A Year In Britain
It has been more than a year since I returned to India from Britain. I sometimes reminisce my time over there. I wanted to pen down my memories. More than a year later I have found the time and the will:-)
The first international visit
I had never been in an airplane. I had also never traveled to other states within India. I was not much of a traveler until 2016. In fact the prospect of travelling made me nervous.
Naturally when I got the opportunity to travel to England, it was a big ordeal for me. My employer required me to travel to London for a few months for a project. I was anxious and happy, but also uncertain of living in another country. I traveled from Pune to London via Abu Dhabi. I remember being in an Air India plane to Abu Dhabi. From Abu Dhabi, I was in Etihad Airways to London. My second visit to London was via Istanbul.
Life in London
London was a delight to live in. I used to live in Newbury Park, a small suburb in East London. I lived as a paying guest with a nice Gujarati family.
My daily routine was established. I would commute to work everyday by the tube. The thought of travelling by trains during the rush hours conjured the unpleasant memories I had in Mumbai local trains. Fortunately, my worries were unfounded. The London tube was very intuitive. In my opinion, anyone who is fluent in English, can follow the directions, would understand the underground system in two days. The oyster card was provided for daily commute. It is a prepaid card which one can recharge and swipe at train station entrance. The same card can also be used for commuting in the buses around the city. Within a week, I was comfortable travelling anywhere in London. In fact, I became a fan of the London underground. In the initial days — I would deliberately take longer routes — for experiencing all the different train lines. The appeal of the underground was that I would always reach the office in fixed duration (30 or 40 minutes at-most) and I never had to worry about the traffic-jams. Even during the peak hours, the trains would never be as crowded as they are in Mumbai and the English people were always disciplined even in the rush hours. The tube trains are truly the veins of London.
I would reach the office at about 10 am. During the lunch hours, I would get something to eat from Pret’s or Itsu. Sometimes I would take my lunch from an Indian food eatery. I would just rotate the menu over the week. The place where I would have the lunch would depend on the situation. When I was too busy, I would just have it at the desk. At other times, I would have it with the clients. When I would be alone, I would sit at the footsteps near a church in Victoria station or even at the Liverpool street station. Sometimes, I would not need to buy the lunch in case the client bought it for me already. The client (the people for whom we were building the software) always liked to see that I had lunch and sometimes shared their tiffin with me.
Much of my time was spent in the offices in Liverpool street and Victoria. I would then leave by a train towards Stratford/NewBury Park.
Canary Wharf is another memorable suburb of London. I worked from there for a few days. Canary Wharf is a prime location in London, with all the major financial organizations and banks over there. The location looks like a futuristic city shown in Hollywood movies. It has the Thames river-side, tall skyscrapers and a bridge over the Thames river — through which the DLR (Dockland light railway) travels.
The routine during the weekends was different. I would get-up late (provided it was a non-working weekend..). Then I would have brunch at an English restaurant nearby. I had developed a liking for the “Full English breakfast”. Every Saturday, I would have the full English breakfast along with tea and sometimes apple pie with custard. On Fridays and a few Saturdays, I would have “Fish and Chips” or “chicken pie”.
Then I would visit a place which always made me happier, a place I will always miss. It was a park — called the Valentines Park. This park was many things to me. I went to it to get fresh air, to exercise, to rest, to sunbathe, to read something on my kindle app laying under a tree or in the warm sun, to watch the ducks near the ponds. The park had some good ponds and two huge playgrounds. I would first take some rest under my favorite trees, lie down. Then as the evening drew closer, I would start exercising. I would run, do some exercise using the open-gym equipment. This park had lot of ducks as is common in England. When I first encountered the ducks, I was taking my phone out of my pocket to take a snap. The ducks had all come near me and surrounded me. I did not understand why all ducks were coming near me and was slightly afraid. Then I realized — the ducks were thinking I was taking something out to feed them :-)
In the later days, I realized I never fed the ducks — so in last few days of my stay I fed them.
Weather in England
The usual London weather is cloudy and rainy. Brits call it the “sodden sky”. Indians will describe it as gloomy and dull. I have however always felt fine with the absence of the sun even in India. But, the year I visited London (2017–2018) was a year of extremes. It snowed three times in the entire year which is unusual even for England. There was a snowfall which started on 27 Dec 2017 (Christmas snow!) and lasted for around a week. It was the first time in my life I experienced snowfall. It was a nice experience. The snow evoked a feeling of heavenly beauty, a serene calm, silence and ironically of sadness. I walked in the snow for about 15 minutes, grabbed some in my hand and felt it. The temperature during that week dropped to about -15 Celsius. The Brits gave it the name “Beast from the East” — as the snowy winds came from Siberia/Russia.
It snowed once again around 26th Feb to 1st March 2018. And then it snowed again around 18th March 2018.
I generally like cold weather and England gave me ample cold to enjoy ( temperature in range of 10 Celsius to 25 Celsius feels nice) The feeling of staying in bed wrapped in a duvet when it’s very cold is one of the best. Winters are also the time when I get very good sleep.
