Sunday, January 25, 2004
I've not had such a great weekend for a long time. I'm sure that Deb feels the same, and to sit down to a 7 hour meal and have it feel like half an hour, well - where did the time go? Jerry put on a great spread, some excellent wines, and superb company. Truly one of the highlights of our leaving month.
If you're travelling by InterCity train, then don't bother going into one of the "quiet" coaches where you're not supposed to use a mobile phone, operate walkmans that annoy other passengers (chssssk, chssssk, chssssk....) or parade crying infants up and down the carriage - honestly, it really doesn't work like that. The stickers saying "No mobile phones" actually seem to read "Please, only use this carriage if you promise to use a mobile phone every five minutes (making sure it's an annoying ring tone), engage in loud conversations, and generally be a git". At least that's how the signs must read to the ignorant public that passes for British thesedays. I blame the parents, because there's no respect anymore.
Maybe it's because I can now see the future I have in Canada, but the average Brit sucks. More so that than the stereotypical Yank who can't see further than their own shores, the Brit can't see further than their own sofa. I know plenty of Brits for whom this does not apply, but I meet a gazillion(*) more each day for whom it does. Toss your rubbish out of the car window, walk three abreast on the pavement forcing me to step into the street as you pass, smoke in non-smoking carriages, don't make eye contact as you serve me - I don't care anymore, because in less than 20 days I will be in Canada, and I will be among people who are proud of their life and their surroundings, people who stop to think about others. In short, people who are actually decent people.
If you think I'm speaking out of line, think I'm bang out of order, or don't like to taste the truth about streetlife in the UK today, then tough - but you do have the potential to make a difference. Smile a bit more, ask that blind person on the underground if they need assistance, don't drop litter, say "Thank you", and don't squeeze your 15 foot car into a 20 foot gap whilst driving round the North Circular just because it'll save you 2 seconds journey time.
There's a big Karma wheel, and if you piss someone off just because you can , it's likely to whirl right around and smack you in the face. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow ...
Rant over, as I'm off to bed before a complicated first day of pre-moving prep.
(* Standard SI unit for "a huge fecking lot")
If you're travelling by InterCity train, then don't bother going into one of the "quiet" coaches where you're not supposed to use a mobile phone, operate walkmans that annoy other passengers (chssssk, chssssk, chssssk....) or parade crying infants up and down the carriage - honestly, it really doesn't work like that. The stickers saying "No mobile phones" actually seem to read "Please, only use this carriage if you promise to use a mobile phone every five minutes (making sure it's an annoying ring tone), engage in loud conversations, and generally be a git". At least that's how the signs must read to the ignorant public that passes for British thesedays. I blame the parents, because there's no respect anymore.
Maybe it's because I can now see the future I have in Canada, but the average Brit sucks. More so that than the stereotypical Yank who can't see further than their own shores, the Brit can't see further than their own sofa. I know plenty of Brits for whom this does not apply, but I meet a gazillion(*) more each day for whom it does. Toss your rubbish out of the car window, walk three abreast on the pavement forcing me to step into the street as you pass, smoke in non-smoking carriages, don't make eye contact as you serve me - I don't care anymore, because in less than 20 days I will be in Canada, and I will be among people who are proud of their life and their surroundings, people who stop to think about others. In short, people who are actually decent people.
If you think I'm speaking out of line, think I'm bang out of order, or don't like to taste the truth about streetlife in the UK today, then tough - but you do have the potential to make a difference. Smile a bit more, ask that blind person on the underground if they need assistance, don't drop litter, say "Thank you", and don't squeeze your 15 foot car into a 20 foot gap whilst driving round the North Circular just because it'll save you 2 seconds journey time.
There's a big Karma wheel, and if you piss someone off just because you can , it's likely to whirl right around and smack you in the face. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow ...
Rant over, as I'm off to bed before a complicated first day of pre-moving prep.
(* Standard SI unit for "a huge fecking lot")
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]