What a challenge! This post was in the making since we got to England. It’s a treatment of the most famously fearful issue of all when you go to Britain, – DRIVING! So shall we have a go at it? To start off, let’s say that it is not just driving on the other side of the road that causes panic to well up. There are ever so many reasons to want to shut out the terror by closing your eyes. This is a great solution unless you are the driver!
When you first begin learning to drive (not in the U.K.), it is traumatic,tricky, and tense. But after awhile, you begin to relax; the muscles learn new postions; reflexes become refined; and the synapses drill the connections in the pathways that create memory patterns in the old gray matter – you L E A R N T O D R I V E !
Now move to the U.K. where they drive on the left side – many experience universal feelings of agitation.
“Oh, my ___, that car is coming at us on the wrong side of the road!”
A normal drive in Britain
And again, “What in heaven! That isn’t a road, is it; it’s about as wide as a footpath!”
The road is as wide as the pavement (sidewalk)
Its really jolly when you try to navigate as you drive along and ask, “Where are the street signs? What no sign? Oh, you mean that plank just below the eaves of that building: THAT’S the street name? RIGHT!”
High Street
Or the ever popular, “What do you mean I can’t turn right; you have to go left to turn right? It’s a what? A roundabout?”
Warning - Roundabout ahead
All of these thoughts go hand in hand with first traffic experiences in Britain or any other U.K. country. If you never did it, you may wonder if it is that bad. Crikey, there’s no paralyzing distress quite like it!
Since a picture is better than a 1000 words, it may make you feel “lurgy” if you are able to put yourself in the scene (lurgy = ill). But never fear, even Maria was able to forge through the process and get it all sorted in her head, eventually. Most of these crazy car shots were taken by her anyway. Though not while driving … usually.
Cheerio! (photo link below)
Driving in the U.K.
