Ta love!

Although we all speak English here in the UK, at times I find it difficult to fully understand what people are actually saying to me (at best, I seem to miss every fifth word). When a cashier is politely making small talk with me, I just smile, nod, and quickly pick up my packages to avoid having to respond to a question he/she may be asking.

When I take the train in the evenings, I always seem to get the same ticket manager validating fare stubs. I know he is approaching as his rhythm chant of “ticket-ta-love, ticket-ta-love, …” echoes through the car. Not too sure I know what he’s saying, I hand over my ticket only to find out weeks later in my Lonely Planet British Phrasebook (thanks Lisa!) that “ta” means “thank you”. And I thought “cheers” was the Brits’ equivalent of “thank you” – things I still have to learn.
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Just received a mysterious package in the post to "tide us over until our next visit back to Vancouver". I'm going to have to be good and not rip into the package before this evening as it's not addressed solely to me! It doesn't smell like fish (or rotten fish for that matter!)...

Post is good here as we get door-to-door service even on Saturdays!