Some Jet-Lag-Induced Thoughts on Common Myths about England

MYTH #1 - BRITS ARE MORE POLITE THAN YANKSI guess this might be attributable to the persistent popularity of Monty Python who often riffed on the absurdities of polite society. Nevertheless, it is a myth. Brits--Londoners in particular--are more likely to tell you exactly what they think without any hint of euphemism than any other people on the planet. Sure, they say please and thank you more often. But the also say piss off and throw the C-word around like there's no tomorrow. What's more, unlike Americans, they only smile when they're happy. I never noticed this tendency to grin like a maniac until I moved to London. I found myself in a London bar chatting with rather blank-faced people and struggling to maintain a permanent rictus. Why did I do this? Because I'm an American and Americans smile all the time. Strange, isn't it?MYTH #2 - THE FOOD IN ENGLAND IS AWFULAt some point within the past ten years, all of England began no less than a food revolution. There is more locally grown, organic produce and meat available here than any where in the States. The food here (if you avoid pre-packaged Tesco's offerings) tastes like it came from the earth not like it was engineered in a factory. Even airport food in England is good. Compare the chicken Caesar salad from Au Bon Pain which I suffered through at Boston's Logan Airport recently to the prosciutto and mozzarella panini with baby green salad I had at Heathrow. The former tasted like plastic and rot, the latter like prosciutto and mozzarella panini with baby green salad.MYTH #3 - IT RAINS ALL THE TIME IN ENGLANDNo, dear readers, it doesn't rain all the time in England. It just looks like it's going to rain all the time. The skies only deliver on their gloomy promise about 50% of the time. Still, it ain't sunny.Well, I'm sure I'll discover more myths to explode as I uncover the mysteries of this wonderful country. But, as I indicated above, this is a jet-lagged induced entry, so I'd better stop there lest the whole thing take a left turn into the weird foggy dementia that plagues me until I get some sleep.