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England Photos, Take 2
Aug. 25th, 2006 12:09 amMaking life easier, I've put a link to the recent trip photos on my main web page sorted by day.
Some random thoughts about the trip:
My impression is way more % of Brits smoke than Americans, and they are horribly rude about it. Most ignore no smoking signs on train platforms, and they light up in crowds and hang around doorways. Some of the places I visited had no-smoking laws in place inside restaurants, which were mostly ignored. I understand that Real Soon Now this will be national law, but I doubt if it will stick.
Cell phone madness. Text messaging is the norm, and riding the rails was an education in how many and varied and obnoxious the ring tones can be. There are also almost as many fools there as here who never switch from the horrid cell company default tones. People tend to keep their phones well hidden, and it is not unusual for several phones to be singing at once, with their owners digging them out of pockets, bags and coolers. And as often as not the person whose phone it is turns out to be the only person who does not hear the ringing.
Penzance has a rugby team called the Pirates, and I wanted to buy a "kit" but apparently they won't have them for sale until September, well into the season. And then probably only available locally. However, they unveiled the new design by painting them onto the torsos of male and female staff alike. You can see the art work here.
Often in my travels, I noticed Brits who are at a loss for conversation fill in the gaps by stating the obvious. "That must be a tree over there" or maybe, looking at the 4-foot-tall station sign, "We're at York, now" and the ever-popular "the train has stopped". I wonder if www.statingtheobvious.co.uk is taken? Nope, I just checked, it' not. Maybe I should ask my cousin to register it for me.
Some random thoughts about the trip:
My impression is way more % of Brits smoke than Americans, and they are horribly rude about it. Most ignore no smoking signs on train platforms, and they light up in crowds and hang around doorways. Some of the places I visited had no-smoking laws in place inside restaurants, which were mostly ignored. I understand that Real Soon Now this will be national law, but I doubt if it will stick.
Cell phone madness. Text messaging is the norm, and riding the rails was an education in how many and varied and obnoxious the ring tones can be. There are also almost as many fools there as here who never switch from the horrid cell company default tones. People tend to keep their phones well hidden, and it is not unusual for several phones to be singing at once, with their owners digging them out of pockets, bags and coolers. And as often as not the person whose phone it is turns out to be the only person who does not hear the ringing.
Penzance has a rugby team called the Pirates, and I wanted to buy a "kit" but apparently they won't have them for sale until September, well into the season. And then probably only available locally. However, they unveiled the new design by painting them onto the torsos of male and female staff alike. You can see the art work here.
Often in my travels, I noticed Brits who are at a loss for conversation fill in the gaps by stating the obvious. "That must be a tree over there" or maybe, looking at the 4-foot-tall station sign, "We're at York, now" and the ever-popular "the train has stopped". I wonder if www.statingtheobvious.co.uk is taken? Nope, I just checked, it' not. Maybe I should ask my cousin to register it for me.
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