(bright music) - Will you "Consider This", your, me I'm standing in line with my seven-year-old granddaughter to see the Jim Henson exhibit a long line and meet this chatty woman who happens to know somebody in town who has an amazing story.

And Claire Craig Evans is that very person.

And you're a native to Illinois?

- I certainly am.

- But you met her in a different way.

But let's start with, you're native from Springfield?

- [Claire] Yes.

- And then you came to Peoria for something?

- I did.

I landed here outta law school.

This was my first gig as a attorney.

So, that is what brought me to the city originally.

- All right.

And you met your husband then here?

- [Claire] Correct.

- But he's from England?

- [Claire] He absolutely is.

He was on-- - Okay, so tell me about, how did that happen?

- Oh, that, yes, that's what everybody needs to know here.

He was on what would they would call temporary assignment for a large, shall we say, equipment manufacturer here, local to Peoria.

- [Christine] We know which one that is.

- I think you do - [Christine] Big Yellow, yes.

- That's right.

So, he thought he might be here a a couple years because he's on loan basically.

And meanwhile, back at the ranch, my dating life really wasn't going many places, frankly, never date the felons.

I was an assistant state's attorney at the time, (Christine laughing) so I really wasn't getting anywhere at work.

And I'm kind of a against the mold lawyer.

I don't always strike some of the stereotypes.

So, I was looking outside the box and struck up online dating simply because my brother had met his spouse that way.

I knew people who had gotten married this way, and the stigma of that had kind of moved on.

And I didn't like to hang out at bars.

So, and it just so happened we clicked and I found him, and then I was so cheap that he was on a different dating service.

And I said, oh, he looks super sporty (sighs) and I run when chased, so perhaps we're a mismatch.

I'll put it in the file, and just kind of let that roost.

And they were having a special, one weekend, this was when Yahoo Personals was a thing, and he's on it, and I was on something else, and it said you could join for free for the weekend and then unjoin.

- Oh.

- So, that's being fairly thrifty-- - Right, and you have to pay attention.

- Exactly.

I quickly dashed off this little note and then unjoined, but I slipped my email address in it, which is kind of a note.

So, he took up the hint and we started to email a little bit back and forth, and I had all these rules for online dating.

Never let two weeks go by without meeting this person physically, because they could be somebody else.

I thought, well, I don't want to delve into serial killer land.

He seems charming and he can spell, and these are things that are going for him.

So, we met, we clicked, his sense of humor and mine are very compatible, and I became his permanent tour guide.

- [Christine] All right.

- So, he stayed on for a number of years and we got married here, but then within six months his company wants him back.

- [Christine] Oh, back to the UK.

- That's right.

- Now, so let's back up a little bit.

But you studied in the UK?

- [Claire] I did-- - At some point.

So, you had a love for British anyway.

- I did come somewhat pre-trained.

My father's ancestry is Scottish, and he spent good time as a child with his Scottish grandparents who drank black tea with milk and sugar.

- [Christine] Huh.

- This is important later in my life, because I know this already, then I had done study abroad in London and you kind of are in a bit of a mode of tourism when you're there to take in all these sites.

- [Christine] Well, you don't know how long you're gonna be there.

- Well, I say they sent me home not due to ill behavior.

I ran outta money, time to go back.

- [Christine] All right.

- So, I didn't really have any designs on moving their permanently, but I enjoyed it very much.

But they say if you love it enough, you find your way back.

And that is apparently what happened to me.

- I like that (clears throat) I like that phrase.

(Christine clears throat) So, you met, you married and you ended up going then with him to live in the UK?

- Yes, and I saw this on the cards.

This was not a big shock horror surprise when he said, yeah, they're gonna want me to go back.

So, I at the time I was an assistant state's attorney and it was a good job, but I didn't love the felons.

And I doubt-- - I understand that.

- I doubt they love me.

And I have always been a bit open to change and to mix it up a bit.

And I love British sitcoms of all sorts.

Brit comms, the PPS genre.

I was pretty well versed in this.

So, between the study abroad and all of that prior viewing, I thought, well, I think I've done some decent homework, I may not totally fail at this, so-- - Yeah, you'll fit.

- I thought I could blend, but I was a bit wrong.

