Traveller's Tales

Back from a short visit to the Scepter'd Isle, I would like to share with you once again some of my sociological findings.

• Having previously taken over the higher reaches of government (Blair, Brown, Cook, etc.), the Scots have now established a firm foothold in the media, particularly television where they have acquired a virtual monopoly of weather forecasting. I have no complaints about this as I find the Scottish accent à la Kirsty Wark infinitely pleasing as well as crystal clear.

• We were over in England visiting our son and family who live in a village near Saffron Walden in Essex. This is a pretty well-to-do sort of place judging by the dogs one meets so I was rather surprised by the dirth of street lights. It was almost as though the villagers had not been told that the blackout was no longer in force. My grandmother who spent the war years in fairly nearby Castle Hedingham records how she was sharply reprimanded by a member of the Home Guard when she forgot to block out all the lights one evening. Even so that was over 65 years ago. It was all the harder to understand since in our far more down-at-heel village of Aubigny street lights are to be seen almost everywhere. I wonder why that is.

• A most impressive Christmas Fair was held on the Saturday evening in the Village Hall. We would be quite incapable of doing anything half as good or of generating anything like the same friendly atmosphere over here in France. This is something the British do so much better than the French.
• When I shared this observation with my wife, it was suggested that since everything in England was so bloody marvellous perhaps I would like to move back there permanently? Isn't it extraordinary how susceptible some people are!