own!!!
You may also be interested to learn that in the lead up to Easter Sunday, several bakeries in New York (and further afield) offer hot cross buns for sale, which are also known as “Easter buns”!
If you return to the UK, travel to other areas of the country. Scotland is beautiful, Edinburgh is a fab city. Belfast in Northern Ireland is also a great place. As is York in Northern England. Cornwall in the southwest of England is beautiful too. Also visit my home city of Cardiff, its a great place. North and West Wales are beautiful places too. All four countries that make up the United Kingdom have rich and fascinating places to see.
I found this video really refreshing to hear you admit your mistakes, but the one about big Ben, I think most people in the UK call the tower Big Ben even though we know it's the bell.
@@johnevans799 Yes we visited Edinburgh as well (a different video)! i actually enjoyed learning from the comments and will definitely have to come back!
Great vid!! Welcome to the UK 🇬🇧
@@jordizee thank you!
Just enjoy your vacation ma'm and keep safe always❤❤❤
I really enjoyed your vlog thankyou. You have no need to make any apologies. I do have a fact you may like though? The Union Jack is actually the Union Flag. Its only referred to as the Union Jack when fyling on a ships mast. Keep up the good work.
With regards to pronunciation, the three cities which Americans have trouble with are Worcester, Gloucester and Leicester which are pronounced Wooster, Gloster and Lester respectively (any English towns or cities ending in caster, cester or chester were originally sited as or near Roman forts or military camps).
ST. Stephens Tower, that's the name I grew up with. It's had a few names and it's now Elizabeth Tower.....hmm?
That's what I found on wikipedia... as of the Diamond Jubilee, but what do I know?
St Stephen's Tower is a quite different structure.
Hot cross buns - definitely toasted. Definitely butter (lots!!!) jam if you want - why not? I used to work with a guy (this is true I promise!) who would squash a Cornish pasty in between his two halves of bun!!!!! Sadly he’s dead now - not sure if there’s a connection.
Most people tend to refer to the entire tower as Bug Ben - but then you take now take great satisfaction in correcting them. You are then halfway to being British!!
Ignore the Tesco stuff, Waitrose is a much better shop. Costs a bit more though that’s why the more skinflint Brits prefer Tesco!
You visited mainly the south - good for you you were in the best bit!
Hi , I think the important point is that people watched your vlog, they enjoyed the experience, and were so involved that they wanted to contribute. Brits' can be pedantic, but we are very proud of our nation, and getting the facts right is not an aggressive 'thing', it's just about 'putting it right'. The issue about 'north' and 'south' is akin to a competitive edge between sibling rivals, where the head of the household favours one over the other. Sheffield South Yorkshire.
@@user-man-now80 Yes that’s what I took it as: National Pride which I loved! We have the same thing with Northern and Southern California (North is better in case you were wondering).
As a South East Londoner, just over Westminster Bridge, I can Second the fact that we ALL call it Big Ben.
In the 70's, from the roof of the block of flats I lived in, I could see from Big Ben, all the way East to St Paul's Cathedral!
@Loki1815 But it's not in London. 😁
Buckingham palace is regarded more as a setting for grand occasions with visiting heads of State, balcony appearances for big 'British occasions', administrative offices, official business, and a tourism magnet.
Victoria and Albert lived there but made a great effort to adjust its lack of family facilities. In Edward VIII's time it was a place for fashionable society. George VI and family stayed there during WWII because they did want to be seen to flee the city during the blitz. Elizabeth and Philip never saw it as a home even though she was brought up there.
I also live in Wokingham, glad you enjoyed it! Call it however you want :)
I'm the Oxford-born & raised one (although not lived there since 90's). I was so pleased you got to Oxford as many US visitors don't or they say I'm doing UK do a 2 days in London to then have a week in Ireland and a week in Scotland! lol
I used to travel the whole UK, NI & Ireland for work & some of Europe when working & always loved the differences in areas & regions
So don't take to heart all the comments & some people are way to picky - & some we mistake or do the same.
AKA everyone calls the tower Big Ben although the statements are factually correct but it's not common knowledge for many or used by all here either on that one.
I'm 55 and spent a lot of time with cousins in US on East Coast (especially when younger) and had lots of fun talking about all the language differences.
I've always been a lover of history, countries, politics (historically) and cultures, I guess the TV movies from 80's and US Cival War interest got me to US in first place. Over time I visited several states & about 28 cities but its still a drop compared to size of US.
I love to learn about countries & culture but have little lifestyle or means to do anymore.
