From One Third World to Another

At the beginning of October I went back to the UK on leave. Yes it's nice and sunny here and hot but you get tired of it eventually. What I really miss are the seasons. In the tropics every day is the same and without a calender you wouldn't know if it was spring, summer, autumn or winter. Similarly, it gets light at the same time and dark at the same time nigh on all year round. Sunrises and sunsets are extraordinary rapid as the sun makes a steep vertical path towards the horizon. One minute it's light, the next it's dark. In the UK the sun takes a leisurely arc to the horizon thus bathing everything in a wonderful soft light for much longer. That is when it's not grey or cloudy . . . .

Autumn Colours

Whilst I admit the winters in the UK aren't so great and not really something to look forward to, the anticipation of the other seasons is always welcome. This time it was autumn and I was looking forward to the colours that that season brings and having a house in the countryside meant this could be fully realised.

Most of our time was spent day tripping, visiting the towns and villages nearby. What really jumps out at you having been away for so long is how very, very expensive the UK is. And I don't mean the price of luxury goods, I mean just the basics needed to exist now seem impossibly costly.

This was hammered home during a long weekend in London. Okay, so we didn't have to pay for accommodation but the cost for just everything else was astronomical. For example, the rail fares into London from mid Kent were £25 each - they would have been £50 each if we'd taken the new high speed train into St. Pancras. It seemed like everything else was priced at £20. Breakfast for two in a run of the mill cafe was £20. Lunch for 2 was £20. A round of drinks for 4 people was £20. A ride on an open top bus was a shameful £25 each. The London Dungeon is £21.95 each. The Tower of London - £19.50. London Eye - £17.50 or £27 if you want to jump the queue. St. Paul's Catherdral is a shocking £19 for two. What happens if you want to go inside and say a few prayers?

London Pubs

Combined with the rail fares this surely puts a day trip to London out of reach of a large majority of families in the UK and it gave me a certain feeling of resentment that I should have to pay so much to visit what essentially isn't a theme park but our heritage and history. Tourists, especially from poorer parts of the world must be in for a severe shock when visiting London.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. London has some fantastic architecture and walking around is free (for the time being). London pubs are also the best in the world in my humble opinion. I love the high ceilings, the big windows, the architecture, the ambiance. The distinct lack of soulless theme pubs. None of that silent treatment you get when you walk into a pub in the provinces. The vast majority of pubs in central London just accept you for what you are. Yes, the beer's expensive but it's no more expensive than a pseudo-Irish pub in Singapore or other big capital city, and I know where I'd rather be having a quiet pint!