You may be wondering where I was yesterday and why I didn’t post this yesterday (although with the magic of blogging, this post will appear to have been posted on Sunday, as it should have been). I was in London, sadly not stood in the rain waving a Union Flag enthusiastically in the rain. I’m just not that into the whole concept of getting soaking wet. Where was I?
Here:
Games Maker Training HQ
Yes, I am now officially volunteering during the Olympics, well, strictly speaking I’m on Paralymic duty, but I’m still chuffed to bits because I’ll be hanging out at the Olympic Stadium itself. Fun fact: My Dad is at the Olympic Stadium to volunteer during the frickin’ Opening Ceremony. Jealous.
But anyway, it’s almost a good thing I held off until today to talk names because I have plenty to talk about.
First up, on the way to the Olympic Park last night to meet up with my Dad, I shared the tube train with several sodden Brits who had braved the weather. One particular family caught my eye because they’d obviously come prepared with spare jumpers. The name of the two kids? Bernie and Teddie. I can’t confirm as to whether they are Bernie and Teddie or Bernard and Theodore, but either way kudos to the parents, I love their names.
At my actual training day event thingie, I was sat between a 20-something Ruby and a Christos. Both were Uni students, one studing medicine, the other finance. A word on Ruby though, she was a Chinese girl I believe, and Ruby is just her English name. Her real name? Lok. It reminded me of my sister’s Chinese friend, and her English name is Yoyo.
Oh, and one of the less enjoyable parts of the day was that I tackled the M1 for the first time, ever. Normally I take the train to London, but since I’ve just recently passed my driving exam, the motorway was my method of travel. For those not familiar with the whole driving licence scheme is the UK, it boils down to this:
- Age 17, one can apply for a provisional licence, which allows you to drive with an ‘L’ plate.
- With a provisional licence you cannot drive on the motorway (which are the big daddies of the road system) and you must be accompanied by someone over 21 years of age, who has held their licence for more than 3 years.
- If you pass driving an automatic, you can only drive an automatic, i.e. your licence does not allow for you to drive a manual. If you pass driving a manual (like me, woop!) then you can drive both.
- You must pass the driving theory test before sitting the practical driving test.
- Once you’ve passed, it is optional to display ‘P’ plate, which signals that you’ve only just passed your test. It’s like a call for other drivers to play nice, as you’re still new to the road.
What this has to do with names is that I passed in a Vauxhall Corsa, so have naturally been thinking about the name Corsa? Yes, it’s the name of a car, but it reminds me of sweetly Cora. I may be tooting an unconvinced audience, but it made me ponder for thought.
As for pictures, I joyfully introduce you to the name of two London Underground/Overground stops, one is for ye who likes place names-with-an-x-in them:
Hoxton Overground Station
The other is for those who secretly crush on the name Dolly:
Dollis Hill Underground Station
Mer de Noms 