We (Brits) get a bit snooty about some stuff. As we have had so much US TV we get to know both, while in US the UK culture especially last 30 years isn't well know or publicised as much.
It's so great your family visited, do the blogs & experience some of the country & enjoyed what you could with the time.
Re the England thing, you never said you went to all of England - you did visit England & been to England and many of those cities like my home town Oxford is very much England.
Those pointing out much more northern England areas are correct but it missing the point, and no one can do it all in one trip where you over for a wedding & certain local area.
Everyone regionally is biased to there own areas & regions & rightfully so.
There are many great places in all parts of UK, but some are trapped be thier own regionlism & sometimes for good reasons, but whetherin Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or other parts of England it all got such great people & history if you have a learning mind of interest.
Trigger words to stay away from (very important - joking) is don't call Football Soccer (just don't) 🤣
Or Rugby is just like NFL or Cricket like Baseball 😜
I think I started on being interested in historical wars, and presidents I learnt more about USA than UK history at first but over the decades learnt about the Vikings, our Island's history, our own civil war in 1700's from 1642-51 etc) & just love to keep researching stuff. I'm revisting a lot of Jack the Ripper & London 1880's stuff atm for my sins oh joy.
Spent many fun times in my US cousin's kitchens talking about stuff like:
Mall = Shopping centre
Elevetor = Lift
Line = Queue
Gas = Petrol
Chips = Crisps
Trunk = Boot
Hood = Bonnet
Freeway = Motorway
Sidewalk = Pavement
etc, etc & most have historical reasons influences for them etc.
Always availbile for all learning & cultural understandings! Just get in touch
It's all good fun & from my many visits to US from the age of 20 back in 80's (last in US in 2019 just before covid hit stopping most travel then)
PS. Don't feel bad about some pronunciention as we over here still fight about whether is "Scone" or "Scon" in pronunciation and whether is cream them jam of jam them cream!
Don't get me started on Pasties debate
God help us all
🤣🤣
You are right about sugar in UK produce, if too much sugar is added it will fall into the Sugar Tax legislation! This tax is only applied to produce made in this county(UK).
Could eat a scone cold .Go for a cream tea with scones jam and Devon or cornish cream tea.
@@philtyke747 scone cold better than stone cold 🤪
It's only comparatively recent that you can buy hot cross buns all year round They used to be Good Friday only (although you could buy similar all year without the cross)
@@alanstebbings2886 oh does the cross have religious significance? I had no idea!
@@sierralovesdogs cross as in The Cross
@@alanstebbings2886 yes makes sense
We lke to think when you visit our country you enjoy yourself and don't worry abou the small things. By the way I'm from the north of England and we tend to drop the H as in Wokingam. Merry travels.
@@barbarakendall5184 so drop the h not the a? Is that a Northern thing vs Southern?
I did enjoy your visit Vlog but this reply more, very well done. I just wish to point out that the train station in Windsor in your Vlog, is in fact Windsor Central. It is still a working station. Since around 1964 it has been a single line (used to have two) and connects to Slough Only. So it is a station first but has a shopping mall. It was a large station because of the royal connection. It used to have four platforms and a Royal waiting room. Windsor actually has two stations, Windsor Central - connecting to London Paddington via Slough, and Windsor Riverside - connecting to London Waterloo. Both stations opened in 1849 but their construction had been fervently opposed by Eton college. Whilst in windsor, did you manage to get to visit the only part of the UK which is USA sovereign territory ? Any one can visit and you don't need a visa! The J.F.K. memorial at Runnymede.
Big Ben is the name most folk use for the tower. The correct name for the tower is the Elizabeth Tower now, but before it was re named after our late Queen, it was officially called St Stephens Tower. both names are more often than not ignored in favour of Big Ben though.
@Scalyback No. It was never St. Stephens Tower. That's another tower entirely.
@@Poliss95 Sorry, you are wrong! Look it up for confirmation I am right.
If hot cross buns are fresh that day I eat them cold with lashings of butter. If a couple of days old I toast them then butter them.
I would say Mr whippy on the UK can vary a lot in terms of sweetness or vanilla flavour, sometimes it's more creamy sometimes it's more vanilla-y.
I would pronounce Buckingham Palace as "Bucking-em Palace. I would pronounce Hampshire as Hamp-sher, soft r, rather than Hamp-shire. Hope this helps. 🙂
We would pronounce Hamp"sher" the same way in California! Thanks for the tip!
As a English person, there are some names that I am sometimes wonder if we deliberately make it difficult - such as Gloucester which is pronounced 'Gloster', Worchester which is 'Worster', but Rochester is pronounced 'Rochester' !