Driving

Driving

Hello from the land where the Toyota Yaris is a big car!

If I had known what a cute little car the Ford KA was, I would have ordered that. I have seen a few Honda Fits here and they are among the larger cars as well. Don’t get me wrong, there are big pick-up trucks, SUVs and minivans here, but they are, by far, outnumbered by smaller cars, including Vauxhalls, Citroens, Fiats, Minis and the occasional Smart Cars. I have seen some of the older Minis. They are really tiny. Hard to imagine there are full grown people are inside them. The smaller cars are very practical here. Some of the roads are extremely narrow. Small cars are simply more maneuverable. May the road gods help you when you meet a big SUV on one of those narrow streets. Somebody will be backing out, and it won’t be the SUV.
English drivers a mostly very courteous and cooperative. When you are trying to squeeze into gridlocked traffic to enter a roundabout or highway, they flash their lights and let you in. When you offer them a similar courtesy, they wave and thank you. This is not to say that they don’t honk their horns at other drivers, but that’s usually when the other driver does something really stupid - not that I have any experience with that. There are many road stiuations that require that drivers have a spirit of cooperation. There are spots in roads where there is suddenly, and without warning, only one lane. One driver must stop off to the side to allow the other driver to come through first. This always seems to work without a hitch. I admire the spirit of drivers here. It is a refreshing change from the States, where most drivers are mean and ready cut you off and curse at your very existence.

I love driving. I loved it in the States and I love it even more here. Every drive is an adventure. The scenery is different. The roads are different. The houses are different. Viva la difference! I love it. Some country roads are narrow and winding and often are flanked with very tall hedgerows on each side, obscuring the view of the countryside. I keep expecting to find sheep or ducks in the road around the next bend, but it hasn’t happened yet. I am looking forward to driving around farm country. I want to see the countryside as portrayed in “All Creatures Great and Small”. That is one of the images I have in my head
that I want to

First Medical Visit

I was finally able to get through to my new GP’s office to get an appointment to have my ear looked at. I’ve been living with an ear ache for a few days and figured it was infected and would need antibiotics in order to get over it. It went quite smoothly. I called at 10 am, got an appointment for 12:10 pm, left work, drove in very light traffic back to Chelmsford. The “surgery” is less than a mile from my home. I got in within 10 minutes and the whole appointment took only another 10 minutes. Half a mile from there was the “chemists” and I got my amoxicillin in 5 minutes, costing me 7.20 GBP. That’s it. I was back in Basildon, sitting at my desk in about 2 hours. Brilliant!

This morning is the morning I get tv. I went out after work last night and picked up a little 19 inch tv and a LAN line phone. The engineer is being sent out early this morning to install whatever hardware I need for both. Today I will have tv. In a week, I will have phone. In 2-3 weeks, I will have broadband. Sweet. Wish it was in the opposite order. It’s the internet I want the most, but tv will be nice too.