There was a bit more to this story than first appeared.

Now it all makes sense. We’ve been aching for another trip to England, and now we have good reason, authentic Cadbury’s.

Even if it’s St. Patrick’s Day, don’t dress like something the dog threw up.
Even Aran Island fishermen don’t wear Aran Island sweaters any more. Only American tourists do.
For Christ’s sake turn down the decibel level. They can hear you over in Sweden.
Time did not stand still in Ireland from the moment your great-great-grandfather set foot on the both. There are no pigs in the parlor any more.
The IRA is not a Catholic freedom fighter group, it’s a Marxist terrorist group and the main organised crime gang (drugs, prostitution etc.) If you support them, the blood they spill is on your hands.
If you ask about Leprechauns, fairies etc, people will look at you like you’re an idiot, which you are.

Here’s Cadbury’s deep dark secret in the US–it’s made by Hershey. (Flip a bar of US Cadbury over and you’ll see it right on the label.) Hershey has the license to use the Cadbury name in this country even though the chocolate is no better than the regularly-labeled Hershey bars. I wish I understood why the actual Cadbury company would let such an inferior company use their name, but there you have it. (Clearly, large sums of cash must be involved, but you’d think they’d want the integrity of their name preserved as well!)

It’s astonishing how little history many Americans know about other nations. Citizens of other countries always know so much more about ours (which feeds into our sense of superiority, I’m afraid). Our schools don’t seem to teach the cultural history of other nations in a memorable or interesting way. To me this is shortsighted – foolhardy, even. And what a fascinating subject it is, too!

By the way, I envy you your trip!

The Big Boned Gal, Karen Hughes, working with Big Corporations.

What does she know about how to behave when travelling abroad?

Did anyone see her on her tour to Middle East? I saw her on CNN and she was stooping/squatting talking to children of that country showing them an 8-1/2 X 10 or larger framed photo of George W Bush. She was saying, something along the lines as I best recall,”See this is my Boss, George Bush. He is the President of the United States. He is a good man.

I couldn’t believe it!