THOUGHTS FROM MUD ISLAND – A TALE OF TWO CITIES (except 1’s a town)

Have done a bit of pondering on my trip to Cambridge and London and my feelings on the UK from it are…

The good points….
Long sunny summer evenings.
Pimms (esp with punting)
Punting (esp with Pimms)
The Eagle, Cambridge
The Maharaja Curry House on Castle Hill in Cambridge (fortunately they had forgotten we were barred – it was 15 years ago though so it would have been impressive if they had remembered)
Test Match Special (and Richie Benaud on Channel 4)


The bad points…
Fat, pasty, sweaty people displaying far too much of their wobbly white flesh
Dirty. Actually filthy
Expensive (25 quid for a cab from Kings Cross to Chelsea!)
Service in all restaurants, hotels and bars was terrible.
Crime. (they are now giving powers to schools to install metal detectors because a schoolkid brought a carving knife to school and stabbed and killed a fellow pupil for no particular reason).
Traffic. Was in a jam within 15 mins of arriving.

Overall. Outside London was great, but London itself was horrific. Did I really spend 12 years there? Has confirmed my view though that any potential return is getting further and further away. English winters are miserable, and the summer in the country is wonderful, but I’m not sure that’s enough to make up for the winter, especially as summer in the UK is so unreliable. Everyone at the wedding said that summer basically started the day before I arrived and it had been miserable up till then. I miss friends but if I never see London or an English winter again that’s just fine.