- Good for you.

Then you came back.

Well maybe it was, maybe you were still doing this, you do something called Tea with Claire.

So, tell me about that and people can find that and participate.

- Well, I am a student of reinventing self and that business spun out of simply having a young child, maybe two or three at the time, and getting a bit tired of not talking to adults.

And as I say, I didn't love the felons and I didn't necessarily want to slot back into the job that I had before I moved to the UK because I thought I was almost a different person now.

I'd had that big life experience and it was, for me, very transformative.

And I think I'd like to try something else.

So, over my time, since people knew that I had lived in the UK, I would get asked for, oh, we're going to London, where should we look out?

What's interesting?

And I just, I'd try to be chronically helpful.

So, I would spell out, well, you might try these places.

And I got to thinking more, well, what do I know that could be of service to people and would they wanna hear it?

So, I thought maybe libraries that cater to people who enjoy travel or anywhere else, really, just interesting stories.

People would laugh at my stories that apparently they were amusing.

So, I whipped them.

My first presentation was called "All Castles, No Hassles".

- [Christine] I like that.

- Kind of a spinoff of the Rick Steves try not to spend your time in line.

And couldn't see the good stuff.

So, I got into the local libraries around here, just very occasionally, and I would bring great slices of cake.

I would bring Victoria sponge cake, so maybe that led to my popularity, I don't know.

(Christine laughing) - That's a way to get to people through their stomach.

But it's good.

- I thought it wouldn't hurt.

The labor involved was a bit much, but so it gave me this opportunity to be chatty and tell you what I know, and have a bit of fun at the same time.

And baked goods are never a bad thing.

And that kept going.

So, that was, oh, I don't know, maybe 17, 18 time, and then I was kind of on a crescendo of upward, people had heard about these talks and they were starting to pay me to do these.

And then 2020 hits, crickets.

- Boom, the bottom dropped out, but not for you necessarily.

- Six months went very quiet.

- Okay.

- So, I just went back to being the at-home caretaker of a kindergartner in virtual learning.

However, I got a call from Lake Forest Library, that's one of my clients that I would've had to travel to up in the burbs of Chicago.

Have you ever done any of your presentations on Zoom?

And I said, what Zoom?

- Oh, you never even considered it 'cause you didn't know?

- No.

- Interesting.

- No.

- Very good.

- And it turned out that the libraries were scrambling from material because they wanted to keep their patrons engaged.

Yet here I was, could I adapt it?

And actually, it wasn't that hard.

- [Christine] Timing is everything.

- It was good.

So, the librarians are quite a chatty bunch, despite the conventions, you might think about them and they talk and there's quite the network that they work off of internally on referrals.

I got a mention on a programming librarian Facebook page that is international, and I believe it might have be considered a bit viral.

- [Christine] Oh.

- I got all sorts of calls after that.

- [Christine] Wow.

- And that's what gave me the lift.

And within two years I was doing 132 talks a year.

- Really?

- Yes.

- So, Tea with Claire covers a myriad of subjects regarding the UK mostly?

- It's Brit pop culture really.

- Okay.

- It's stuff I like.

I'll be very selfish about it.

My first one that really is still my continuous favorite among the fans is The Great British Baking Tour, which is a spinoff of the baking show.

- Right.

- And so I give a little bit of background on the show, and mostly for people who bake and love to watch things being baked.

This is how I learned to cope in my UK kitchen by watching this show.

And I translate.

- Well, because you were used to our measurements-- - Absolutely.

- And that sort of thing, and even the names of things.

- Well, let me tell you, my oven worked on something in the UK called Gas marks.

And at first I thought, is this profane?

Should I even inquire?

(Christine laughing) And I-- - [Christine] It sounds bad.

- The other half of me said, no, we gotta eat.

So, I did.

And it's just a nomenclature.

It's, do you turn your flame up between one and nine?

And it translates actually to Fahrenheit too, but you have to know these things, and it was a big learning curve.

- So, these are the things that you share with people who are very interested.

You also, now you've written a book.

We'll talk about all this stuff, but you've written a book, "High Tea and the Low Down" and people know that in England and their fellow countries, they take afternoon tea breaks, it's called high tea.

So, what is the difference between having a cup of tea in the morning and high tea in the afternoon?

