Reply #21: typical london [View All]

[sweetheart]

I have friends who visit the Uk from the USA, and i get an email like
a week in advance, saying, "hey, why don't we meet up in .... London."
And I send one back, saying, "Hey, why don't we meet up in Orkney."
Then they research it, and discover the travel costs of getting from
one end of the UK to the other and decline... so what do they expect
me to do?

Its as if the country only has 1 place, and its "L".... i find it very
unfortunate, as the richness of the Uk, IMO, is in the OTHER cities that
are less travelled, like Bath, Newcastle, Carlysle and Inverness.
I think its a bummer, as these cities are the real depth of the UK,
much more than London, and that the political and economic institutions
of the UK are SO SO concentrated in to london strangles the UK both
economically and culturally.... so i revel in the alternate "less typical"
places.... as well, people are more friendly and its more fun in the
pubs... (and hotels are usually cheaper), considering some of us
don't have places to stay in london.

I realize it's futile, as london is like a meeting magnet, perhaps
just as well, given airports and whatnot...

democrats abroad has a similar view, as most americans are in london
and they've little or no experience outside the london megaplex...
so rather than consider shifting meetings about the UK, to get in
touch with other parts, they opt for convenience... and EVEN go so
far afield as oxford!!

The Uk parliament similarly, IMO, is out of touch with the country
because they hang too much in Belgravia. They should hold travelling
parliaments in various cities around the UK, that ALL parliamentarians
get exposed to the regional conditions that REAL persons in the UK
have to live with... and i'd really have to chuckle when they tried
to do it on Sheland, Skye, Penrith, Perth, Thurso, Milton Keynes
and such, as they'd be in for a shock that life ain't mayfair...
They'd discover that petrol is 95 pence per litre in Thurso!! and
listen to their cab driver bitch about it on the way to committee.

They'd discover that air-links and rail travel are complex to
coordinate outside london because THEY have done a crap job at
managing transport infrastructure... and i'd love to see all of
parliament stuck in a traffic jam on the M6 in Manchester, just so
they could get a real feeling for the rail/roads problem their
policies are creating. Woof!

So, yes, newcastle is not typical.. nobody says, "Hey, lets meet up
in Newcastle."... and for that very reason... its a perfect place
to meet up.