LostInTheWoods

One of the other interesting facets of living away from your home country, is the occasional trip home. Suddenly you get reality slapping you in the face, reminding you of the things that contributed to your leaving, and the things you miss.

I had a trip booked for a couple of months to go to a one day conference in London. Got a real cheap deal flying me into Stansted (£30), and a cheap deal hiring a car, all good. Until a week before the trip I had inherited an awful coughing virus from Ren. Bugger. The whole trip had to go ahead, so I experienced the whole thing through a "fuzzy filter" and now as I sit here feeling much better, I feel deprived and a little ripped off.

A short flight from where your understanding of everything outside your flat can vary wildly, is a place that is painfully familiar and understanding is easy. This is weird. But I wouldn't change this, I enjoy the challenge.

Now, not feeling well, I took the opportunity to buy some medicine to self medicate. Upon landing in UK I was spoilt for choice where to buy my throat lozenges, cough medicine, paracetamol and Lemsip. In Sweden, you have to go to the hospital or the town centre, and part with serious "pengar" (£3) to just get some paracetamol tablets. UK? "That'll be 16p please". Sorted. Over the coming days, I bought about £10 worth of paracetamol and associated medicine. Now that is a serious quantity if you collate it all together, but believe me, it is a sound investment.

Being back in the UK, I do notice several things. There are many more opportunities to buy chocolate and other junk, and it is pushed upon you. Go and buy a newspaper:
"Would you like to buy a Mega Jumbo Choccy Bar for 99p with your paper?"
"No thanks, just the paper."
"What about a Mega-Glugg bottle of sugary fizz for 99p?"
"Er no, just the Independent thanks."
"What about three chocolate oranges for £1.69?"
"Can I buy this paper? Or shall I put it back, and go to a sweet shop and buy one?"

Next thing, and maybe associated with the above. People are bigger than I remember. I know, obesity is always in the news, but I get surprised every time I visit. Now, I am no slim Jim, but you do see some big people eating chocolate bars and drinking Coke, and I do think they maybe better off with a banana and some water. It is not really my business, but I really do wish the UK did not follow the US in everything.

Example: As a kid, there were very few places in our local town centre where you could buy a singlular Mars bar. M&S, no, WHSmiths, no, Boots, no, Woolies, of course, but apart from a aptly named sweet shop named "Sweetie" and a smattering of a few newsagents, that was it. Nowadays, there is chocolate being peddled everywhere, and I don't think this is a healthy progression.

If an alien got beamed down to a UK petrol station, he would think that roadside sweet shops sold petrol and diesel as a side line.

But apart from my mature cheddar and real ale fetishes, what I really miss are people. Family, friends and work colleagues, are what I now realise are important. I went to a leaving lunch for someone I have worked with over the last few years, and met loads of former colleagues, and realised it was them and the banter I missed.

So my move has taught me a very valuable lesson, that I guess most people learnt a long time previous in their lives, but sometimes, I am a very slow learner.

Thank you for reading this post,

That is all.

LostInTheWoods