- Well, Americans have some preconceptions about what's going on with tea.

- [Christine] I'm very American.

Okay, go ahead.

- So, if you ask the average Brit about tea, and if they are the average Brit, I'm gonna use people in my family as an example, they're easily drinking six cups plus a day.

It flows and not only is it just the beverage that they're quite addicted to, it's the social element of it.

And so when I moved to the UK, I learned fairly quickly never turned down a cup of tea.

This is a olive branch.

That is a invitation to socialize in disguise.

- So, that would be a very, very, naughty, naughty reaction if you turned it down?

- It would be a bit of a snub, I think, too.

- Interesting.

Very interesting.

- Yeah, so you don't know these things.

And I am the person that finds everything out the hard way in this book because I use myself pretty much as, well, I figured people are laughing probably at me.

And years later I figure out you can write about this.

And it's in hindsight funny, at the time may be annoying, but so far as the afternoon tea goes, what is high tea?

There's a distinction.

So, not everybody does high tea and they certainly don't do it every day.

A lot of Americans would say that high tea is the pinkies of sort of stuff.

- [Christine] That's what I was just gonna say, yes.

- Yeah, yeah.

High tea sim simply means that you are having more of a meal with it.

- [Christine] Oh, okay.

- And they confuse high tea with afternoon tea.

That's the pinkies up stuff.

- All right.

See, I'm really lost here.

- It's subtle.

- Okay.

- Right.

So, that's part of the learning curve too, to figure out, well, what do people expect me to do at any given time?

And when you sit down, how do you treat what's in front of you?

I made some horrible messes in public places with tea in the various equipment that comes with it.

But you learn these things.

- Wow, interesting.

So, you said you have some funny stories.

What is one of the funniest stories that you share with people in your Tea with Claire?

- Well, I can think of one.

This was a visit to us.

They call them Stately Homes.

They are aristocratic homes that are the seat of some earldom, or somebody that has a aristocratic title.

There was, there is still one not far from where we lived called Althorp.

And it's the home of Diana, Princess of Wales.

That's the Spencer's ancestry.

So, her brother is the current Earl Spencer.

And it's open to the public.

So, I thought, well I have an interest in this.

This sounds fun and it's not that far away.

So, an American friend of mine, actually, we went around the lunch hour and we're at the front desk buying tickets.

And there is a man of a certain age, shall I say, that probably has retired from his previous employment that looks a bit dour.

And I'm really hungry.

And I see the board has a listing of ticket prices, and then right underneath it says concessions.

And there's a price.

- [Christine] You're right there.

- And I thought I had just die even for a bottle of water or a popcorn, something.

And I asked him, in my usual voice, I would hope to think, excuse me, sir, could you tell me about concessions?

And he said, not for you.

- [Christine] Oh.

- Exactly.

I have stepped in something brown and sticky and I don't know it.

- [Christine] No.

- And I looked to my American friend who I get the big shrug from.

- [Christine] Clueless, right?

- And so the story plays out as many did in my Brit experience.

I go home and after work I tell my husband what's happened, and his first reaction is, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

So, okay, tell me what I have I done and how bad is it.

You've just asked for the senior discount.

A concession in the UK means a concession in the price, either due to your age or your student status, or your disability.

Neither, none of which he perceived I had.

So, good to know.

- [Christine] It is good to know.

- When you ask for a concession, do not expect a hot dog in the UK.

(Christine laughing) - Well, I can see where people would get a big kick out of that.

- Yeah.

- And then, so your topics, when you are hired by the different libraries or different organizations, do they offer a topic for you or do you make your own presentation of what you would like to?

- Exactly.

I'm very selfish that way.

- All right.

- I gravitate to things that interest me because frankly, I think that the part of what makes them watchable is that the presenters quite engaged in them.

I was asked lately to, what I consider doing a topic on British games and what raged into my head was cricket, which is my worst nightmare.

- [Christine] Yes.

- I think to be able to understand that game, you have to be a Brit in utero.

And I have heard the transmission of it, and it can last for days.

I don't claim to understand it.

And I just think it's beyond me, so-- - [Christine] And you just don't have the time for it right now?

- I don't have the passion or the time really.

