Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Complicated

This country is way too complicated. Here are 3 reasons why...

1. One of my students told me that she goes to Birmingham by coach because train is too expensive. I asked how much she pays and it is twice as much as I pay to go by train! I know how to get to Birmingham cheaply because I do it regularly and did a lot of research on the internet. I would have to do more if I wanted to go anywhere else cheaply. This annoys me because the people who can't access information easily are the ones who can least afford to pay extortionate prices!

2. The tax system here drives me mental. Why do I need other other reference numbers in addition to my National Insurance number? Why do I need to pay for the NHS and BBC separately? And why, when I did two jobs, was one administered through a tax office in Bradford and another through Middlesborough? And why didn't these offices communicate with each other? After a stuff up last year, I now have to make regular payments on account, on top of the tax paid directly from my salary.

3. The final reason was what sparked this whole rant off. I took a trip to my local pool and discovered that some lanes are signposted for anti-clockwise swimming and others for clockwise! I have never heard of anti-clockwise swimming lanes. And when I told that to the lady I crashed into (though it was hardly her fault) she goes 'It's always been like that'.

And that is why.

8 comments:

j a s o n said...

Hey, I am supposed to be the negative one!

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. I thought you just swim up and down lanes. How do you swim in a lane in a circular motion?

Iqbal Khaldun said...

Haha that all sounds so thoroughly English!!

Joe said...

Jason, a few days in HK made me realised how far my expectations have slipped.

KO, you obviously haven't been in a public pool since that P.E. trip in year 8! You go up one side of the lane and down the other, thus not crashing into people coming the other way.

IK, are you referring to the complications or my complaining? Because whinging about England is actually a very English thing to do. I'm like so assimilated.

Joe said...

A revelation. Now I really have become English, blaming health and safety for everything that is wrong with this country...

Lane Directions

It is recommended by the governing body that swimmers in adjacent lanes should be directed to swim in opposite circular direction. For example, lane 1 swimming clockwise and lane 2 swimming anticlockwise. This helps to alleviate the risk of limb collision as people will be swimming in the same direction on adjacent sides of the lane rope.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I went to the public pool in Germany a lot, but I hung out in the fun pool with the slide, floating crocodiles and massage jets. I would drown if I tried to swim down a 50m lane! (Btw, it was in year 7 and I was put into the retard group.)

Iqbal Khaldun said...

Probably both, but more the England bit.

j a s o n said...

As a Passport carrying Britisher Joe, you are entitled to moan about England...Us other colonials are not supposed to...

Yes, expectations must further drop when I return to the Lucky Country. I am too used to the efficiency, value and convenience here. Though it just took me 1 hr to get home from Sheung Wan...not too fun.

I had nepalese curry for dinner at the Queen Street Cooked Food Market opposite Queens Terrace. I asked for rice roti and the owner said he doesn't make it as not many Nepalese eat at his restaurant...I should have gone to Jordan.