England: Get drunk Janice Horsnell p th & © xa rj = rt rt ope 2 = O a O c © Buried garbage in Scotland comprised mostly of glass and metal, leaving interesting layering. by Sean Clancy Sometimes I find that I become very disillusioned with my faith in humanity, and mankind in general. After all, how long can we abuse the earth before, like a dog with fleas, she shakes us off. "Oh no!" I can hear you all saying as you think that you are delving into another article on how we should all use granola toilet paper and eat hemp. No, I’m not saying that. After all, I think that we are too far down the road to annihilation to turn around. I just wish that more people were aware of that fact. The first reaction, (mine anyways), was that I alone can’t do anything; and I know from some previous experiences that I can be a fairly uncompassionate human being at times — don’t even get me started on capital punishment - but I am slowly realizing that a shift in consciousness is at least a start. This doesn’t sound much like an article on "My Summer Vacation in England", but those were my reactions after returning to Canada after living and travelling in the U.K. for almost 4 months over this past summer. Before leaving I expected England to be similar to Canada, just flatter and more expensive, as I had been warned. I had a large house to live in for free, and a car to use. I was situated just north of Watford, 30 minutes from central London by train, and planned to finance my stay and further travels by working (legally) in a pub or some other establishment. First impressions say a lot about what direction a relationship will take, and this one was no different. Upon arrival at Gatwick I noticed that it smelled a lot like diesel, and that the carpet was curling and dirty, and that there was a funk in the air you could almost taste. I should have taken advantage of the fact that I was so close to an airport and left. I lived in a town that was enlarged significantly after the second World War to house returning servicemen. It was laid out similar to a large strip mall divided by the main road. This facilitated the ease of what seemed to be one of the favourite pastimes of the British - shopping. I found it to be a consumer-oriented country, possibly for the lack of any virgin landscape to explore, almost everything has been farmed. The only body of water outdoors which was deep enough and big enough to go swimming in was the canal, and only God knows what lives in the murk, and he isn’t talking. The British are infatuated with cars. They even have the right of way AHEAD of pedestrians and bicycles. Step out into the street and get mutilated by a Jaguar and the driver can sue you for ruining the paintjob of his 155 "Step out into the street and get mutilated by a Jaguar and the driver can sue you for ruining the paintjob of his 155 MPH supercar" MPH supercar that can smoke its tires into third. If only it could just get some space on any of the so called motorways that pass as nice parking lots. A car is a status symbol. An upper exec’s car will have more living space than the apart- ment of the guy working in the mailroom. Not to mention heat, and he won’t have to share it with 3 other guys, (but at any given time two of them will be at the pub anyway). There are magazine articles on which car you should choose as your next company car; the higher up in the com- pany, the better the car. Again there is a further removal from all that is natural when you are sitting in a jam up on the M25 smelling the fumes of the many more diesels, and the far less regulated than North American cars’ exhaust gasses. Not to mention that you still buy leaded gasoline there, albeit at the princely sum (this IS England after all) of $1.80 a liter. Is there time to get out after the shops close? No, it’s time for the pub! It’s time to smoke and drink (a lot). As I’m sure that many of you have, I worked in a pub where the hours are long, the pay is awful, and there seems to be no respect for the rights of the worker. Somehow. the idea that happy employees work better never seems to have occurred to the owners of businesses that employ unprofessional labour. It was only the current Labour government that introduced a minimum wage of just over three pounds. (And remember that things cost the same in pounds as in dollars here, sometimes more.) I felt like the old geezer working behind the bar serving eighteen and nineteen year olds in suits and ties on their breaks from their own under- paid, unappreciated jobs. There seems to be a big push to further yourself in the business world, and that success is measured in pounds sterling. "My biased opinion of a cultural phenomenon’ Janice Horsnell Probably the least disturbed flora we encoun- tered in England, right in downtown Liverpool. The only time that I felt I had enough time to stretch and breath was when I went north of Liverpool into the Lake district. It was incredible to climb a mountain that was worn smooth by so many countless feet and hands. The further north one got the more rugged the landscape got, and the further apart the pockets of population, until by the time you get north of Loch Ness, you begin to think that Britain might not be so bad after all, and then you return. Both myself and my travelling companion, Janice "Kwik-E- Mart", noticed that when she was wearing shorts, people looked at her legs. Now, admittedly, she does have great legs, but when we hashed over this fact with the lady we lived with she thought that it might be more the fact that women in Britain don’t wear shorts, and old habits die hard. Did I mention anything about recycling in Britain? Probably not, because there is very little practiced, which is henous in a country that has no empty space to dispose of waste; and poor air quality that is not aided by the burning of recyclable goods. I always felt a pang of disgust at the end of the night when it came time to dump the empty bottles leftover from the bar into the garbage. Somewhere there exists a strength that managed to make this little island the most powerful empire in the world. And in London itself, there is such a vibrant art scene that is funded, in part, by a national lotto fund that invests money into films, the visual arts, and music. The last two of which, until I left Canada, didn’t realize had such far reaching effects. The phenomenon known as the Y.B.A. (Young British Artist) has been the defining force in the visual arts world for the past 15 years. And the British pret- ty much pioneered techno music and introduced us to the likes of the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Fat Boy Slim, and so on. Amen! I am not saying that Britain is socially bankrupt, and some aspects I did enjoy about Britain, but I continued to have this overwhelming feeling of inhabiting a spiritual void. Maybe the apathy that hangs in the air like London Fog is responsible for this resurgence of artists reflecting on their surroundings. But for the average guy or gal, there seems to be a lot of pressure to fit in and compete with the