So, I try to be, maybe not all things to all people, but evergreens, pick things that are of topical interest to a lot and see where that takes you.

And PBS helps me with this, by the way.

And how about "Downton Abbey"?

How did that play out in your, all of your presentations?

People have a lot of questions about that.

- They do.

And that I do it.

One of the talks is from "Uptown Girls" to "Downton Abbey".

And I love "Downton Abbey" because it was first run TV when we were living in the UK, so it was appointment television.

And I felt like I was fairly well versed on the plot lines.

But then I was late in life history buff.

I really never loved it when I was growing up and in school, but then I think what I needed is immersion.

- And boy, you did it.

- Oh, boy, do you get it?

The post office that I used to visit was listed in the "Doomsday Book" after William the Conqueror.

I mean, it was this sort of stuff and highly haunted next door you get all sorts of interesting stuff.

So, that kind of spins into, well, I'd like to read about the history of some of these places, and "The American Heiresses" keep popping up.

- Oh.

- So, this, and then you find out that Julian Fellows actually took a complete page out of history when he writes these plot lines that "American Heiress", I forget how many hundreds of them were over-- - Went over, right?

- Yeah, it was a very transactional thing.

They had cash and their future spouse needed money-- - And that's how they-- - And status-- - Were able to save some of these wonderful places.

- Yeah, and sometimes for them, they're great stories.

Sometimes they work out there is a love match and sometimes, no, it was very much a transaction.

But all of that is, I think, quite interesting.

- It's very fascinating.

Well, and then recently you have done presentations on "All Creatures Great and Small", the author of that or, so tell me about that, since this is PBS and January's come and gone.

And so it that's pretty fascinating as well.

- Yes, we were late comers to the James Herriot party.

Sad to say, I feel a bit ashamed.

And I said, I all have to live with this all my life that I didn't start out by reading the books.

We got introduced to Herriot and "All Creatures Great and Small" through the latest incarnation on PBS.

And this was 2020, and we're sitting at night in our family room on a Sunday and it's just gorgeous.

The scenery is breathtaking and they're using all this drone photography and we do tend to go back to the UK with some frequency and we're looking across the room at each other, always looking for what should we put next on the list?

And we kind of nod and say, yep, the next time we're over, we're doing the Herriot Tour.

So, I thought, well that spins into a talk because a lot of people have an interest in him and his backstory, his name was not James Herriot, it's Alf Wight.

And he lived this completely normal, lovely life in this beautiful part of the world, yet became internationally famous.

So, it's interesting.

- [Christine] Under a pseudonym.

- Absolutely.

- Oh, wow.

Wow.

And see what you find out.

Now I think that I read that while you were living there and with your husband as well, not just when you were studying abroad, you did tour the country because you were taking in absolutely everything and that helps you with some of your guidance when people say, hey, where do I go?

Where do I start and where do I go around the island?

- Without doubt, I think I was a poor student and I'm trying to make up for that in later life, from being from Springfield growing up there, I've never been to Lincoln's tomb.

- Oh.

- I know.

How is this possible?

You may ask.

- [Christine] I do ask.

- I must have missed that day's field trip.

I don't know.

But I think though that can be a symptom of people who are from places and take them for granted.

- [Christine] I think so.

I think that's very valid.

- I thought so later when it's all very new and interesting, not only do I want to see as much of it as I can, and I've got a local, a local, and he hasn't seen a lot of it too.

So, it's just as interesting.

- Well, again, because you take it for granted, - Right.

So, we made lists of, what would we really like to see?

And then I started to blog about it, a compulsive writer that I am because I needed, I felt like I wanted to remember all these interesting impressions and these little stories that went along with my experience.

But I also had to take something after a number of years of living there called The Life in the UK Test unexpected.

- Oh, okay.

So, for a Green Card or?

- An equivalent, yes.

- Okay.

- They have, their version is called Indefinitely to Remain, and-- - [Christine] It sounds much better than Green Card.

- It's very official.

They're quite into hierarchy.

Yes, but I needed to sit and pass this exam to do it.

- [Christine] And what was included in the exam?

- Nothing like you'd expect.

I was figuring it's like the US Constitution Test that people take here.

No, it's culture.

- [Christine] Could you study for it?

