An American Worker in London
Friday, November 21, 2003
Cheers
And I'm not talking about the bar in Boston, or the TV show named after the bar. I'm talking about the expression "cheers" which I hear all day, every day, from Londoners -- co-workers and total strangers alike.
"Cheers" is said, most commonly, as a farewell to someone on the telephone. It's usually the last thing heard on either end, and is akin to the expression "ciao" heard in southern Europe. So, naturally, I thought it was used as a goodbye, and that sounded normal to my ears.
Soon after arriving here, I started hearing "cheers" as a kind of "thank you", such as when you hold the door open for someone or help them in some other way. After your generous act, they will often say "cheers", whereas someone from the US will generally just say "thanks". For example, it is not uncommon for me to help someone with his computer and when I am finished and walking away, he will say "cheers" rather than "thanks".
And this finally answers a 10-year-old mystery regarding my former co-worker Matthias in Munich. We worked together frequently the entire 4 years I was with Siemens, and many times I would hear him saying what sounded like "chooze" to people as a sign-off on the phone, or when parting, or when saying "thanks" would be just as appropriate. I always thought it was a German word, since it had an especially hard "ch" sound. Now I understand what he was really saying -- "cheers" -- but just applying a Bavarian accent to the word. Mystery solved!
With all this talk about "cheers" it makes me wonder how Americans got into the habit of raising their glasses in a toast at a meal or in a bar, and saying "cheers". No one over here in London ever says that in a pub regarding a drink. They may say "salute" when raising a glass, but never "cheers". That would imply a farewell and would eliminate any opportunity to drink -- one of the great national pastimes in England.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Maps
When I first came here in late September, I didn't have much in the way of maps. The hotel provided a local map, which illustrated many of the streets and major underground stations, but it also focused to some degree on shopping areas, including large graphics for each sponsor department store or shopping district. This map only covered the Central London area, but it was a start.
By the second day of my first weekend, I had found a Borders Bookstore and had purchased several more A-Z maps, including one very nice one ($3.00) that fit into my shirt pocket and folded out to reveal street-level detail for Central London, where I intended to walk at my first opportunity. These maps, called "A to Zed", since that's the pronunciation for "Z", are the standard maps carried by all cabbies, although they carry a more thorough version. Knowing that A-Z maps were the basic standard bearer, and knowing that all maps available here used the Ordnance Survey data for their maps, I figured that nearly all of them would suffice and I would have enough detail for my hiking, city navigation, and possibly for my geocaching. That worked as long as I stayed in Central London.
As the weeks progressed, I found that I needed additional maps. I had been reading stories about hiking in the Cotswalds, but I didn't know where they were, so I went back to Borders to purchase a map ($6.00) that covered the British Isles on a large scale. Now I could see each island and learn where each future hiking area was, and somehow plan to get there by plane, train, or automobile when the time was right.
Now, for the first time, the Cheviot Hills just south of the Scottish border, were obvious and I could see a way to get to them on a Friday night for a weekend of hiking. Also visible were the famed Grampian Mountains in Scotland, where winter sports are enjoyed because of the snowpack. Perhaps I would wait until spring or summer to visit them, since I'm not particularly into snow sports. But I knew where they were!
With this map in inventory I felt as though I could venture somewhat outside the London metropolitan area on my next geocaching run, which would also include a trip to the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede. I did not have a map of Greater London, so off I went to Borders for another map ($7.00). This one provided incredible detail about the major cities of South East England, the Midlands, and East Anglia. I'm still not sure what those are, but I had enough information to plan a trip to Runnymede and find my way back.
However, once I reached the Runnymede area, I realized I didn't have a street-level detail map and I wandered through Windsor Great Park for such a long time that I racked up 10 miles before I returned to the train station in Egham. The only way I made it there was by asking locals and pub waitresses where the train station was. Other than that, I didn't know where I was in respect to my destination. (And as a pilot, that was a very unnerving prospect, since I was running out of fuel and my legs were starting to hurt.)
My next trip to Borders yielded an A to Zed Super Scale London Street Map ($7.00). I could unfold this monster on both sides and have incredible street-level detail for any location in Central London, where I was spending most of my time. Prominent buildings, public places, parks, government buildings, everything was displayed to scale, and I could use this very well for my weekend touring and geocaching activities.
It wasn't long before I realized that this map didn't go far enough toward the edges of metropolitan London. So I returned to Borders to purchase an A to Zed Motorists' London Atlas ($8.00), which provided highway detail for an area about 50 miles in each direction from Central London. I took this map on last weekend's trek to Highgate Hill and Hampstead Heath, and found that it was not possible to navigate from place to place unless I was driving a car. Smaller streets, where I walked, where not on the map at all. So I was back to asking locals for directions to the underground, confirming my progress every 10 minutes or so.
