Baps, Butties, and Sarnies

 

As a diehard Anglophile, I love the difference in words between British English and American English. I’ve had a Brit penpal since 1999 from whom I’ve learned some really neat words and phrases aside from the ones I’ve learned by reading. This blog concerns what Americans would simply call a sandwich. Not so in the UK.

 

 Bap

A bap is a soft white bun/bread roll. Pretty much used for a simple sandwich. The ones in the picture are a bacon bap and a sausage bap. The little puddle of sauce is HP Sauce, a British brown sauce. I’m sure BBQ sauce would do just as well. I have another Brit friend who likes Spam baps.

 

 Butty

Originally, a butty was simply a slice of bread with butter on it. Now it means two slices of buttered bread or a bun with some kind of filling. The most common fillings are chips (French fries to you and me), sausage, bacon or egg. I would guess a sausage McMuffin with egg would be pretty close. The fabulous bacon butty in the picture looks amazing!

 

  Sarnie

From what I’ve been able to find out, a sarnie is simply a sandwich. However you want to make it. No special rules for it. It seems the bap refers to a specific type of bun/bread. The term sarnie comes from a place where they had sardine sandwiches and it was shortened to sarnie and now just means sandwich. The one in the picture is a cinnamon French toast bacon sarnie.

 

Bottom line, though, I don’t think you’d be embarrassed if you asked for a sandwich in the UK.

 

Dream House

 

This is my little dream house in a small village in England. You can’t see the front gate, but it’s painted bright blue and has a little oval sign on it that says “Binder”.

 

The front garden always has something growing in season. I like to go out each day and pick a small bouquet for the tea table that is right off the kitchen. If there aren’t any flowers at the moment, I will pick a few stems with leaves for my bouquet.

 

The large tree on the left is in the back garden. There is a sweet little flagstone patio with a small iron table and two chairs where we have tea on nice days. On the right are several raised planters with vegetables, herbs, strawberries and melons. The back gate opens to a little walking path down to a stream. The neighbor children sail paper boats there in the summer.

 

Looking at the front of the cottage, the bottom left window shows the sitting room where the piano is. In front of the window is a small table with a lamp where we put our keys and mail. At Christmas, we put the table in the attic and set up the tree in that spot. In front of the small fireplace are two comfy chairs and a love seat. The fireplace shares a chimney with the one directly above. That’s the main bedroom.

 

On the right, the bottom window looks in on the small dining room. The fireplace there was closed off and only the one above it is in use. That’s the guest bedroom. There is a bathroom at the back of the second story that has a magnificent claw-footed tub, just the right size for a good long soak.

 

The front door entry takes you between the two front rooms to the back of the house. Behind the two rooms is the kitchen area which takes up the whole space from left to right. There is a small powder room, the area with the tea table, a pantry and a large kitchen. From the kitchen you can access the back garden.

 

To the right of the main building is the portion that was added on that is almost as old as the original. I think it was for general storage and perhaps a workshop, but it’s now where the den/library is and has a fold out sofa for extra guests. There is also a small half bath. The den leads directly into the room with the TV and computer.

 

On the far right of the building is a small driveway that leads to a car port in back next to the garden.

 

It’s a very cozy place in the winter, and the summers are usually nice enough that we can open all the windows for the nice little breeze that comes through in the evenings.

 

I must stop now. It’s almost tea time. Orange spice tea, sticky buns, cucumber sandwiches and fresh raisin scones from the bakery. Would you like to join me?