- I could.

- [Christine] All right.

- There is a guide published by the, I believe it might have been the government press and they claim it's a bestseller.

Well, I yeah, you've got all these people who definitely leave-- - [Christine] Have to take, right?

- Correct.

And it's things like, you could get a softball question like, what is a veterinarian?

And I'm praying for those questions.

But you could also get, what are the particular demographics of London made up by nationality?

So, you really did have to pay attention.

- [Christine] Or what is a concession?

- That would've been valid, I think, because they wanted to see how you cope in the culture.

But when it first rolled out, there was an entire news desk at a publication, "The New Scotsman" I think it was.

And they are native UK.

They take it, they fail all of them.

- Oh, wow.

- So, I took this quite seriously.

- [Christine] Good for you.

- I have been a student that does not like to do poorly.

So, I felt like I need to see this stuff and learn it and get out there and feel like I was prepared.

- But you couldn't have been thrown out of the country though.

- Yes, I could have.

- You could have?

- Absolutely.

- Even though your spouse was there?

- Yes, because, my ability to remain would have not been renewed.

So, had I left and not had a valid indefinitely leave, they would not have left me back in.

Which makes for pretty awkward commuter marriage.

- Absolutely.

Did you pick up the accent while you were there?

Did you find yourself thinking in terms of an accent?

When I visited there, I did.

- I have mixed feelings on this.

And here's why.

We have at home and no imitate rule, which was hard one.

And it comes by hearing each other's accents done badly.

I have been imitated as an American in the UK and heard how they think I speak.

Oh, it was painful.

(Christine laughing) There was a lot of parrot sounds, a lot of squawking and a lot of wa sounds.

I can't cope with that.

And then I turn that on its head when people try to imitate that accent and don't do it very well.

Which you've I think fairly need to hear it in your ear for many, many years to get it right.

And there's something like 48 variations on regional accents in the UK-- - [Christine] Of course.

- So, some people don't even understand each other.

Why would I delve into that?

Oh, I just don't need that in my life and I don't wanna offend anybody.

- And you managed to avoid it while you were there?

- Well, what I find that I, when I'd come home, you have to kind of listen what are your people saying?

So, I started to eat scrambled eggs on toast and my father said, you've changed.

And I also started to pronounce a little bit more of a ah, and that was just trying to be understood because, and the really hard wa sound Americans-- - [Christine] That sound, right?

- Yes, It's extremely cloying.

It also the d that we put in words like water, that's a very North American's, they need that tea.

And that reverses itself.

When my husband tries to order that beverage here, he's often not understood and he just says, oh, diet Coke.

(Christine laughing) - [Christine] Diet Coke.

- Right, right, so-- - So, we have just a couple minutes left.

What do you have coming up and how do people find you in order to bring you on board either via Zoom or in person?

- Well, patrons are really valuable and powerful.

So, if they go to Tea with Claire at C-L-A-I-R-E.com, I have my entire repertoire listed on talks that I do.

And I get frequently people who request their local library, would you be willing to have her come and do this talk?

And that's the best advertising there is.

So, people can certainly have a look there and then the links to the book and whatnot.

And there's book two in the works too.

So, I keep things updated via the website.

- [Christine] What does your daughter think of all this?

- She is a model dual citizen, I think, from a very early age.

So, she holds two passports and she can get within whatever line of shortest that Heathrow she can be an American this day or Brit that day.

But even from a little age she did baby signing communication junction locally.

And she looked at me one day and did this, which is the sign for B-A-L-L. And she said, mommy says ball, daddy says bull.

And looked at me for an explanation like, is this my fault?

- [Christine] Figure that out, right?

- Right.

So, I think she takes pride in her Britishness and she looks the part, she fits in with the blonde squad of British people that she's related to.

And I think she will make a fine world traveler.

- Well, thank you so much for sharing all your travels and adventures.

You're pretty fascinating and I think I need to get to see one of your presentations.

I read enough about it, so we'll be on it.

- Well, thank you.

- Thanks for being here.

Thanks for sharing.

- My pleasure.

- And keep it up.

And thank you for listening to her story.

It's pretty fascinating, isn't it?

In the meantime, stay warm and stay healthy.

(bright music)