The Difference In the Shades

Its funny being in a country that seems so steeped in history and culture, yet when it comes to the little things, the things that actually count, they are found wanting and lacking. When I first arrived in this great land there are many things that I have noticed which differ, often for the worst, in Englands favour, now...we begin.

Bins: One thing that is taken for granted, something that you always miss when you cant find one, but when its there, its used. Cigarettes, chewing gum paper, even the slightest hint of litter can find a home in a carefully selected space back in Aus. But no, over here a bin is as rare as a smile in this bitter cold and all litter is haphazardly thrown to the ground to be collected by the multitude of rain which never stops falling.

Food: The era of convinience has entered this land. Isles and isles of packaged food, ready meals and meals that require no thought, effort, or conscious decision about what you are actually putting in your mouth and cloaking it as a 'meal'. There is every style of food, every style of 'family' dinner, anything imaginal can be placed into a package and sold as a meal. Somehow completely convinient but on the flip side, completely complacent as a culture that seems riddled with overweight adults and pregnant youths.

Wheely Bins: Now to extend my 'bin section, this one really got me. We arrived bleary eyed but excited, only to drive through miles and miles of houses stacked next to each other, and each with a bright green bag of all there packaged goods thrown out on the sidewalk. Being slightly coastal, the issue here is as bag with seagulls, and crows at home. You leave rubbish out one night, the next morning its scattered across the road like new years party confetti. Yet, only 2 weeks ago was this problem address and solved. Wheely bins have been introduced, now the problem is people actually using them.

Please and Thanks You: Its cold outside but the people are colder. This is a land where courtesy and manners seemed to be bred from, then bred out, amongst the rubbish. There is little to no courtesy here, or manners for that fact. Things are loved and hated and do not be sad if your life stops having meaning when you work at the Cashier at Tesco, and 2000 people bought their packaged meals without so much as any acknowledgement or thank you. Gives new meaning to meaningless jobs, AND as a cashier, you dont even pack the bags, the customer does. You are simply just and beep and scan.

Alcohol: Is in every shop, every Spar, every corner store and every servo. There is more pubs in this city than there are shops. That is if you are careful about the price, you can get quite the cheap booze.

Many more things can be outlined in detail, scrawled over, then scrapped for others. The key to this blog was how different the little things can differ from a place called home, Without even being picky. Something so advanced, hundred/thousands of years old, yet they can't managed a bin here or there, or even a please and thank you. Then again, if you thought Australia was in the midst of a recession, think again. This country has half a foot in the grave, and the people and getting in to try and actually push the giant foot out, yet as usual, the weight of that giant foot is burying the people with it. No wonder no-one cares about bins when you have to pay not only to own a television, but to watch it, each home needs a tv licence just to have a television. They pay rates to the council as council tax, even if you are renting. The waiting lists for doctors outweigh the wait lines at Tesco, and yet here I am complaining about bins, The irony.

Ah I forgot, add teen pregnancy to that list, and I have summarised the UK. There are more young mothers here than an Australian abortion clinic.