The
UK
[Reading]
[Food]
[Escape!]
[London]
[Quaint villages]
[Nightmare!]
After
doing
comp-sci
hons,
I
lived
in
the
UK
for
2
years,
basically
1991-1992,
in
Reading,
(pronounced
Redding)
in
Berkshire
(pronounced
Bark-sheer)
about
30
miles
west
of
London
(one
of
the
few
places
in
the
UK
pronounced
as
it
is
written).
Here
is
a
picture
of
the
Reading
High
Street
(main
street)
during
what
was
ostensibly
Christmas
of
1991,
but
which
I
suspect
was
secretly
the
last
relics
of
an
ancient
pagan
turnip
festival.
This
fits
my
many
observations
that
Reading
is
extremely
boring.
Postscript:
Reliable
sources
indicate
that
Reading
is
not
boring.
I
stated
otherwise
because
I
couldn't
discover
late-night
activities
which
didn't
involve
drinking
alcohol
and/or
dancing
in
a
smoke-filled
environment
with
annoying
music.
The
cinema
I
frequented
completely
closed
at
10:30pm,
even
on
weekends,
as
if
the
patrons
had
to
get
home
before
their
bed-time.
One
Friday
night
a
friend
and
I
drove
around
for
about
45
minutes
trying
to
find
a
coffee
shop
that
was
still
open
after
9pm.
The
sad,
inevitable
conclusion
is
that
it's
me
who
is
boring!
I
would
sometimes
shop
at
Sainsbury's
in
Reading.
While
I
was
there,
I
was
sometimes
sent
to
the
USA
and
once
to
Japan
as
part
of
my
work.
Of
course,
neither
of
these
countries
can
compete
with
British
technology.
I
also
made
it
to
the
Netherlands
and
Germany
on
my
bicycle
during
the
single
2-week
holiday
I
took
(I'm
not
a
good
tourist).
One
of
the
more
unusual
items
I
came
across
in
that
country
was
a
pair
of
Tom
Baker
underpants
at
a
Dr
Who
exhibition
at
the
Museum
of
the
Moving
Image
(MOMI)
in
London.
One
of
the
Daleks
at
the
exhibition
was
a
bit
worse
for
wear.
London
is
a
hive
of
hi-tech
industries
-
for
example,
the
Tyrell
Corporation
in
Great
Chappel
Street.
![[signpost for Crazies Hill and Cockpole Green]](/image/uk/signpost.jpg)
England
is
full
of
tiny
villages
with
quaint
place-names.
While
I
was
in
the
UK,
my
workplace
moved
from
Reading
to
Theale,
a
village
to
the
west
of
Reading.
The
only
place
to
get
food
late
at
night
is
the
Chinese
takeaway,
which
(in
a
typically
British
abomina...
err..
way)
gives
you
the
option
of
having
chips
(=
US
fries)
instead
of
rice
on
most
dishes.
At
least
they
didn't
do
Spam
.
English
plumbing
can
be
frightening.
The
first
flat
I
lived
in
had
no
shower.
You
could
hook
up
one
of
those
tube-and-shower-head
things
to
the
taps,
but
when
you
raised
it
to
head-height
there
wasn't
enough
water
pressure
for
the
water
to
flow.
I
had
a
go
at
improvising
a
shower
with
bucket,
a
coat-hanger
and
a
disused
vegetable
trolley.
It
worked
much
better.
