What did everyone get for Christmas?

[Llin]

My mum knitted me a Tom Baker scarf! I'm officially in love with it. Also, my brother got me the DW series 3 action figures, and my friend Charlie got me the 2008 DW annual.
On the non-DW front, I got The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales, Cagney and Lacey DVDs, clothes and chocolate.
Hope everyone else had a good haul!

[Stardoe]

I got a remote control black dalek and a K-9 collectible figurine. I wanted the remote control K-9 but there are non left in this country. Maybe next year. The dalek is great fun. Even such a small thing looks very imposing as it glides around my kitchen threatening to exterminate us. I also got two pizza stones that you heat up in the oven then put the home-made pizza on to cook in order to make the bases turn out cripsier. Practical but good. I am also getting a military dragon which is a small rare desert dragon, but he has to be flown to me in the coming weeks. So that's my haul this Christmas.

[Dr. Dasha]

Ooh, a few people have mentioned getting action figures for Christmas.  That sounds so cool.  I'm going to ask my husband for a Sarah Jane figure for my birthday--thanks for the idea!  I don't know whether Sarah Jane figures are available here in the USA, but we'll see.  I think that a Sarah Jane would look very cool on my bookshelf...right next to my figures of Princess Leia, Dr. Crusher (of Star Trek) and Queen Amidala--they can have a sci-fi grrl-power party, hee, hee, hee!  :)

[Dr. Dasha]

I have 2 funny stories from this Christmas.

First, I gave my husband the second season of _The Muppet Show_ on DVD, and he gave me...the same thing!  I guess that great minds think alike.  :)  We are going to exchange one of the DVD sets for some Dr. Who DVD's.  :)

The other story is that a few weeks ago, at a family Christmas party, my mom said she'd been cleaning out her closet and had found a few sweater vests that she doesn't wear any more.  Since we're the same size, she said I could have the sweater vests.  The funny thing is, I had just been thinking about buying myself a sweater vest, so that I could cop Sarah Jane's look from her very first Dr. Who story.  :)  Well, now I don't have to buy one.

By the way, is the term "sweater vest" ever used in Britain?  I noticed that on this web site sweater vests are called  "tank tops."  And sometimes, I've noticed, British people say "jumper" instead of "sweater."  I get all mixed up about this.  I have the same problem in Russian, which also has the words "sviter" and "djemper."  If anyone has a lot of time on her hands and wants to explain to me the difference between a "sweater" and a "jumper," I'd be forever grateful.  :)

--from Dr. Dasha in the USA

[Llin]

Dr. Dasha wrote:

By the way, is the term "sweater vest" ever used in Britain?  I noticed that on this web site sweater vests are called  "tank tops."  And sometimes, I've noticed, British people say "jumper" instead of "sweater."  I get all mixed up about this.  I have the same problem in Russian, which also has the words "sviter" and "djemper."  If anyone has a lot of time on her hands and wants to explain to me the difference between a "sweater" and a "jumper," I'd be forever grateful.

Yeah, the thing that Sarah wears in The Time Warrior is definitely called a tank top in Britain, although I hear in other places tank top means something completely different?
Also, 'jumper' is just more British than 'sweater', in my experience. I would always say jumper for any sort of upper-body garment that was reasonably warm and had, probably, long sleeves, especially if it was made of wool. I very rarely hear the word sweater, although I do hear 'sweatshirt' sometimes to distinguish a thinner jumper-type garment made of something like cotton, from the proper, thick, woollen jumper.
Ooh, you speak Russian? I did wonder, with a name like Dasha... It's funny, I think I would be more likely to use 'sviter' in Russian although I never would in English...

[becki_sarah4doc]

I got the 5 Doctors on dvd, and i watched that and really enjoyed it, Sarah was great in it.
I got some money so i could buy the sonic lipstick and the model of Sarah that has been released over here and i got the two sarah jane adventures audio book things

[paranoidangel]

Everyone I know operates on a choose it and they buy it system. But the only Doctor Who-related thing I got was a surprise - a dalek tin. My mum found it in a cheap shop, then filled it with chocolate - I was more excited by the tin than the chocolate though!

[Dr. Dasha]

Thanks for the vocabulary lesson--I really appreciate it.  :)  I know it's just a little thing, but I had really been wondering exactly what a "jumper" is.  Now I know!

