I can’t recall exactly how I first stumbled across Claire
McGill's blog, ukdesperatehousewifeusa, but I’m pretty sure it wasn't the result
of using a search term like “undressed housewife.” According to Claire, those words or
some similar iteration, are the most frequent keywords used to find her blog. She
shares this insight with us, not with anger or revulsion, but with a certain sense
of amusement. That same sense is reflected in her writings, which she describes
as “a little bit adventure, little bit stream of consciousness, little bit Bill
Bryson.”
In her blog she writes about her observations of American
culture from the prospective of a thirty something mother of a five year old,
transplanted from Britain to Clarksville about two years ago when her husband
accepted a job here. Instead of pining for home she’s embraced the move as an
adventure.
George Bernard Shaw once wrote that Britain and America are two countries separated by a common language. Claire points out
that it is more than just language that sets us apart. Restrooms, fire
hydrants, and football are but of a few of the topics we covered in the
podcast.
We had such a good time with her that we are already talking
about having her back later in the year. I should also note that Claire is
co-sponsoring the HoCo blogs party with Marshmallow Man on February 26th
at Union Jacks pub in Columbia .
The event is free and open to the public but registration in advance is
encouraged. You can find out more here.
In news stories we talked about the Inner Arbor Plan, the apprehension
of the suspected Mall flasher, Lisbon firefighters, HoCo’s bond rating, the accreditation of the Tai Sophia Institute
and the move to push back the school start time for HoCo high schools.
You can find the 84th episode of “and then there’s
that…” here.
