English people have this tub thing in their sinks which they claim saves water. And when you ask them why, they get all flustered. Hmm. Liz from Minehead says it’s a throwback to the days when they didn’t have dishwashers.

They also have an incredibly terrible sense of time and punctuality. ‘5 minutes walk’ is usually 15, and ‘I’ll be there at 10′ means 12.30. Reminds me of someone in particular at home…

‘it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey’ -or something, said someone- i’m not being philosophical here, but it is so true. In the good ol’ days when I had my wee morris it used to get me into all sorts of funny situations with hitchikers and such. It was lovely. And now, I have buses, trains, and coaches. Now you don’t really talk to people on the tube or a train, as a rule. But you can on coaches, cause it generally means you’re gonna be next to each other for quite a while, same with planes. As soon as you get on, you have a choice: say hi or not? You only have a small window in which to begin conversation, or else it passes. I talked to everyone on my plane trip over except the guy beside me on my 2nd flight, the dark sleeping plane. I wish I had, cause I spent the next 12 hours having to squeeze past this total stranger to the loo, which is quite a tight fit in Economy, and trying to sleep 10cm from his face, which is really weird.. On my coach to Bristol i said hello to the woman beside me, an Italian woman the same age as Mum, who later helped me find internet. And on finding out i was stranded in Bristol with a very light wallet, took me in for the night, fed me, walked me to the train station early next morning and invited me back for Christmas. The same coach service back to London, and I didn’t talk to the person next to me. She looked nice, but I didn’t feel like talking. It’s possibly the only great thing about public transport (except being able to have a wine whenever you want cause you don’t have to drive), that you meet people you’d never normally talk to.

 Coffee here is generally terrible. It’s at the point where I’m looking up reviews of cafe’s on the internet cause it just doesn’t compare so far. Like most things i’m hoping it’s around, just hard to find. It’s all kind of quick and instant here, with bubbles in the froth, and the taste is bland. I guess that’s what I should expect from a largely tea-drinking nation… but i miss poky little cafes that are so readily available in places like Wellington and Dunedin and Nelson, with fanastic organic things and delicious fairtrade coffee and salads and smoothies.. here there are just a bunch of bakery cafes, or starbucks. which sucks. Those poky cafes are the wee rewards you get for beginning to get, know, a city. London and I are on acquaintance level, so a while to go yet..

Hugs here just don’t measure up. When people hug you here they hug you with their arms, and hold you at a distance. I’ve never known such terrible huggers. Hugs are useless unless your hearts are together really. Oh the things i would do for a Josh hug, or Amy, Holly, Hannah, Erin, or Mum. Now there is a wee list of fantastic huggers. In general NZ’rs are excellent huggers really. I’m wondering if I should have more faith and give it a bit of time and see if they improve. Hannah’s from England, after all. But really, the last really decent hug I had was at the airport. A little bit homesick right now.

Sorry, not a particularly postive post. Had a horrible day at a Fete thing. got lost and found.

By the way, it’s so much more fun if you leave comments! So please do, even if you think you’ll embarrass me (relatives..).. I have an incredibly high tolerance of family-related-embarrassment thanks to my dear ol’ mother.

toodle pip!