By the way, for anyone who is curious, in the USA a jumper is a dress.  It's the strappy kind that you wear over a shirt or blouse.

As for tank tops, in the USA a tank top is the same basic shape as Sarah's jumper from  _The Time Warrior_.  But it's made of cotton or silk or another light-weight material, and it is just for wearing in the summer or for layering under cooler-weather clothes, which is a very popular look at the moment.

If there is any other British clothing-related vocabulary that I should know, don't hesitate to shoot me a message.  I love languages, so I always enjoy learning new words.  :)

[Revolutionaren]

I got a Laser Screwdriver, one of the SJA audiobooks, the Doctor Who Movie on DVD and a Dalek bubblebath (Alas, at university, I have no bath).

Doctor Who merchandise aside, I got a cape/jacket thing and a sewing machine! I can't sew and the last time I used a sewing machine was five years ago. Regardless, I'm going to sew my Hallowe'en costume this year (The Andy-Pandy overalls :D).

I also have this cute little... thing, that when you ask it questions, answers 'yes' or 'no'.

[Dr. Dasha]

Is there a sewing pattern available for the Andy Pandy outfit?  If there is, then I will learn to sew!!!  I so want that outfit!  :)

[Revolutionaren]

I don't think there is. I'm just going to find a pattern for some simple overalls and then see how it goes from there. I think I'll have more trouble looking for the fabric....

[sarah_janesmith]

I call them Tank Tops

[sarah_janesmith]

I made my own pair earlier this year, i used an old pair of dungaress as a pattern, as for the material well i got some that was close enough if not exact.

[sarah_janesmith]

When i made my pair i used red stripey material, it was pretty close to her pair i reckon, and i used an old pair of dungarees as a pattern.

[Dr. Dasha]

Hi, guys!

I am still thinking about the differences and similarities between American and British English.  I am happy to have learned from _Invasion of the Bane_ that carbonated beverages are called "pop" in England.  In the state of Minnesota, where I live, we call it "pop," too.  But in lots of other states, it's called "soda," never "pop."  Some of my friends and I have a friendly debate going about the "real" name for carbonated drinks.  Next time my friends from Wisconsin and California tease me about saying "pop," I'm going to retort that "pop" is the ENGLISH-English word for carbonated beverages, so it must be the most correct.  Hee-hee.  :)

Moving on, here is something I've been wondering about for awhile.  In _Invasion of the Bane_, Alan says he's going to make a snack of "beans on toast."  "Beans on toast" is also important in the movie _Bend It Like Beckham_.  But neither "Bane" nor "Beckham" shows what beans on toast actually looks like, and this Yank is very curious.  We don't eat "beans on toast" here in the USA.  I mean, do you just toast some bread, open a can of beans, and slap some beans on the toast?  Or is there more to it than that?  And what kind of beans do you use, exactly?  If anyone out there in Sarah-land has some time on her hands to explain "beans on toast" to silly American Dasha, I'd be forever grateful.  

Happy New Year!

--Dr. Dasha

[Revolutionaren]

Ah, beans on toast, the staple food for any student.
Unforunately, I don't like it.


Yes, it is just "toast some bread, open a can of beans, and slap some beans on the toast"


It's cheap, simple, easy to make and people like it.

[Llin]

Revolutionaren wrote:

Yes, it is just "toast some bread, open a can of beans, and slap some beans on the toast"
It's cheap, simple, easy to make and people like it.

It's a question of preference, but I would also butter the bread, because I like the way the butter mixes with the tomato sauce.
Or, if you're prepared to spend a bit more time and effort, cheese and beans on toast. Yum...

[Dr. Dasha]

Thanks!

Someday when I'm feeling adventurous, I'll have to try it.  I'm a vegetarian, and I can see that beans on toast would be a good source of protein, esp. with whole-grain bread and low-fat cheese.  :)

[Llin]

Dr. Dasha wrote:

I'm a vegetarian, and I can see that beans on toast would be a good source of protein

Ooh, I'm a vegetarian too! It's like we're secret twins... :P

[paranoidangel]

I find the differences between British and American English fascinating. What you call a carbonated drinks can vary. I'd call it a fizzy drink, but I've also heard it call pop quite a lot, and also fizzy pop. I think it probably depends a bit on what part of the country you're from.