i had covid, read Bridgerton books, and visited a farm | EXPAT VLOG

[@clowderlibrary]

HUGE THANK YOU TO YOU ALL! This little channel now has over 100 subscribers🎉!! I would love to know what kind of content you all want to see in the future! Also, what are you all up to for the Jubilee celebration??

[@scouselimey9286]

Go to the Hay on Wye book festival if your still here, not sure when it`s on.

[@clowderlibrary]

@bobbybigboyyes 1.11K is 1,100 😅- I would have a heart attack if I suddenly had 111,000 😳

[@lawrenceglaister4364]

Your very busy so don't know if this is any good for you or maybe for a very rainy day just for you and your hubby but if you want to see something about Shakespeare look on KZbin , " BBC searching for Shakespeare " , the presenter is one of Britain's best , if not the best , history professors called Michael Wood , he doesn't just tell you he gets involved in the history

[@nickgrazier3373]

As to M&S, they started out as a cloths shop, good quality goods. Then they decided people in the town centre may need quick good quality lunch food, it escalated to a complete good food department concentrating on upper class M & S food items then they separated that department out, complete everything store. Viola!

[@carolineb3527]

I don't know what you're doing this weekend but if they have a parade of some sort in Salisbury it might well include the Salisbury Giant and the Hob-Nob. The Giant is about 600 years old and the Hob-Nob is a sort of hobby horse that dances ahead of him to clear the way. They're usually kept in the Museum but when I was a kid they let them out for special occasions, and there's not much that's more special than the 70th anniversary of The Queen.

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

Your cat is so chilled 🙀

[@JasonLaneZardoz]

Google maps. If you are using a postcode to search this may be the cause of the problem. Postcodes describe an area, it may be that google maps is sending you to the street behind the address you want.

[@clowderlibrary]

Ahhh good to know! Thanks for the tip!

[@SuperDancingdevil]

Welcome to our Countryside and I’m glad you are enjoying it apart from the token Bug, I’m enjoying your Vlog because of the way you talk as if the viewer is with you and that’s refreshing most Vloggers tend to not do that but you include us somehow and it’s great, I’m enjoying your book hunts too you certainly have an eclectic taste in books, Your mini food reviews are interesting too I like that, You haven’t touched on Pub culture yet and it’d be interesting to get your take on it, Finally it’s been years since I’ve visited Salisbury and it’s nice to see the old place again I’m having a blast watching you explore the place keep up the good work. 👍🏻

[@clowderlibrary]

I drank myself silly in my 20s. Now that I’m in my 30s it’s hard to get myself out past 8pm 😅BUT I will most definitely get myself out to a pub sometime soon!

[@clowderlibrary]

@@sinistral9629 awwww thank you 🥹

[@charlestaylor9424]

@@clowderlibraryRemember cider here is all alcoholic and often considerably so.

[@clowderlibrary]

@@charlestaylor9424 I’ve had quite a few ciders since I’ve been here and they’re good! Sooo much better than any I’ve had in the US 🙌

[@charlestaylor9424]

@@clowderlibrary Wetherspoons pubs have a craft cider festival in July. They do tasters where you can buy 3 third of a pint glasses of different ciders.

[@geoffh2560]

another great video, thanks - I particularly enjoyed the tasteful choices in background music you use. For me, the more cat content the better

[@clowderlibrary]

😸

[@comicsvstheworld]

Haha, I'm laughing at that hairdresser comment, that is a strange English phenomenon. There's a street near where I live that has at least a dozen hairdressers/barbers on.

[@clowderlibrary]

THEYRE EVERYWHERE! Whhhhhyyy 😆

[@glastonbury4304]

I never realised to about a year ago that people see different things in their head when reading ...when I read I see an entire film with characters and colours talking to one another which I thought everyone does. but apparently some people can't visualise scenes in their head!?..who knew 🤷🙃

[@clowderlibrary]

I didn’t know that I was lacking until I started watching videos of other people talking about books and I’d always be like “I don’t remember that” or “did we read the same book???” - I think it’s a big reason why a lot of books are forgettable for me. If I can’t picture it I certainly won’t remember it

[@glastonbury4304]

@@clowderlibrary I seem to remember most books I've read as a film in my head, especially ones from my younger child and teenage years...lol

[@MsCheesemonster13]

Yes, the movie in my head happens automatically when I read, and has done since I was a young child. The downside is if you watch a movie or television programme based on a book you have read, it never looks like your version and is always disappointing. Oh, and I’m unable to listen to audio books properly, which is a pity, and I suspect it is because I don’t get the film thingy in my head, as with the written word.

