Obesity! There is next to zero obesity in the U.K., which includes children. Why? Fast food! I don’t give a tinker’s darn what the fast-food industry in the U.S. says about obesity, the culprit is fast food. You do see some fast food chains scattered about England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, but it is nothing compared to the every-street-corner presence in the U.S. Cheap, high caloric food is way too abundant in the U.S. Of course, fast food wouldn’t be near so popular if there wasn’t a demand for it.
There are no trailer courts in the U.K. In fact, I didn’t see a single trailer home. Houses, even for the low income, are of stone or brick.
Medical treatment and higher education are free. Of course, taxes are higher — considerably higher. Our travel director, Mike, was self-employed, working for several different tour groups. With free medical coverage, he wasn’t tied to one company.
Homelessness: Street people in the U.K. are scary. The U.S. has its homeless, but they tend to be holding up signs on street corners, and non-threatening. In the U.K., I’m reminded of the walking dead.
Even in rural areas, sheep country for example, I saw no pickup trucks. I did see a lot of vans, or panel trucks, but no pickups. I saw a billboard advertising Ford Trucks, but no Ford Trucks. Strange. Also, I saw no rusty, body-cancered vehicles. People in the U.K. seem to take a lot of pride in their vehicles, keeping them very clean, like their vehicle is an extension of self.
Money: In England it’s the Pound, in Ireland it’s the Euro. Both utilize the one-Pound or one-Euro coins, even two-Pound coins. These coins did not weigh down my pocket, as the pound coin is actually smaller in size than some of the other smaller denominations.
Art and architecture throughout the U.K., even in the rural areas, is breathtaking and awe inspiring. I suppose elongated history, which goes back through pre-Christ years, is part of the reason for so much art and elaborate architecture. But Europeans have a greater appreciation for art, which includes writing. Wordsworth, Shakespeare, and Tolkien come to mind.
Green: The countryside in the U.K. is such a deep, dark green, like Johnny Cash sings about in, “Forty Shades of Green.” Here in Iowa, I notice, even though rain has been plentiful, the green is more of a pea green. Our soil is certainly fertile. Maybe it’s daylight. In the U.K. it gets light earlier and stays light longer, which may propagate the rhododendrons that grow wild in Ireland. They’re considered a noxious weed and futile attempts are made to eradicate them.
In my earlier articles about Ginnie’s and my honeymoon in the U.K., I mentioned the bathrooms, or “loos.” Here are two more loo items: heated mirrors and heated towel racks! The first time I stepped out of the shower and noticed a clear section in the middle of a steamy mirror, I shouted for Ginnie to come and see. I put my hand on the clear section. It was warm. I opened the cabinet, and saw the electric heater on the back of the mirror. “Hey, bathroom manufacturers, let’s get heated mirrors in the U.S.!” Then I wrapped myself in a warm towel from the heated towel rack. Nice.
Feudal System: If America had been settled a couple of hundred years earlier, we would no doubt have been under the Feudal System, as was the U.K., i.e., we would have had castles, knights and serfs. The history of the U.K. is a history of almost continuous fighting, bloodshed, and bickering. Kingdoms were lost and regained. Considering America was settled mostly from European stock, it is little wonder, and not such an anomaly, that the South would attempt Secession.
Country Western Music and family feuding has its roots in Ireland and Scotland. You can hear the origins of CWM in their music and ballads. Grudges could last for centuries and die slowly, if at all. Reference the Hatfields and McCoys.
Browning of America: might as well get used to it. Everywhere we went, in big cities or small, on both continents, races and religions are mixed. It’s a byproduct of rapid transportation, international trade, and globalization. Call it a paradigm shift of culture, if you want. But get used to it.
Would I like to live in the U.K.? Maybe a sabbatical for six months would be fun, say in Edinburgh, Scotland, to write a book. But on a permanent basis, gimmie the good old U.S.A., with its rusty pick-up trucks, trailer courts, and the American Dream.
Contact Curt Swarm at 319-217-0526, email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com or friend him on Facebook.