Some post-vacation thoughts and observations…
(1) It just feels ODD coming home. After two weeks, I began to feel as if I was a British citizen…and I find I miss quite a few things from the routines I established in Northampton: regularly reading three daily newspapers (my trio being The Times, The Guardian, and The Independent), watching Big Brother on Channel 4 (which is absolutely filthy and outrageous compared to any of our reality shows), coping with the truncated store closing hours (only one day a week of late night shopping?!?), knowing how to sway my body in tandem with my friend’s car, as he negotiated the roundabouts that are a (benighted) way of life for British drivers…
Now I have to re-adjust to 90 degree/4-way intersections, late night & 24 hour openings, excruciating American reality show pap, and only one decent newspaper!
(2) Driving through England seems so fast compared to driving at home. Every road passes through a village, with a pub and a church, and distinctive houses. There’s never an absence of inviting scenery on a drive through the UK — be it ancient manor houses, or endless stone walls, or the non-stop rising & falling landscape that makes Southern Ontario look VERY flat indeed.
(3) I especially miss listening to BBC Radio 2, which was our constant companion on the long drives to our various destinations. I particularly enjoyed the fact that (a) the traffic reports were able to cover the ENTIRE COUNTRY, and (b) the afternoon show, hosted by Steven Wright, consisted of himself, his hapless partner…and an pithy yet genteel elderly lady who is only known as The Old Woman!
(4) I’m delighted that, despite my broad wanderings, there’s STILL so much to left to see (such as Windsor Castle & the city of Bath), when I return to England with a group of students next summer. The visit will include a return to the Tower of London, which I’m especially interested in revisiting as we were unable to see the Jewel House, which contains the crown jewels of England. The line up into this portion of the Tower stretched around the building, so we wisely decided to postpone the experience. I’m also looking forward to visiting Stratford with a guided tour. We stopped there (briefly) on our way to Malvern, but it was packed (and I do mean, PACKED) with tourists. Suffice to say it was not something I was willing to fight through on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation…
(5) The success of this vacation was entirely due to my clever-clogs host — and dear friend — Colin. He navigated, he drove, he cooked, he got me addicted to Big Brother…he was bloody brilliant!
And finally…
(6) I still have nearly 5 weeks of vacation time remaining…but anything I do now, compared to the last two weeks, is going to be an anti-climax!
