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Published: November 13th 2011
To my coursemates: Thank you so much for your comments over the past week. At the risk of sounding attention-seeking, so much of why I do this blog is for the people reading it, and feedback makes it so much fun to write. I'm glad to hear that the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) US/UK differences are as interesting to you as they are to me.
Which brings me to the US/UK mix-up of the week*: Sign Language Mistranslation.
*Technically fortnight, but week sounds better.
Many of you already know that although we speak the same language, the US and the UK have different sign languages. Most signs in American Sign Language mean absolutely nothing to a speaker of British Sign Language, and vice versa. However, there are a few signs that appear in each language, as different words. For example, the ASL sign for "stop" is the sign in BSL for (if I remember this right) "Are you sure?" BSL speakers feel free to correct me if this is wrong.
Many of my coursemates speak BSL (this being a speech/language course in Britain...unsurprising) and frequently we will have semi-joke-conversations in which I use ASL and another person uses BSL and we carry on that way because it's funny.
Anyway. Tuesday afternoon a few of us were going to the cafeteria (called "canteen" here) for a coffee between lectures. Spotting a coursemate up the stairs from where we were, I signed to her (while speaking) "Do you want to get coffee with us?"
She used BSL to reply "Tea?" which made me somewhat perplexed and highly amused.
Why? Because BSL for "tea" is almost exactly the same as ASL for "smoke pot."
Which I'm pretty sure is not allowed in University canteens. Again, British readers correct me if I'm wrong.
Moving on to Saturday: Dunstanburgh Castle
I know I said my walking days were done for the season, but it was a beautiful day and I couldn't resist.
I took a bus to a small fishing village called Craster, slightly more than halfway between Newcastle and Berwick. It's a cute little town with all the requisite little British town things, plus a harbor and a magnificent view of the North Sea.
At the edge of town was an entrance to a public footpath, which followed the shoreline north about 1/2 mile to the castle. The views were spectacular, especially with the mists from the ocean. It looked supernatural.
Then two TINY puppies came to greet me and one of them tried to follow me and it was adorable. I wanted to take a picture but wasn't sure how the woman with them would feel about it.
Inside was really cool to see. Obviously the majority is in ruins, but one of the towers at the main entrance had a restored spiral staircase to the upper floors and turret.
And lots of little windows and doors and old passages. According to a plaque, the lord and his family lived in these chambers.
Dunstanburgh was also used for military purposes during the Wars of the Roses (call me ignorant, but I keep forgetting that was a real thing and not just a Danny DeVito film). Apparently it was already in ruins in 1536 when Henry VIII came to inspect it.
Hello!
View of Northumberland from the top of the turret.
After seeing the castle, I went back to the costal path and followed it farther north. Like before, the Castle looked mistier from far away.
Apparently this cliff is one of two great seabird nesting colonies in the area. Not this time of year as much, obviously.
My guidebook claims this folded rock is not man made, but I find that really hard to believe. Though what it is and how it got there, I have no idea.
The footpath traced the costal edge of a golf course (another one...that makes the 3rd in the last 3 major walks I've done here). It was somewhat entertaining to see two Geordie men looking for a golf ball among the rocks on the beach. I'm not sure what the protocol would have been even if they had found it. I wonder how many golf balls have found their way into the North Sea by now.
Here I strayed away from the walk outlined in my book, partly because it told me to turn off the costal path and go inland...
...and I wanted to stay on the beach. Afterwards, I retraced my steps to follow the coast back down to Craster.
And this was just amusing.
Next week a couple people and I are talking about going to see Bamburgh, an intact castle further up the shoreline. Coursemates, if you're reading this and I haven't mentioned Bamburgh to you, consider yourself invited.
For now, I leave you with this:
IPA Gingerbread men. Baked and iced by a coursemate. Very tasty.
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Jenn Wood
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Your pics are so beautiful Sarah! You put me to shame - I'm from the North-east of England and I've never been to Dunstanburgh, but I really want to go now. I have been to Bamburgh Castle though - it's pretty too. Great blogging!