On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:44:29 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:

Whenever this sort of thing comes up, I usually end up telling a story
or two.

I have had Americans confuse Windsor and Brighton, Oxford and Oxford
Street, ask for directions to Camelot and head off up to the Northern
end of the DLR in search of Shakespeare's Birthplace.

But then I've had Britons complaining *bitterly* that "the Dome isn't
next to the London Eye" , not recognise Big Ben [1] and try to get to
Covent Garden by standing at a bus stop [2] and waiting for a bus
labelled "Covent Garden" to come along.......

Taking Britons abroad I've heard complaints that Paris "hadn't used to
be this far", that the view of the Alps is "spoiled by all the mountains
in the way" and been admonished for speaking German to a hotelier when
sorting out a customer's problem "because I must have had something to
hide".

Even though you've posted some of these examples before they still make
me smile.

Overall, we tend to be more ignorant abroad than visitors to the UK are
about us. (European visitors in particular are generally very
knowledgeable and interested in Britain and its culture.)

Which unfortunately is the point. Even in "easy" places like Singapore
and Hong Kong you witness all sorts of nonsense or else a general
reluctance to "do as the locals do". I think I must be about the only
tourist in Singapore who deigns to use the normal bus services rather
than silly sightseeing or premium fare tourist shuttles. On my most
recent visit I saw some people (who were staying in the same hotel as
me) look visibly surprised when they saw me alight from a local bus near
the hotel while they waited for the SIA shuttle service.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Paul Corfield wrote:

Similar to the infamous example from old documentary about Angel
Station and the booking clerk saying "take the lift and go on stop
northbound to Kings Cross and change for the PicclyDickly line".

Was that on the normal TV within the last year or two? - the one with the
original 'customer care specialist' station supervisor?

Paul S

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:44:29 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:

Whenever this sort of thing comes up, I usually end up telling a story
or two.

I have had Americans confuse Windsor and Brighton, Oxford and Oxford
Street, ask for directions to Camelot and head off up to the Northern
end of the DLR in search of Shakespeare's Birthplace.

But then I've had Britons complaining *bitterly* that "the Dome isn't
next to the London Eye" , not recognise Big Ben [1] and try to get to
Covent Garden by standing at a bus stop [2] and waiting for a bus
labelled "Covent Garden" to come along.......

Taking Britons abroad I've heard complaints that Paris "hadn't used to
be this far", that the view of the Alps is "spoiled by all the mountains
in the way" and been admonished for speaking German to a hotelier when
sorting out a customer's problem "because I must have had something to
hide".

Even though you've posted some of these examples before they still make
me smile.

Overall, we tend to be more ignorant abroad than visitors to the UK are
about us. (European visitors in particular are generally very
knowledgeable and interested in Britain and its culture.)

Which unfortunately is the point. Even in "easy" places like Singapore
and Hong Kong you witness all sorts of nonsense or else a general
reluctance to "do as the locals do". I think I must be about the only
tourist in Singapore who deigns to use the normal bus services rather
than silly sightseeing or premium fare tourist shuttles. On my most
recent visit I saw some people (who were staying in the same hotel as
me) look visibly surprised when they saw me alight from a local bus near
the hotel while they waited for the SIA shuttle service.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Can't remember if I used the buses but I definitely used the Singapore
underground. In fact.....

I was in the process of buying a house (in the UK) and my wife had sent me
some documents to sign. Two needed a witness. I went round the hotel
dining room at breakfast but people were from every country except the UK.
I gave up and went sightseeing (it was Sunday). I was on an underground
train and a (youngish, not that it's relevant) caucasian couple got on. I
thought "why not" so asked if they were British. "Yes" (they were Navy
people and their boat was in dock) and one of them duly obliged me.
Stupidly, when I got back to the hotel to arrange to fedex the documents
home there was a BA crew in the lobby ... had I waited around....

I admit to being a travel snob and I'm often irritated by the number of
brits I notice on public transport in some of the most out of the way
places.

On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:11:26 -0000, "Paul Scott"
wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote:

Similar to the infamous example from old documentary about Angel
Station and the booking clerk saying "take the lift and go on stop
northbound to Kings Cross and change for the PicclyDickly line".

Was that on the normal TV within the last year or two? - the one with the
original 'customer care specialist' station supervisor?

Yes it was - "Heart of the Angel". The supervisor who smoked and swore
all the time and when seeing the plans for the expanded station said
"they won't have me working here when that happens". Poor old Jerry
Gold who was the senior manager listening to him!

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

It doesn't matter - no company, individual or government will pour money
into a project which will take 100 years to show a return. Just think how
many changes of government would occur in the meantime, any one of which
could cancel the project.
Well, its taken them 104 years to build the tube line between North
Woolwich and South Woolwich, but they are finally doing it.

On 10 Jan, 19:36, Mizter T wrote:
On 10 Jan, 16:28, "Graham Harrison"





wrote:
"Tom Anderson" wrote:

For your daily dose of crazy, with some interesting boring pictures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLL2sp6iJZI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNDePyexjA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZDcp-2DYyY

Where do Americans get those voiceover guys?

tom

--
now you're under control and now you do what we told you

Many years (late 60s) ago I worked in a travel agency in Kinghtsbridge. * An
American asked which Tube to get to "Edinboro". * He was genuinely shocked
when we explained the idea of taking the Picadilly to Kings X and then
sitting for over 4 hours on a "real" train.

I'm not sure there'll ever be a time when I don't find such tales
amusing! Though maybe I'm merely pleased that a few yanks do fulfil
the relevant stereotyping, which is perhaps a bit unfair on the rest
of them. I'm sure there's a whole contingent of Brits capable of
equally daft behaviour when abroad (or even when away from their home
patch), though I doubt this is helped by Ryanair selling flights to
Vienna's Bratislava airport...-


When I first saw the heading I assumed that Ryanair was going to start
flying to Northolt (suitably renamed).

On Fri, Jan 11, 2008 at 03:19:20AM -0800, Boltar wrote:

Where do they get these crazy Ra-Ra Technologists who think because
something is physically possible it is almost inevitable?

Yes, heaven forbid that we ever travel at over 50mph. It's possible,
but there's really no need for it, it's uneconomical, you won't be able
to breathe, and the lower orders might get uppity.

--
David Cantrell | Enforcer, South London Linguistic Massive

engineer: n. one who, regardless of how much effort he puts in
to a job, will never satisfy either the suits or the scientists