A major part of how others view us and choose to define who we are comes from the things we love. In the English language alone, we have come up with a plethora of adjectives that convey the depth of love for all sorts of different objects, people, or places. You may be familiar with some of these types of words, often describing culture or locations, such as Francophile (lover of the French or France), Americophile (lover of the United States), or Danophile (lover of Denmark). Some other favorites refer more to things that you might love, such as your dogs (canophile) or your cats (ailurophile) or your horses (hippophile…not what you might expect). I could go on and on, but I’ll just leave you to do some of your own research on some of these fun terms. What these all have in common is of course their suffix, -phile, which comes to us from Greek -philos (dear or loving) to Latin -philus, to the French -phile (one that loves).

My choice word of the day is anglophile, a lover of England or all things English, which is a key facet of my being. This love was born and cultivated when I was a mere child of 8 or 9. I lived for 2 years in Uganda, East Africa, and my family would often fly back and forth from there to the USA to visit family. On one such trip, we were flying back to Uganda via British Airways, and due to unforeseen circumstances, our flights were changed when we arrived at the London Heathrow airport, resulting in a 3-day delay. I loved my Ugandan home and at first was heartbroken to have any delay in returning to it, but after a few days of sightseeing (Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum was a favorite spot) and an especially memorable time in Oxford, England, I was hooked.

From that point on, I was determined to return. My dreams were fulfilled as a sophomore in college when I was able to participate in Study Abroad program in Oxford. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I got to travel to all sorts of countries that I had never seen before and made some dear lifelong (so far) friends in the process. I learned independence, money management, and patience through all of my experiences, but most importantly, it solidified my undying love for my home base of Oxford, England. The semester came to a close all too soon and I returned home, but my cravings for daily tea, scones, and Hobnobs have yet to subside. I still have dreams of walking through beautiful Oxford parks, shopping at the weekly produce market or local bakeries, and traveling through the amazing lush green countryside to all manner of old and quaint little villages and towns. One day, my husband and currently 1-year old daughter will hopefully get to experience the wonder and joy I felt if we have to opportunity to visit England again. Until then, I’m stuck scraping together what scraps of British culture I can in my mundane American lifestyle, while reliving in my mind the precious memories of my time abroad (perhaps a bit obsessively). You might even say I’m a bit of an England monomaniac. So if you ever get the chance to visit England, and all the wonderful sights and adventures it has to offer, you might just come back a fellow anglophile.

English Scones Recipe

¼ c sugar
½ tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
⅔ cup whole milk
1 large egg
6 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
1 cup golden raisins (sultanas) (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the milk and the egg together in a separate bowl and set aside 2 tbsp of the mixture for later.

Add the butter and pulse in a food processor, or with a hand mixer,until butter is evenly distributed without chunks. Then pour in the wet ingredients.

Stir until you have rough dough.

Fold in the raisins (sultanas).

Place on a lightly floured surface and knead gently until you have smooth ball. Add small amounts of flour as needed (too much with dry out the scones).

Cut into about 2.5” circles and place on parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.

Brush with the reserved egg/milk mixture and bake for 13-15 minutes, until it has risen to about 3 times the original height.

Savor English tea time as you never have before, and pair with a hot cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea for maximum enjoyment!