Breaking News up here in Seaton Carew! You really can't get much closer to the story than I am, as I live only a few doors down from where the Darwins lived while he was hiding out in a bedsit adjoining their seafront home. This morning as I took my dog for his morning walk I noticed a couple … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: BBC Question Time is coming to Hartlepool!
July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
BBC One's Question Time is visiting Hartlepool this week, and even better- I'm going to be in the audience!!! Following last week's Question Time they mentioned the next stop was going to be Hartlepool so I went online and applied to be part of the audience. I got the call yesterday that I was … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: North East England Music Roundup
June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Through my involvement with Hartlepool's local radio station Radio Hartlepool I've also become connected to a local charity called Red Dreams that supports young musicians in the town. I volunteer for Red Dreams as a vocal coach and also have the privilege of being exposed to the music and … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Hartlepool Fights its Way to London 2012
March 31, 2010 By 2 Comments
From time to time I like to share a bit of local news from up here. Might seem insignificant when stacked up next to big stories coming out from the major national newspapers, but the point of this site is to help Anglophiles feel a bit more connected to life in Britain, so I hope my "small town" … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: A Journey from Hartlepool to America
March 3, 2010 By 3 Comments
I was reading the local paper the Hartlepool Mail last week and came across this fascinating story. Anyone who has seen Titanic (which is just about everyone in the world, right?) knows that Liverpool and Southamptom were major shipping and transport hubs in the late 19th and early 20th century. … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: The Tall Ships are coming to Hartlepool!
January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hartlepool was chosen to be the final port for the 2010 Tall Ships Races this summer from August 7-10. The town has been organizing the event for the past two years and now that we are finally in 2010, preparations have shifted into high gear. From the Official Hartlepool Tall Ships 2010 … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Riding the Rails in Britain
November 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I am getting all things ready for my trip to London, its quite exciting and I will be getting there and back via Britain's fantastic train system. I find that Brits complain about the transit here quite a bit, but kind of like the weather its not nearly as bad as they make it out to be. In Chicago … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Lest We Forget
November 11, 2009 By 4 Comments
Last year I wrote a post on my blog Anglophile's Digest about Poppy Day, I had actually forgotten about what I had written, but when I was going back to check out what I had written about last year I decided to repost it here. As I have mentioned before, my husband is in the Royal Navy so Poppy Day … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Parmo- Teesside’s Local Delicacy
September 23, 2009 By 9 Comments
Maybe delicacy is an inappropriate word. As with most "local delicacies" like Italian Beef in Chicago or Clam Rolls in coastal Massachusetts, "Parmo" is fast food. You can get a Parmo at pretty much every pizza place and fish and chip shop in the Teesside area. Parmo is a term that has been … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Retrospective Part IV
August 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
This is my last retrospective, luckily these four weeks "off" have replenished my reservoir of interesting and even death-defying tales. Every year during the first week of August the Hartlepool Carnival takes place at the Headland which is culminated with the Carnival Parade. Below I relate my … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Retrospective Part III
August 4, 2009 By 2 Comments
Here is your third installment of my look back at the past year. On Saturday I celebrated my one year anniversary here in the UK and it has been such an amazing year. Here is an excerpt from an Anglophile's Digest post from last October: Ahhh yes, Ye Olde British Tradition- drinking. This … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Angel of the North
June 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, York Minster, London Eye, Stonehenge, the list goes on. There are far too many important structures in Britain to even begin to list here. Britain probably has more iconic sights crammed onto one island than any other country in the world. One of the lesser known … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: And Bingo was its Name-o
May 13, 2009 By 1 Comment
I have known for a couple of weeks now that I wanted to write a post about social clubs, but I am having a difficult time describing the atmosphere of a social club because there is just nothing like it in the US. A social club is like a marriage of an American Legion club and your local dive bar. … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: The Scrappiest Nation on Earth
March 4, 2009 By 1 Comment
My husband's uncle Colin is a taxi driver here in Hartlepool and I remember the first time I met him I thought he looked like he might have just been released from prison. Since this first meeting I have gotten to know him and I have found he is an incredibly sweet and caring man, and he's a handy … [Read more...]
Dispatches From the North: A Guide to the Northeast England Dialect
February 11, 2009 By 8 Comments
There seemed to be a strong response to my discussion of language and accents last week so I decided to expound on that a bit more. When I moved here I realized that I had two choices. I could either try and most likely fail to pick up the local dialect as quickly as possible or else I could be … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: A Holiday in the Lake District
February 4, 2009 By 4 Comments
I was unsure what to write about this week since there seem to be so many things going on, and none of them related to one another. Last week started with many in the construction and manufacturing trades going on strike, my father-in-law was on strike from his construction job and my … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: Experiencing a bit of the FA Cup
January 28, 2009 By 3 Comments
I should start with a disclaimer that I am not a football/soccer fan. I believe in two fundamental principles when it comes to sports. First, there should be a lot of scoring. Watching things almost happen is not my idea of a good time. Second, and most importantly, someone should always win. … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: My British Journey Begins…
January 21, 2009 By 2 Comments
I have been a resident of the UK for nearly 6 months, and although in comparison to my first weeks here I have definitely come very far, I still have so many things to assimilate to. Thinking back to my very first day here, I felt thrust right into the thick of it. After our wedding my husband … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the North: My Anglophile Story
January 18, 2009 By 4 Comments
Hello, fellow Anglophiles! My name is Lisa Coulson and I was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. My search for a job outside of the automotive industry led me to Chicago, Illinois where one night in an English pub I met my husband - a sailor in the British Royal Navy from the … [Read more...]
Introducing our Ex-Pat Correspondent on the Ground
January 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Great News for Anglotopia! I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to Lisa Coulson, our new American Expat Blogger. Lisa lives in the north of England in Hartlepool. She's married to an Englishman and is a consummate Anglophile, living the Anglophile dream. Lisa is going to blog weekly, on … [Read more...]
British Pound Exchange Rate
Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.