Hello all, from England, more specifically near London (though by comparison of England to the United States, one assumes anywhere in the country is near London.)
Nice to meet you all, lets see how this unfolds.
Pcp
Howdy pitcairnpete. I have nothing interesting to say, but am eating a steak sandwich. That could be an excuse, but it isn’t.
Hi pitcairnpete! Welcome and enjoy yourself:)
NOW I have something interesting to say: Don’t ever frantically wave a newspaper under a hair-trigger smoke alarm whilst chewing on a mouthful of steak sandwich.
Had I choked, I am convinced that I would not have been found with my face eaten by my dog.
She would have slept in my bed and downloaded stuff though.
So you’re saying your introductory thread really gets around, huh?
Hello pitcairnpete, be welcome. Enjoy your stay. 
Saying more that it is everywhere around forums without falling in to the malaprop trap of saying its omnipresent.
Cheers for the welcome all.
Hi, pitcairnpete. Does your username reference dogs in some way? Have you been lurking a while?
Just being nosy. The regular welcome committee should be along shortly.
Huh. I assumed he was a descendent of Bounty mutineers.
Welcome to the SDMB, pitcairnpete – let’s hope this is the last time a moderator gives more than a second’s thought to one of your posts. 
No dogs sadly…
Not lurked at all …
Pitcairn was a case study of mine for my history degree though more survival of the castaway Bligh on the mutiny on the bounty and less the recent child sex trafficking and abuse cases that have come to light.
I wont lie, though I will not speak for all Brits or English people, straight dope is not a huge entity over in the UK. Not that I am trying to be bohemian by joining up, just find it interesting to see what others from across the pond make of world events.
PCP
Tell us something about yourself, we’d love to know more.
Maybe something shocking or scandalous? Or maybe your weirdest attribute?
Or maybe just what colour your briefs are, we’re not fussy!
Anyway, welcome, glad to have you!
It annoys me when I say london to an American, with my accent and they instantly say Ontario or Australia.
That enough mate?
Whereas here in the States, it’s right up there with Amazon and Facebook.
Anyway, the more the merrier here. We hope you’ll stick around; you already seem like you’ll fit in just fine. 
Whereas in the states, its the highest form of wit
Hey, I already feel like we know you better!
I feel your annoyance. As someone who lives in London, Ontario, I can seriously relate.
I have traveled some, and it’s annoying to have people say; “London? I thought you said you were a Canadian?” I used to be especially embarrassed when talking to Brits, until one kindly pointed out, it was, after all the Brits who named my city London, the river the Thames, etc, etc. I never felt shy about it again!
To many of the news that exist, the olds are around here somewhere… Generally up north, if I was living up there though, I would probably venture out upon yonder with a 1/3 chance of dying of dysentry and still feel I got out light.
Uh, what?
Maybe it’s just me, but could you translate that for us, mate?
I was just being nasty to the north of England… I think that was all that really needs to be covered there.
Thanks, for explaining. I thought it related to the lines I’d written and you quoted, so you can understand my confusion, I hope.
I’d still love for you to translate this sentence, for us;
What does ‘news’ and ‘olds’ refer to?
I adore interesting usages when I come across them, and have never come across this one before.
See? You’re already fighting ignorance! You’re going to fit in very well around here, I think!
New York - America
York - England
Scotland - Uk
Nova Scotia - Some place with a London and a few cheap meds for border jumpers
I was then making a link that many of the names of New (insert location) come from corresponding places in the north of england (minus the new naturally)
This falls down on things like New Hampshire, it was never going to bare great scrutiny was it.