Unexpectedly Awesome Things

Episode 01.

Location, Location, Location


The British are very entertaining.





And they always have been!





What other nation in the world has a monarch who can pull off a flashy set of duds like this?



Elton John, Jamie Oliver, Princess Di, hell, even Amy Winehouse... they've got a bit of magic in them that makes whatever project they undertake particularly unforgettable.

Okay, I know I'm generalizing here... but just think about how many American television shows are big budget remakes of the original gold from accross the pond!

*cough*Ricky Gervais*cough*

Here's one I'm just waiting to see hit the TLC airwaves one of these seasons...

It's the delightfully and unexpectedly awesome thing of the moment courtesy of Channel 4 in Britain... Location, Location, Location!

Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp are superhuman real estate agents who scour every rolling hill of the English country side in search of charming properties that fit their subject buyer to a tee....

... and they're damn good at it.


So damn good that someone went and gave them a TV Show! And the TV show is so damn good that every afternoon at 2 I find myself curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and fighting off my nappy time impulses just so I can see if the buyer went with the character bungalow in Essex, or the 5 bedroom barn conversion in Yorkshire.
It's rivetting stuff!


Trouble is, it's tough to pinpoint just what makes Location, Location, Location so much more awesome than most other house & home programs I've seen. But if location, location, location is the golden rule of real estate, then personality, personality, personality must be the golden rule of entertainment.

In this case, it's personality combined with that quaint British charm that we North Americans could only dream of posessing... unless you're Madonna, in which case you can just get hitched, move to London and start reshaping the pronounciation of your vowels. Keep living that dream honey!

But if jetsetting, 'R' slurring, matrimony isn't your bag, here's a few tips I've picked up from Phil and Kirstie to help make living day to day like a Brit as easy as toasting a crumpet:

1- When beginning and ending a conversation on your mobile, always use a cheery tone to put a smile on the callers face... regardless if it's good news or not.

2- Refer to your cell phone as a mobile

3- Understand that country living is 21st century living in the UK... except that only a third of the country is hooked up to broadband...

4- When discussing hard knock topics like finances, always move the conversation to nearest local pub, and down half a pint before the first mention of a number.

5- Say "Okie Doke" a lot

6- It's not a dollar, it's a pound.

7- Crash pads in the city are not only an acceptable practice, but a common one... be sure your partner isn't the cheating type, however... that could get messy.

8- A holiday property in the French riviera is more than feasible with a two-income household in the greater London area... What the French authorities have to say about that is up for debate, however.

9- It rains a lot, but it keeps the garden green.

10- Always take a moment to break the fourth wall, and reflect on your thoughts during a quick chat with the audience... whether there is an audience or not... or even a camera for that matter.

Right, well it's time for that tea now... HGTV is calling...


Thank you Phil and Kirstie

Forever a fan,

Ian