The cold weather of England was extreme to me during the snow time. It made me realize how hard it must be for the soldiers who fought in snow — during the world war, also the Indian soldiers who fight in mountainous and snowy regions of Kashmir.
England generally has mild summers — with summer temperatures rarely going above 30 Celsius. It makes for excellent cricketing conditions and what we would call as “pleasant” weather. But 2017–2018 was extreme and it reflected in the English summers too. The temperature in many places in South of England reached 35 Celsius and remained constant for a week. This is quite an unusually high temperature for England. The Brits would say “We could bake potatoes in this temperature” or “We are getting oven baked in the tube.” Even I started getting uncomfortable as I had grown accustomed to the cold over the entire year.
The London Theater
London has a very good theater industry and culture. The Broadway and the West End come up with many musicals and dramas. These musicals and dramas are excellent in all aspects. These theater shows are unique to London and are not showcased anywhere else in the world. It is like the “Marathi Natya” industry in Maharashtra. Many British actors/international actors consider it a stepping stone in their acting career to act in a theater. I wish I had time to watch more musicals. I managed to watch five musicals/dramas in different genres. I watched the following musicals and dramas in the London theater:
- The 42nd Street — at Theater Royal, Drury Lane
- Manon — at the Royal Opera House
- Wicked — at the Apollo Victoria Theater
- The Phantom of the Opera — at Her Majesty’s Theater
- Les Misérables — at Queen’s Theater
Of these, I liked the musical “The 42nd street” the most and it remains my favorite.
I also watched the movie “Star Trek Beyond” at the Royal Albert Hall. It was quite an experience. The movie was shown on a big screen, the music production and choreography was performed by the artists in real time as the movie played. If I get an opportunity to visit London again, I will watch a good musical again.
Historical places in England
England has a well documented history. It’s museums, castles and universities reflect it. Much of it’s historical documentation is digitized as well. Be it Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor Castle, Dover castle or Tower of London, each showcases the history of England.
Royal Parks in England
England has lot of parks. But some parks have royal patronage. Kew gardens, Richmond park, Hyde Park, Greenwich are some of the parks which have royal patronage.
The English people
I had few experiences interacting with the English people, in and around London. My general impression is: they are very disciplined and patient. The English have a trait of always forming queues in public. If there is no queue, someone forms it. It is implicit that one should not jump a queue. Even in the crowded tube they maintain the discipline. If someone dares jump the queue (mostly foreigners) they will avoid scolding but will give you a look which will make you feel terrible. On rare occasions you may get a polite complaint of jumping the queue (which happened to me once when I rushed ahead unintentionally). The English have a high tolerance of things that they do not like, but its best not to cross that tolerance limit. The English also like their constitutional monarch.
The English usually have a serious disposition. They do not initiate conversations with strangers or even to people they don’t know much about. Unless you are their close friend , expect to be ignored. This applies to the typical English man. But people from Wales, Scotland are generally cheerful. I remember a lady from Wales in our office. Her demeanor was not like the British, she was more like an American. She would sometimes bring cakes/pastries and make jokes with her colleagues.
Londoners in general are more global and open to small talk. Never in London, I felt that I received a different treatment because of my nationality. Perhaps it’s because London is a cosmopolitan city. You can easily get help related to public transport or finding directions if you are lost.
The English respect talent and hard-work. Once they get to know you, they are not shy of praising you when it’s appropriate. Talent and hard-work command respect. However when things go wrong, they will point it immediately and will be quick to escalate. They will not shout at you or show their anger (not at all an English trait). But they will make you feel bad and will indirectly pressurize you.
The English are also very resourceful and business minded. They know how to run a large enterprise, plan something or discuss something in great detail in meetings. They have a systematic way of doing things and planning them in advance. They usually take much time to come to some decision after mulling over them in multiple meetings. But when they do arrive at a conclusion, it is generally the best/most thoughtful conclusion. Perhaps that is why England has large successful banks and financial institutions. They are also open to innovations/experimentation provided it benefits an enterprise or makes it profit worthy. It also reflects in the infrastructure they have built.
The English have found a way to maintain very old historical buildings along side modern skyscrapers. It does not feel odd, it feels like a perfect blending of old architecture with the modern architecture.
To earn the respect of the English in a corporate environment, you have to be systematic, detailed, use the right vocabulary, prove your technical talent and also work hard.
Conclusion
The one year stay in England gave me a new experience, an experience of a different culture. It was not just superficial observations like the accent difference between the Scottish and British accent. It was more than that.
Before visiting England, I had a perception of that country. On one hand I knew the things England was known for — Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Shakespeare, Downton Abbey, the London bridge, Newton, it being the cradle of scientific revolution. On the other hand I also knew about its imperialistic days — the days of the British Empire. The history of India recalls the British rule which was not good. So, I always had mixed impression of England. And hence I felt odd when visiting England.
However, living there for a year taught me the English way of life, the good qualities of their culture. Much of England has changed for sure, its more materialistic, and profit-making is the top priority these days, and not everything is rosy. However, there still exist the old gentlemen like people. I aim to imbibe these good English qualities and mannerisms.
