ODDITIES: England + Scotland

There are some things about England that I find strange. I suppose that there are oddities about any place. I would think that when a person from another country comes to visit America, there are things that would seem a little strange to them. It is with this in mind that I have created the posts entitled "ODDITIES". This is where I will share my observations, thoughts and experiences about such things that I find just plain strange, odd and completely out of the ordinary, as far as I am concerned, with regards to the locations around the world that I visit.

I have come across the recurring need to eat food for sustenance. It is terribly annoying, but I suppose I manage through the cycle one day at a time. During these instances of feeding I come across times when I would like some juice, e.g. Apple or Orange Juice. I find, though, that I do not have the basic skills needed in order to open the packaging that these fluids of life come in. They are apparently made so that you are deterred from ever consuming their companies beverage. This is quite contrary to what I am used to in America, where companies would inject or force feed you with their product if they could legally get away with it. The thing that I really find odd, is that on most of these containers of liquid, whatever they may be, are the words "easy open container". I needed scissors to open up a small carton of orange juice that had this very saying on it. I have yet to determine how one normally opens up this particular type of container. The first carton of orange juice I tried opening in England had a nice plastic tab that simply said "lift" on it as the instructions for opening. I did as I was instructed and lifted. The plastic tab then came off completely. I sat there for a moment trying to determine if this is what was supposed to happen. Perhaps now I was supposed to prod the top of the carton with this new tool I had in my hands? It was not until later that I realised that the tab that was in my hands was not supposed to dislodge from its poorly constructed confines. Alas, it was a knife that came to my rescue in this instance. I have since successfully opened a carton of apple juice that used this same type of plastic tab system, although I was very careful to make sure the tab stayed on that time. In any case, things are hard to open in England and I find this quite odd.

They drive on the left side of the road in England. That is just plain odd in it of itself, but there is more about their driving that I find quite unusual. They drive fast everywhere they are going, all the time, regardless of how narrow or windy the road is they are traversing. I find this particularly troubling considering that when I was in the small village of Seaton taking Mariah (the dog) for a walk down these roads, I constantly had to be on high alert because there is no telling when some crazed Englishman in a BMW is going to come flying at high speed around a hairpin turn only to narrowly miss me and Mariah as we jump off onto the side of the road. It seems that the English like to pretend they are race car drivers. When walking from Seaton into the town of Uppingham 2 miles away: on every single curve and turn of the road that heads to town are tire marks in the mud to the side of the road where cars have constantly run up on the ground just like a race car driver would do when attempting to find the shortest route between point A and B. I must admit, though, after watching some of the English drive these narrow roads at high speeds, I have to hand it to them, some of them probably could be race car drivers. They are pretty good. That does not mean that I do not find their driving antics odd though.

There is something strange about the water in this country. Not the tap water, which probably has less things harmful in it compared to American tap water. No, I refer to the water in the Lochs, Seas and Oceans in and around England and primarily Scotland. When I left the Midlands enroute to Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the train journey happened to be right on the eastern coast of the island. Looking out to the sea I saw barely a wave or even a ripple in the waterline. It was completely calm like the water was in a state of hibernation. This is a very large contrast to the coastal waters I experienced while sailing down the coast of Baja California. That water had a temper. The water in England is old and wise. On my tour through Scotland some of the most beautiful landscapes were aided by the complete stillness of a loch reflecting the scenery of the opposite bank perfectly. For me this was an odd sight as I cannot remember the last time I saw a calm lake or body of water in California.

The Scots talk funny.