No sign of Captain Jack's team. Or RTD. Or the Doctor on one of his occasional visits.
It's great to show your home to people from another culture, especially so soon after receiving the same hospitality in theirs. You do feel embarrassed that you have to drive ten minutes to show them a castle because there isn't one in Pontypridd (and round here that's a faux pas - good grief, we even had one in Oxford; there was even one ten minutes away when I lived in Accrington). Road signs warning of marauding badgers amused them no end, though they were genuinely shocked by the signs we have with pictures of the elderly on the loose (too un-PC for the States I guess).
The most un-PC moment came at lunch at a pub in Tintern, when Kurt ordered something he had never come across. The barmaid took his order (which is fairly standard around here) and then brought it to the table, asking who had requested it by simply naming the dish.
"Faggots?" she asked.
Chris & Kurt felt that had she accused anyone in such a manner in their country she would have been arrested. Apparently you can't order faggots & peas in Florida. Not that I would really do so here, and took them on to the Bunch Of Grapes, Ponty's finest pub, where we had much better fare. (Hmm: Lamb sweetbread starters anyone?)
Tintern, Brecon, Cardiff, Caerphilly - in two days. South Wales is a beautiful place. All of you who are far away - come visit soon! (And the local food is certainly not dull...)
2 comments:
I can't believe that a picture of old-people is any more or less PC than a sign saying DEAF CHILD AREA like we have in New York. In Massachusetts they've gone one better and have a sign that just says CHILDREN. Bring back the pictures (especially the umbrella-workman) - much missed in the land of wordy signs 'NO TURN ON RED' indeed!
Though to be fair, the picture is of bent over old people with sticks, as if that's the only kind there are.
Mind you, thank goodness for picture language. The presumption that all drivers can read might be aiming a bit high. In either country.
My sister tells a great story. When she started nursing in Florida, there was this patient who was legally blind. They had to seperate his food on the plate and tell him where the meat was, where the veg was etc. And when he was ready to be discharged they asked him who was coming to collect him? No-one, he replied, he was driving himself home. The nurses were rather shocked and asked how he could do that. No problem, he continued. He was from New York, and couldn't get a license there, but when he told them he was coming to Florida, they gave him a temporary permit straight away.
Deaf Child Area? That's the least of your worries.
Post a Comment