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Having a good time, mate
by acdickson
AC and partner for life Susan are in Bristol England (birthplace of Tricky, Massive Attack and Portishead) and are adjusting to the time fairly well. This last bit is no easy prospect. The eight hour time difference puts up going to bed in the early afternoon and getting up at midnight according to our regular schedule. But having a couple discs of season 3 of 24 from Netflix was extremely helpful in helping us stay up late enough to get on UK time.
Initial impressions of Bristol? Expensive, but such is the lot in life for the traveling American. Prices are very much in the English favor. AC recently read a piece about working class Irish families traveling to Newark for a day or two to take advantage of the exchange rate and mall sales. It's well worth the travel expenses to head over for a shopping spree of Fubu and Rocca wear for the next few years. (Why these folks don't just shop eBay is beyond me. Then again, I've yet to discover firsthand the delights of a Newark vacation).
The biggest perk so far is free city center internet. That's right, free internet! Answer a quick survey and you're on. Very high speed. My impression is that while Portland is trying to get it together the only place in the US that has free internet right now is some town in Utah where you can log on as long as you endure the banner ad from the business man fronting the service. Are there any actual cities that have free service?
Beyond that the fish and chips are great.
Comments
J John, thanks for the watch tip. That's a good one. I should actually go back to the old wrist watch. In this day and age of cell phone, that's my lifeline to father time. And I'm still dual band, so it no worky in the UK. Hence, no watch, AND no alarm. And our hotel doesn't do wake up calls. Yeah, they don't do wake up calls. Sure, why the hell would anyone need one of those. Apparently it's a company policy, fear of lawsuit in case someone misses a meeting.
Posted by: AC Dickson at February 3, 2006 6:49 AM
Man, whatever happened to Portishead?
I just finished season one of 24 and was slightly amazed that they actually went for that ending. Definitely elevated my enjoyment of the show.
My tip of the day:
I always try to set my watch to the destination time as soon as I board the plane. Tricks your brain a bit.
I'm sure I could come up with something to say about the joys of fish and chips and free internet (and Newark?!), but this is kind of an awkwardly long comment already.
Posted by: J_John at February 2, 2006 1:35 PM