[@clowderlibrary]

@@MsCheesemonster13 that is so interesting that you can’t do audiobooks. I love audiobooks. I must be an auditory learner because I’ve found that if I listen to a book on its own or while I’m reading I can understand a story better

[@glastonbury4304]

@@MsCheesemonster13 I'm exactly the same with audio books , however if I close my eyes and listen I find that I can visualise better...only trouble is with that I fall to sleep whilst the audio book is still playing and then wake up having had the weirdest of dreams...lol 🤦

[@tonyrantnrave6854]

The white flowers are yarrow and the big brown cow was highland cattle not Scottish cows hope you don't mind the correction but the videos are very good the hairdressers and barber shop question is one of those English mysteries that will neve ever be answered. Keep up the good work.

[@aalexjohna]

Pigs have a curly wurly tallywhacker. You should have poked it with a stick to see if you could get a rise out of it. xxxx

[@glastonbury4304]

subscriber 298 here , sorry you and your hubby got Covid, hope you get back to 100%

[@clowderlibrary]

We are much better now! Thank you!

[@buzztravel8253]

Enjoying your vlogs, even though am one train stop away in andover, you have shown me somethings didn't know lol. Hope you're enjoying you're time in Salisbury and lots of exploring.

[@keithlillis7962]

Don't forget Stonehenge - just outside Salisbury and older than the Egyptian Pyramids!

[@WVHSFootball]

We are still planning to go, just haven't made it yet. I think that once you get to the welcome center you can walk to Stonehenge right? That way you save money from using the shuttle ?

[@keithlillis7962]

@@WVHSFootball Hi - It is many years since I visited Stonehenge. Years back you could actually walk inside the stone circle. Much more organised now and I think the visitors centre is very close to the stones. The 'blue' stones were floated on wooden rafts from Wales I believe! It must have taken 1000s of men, years to build. Which proves massive organisation and plentiful food supplies.

[@glastonbury4304]

one tip after seeing the rain, ...if you get the chance to buy a small A/C unit or fans that are on sale, I'd get them as summers here are getting hotter and hotter and believe me being indoors is so uncomfortable the past few summers as each year they seem to get hotter and hotter...thought I'd mention it before there's major panic buying for them and prices go up, however one good thing about the UK is Amazon are very quick on deliveries compared to US 👍

[@clowderlibrary]

I probably do need to look into one but I’m pretty used to heat being from California where sometimes it’s 119 F (48 C) 😅

[@glastonbury4304]

@@clowderlibrary oh yes, but try that with no A/C 🥵😁

[@clowderlibrary]

@@glastonbury4304 my last house was an old 1920’s building that had no air conditioning 😅-don’t know how I didn’t melt away!

[@glastonbury4304]

@@clowderlibrary ..I drove once from LA to Vegas in a jeep with faulty Air Conditioning , at points on the trip I felt I was going to suffocate it was so hot!!

[@clowderlibrary]

@@glastonbury4304 yeah that drive is ROUGH sometimes 🥵

[@craigireland5629]

You might like to visit Hay On Wye on the border with Wales known as the 'town of bookshops'.

[@clowderlibrary]

Oooooohhhhh 👀

[@craigireland5629]

@@clowderlibrary lol 😆 Google it.

[@evilauntie5408]

We visiting the new forest you can go by train. Also go in the autumn the pigs will be out!

[@clowderlibrary]

Awwww! What are the pigs doing the rest of the year??

[@sarahhumphreys3211]

@@clowderlibrary I think they are in sty’s but in the autumn they are let out to forage for acrons

[@michaelrjshannon]

Loving your videos. Really fun following your exploits. Keep up the great work!

[@downsman1]

I'm so sorry to hear that you've both had Co-vid. I know how awful it makes you feel so I can sympathise. It's lovely to watch you getting out and about now that the weather has improved a bit. A little sunshine really makes a difference for exploring our green and pleasant land. Have you tried out any of the unfamiliar snacks and treats from our stores yet? Don't be put off by the strange names that some of our foods have. Just remember, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Best wishes....................................the ancient Englishman.

