Anglophile Gear | Anglotopia

Anglophile Alert: Win Your Own British Telephone Box from Visit Britain

July 29, 2010 By jonathan 1 Comment

I’m a little behind in getting this news out – but our friends at Visit Britain are having a contest to win your own replica Red Telephone box.

Here are the details:

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the red telephone box, VisitBritain the national tourist office for England, Scotland and Wales is launching the Great British Telephone Box Giveaway atwww.visitbritain.us/phonebox.

The red telephone box was designed in 1935 by English architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to honor the silver jubilee of King George V. Dubbed K6 – Kiosk Number 6 – the telephone box has become an iconic symbol of British culture. Several of these distinctive telephone boxes have even been installed outside of Britain – from Mississippi to Malta.

Beginning today, VisitBritain is in search of the most creative uses of a telephone box. What would you do with a red telephone box of your own? A British pub, greenhouse or a “loo” (as the Brits call it). VisitBritain challenges people to think outside of the box. The quirkier, the better.

To enter, log on to www.visitbritain.us/phonebox and explain in 50 words what you would do with a British Telephone Box. The entrant with the most creative use will win their very own phone box. To make your design stand out above the rest, candidates can send an email to britainyourway@visitbritain.org. with an image or diagram showcasing the design. The replica is 3′ X 3′ x 7.5′ and weighs 330 lbs.

Sounds awesome! I can’t wait to enter!

Filed Under: Anglophile Gear, Britishness, Contests Tagged With: visit britain

Anglophile Reviews: Check Out Our Review of the Apple iPad in London

July 27, 2010 By jonathan Leave a Comment

During our recent trip to London, I had the opportunity to review an Apple iPad thanks to the good graces of Golden Technologies in Valparaiso, Indiana.

My review went live last week.

Here’s an excerpt:

By far the most impressive feature of the iPad was how long the battery lasts. I used it pretty heavily and it lasted for 3 days on one charge. I wish they could apply the same battery technology to the iPhone! The only downside of the battery lasting forever, is that it also takes a really long time for it to charge. Sometimes charging overnight wasn’t enough to get a full charge.

The iPad isn’t quite as portable as I’d hoped. I didn’t feel like it was a safe form factor to cart around London with me as I went from meeting to meeting. So, it stayed safe in the flat. I didn’t want it to get nicked or broken!

I know I already said it once – but the screen on the iPad is amazing to look at. Since I was actually in the UK, I was able to watch the BBC iPlayer and it looked amazing optimized for the iPad. Our flat didn’t have a TV so it was a great way to keep up with our favorite shows. And the nice thing is that since the screen is so big, we propped it up on a table like a TV and sat on the ouch and watched it. Brilliant.

Read the rest of the review here.

Filed Under: Anglophile Gear, Anglophile Reviews, Trip to England - July 2010 Tagged With: apple, ipad

Anglophile Guide to Ordering From Amazon UK – Ordering From the USA

June 2, 2010 By jonathan 3 Comments

It’s no secret that the Brits get a lot of great stuff before we do in the USA (and it’s true in the reverse as well). Thanks to the wonders of the internet though, if you’re willing to pay a little more, you can get any book, CD or DVD that has come out in the UK via Amazon UK.

I’ve generally avoided this as I thought it was cost prohibitive, but I recently discovered that’s it’s actually not that bad as far a pricing goes. Especially since the US/Pound Conversion rate is down to $1.45 – the lowest it has been in years!

Bill Bryson has a new book our called At Home – he’s one of my favorite authors and I was excited to learn he had a new book coming out. The only problem is that it’s not coming out in the USA until October! It was released last week in the UK. I’m a fan of audiobooks, so I set out to buy the audio version of At Home to listen to on my commute. I ended up buying more than that and this is what I learned.

Prices are comparable to the US prices – but you are still paying a premium when you factor in shipping.
Those who order in the USA are exempt from VAT (sales tax), they don’t tell you that until you checkout. You can actually subtract 17.5% from the price of anything at Amazon UK and that will be the price that you pay. They’ll give you the final price at Checkout.
Shipping is pretty reasonable – I paid about $25 for shipping and I’ll get the items sometime next week. This is a lot to pay for shipping but I bought 5 items, none of which are available in the USA so it’s worth it to me.
Amazon UK will actually let you place your order in US Dollars – they’ll convert everything from Pounds to Dollars – this will save you extra fees on your credit card (who will charge for conversion) and you’ll get a better conversion rate.
I would not recommend buying UK DVD’s unless you have a Region Free DVD player or know how region coding works. However, if you can play UK DVD’s, then you’ll find a lot of UK TV shows are MUCH cheaper even with the added cost of shipping.
Some books are dirt cheap! I picked up two books that cost only £4 a piece! A hardcover of Bill Bryson’s At Home was only £9! I got a little carried away and bought more than I should have!

I can’t wait to get my new items – I’ll have a review of Bryson’s new book once I’ve had a chance to listen to it. There may be other sources for Books, CD’s and DVD’s from the UK – please let us know about them in the comments!

Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: Anglophile Gear, British Books, British Products Tagged With: amazon uk, Bill Bryson

Details on Bill Bryson’s Latest Book: At Home – Interviews, Videos and Excerpts Inside

May 31, 2010 By jonathan Leave a Comment

Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. I admire him greatly as he is pretty much living the Anglophile dream. He’s made a life for himself in the UK, becoming one of their most treasured writers. It’s been a couple years since his last book – but he’s been working on At Home, which was just released last week in the UK (it comes out in the USA this fall).

At Home is about the home. Starting in his old Rectory in Norfolk, England, Bryson goes through every room in the home charting the unknown and interesting history of everything in our homes.

He’s been making the publicity rounds and there’s a lot of links to there.

Bill Bryson: The secret life of your home – From the Guardian, this is a summary with excerpts from his new book.

Bill Bryson: the history of the toilet – Another Excerpt From the Guardian about the history of the Toilet.

Bill Bryson: The story of the electric light – Another Excerpt from the Guardian, this time about the history of the lightbulb.

At Home – Audio Extract and Interview - The Sunday Times have an excerpt from the Audio version of At Home and they also have a great interview with Bryson. You have to register for a free account (free for 30 days) to the Times to view it, unfortunately.

Video Interview Hay Festival – Bryson made an appearance at the Hay Literary Festival this past weekend and was interviewed about the prospect of taking British Citizenship. You can view a clip of it here. Also, in this writeup – he lets us all know that he will be rooting for England in the World Cup, not the USA.

Here’s a cute trailer for At Home:

You can buy At Home Now from Amazon UK or you can wait until the fall when it will be released in the USA on October 5th 2010.

Filed Under: Anglophile Gear, Anglophilia, British Books, British Literature Tagged With: at home, Bill Bryson

Where To Buy Your Own Eleventh Doctor Sonic Screwdriver – Matt Smith Sonic Screwdriver

May 1, 2010 By jonathan Leave a Comment

Good news! The BBC America Shop is now stocking the sonic screwdriver from the new series of Doctor Who starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan!

So, if you’re in the USA and have been having trouble finding this must have accessory then look no further than here to buy your own 11th Doctor Matt Smith Sonic Screwdriver.

I’ve got one and I love it!

Only $34.95 from the BBC America Shop!