tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post7539445021785263151..comments2024-03-17T03:42:21.277-05:00Comments on LEARNING CURVE ON THE ECLIPTIC: Saturday and Sundry Cultural Differences Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-39311702200735605762018-03-04T12:08:18.017-06:002018-03-04T12:08:18.017-06:00A Casual Reader ~ Thank for you contribution - it...A Casual Reader ~ Thank for you contribution - it's a good read! <br /><br />Though your experience was in Ireland, very similar experiences will abound in England, Scotland and Wales when encountering the soccer-mad pub-going crowd, close to the date of an important game. <br /><br />Not sure about the 'sudden silence' you experienced though, but it could well happen in some rural pubs. I do remember my maternal grandfather telling me, often, that though he had come up north to Yorkshire, from Wiltshire, much more than half a century ago, he was never fully accepted in the local pubs - in spite of the fact that he'd been a taxi driver for many years and was well known locally. <br /><br />Tribal feelings persist, it seems. Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-15534803498331832422018-03-04T01:34:37.523-06:002018-03-04T01:34:37.523-06:00I've never been to England, unfortunately, but...I've never been to England, unfortunately, but I've been to Ireland and was delightfully surprised to see all the 'Ladies Hat Hire' shops in Dublin, which was a concept I'd never considered before. I still chuckle when I think of them. They make perfect sense.<br /><br />Aside from that, there was one worrying incident: After a good dinner one evening in Skerries, we decided to walk for a bit. Earlier that afternoon, we'd come across an interesting thatch-roofed pub down a side street and decided to go back there before calling it a night. When we stepped inside the dark doorway, we heard what must have been a hundred men all talking furiously. Within seconds, they all stopped and turned their heads to look at us. Their silence and our sudden unease forced us to abruptly turn and leave. About twenty minutes later, as we walked, we heard a group of men drunk-singing from about a block behind us. Apparently, there was some big football match the next day and these guys (and all the other guys in that pub) were pumped up about it. The lyrics they sang are not printable here - having to do with invasive sexual actions to be performed on the opposing team. Because we had never in our lives seen or heard this sort of public display, we ducked down the nearest street-corner and stood there in the darkness until they had (safely) passed us by. I've never forgotten that incident - and it certainly doesn't elicit any chuckles.<br /><br />What I remember about my first visit to Canada in 1965 was that their money was colorful and beautiful, compared to our boring green and white stuff.<br /><br />I returned to Canada in 1970 and, now being a smoker, I was very impressed with the way Canadian cigarettes were packaged - in little boxes. There was one brand whose name I don't recall that had a calendar printed on the inside lid. Very classy compared again to the American product.<br /><br />A Casual Readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-41256207173759166072018-03-03T18:02:10.739-06:002018-03-03T18:02:10.739-06:00anyjazz ~ Me too - though I do love our road trips...anyjazz ~ Me too - though I do love our road trips. If public transport were widely available we'd do different trips - and love them equally...And that'd better for the environment, but The Powers That Be care little about the environment!Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-11255299487217312762018-03-03T17:33:36.148-06:002018-03-03T17:33:36.148-06:00I think I miss the public transportation in the UK...I think I miss the public transportation in the UK the most. Being able to walk anywhere one needs is really a pleasure. We didn't NEED a car! And being able to conveniently travel up and down the country without a car is great.anyjazzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03319237414264543250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-44525793544797430652018-03-03T17:27:44.958-06:002018-03-03T17:27:44.958-06:00Wisewebwoman ~ Thank you WWW. Yes, you have foun...Wisewebwoman ~ Thank you WWW. Yes, you have found that similar bits and pieces need updating efforts to the once pristine memory bank. <br />Yep - I got the "I could listen to you for ever" a few days ago! And two gals at the Doc's office just the other day : "Oh I love that accent - I wish I had it!" I'm always gobsmacked, even after 14 years. I try to be gracious and reply the "I love your accent too." And I actually do!Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-80970749329202347272018-03-03T06:41:53.063-06:002018-03-03T06:41:53.063-06:00Interesting post. I was sharing with my book club ...Interesting post. I was sharing with my book club recently that when I moved to Canada I had to learn a whole new language and they were surprised. And the largeness of everything compared to Ireland (detergent, shampoo, toothpaste, etc). Laundry not washing, never using the word "toilet'. On and on and on. And then everyone finding me "adorable" and "cute" in my Irishness. Never listening to the content of what I was saying and being proud of that: "oh I could listen to you forever, that brogue!"<br />I nearly went mental. Seriously. As I tried to extrapolate a financial statement yet again.<br /><br />XO<br />WWWWisewebwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15281689872840844191noreply@blogger.com