[@clowderlibrary]

I would love to try snacks! What do you recommend????

[@downsman1]

@@clowderlibrary British chocolate is way better than anything that ever came out of Hershey (trust me). Jaffa Cakes are lovely provided you like the combination of orange and chocolate. Our crisps (chips) come in a huge range of flavours. A toasted or grilled crumpet covered with butter makes a perfect quick snack etc etc. Just have a "mooch" around any grocery store because you're bound to find something to tempt you. Enjoy!

[@rabidsasquatch]

As for the hair places....and the coffee shops... shops on the high street nowadays are pretty much just stuff you can't do online. Lockdown has made the situation worse.

[@WVHSFootball]

I made a joke to Abbie the other day that the coffee shops and barbershops in England are the liquor stores and gun stores of the U.S. There's 1 on every block. And indeed, the lock down was no help.

[@iancomputerscomputerrepair8944]

Hi I am new to your channel, as I am British I love to hear visitors from other countries come here and enjoy the wonders of the UK. The History, the Architecture, the scenery, the more relaxed lifestyle! I would enjoy you, simply going around Salisbury and the surrounding areas as a tourist, seeing things with a different perspective. May I ask what made you up sticks and emigrate to the UK?

[@clowderlibrary]

We’re here for a change in lifestyle. We visited London 5 years ago and have been wanting to come back to the UK to see more. We love history so we’re here hoping to learn and take life slower😊

[@neilw4005]

Great channel and really enjoying the vlogs; exploring and books makes for a great combination. Push on with Hamnet, it is a bit chewy to start, but it gets easier, or you get immersed, either way, but it's worth it, imho. Exploring, books, and pubs, probably even better still. Cheers.

[@clowderlibrary]

I put a library hold for the audiobook so I’m going to give Hamnet another try!

[@johnboy2562]

Regarding the Donkeys, do you know what bubble and squeak is? It's a dish that's made from the leftovers of a roast dinner, (potatoes, cabbage, swede, that sort of thing) then all fried together and served with a full English breakfast. It's called that because of the noise it makes when it's being cooked. Lovely!!😋🥓🍳

[@clowderlibrary]

Oh my gosh! That makes their names even more adorable!

[@nebulacoffee]

Good to hear that Covid wasn't too bad for you (but sorry to hear how rough it was for your husband)! Thanks for the tour of the farm. Will definitely bring the kiddos there in school holidays as we love going to Salisbury. A lot of farms here are more like theme parks than actual working farms and I find it a bit odd having grown up in rural Ontario. That one looks perfect! 😍 I'd highly recommend heading to Mottisfont Abbey in June as it's peak rose season and the gardens are breathtaking. It's easily accessible from Salisbury by train. Romsey is the nearest town and also very nice with a beautiful abbey.

[@clowderlibrary]

Ahhhh!!! Thank you!! Those sound exactly like places I’d love to go!! You should definitely take your kids to the farm! All the kids I saw there looked like they were having a blast 😊

[@clarethwaite7716]

Hi, from Wales am really enjoying following your Vlogs and hope that you are now fully recovered from Covid. I am so sorry that you have trouble reading Hamnet as I have just finished it and loved it. At the end of the book Maggie has written about how she had trouble imagining the floor of the house and realised she needed to go and visit it. Stratford is a lovely town and Shakespeares house is open to the public if you have a chance to go there. Glad you have been to Winchether and Bath both very Jane Austen places and the New Forest is wonderful. Enjoy the summer here whatever the weather has in store for us.

[@clowderlibrary]

I definitely have plans to visit Stratford! I’ve put in a request with my library to get the audiobook of Hamnet so I can give it another try. Hopefully I’ll have better luck!

[@eanjamesmogg9488]

Love the Show 👍And don't believe those who think that Bridgerton is a factual docudrama type show when in reality it's the opposite lol, basically it's Fantasy and as the episodes went on your love fantasy books was evident, like how you love Graphic novels 😲 👍

[@clowderlibrary]

Oh yeah, I know lol

[@eanjamesmogg9488]

@@clowderlibrary Thought you would 🙄 like how you mix books with traveling 👍

[@neiladam2832]

Try visiting Old Sarum. You can walk there from your place.

