Because the flight didn't get into until 21:30, I had to stay in a hotel in Bradford. On the flight I worried that I wouldn't make closing time at 23:00 (this is still an English disease even with relaxed opening times). My hotel was actually a room in a pub, so I managed a couple of pints before bed. As I sat at the bar I heard a two men and a woman talk pub talk about various boozers in Birmingham and their life in general. Their conversation was slow, slurred and boring, and I thought I remember why I don't spend much time in pubs.
So what has changed in the UK, while I have been away. I noticed that people crossed the road even if the red man was showing on the on the pedestrian sign. "Fucking Auslanders", I thought. In Germany I always wait for the greenman to show, partly so that I don't stick out, but mostly because I am usually out of breath.
Another new custom I noticed was that if you stay at someones house it is considered rude to say "there are 10 episodes" of the new Dr Who series on the Iplayer. I am now going to watch them all. Then we can decide what to do after that". Who makes these rules?