Barbara Feldman: Those Poor British Cats!

Those Poor British Cats!

We had a wonderful, two-week vacation in the Cotswolds, London and Paris. I brought my laptop along, and intended to check email and post a few entries about our travels, but the forces conspired against me, and I wasn't able to. I have so many stories I'd like to share, but now it's back-to-school and back-to-work, and I doubt I will get them all out. But I suppose I have time for just one:)

The first four days of our trip were spent exploring the Cotswolds, while staying in medieval Painswick at the charming Cardynham House. We rented a car, and bravely drove the round-abouts and motorways, sometimes on the left-side of the road, and unfortunately, sometimes on the right-side. After all the "French" we heard on the roadways, I'm sure the day we turned in our rental car will be named a national British holiday!

Other than the near misses, our most memorable driving story was the road sign we saw on the way to Bath: Cats Eyes Removed. We were horrified! My husband started making high-pitched cat cries, and my son started on about how this must be some sort of revenge of the three blind mice. We passed the sign twice that day, and each time our silly stories got weirder and funnier.

That night we had dinner at the Royal Oak pub in Painswick, and sat next to a British couple on holiday. We talked about this and that ... when I remembered to ask them about the cat's eyes. The gentleman started roaring! He said that he had worked with an American some years back, and they had a list of words and phrases that are different in our two languages. He said "we are separated by a common language," which was a quote I heard quite a few times during our travels. So.. the punch line? Those reflective bumps in the road that separate lanes of traffic ... we call them Botts' Dots. In England, they are cats eyes!