[@neiladam2832]

Also, next time you guys are in Bath, try a visit to the Roman Baths and the Pump Room, you can have a glass of Bath spring water!

[@WVHSFootball]

I misread that as a glass of Bath bath water 🛀 haha. As tasty as that sounds, I'll go for the spring water next time we are there :]

[@paulhorgan6152]

I would say the place to visit is Portsmouth. HMS Victory and the greatest museum in the world, the Mary Rose museum, if you like British history.🇬🇧🤗❤

[@clowderlibrary]

It's on the list! Just haven't made it out there yet

[@garth56]

You said "anyway" OMG the first American to not pluralise an adverb. I'm sub'd 🙂 Harrods just ridiculously posh, Waitrose posh/v posh, M&S posh, Sainsbury's used to be posh like M&S but is becoming more main stream and the rest. I guess Tolkien is right out ??? Horns usually mean bull aka male because horns are for fighting. I'm a Veterinary Biochemist so mainly farm and companion animals. :-) That flower is a weed also known as cow parsley and is poisonous so don't eat it lol.

[@bigliam7877]

You have to try and get out into the New Forest, loads of semi wild ponies and donkeys, and this time of year they have foals, very cute but dont try to pet them as the little buggers bite!

[@clowderlibrary]

I want to go to New Forest!! It’s been on my list! Just trying to figure out a car rental to get there!

[@BeckyPoleninja]

Hamnet on audiobook is brilliant. Bit like America putting meatballs with spaghetti..no Italian does that. You won't find that in Italy

[@ivandavies1388]

I love your channel and I hope you enjoy living in the UK. You have a new subscriber😁

[@clowderlibrary]

Thank you!!

[@scientiautverum]

The white flowers next to the path looks like Cow Parsnip (Hogweed) or Hemlock.. The shorter variety of Hogweed is fine but Giant Howeed is toxic (as is Hemlock) and will cause blistering or worse.

[@clowderlibrary]

Ohhh no! I most definitely don’t want blisters but they are pretty 😳

[@charlestaylor9424]

To define M&S - the CEO of Asda was on radio 4 and was asked about M&S. He said the difference was his wife made an M&S ready meal and it was horrible and she wondered what she had done wrong, if that had been from Asda or Tesco she would have blamed them not herself.

[@clowderlibrary]

I’ve yet to try ASADA -is it true that it was owned by Walmart?😅-I love how passionate people are about their opinions on grocery stores here 😂 -I will die on the hill that Trader Joe’s is the best US grocery store

[@charlestaylor9424]

@@clowderlibrary It was for a few years but they learned the lesson from their disaster in Germany and left Asda very much alone. I believe the cheap Asda clothing line George was trialled in the US.

[@heleni0]

@@clowderlibrary ASDA was owned/controlled by Walmart from 1999 til 2021. When the Olsen Twins had their clothing and doll line in Walmart in 2004ish we had it in ASDA.

[@madcyclist58]

Many vlogs by Americans describe (generally positively) the food they eat; considering that the average American appears to believe that we eat mostly greasy glop, were you surprised?

[@WVHSFootball]

We've found the food overall to be pretty good 👍. The fruits and veggies here are definitely alot better quality than what we had in southern California. The one thing I do miss about CA, and perhaps the only thing, is the variety of really good authentic restaurants (Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.) that are open until past midnight and are in close proximity. Most restaurants in our current area close by 5 PM, but it's not a big deal, we just adjust to the earlier schedule. I also have to mention that we found an awesome burger joint in Salisbury called Byron's. I love this place. It is as good, if not better than In-N-Out in CA, but in a different way. There are pros and cons of any place. The public transportation here is phenomenal compared to LA. The people here are an order of magnitude much nicer. The parks and green spaces here can't be beat. Though being hispanic, I just don't know if I could survive an English winter of cold and never ending rain haha. My skin was built for sun and heat (100F and higher). The biggest pro for me is that most people walk where they need to go, which means more human interaction. In SoCal people are stuck in traffic in their cars all day. I've met more cool people walking around England in 2 months than the the last 10 years in CA. The bottom line is we love it here so far. And in truth, if/when we return to the States, it will not be CA, for a variety of other reasons. Take care! -Jeff with Abbie in the videos

[@madcyclist58]

@@WVHSFootball That was a pretty full answer. Thank you.

