Notes from mirror-world

posted by jack at 03:49 CET in / life

In London on business this week, first time in England. Here are some observations:

• This whole cars-driving-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road thing is really disconcerting. I thought it would be easy to deal with! Notions about traffic, and which way cars will be coming from, seem to be more ingrained than I thought.
• Hyde Park is really bloody dark at night. And the gates are closed. I believe these two facts are related.
• England has some great chips (which I'll not yet call 'crisps'), such as the "Walkers Sensations Vintage Cheddar & Red Onion Chutney flavour crisps" I'm eating right now.
• My fellow Americans are just as conspicuous in England as they are in Sweden, with the loud talking and whatnot.
• I feel nervous sitting in a pub by myself for any length of time, for fear of being that conspicuous. I keep to myself, consume my consumables, and leave quickly.
• Shops are open until 7! or 8! Marvellous! (<- note olde englyshe spelling)
• It's tempting, when I see the small numbers (compared to Swedish currency) on price-tags in shops, to think I'm looking at dollar amounts. If only.
• English taxis are much bigger on the inside than you'd think just by looking at them. I think this is the true origin of the Tardis.
• Whoever's doing up my hotel room wants me cold. Last night before going to bed it was just 20 degrees C in here. I cranked it up to 23 but was cold all night. Coming back from work today, I found that the heat was off, the window was open, and it was down to 16. Brrr.
• The curse of "reality TV" seems to afflict England at least as much as Sweden. Based on casual channel-flipping a few times the past few nights, it seems like at least 2 of the 5 channels on the hotel TV are showing some sort of "reality TV" at any given time.
• A surprising number of bathroom sinks here feature double faucets, one for hot and one for cold. This invariably leads to comically waving hands back and forth, Mr-Bean-style, to get the right mix of temperatures.
• I miss my family. This is the first time I've been away from my kids longer than, say, a long workday followed by an evening out! Dang.