Re: My take on return to the UK
 

Gosh Quoll - we must have driven in completely different areas. I was shocked by the discourteous, ignorant, non-indicating, lane hogging numpties I found on our drive around England. It was a relief to get back to the tailgating hoons :D

NHS though.. yeah. Youngestchild decided to need a tooth extracted while we were there, and the Dental Hospital in Newcastle were fab. And free.

Hope you're enjoying life back in the UK.

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

Hmmm...does this 'take' on the UK extend to various novelty items of high street confectionary into your hot sticky hands?

If so, do tell.

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

The drivers here absolutely do my head in, they appear to have no idea what they are doing, lack courteousy and don't know what lanes are for basically pick alane, any lane :lol:

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

Enjoying??? perhaps not so much with two sick parents who tag team with the hospital! But I have to say the ambulance service and the hospital (we are lucky with Addenbrookes) have been nothing short of amazing, as has the post release care service.

I drove over 3000 miles in the past couple of months and have had nothing but courtesy on the roads. So, definitely, yes different parts of the country! (I havent been down to Devon this time!) It's great to be let out of a side road into the main stream of traffic occasionally and my courtesy factor has increased significantly since I have been here - I am trying to spread the joy with 'there is space left on this parking ticket if you would like it' which does seem to be a bit of an alien concept to the Poms

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

I'm sorry that your parents are ill. :(

I'm amazed you found a car park where you didn't have to put your reg plate number into it before it'd let you have a ticket (that involved lots of running back and forwards to the car before I realised it was on the bleeding key fob :D) That was another thing - I can't remember the last time I had to pay to park here in Australia, although we don't live in a big city which probably helps. And the car park spaces were sooooo tight! (That really isn't an excuse for my appalling parking :D)

We drove (well, I say 'we', I mean 'I' as Himself somehow managed not to put himself on the car hire agreement) around 2000 miles in the month we were in England - its a pain when you have his family in Kent, my family in Newcastle and the other grandparents in Cheshire, with a couple of side trips along the way - and I wish I'd seen even a fraction of the courtesy you experienced.

All the outside lane hogging made me wish that undertaking was legal in the UK! The complete inability of drivers to merge almost resulted in a 2 lorry/4 car pile up right in front of me on the M25 (we were stopped in a lane trying to get off the hellroad and I seriously wondered if we'd have time to get out of the car) Driving around the York ringroad, no one would let anyone in on roundabouts, well, except for me. People were so 'terrified' of losing 'their' space that they'd put themselves about 3" off your back bumper.

I certainly haven't missed the chicane driving down streets with cars parked on both sides of the road and only room for one car to get past.

It was lovely to do 80mph though :D On the brief occasions where the roads were clear enough to do that, anyway.

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

Hilarious! Love it!:D

Re: My take on return to the UK
 

Good luck to you,

My fear is the UK cuts biting in the next 12-24 months, a removal of government investment is not immediately visible. Hopefully everybody pulls together as the 'big community' 'hugs a hoody' and blitz spirit returns, as i said i am concerned for the not to distant future and i don't even read the daily mail.

Fingers crossed it will all be fine, i'm planning on leaving and commiting the financial suicide thats oz but i still have freinds and family to be concerned for. Fingers crossed!