[@WVHSFootball]

@@madcyclist58 No problem!

[@annexplores3933]

Looks like your enjoying with groceries hop on and coffee shops. The place has a lot of place to offer, so take advantage. Hope you feel better now. Drinks loads of source of Vitamin C.

[@Aaron-ni2eu]

Great videos and actually got me wanting to read novels again!! However your Burrito rant is so misguided LOL..... UK burritos are generally quite poor but US burrito's are just as removed and different from proper Mexican burritos.... Typically, the average Mexican burrito contains NO RICE, NO SALAD and NO SALSA. A typical Mexican Burrito has just refried beans, one type of meat, and maybe a sprinkling of cheese, with certain regions have been known to add their wraps with potatoes, chorizo, grilled cactus, or roasted peppers. The size of a US Burrito is on average 4X larger than a Mexican Burrito to! The only way for most US and UK people to eat a proper Burrito is to search the internet carefully and find an authentic Mexican recipe by Mexicans and make it themselves! However a good 'Western" style large "Burrito" is still a tasty thing!

[@clowderlibrary]

Ahhh! Yes that is true what a typical burrito has! -and that’s usually the way I eat them in the states. I’m only vouching for Southern California burritos. Everywhere else (except for maybe southern Texas) are terrible. Southern California has a very large Mexican population. There are traditional Mexican restaurants EVERYWHERE. Lots of Mexican fusion places too but I definitely prefer a mom & pop hole in the wall place. If the burrito doesn’t give me heart burn after then I don’t want it lol

[@airlinesecret6725]

Read some First Law Joe Abercrombie

[@clowderlibrary]

✍️adding to reading list

[@glynnwright1699]

Just went into town and it is quiet, some of the staff in the cafe thought that people have used the two day holiday over school half-term holiday to fly the Mediterranean for a week. There is a British tradition of 'allotments'; they are strips of land provided for a nominal rent by local councils for growing vegetables. I have some honey berries on our allotment, so made a trial run of amaretto, honey berry and orgeat syrup ice-cream for the street party outside our house next week. The honey berries are quite sharp with a long after-taste, so it is better with an amaretto biscuit. My wife is doing a trifle for our neighbours, but will probably use her own recipe, rather than the 'winner' of the competition for the Jubilee. Trifle is a very traditional British dessert. She will also be making Coronation Chicken which a recipe originally created for the Queen's coronation in 1952. I will also do a small range of cocktails for the street party, probably 'Dark and Stormy' , 'Mai Tai' and 'Bellini' with English sparkling wine. It takes me forever to make them, so need to limit the options. I should have some strawberries from the allotment, so long as I can keep the creepy-crawlies away. As an aside, English sparkling wine very often beats the best French champagnes in tasting competitions, if you go to your local wine merchant he can probably provide you with a locally produced English sparkling wine that will taste better than a French champagne that costs twice as much. There will be a lot of traffic on the roads around you today, with people taking short vacations in South West of England for the week.

[@clowderlibrary]

Thank you for the champagne suggestion!! I will have to try some!!

[@charlestaylor9424]

M&S has a catchphrase "how much!?"

[@clowderlibrary]

That’s me in every store I walk in 😂

[@charlestaylor9424]

You really need to visit Edinburgh.

[@clowderlibrary]

I’m planning to!!!

[@charlestaylor9424]

You can apply online for a reader's ticket for the National Library of Scotland and visit it.

[@clowderlibrary]

@@charlestaylor9424 oooohhhh!!! I’ll look into that!!

[@charlestaylor9424]

Glasgow is worth a visit as well - about 50 minutes by train centre to centre and two completely different cities.

[@chipsthedog1]

You read 50% of the books you was meant to read and only paid 50% of the price on the new book, seems fair to me.

[@WVHSFootball]

Not a bad deal! On the other hand, I have read about 5% of the books I wanted to read paying 100% of the price for new book :)

[@MsCheesemonster13]

Love the way you justify breaking your own rules 😂 👍

[@clowderlibrary]

I have a serious lack of control when it comes to buying books 😂