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December 23, 2005

Observations from my last trip to the UK

1. London is absolutely the least accessible city I've ever been to, expecially when it comes to the transportation system. I have a bit of arthritis in my knees, and schlepping a suitcase and backpack up and down flights of stairs in the Underground is a royal pain in the ass. Only a handful of Tube stations have lifts, and if you use one, everyone looks at you like you are a lazy-ass American - because they tend to be in the center of the station and are all glass.
Victoria Station - where the train from Gatwick takes you - has steps and steps and steps - no lift.

I suppose it ended up okay, because as I would very slowly make my way up the stairs (trying to obey the stay on the left signs), some disgruntled Englishman would grab my suitcase out of my hand and run up or down the stairs and then give me a glare as he set down my suitcase. I thanked all these grumpy men who decided that the only way to clear up the quagmire caused by a middle aged woman struggling a with a suitcase was to be semi-chivalrous and carry it for her. Not a one of them gave me a smile.

2. The people in London are in a huge, huge hurry all the time, it seems. No one strolls down the street looking at the shop windows - it's all rush, rush, rush. As a visitor, I strolled - looking at the great old architecture, the funny looking tiny cars and the motorcycles that have roofs and the people. There are people from all over the world visiting London. You can hear all kinds of languages in just a few minutes.

3. There are wonderful clothes in the shops in London - I love the styles and colors - don't see that kind of stuff here much. But everything is outrageously expensive. I paid the equivalent of $7 for the cheapest pair of socks I could find. I love Walmart - that much money will buy 4 pairs of socks here!

4. There are also some wonderful kiosks in the stations and in the 'malls' - I bought some amazing olives, cheese and bread at one little kiosk - they had thier own olive concoctions that were out of this world! Most of those wonderful little kiosks and shops appear to be owned by immigrants. From a couple of Israeli girls selling "Dead Sea" cosmetics (made in the US) to the Greek family with the olive shop to the Pakistani man and his souvenir shop, there are many, many people being capitalists in England.

5. I spent 3 days in Kent - I found that a 12 mile taxi cab trip cost 30 pounds sterling ($52USD). And that the cab drivers in that area don't go much outside of 5 miles or so from their home - as a result, not one of them knew where I was going - coming or going. It was rather funny - one cabbie was yelling at me saying - where is this place? And I had given him the address - I kept saying, I don't know - I've never been here before!!!

6. Cab drivers in England are a breed of their own. It doesn't matter if they are English, Greek, Armenian, Pakistani or Chinese - they are all a little kookie. And unless they are in London - none of them ever know the address I give them. Is this a trick to make me pay more? Or is my company sending me to places so obscure that even their street names are unknown? Heck, I don't know.

7. The Underground is a great way to get around London - however, there are breakdowns all the time, so always carry a bus schedule with you. Oh, and the busses are slow, slow, slow- took me 2 hours once to get 10 miles - in Bristol, anyway.

8. Pubs are a very good thing. You can get a pint of bitter and a jacket potatoe with cheese and bacon for dinner and it's under 5 pounds. And pubs are a wonderful place to people watch. In London, there are 3 to 5 pubs on every square block - so if you don't like one, stroll over to the next one.

9. London is great to visit, but I would not want to live there - rents are very high, and I have no idea how a normal middle class person can afford to live in London and still buy clothing, food and get transportation. Besides, there would be no room for our critters and our guns!

10. English people are totally shocked at the idea of gun ownership. They honestly think that we don't have the right to protect ourselves or our property. They think it is barbaric. I think they are all way too dependent upon the nanny state to take care of them.

11. One of the great guys I was working with told me that the health system in England will not provide hip replacement surgery to anyone who is overweight - they deserve to suffer, seems to be the idea. Also, gall bladder surgery is considered elective surgery - elective! I have known quite a few people who had emergency gall bladder surgery here in the US - can't imagine going to the emergency room in severe pain and being told that it is elective surgery and perhaps you can get it in two years time.

Anyway, I'll probably write more later on things English.

Posted by Beth at December 23, 2005 6:50 AM

Comments

Posted by: Michele at December 23, 2005 9:45 AM

Posted by: triticale at December 25, 2005 11:41 PM