At work this week, I called the A-Z Map Company and asked if they had a software version of their maps, and they refered me to Memory Map. Those folks have a new software package coming out this week, so I should wait until it arrived in the stores. Until then, nothing would be available in any case. While it sounded good, I'm not so sure a PC-based mapping solution is that much help, since I won't be taking my PC in the field.
Tonight I returned to Borders for yet two more maps. The first was the taxi driver's Bible -- the Mini London A-z ($6.00). While this covers about the same area as my other Central London maps, it was in spiral bound book form and would fit in my jacket pocket. Most important, 3/4 of the book is indexes, so that any street name can be found by connecting it back to a map page and zone.
In addition, I picked up a large spiral bound London map ($20.00) which goes further into the countryside, covering most of metropolitan London. If I had used this map last weekend, I would have been able to tell exactly where I was, because it provides highly detailed street-level map information for every neighborhood and park within 20 miles from Central London. It covers every city or town within tube range, and many within overland rail range.
After spending all this money on maps, I still have to admit that some of my favorites are the free ones. The tube map is one of my regular standbys, and I carry one in my jacket at all times. I use it to plan my route over the course of a long day, to minimize time underground and maximize time above ground. Others have been the bus maps I ordered from the London Transport Authority, and they were free as well. These were the key to unlocking my understanding for the arcane and obscure bus mapping for the greater London area. I will have to discuss this further at another time, but the free transport maps were very helpful.
I also use the overland train maps to some degree. While I haven't planned many trips too far from London, these maps offer some degree of visibility in various directions, and will help me figure out a decent way to travel 2 or 3 hours in various directions. For example, the Southwest Trains (which I had taken a few weeks ago to Egham), go all the way to the south coast of England, from Brighton to Portsmouth to Isle of Wight to Weymouth.
And there are similar trains going to the east, west and north. This is going to be interesting.
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Hotels
One of the requirements for extended travel to client locations is staying in hotels near the client's office. For this project, I am currently at Jurys Inn, Islington, which is a northern suburb of Central London, and a 5 minute walk from the office.
Not counting my one-week trip home in October, I've been there 6 weeks and will be there another 3 weeks by the time I leave for Thanksgiving. The front desk service is outstanding, and everyone there knows me by name ("Mr. Perkins"), since I talk with them a lot.
I ask directions, or for their advice on traveling by bus, or tell them I have mail or packages coming in. I see them at least once a week when I remove cash from my safety deposit box. But recently I have been talking with the front desk staff more than I like.
Last Friday, I returned to the hotel from work to discover that I had no electricity in my room. It worked that morning when I left for the office, but now there was nothing. This hotel uses a special card sensor near the front door that actuates the room electricity when you insert the card. That way, lights and air conditioning are turned off during your absence. I first saw this design in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and now it showed up here in a small hotel in London. The idea is to save the hotel money, and it works great for them, I'm sure.
In this case, the sensor on the wall was not responding. The two little red lights that indicated it was working did not come on. Inserting the card did nothing. I knew it was trouble, and reported it to the front desk. I told them I'd be in the hotel pub enjoying a bowl of soup and a beer. And would they mind getting it fixed in the meantime?
Soon after, one of the hotel staff came over to inform me that it could not be repaired and I would have to change rooms. I pleaded for an alternative, knowing that it would not be available, but mostly to make the point that I wasn't happy with the "solution".
They issued me a new key to a room on another floor and 4 flashlights so I could collect my belongings in the darkened room. I packed up my things into suitcases and bags and moved them to the new room. The electricity worked there, but the air conditioning system did not work. I returned to the front desk and asked for a room with both electricity and air conditioning. Also, it had to be one of the larger rooms, since I would be there another 3 weeks and I didn't want to move again. (It takes about an hour to pack and then unpack everything from room to room.)
This time, the duty manager accompanied me to the next available room, where the facilities appeared to work. I thanked him, and moved my belongings to this room. Soon after, a bottle or red wine arrived with a note of apology from the duty mananger. A nice touch.
That night, the heater worked and the room temperature was just right. The next day, however, the heater did not work and all of my efforts to raise the room temperature were unsuccessful. This was Saturday, and the maid had opened the window, so that by the time I returned from my wanderings the room was cold and stayed that way all night. I piled more blankets on the bed and went to sleep. The front desk resolved to have it fixed.
I am writing this on Tuesday and I have asked each morning to have the heater fixed. Each morning they have promised to do so, and have written my request down on a log sheet. Each evening I have found that it has not been fixed, and the hotel staff has offered to let me move to another room.
I am using all three of the blankets now. Wool blankets -- 100% wool -- from Scotland. It's going to be a cold winter.