Joneses. influx * Magazine October 1999 = 11 England: it and you will like Buried garbage in Scotland comprised mostly of, glass and metal, leaving'interesting layering. Get drunk My biased opinion of a cultural phenomenon’ by Sean Clancy ‘Sometimes I find that I become very disillusioned with my faith in humanity, and mankind in general, After all, hw long can we abuse the earth before, like a dog with fleas, she shakes us off. "Oh nol" I can hear you all saying as you think that you are delving into another article on hhow we should all use granola toilet paper and eat hemp, No, I'm not saying that. Afterall, I think that we are 100 far down the road to annihilation to turn around. I just wish that more people were aware ofthat fact. The first reaction, (mine anyways), was that [alone can’t do anything; and I ‘know from some previous experiences that Ican be a fairly ‘uncompassionate human being at times ~ don’ even get me started on capital punishment - but I am slowly realizing that a shift in consciousness is at least a start, “This doesn’t sound much like an article on “My ‘Summer Vacation in England”, but those were my reactions after returning to Canada after living and travelling in the UK. for almost 4 months over this past summer. Before leaving I expected England to be similar to Canada, just flatter and more expensive, as T had been ‘warned. I had a large house to live infor free, and a car to use. I was situated just north of Watford, 30 minutes from ‘central London by train, and planned to finance my stay and further travels by working (legally) in a pub or some other establishment. First impressions say a lot about what direction a relationship will take, and this one was no different. Upon arrival at Gatwick I noticed that it smelled a lot ike diesel, and that the carpet was curling and dirty, and that there was 8 funk in the air you could almost taste. I should have taken advantage ofthe fact that I was so close to an airport and left lived ina town that was enlarged significantly after the second World War to house returning servicemen. Tt was laid out similar to a large strip mall divided by the main road. This facilitated the ease of what seemed to be one of the favourite pastimes of the British - shopping. I found it to be a consumer-oriented country, possibly forthe lack of any virgin landscape to explore, almost everything has been farmed, The only body of water outdoors which was de enough and big enough to go swimming in was the canal, and only God knows what lives in the murk, and he isn't talking “The British are infatuated with cars. They even hhave the right of way AHEAD of pedestrians and bicycles, ‘Step out into the street and get mutilated by a Jaguar and the driver can sue you for ruining the paintjob of his 155 "Step out into the street and get mutilated by a Jaguar and the driver can sue you for ruining the paintjob of his 155 MPH supercar" [MPH supercar that can smoke is tires into third. Ironly i could just get some space on any ofthe socalled motorways that pass as nice parking lots. A car isa status symbol. An ‘upper exec’s car will have more living space than the apart ‘ment of the guy working in the mailroom. Not to mention hea, and fe won't have to share it with 3 other guys, (but at any given time two of them will be at the pub anyway) There are magazine articles on which car you should choose as your next company car; the higher up inthe com= pany, the better the car. Again there is a further removal from all that is natural when you ae sitting in a jam up on the M25 smelling the Fumes of the many more diesels, and the far less regulated than North American cars’ exhaust gasses, Not to mention that you still buy leaded gasoline there, albeit atthe princely sum (this IS England afterall) fof $1.80 a liter Ts there time to get out after the shops close? No, it's time forthe publ! I’ time to smoke and drink (a lot). AS Pm sure that many of you have, I worked ina pub where the hhours are long; the pay is awful, and there seems to be no respect for the rights of the worker. Somchow the idea that happy employees work better never seems to have occurred to the owners of businesses that employ unprofessional labour, It was only the current Labour government that introduced a minimum wage of just over three pounds. (And remember that things cost the same in pounds as in dollars here, sometimes more.) I felt like the old geezer ‘working behind the bar serving eighteen and nineteen year olds in suits and ties on their breaks from their own under- paid, unappreciated jobs, There seems to be a big push t0 further yourself in the business world, and that success is ‘measured in pounds sterling ‘Probably the least disturbed flora we encoun- tered in England, right in downtown Liverpool. The only time that I felt I had enough time to stretch and breath was when T went north of Liverpool into the Lake district It was ineredible to climb a mountain that was worn smooth by so many’ countless feet and hands. The further north one got the more rugged the landscape got, and the further apart the pockets of population, until by the time you get north of Loch Ness, you begin to think that Britain might not be so bad afterall, and then you return. Both myself and my travelling companion, Janice "Kwik-E- ‘Mart’, noticed that when she was wearing shorts, people looked at her legs. Now, admittedly, she does have great legs, but when we hashed over this fact with the lady we lived with she thought that it might be more the fact that women in Britain don't wear shorts, and old habits die hard. Did I mention anything about recycling in Britain? Probably not, because thee is very litle practiced, which is hhenous in a country that has no empty space to dispose of waste, and poor air quality that is not aided by the burning ‘of recyclable goods always felt a pang of disgust atthe end ‘of the night when it came time to dump the empty bottles leftover from the bar into the garbage. ‘Somewhere there exists strength that managed to make this litle island the most powerful empire in the world, And in London itself, there is such a vibrant art scene that is funded, in part, by a national lotto fund that invests money into films the visual art, and music, The last to of which, until I left Canada, didn't realize had such far reaching effects. The phenomenon known as the Y.B.A. (Young British Arist) has been the defining force in the visual arts world for the past 15 years. And the British pret- ty much pioneered techno music and introduced us t0 the likes of the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Fat Boy Slim, and so on, Amen! 1 am not saying that Britain is socially bankrupt, and some aspects I did enjoy about Britain, but I continued to have this overwhelming feeling of inhabiting a spiritual void ‘Maybe the apathy that hangs in the air like London Fog is responsible for this resurgence of artists reflecting on their surroundings. But for the average guy or gal there seems to bea lot of pressure to fit in and compete with the Joneses. influx* Magazine _ October 1999. II