With the exception of feeling hopelessly lost after several laps around the Huddersfield ring road I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of being in the UK. It’s been a roller coaster ride of seeing people then saying goodbye. Seeing places and then moving on. In between time spent productively I’ve been looking around me and wondering do I still fit in?
England is almost the same place I left behind 3.5 years ago. I say almost. There is no doubt it’s busier than ever and things are more expensive but in essence it is the same. The views across the fields are as English as they ever were. If anything they are more beautiful to me.
Or at least most of the views are. Just to the left of this view of the trees in the stubble field was this. Coventry’s answer to the NHS
In many respects these two photographs sum up my thoughts about the UK right now. One one hand it has stunning natural beauty, a deep sense of history and confidence about it’s place in the world. On the other it’s a monstrosity. A big, ugly, overwhelming place. A blot in it’s own landscape.
As the size of the population grows (it’s probably around 62 million right now) it’s understandable that it takes a great deal to serve this number of people. They need to be housed, educated, fed, employed and entertained.   I think it’s the sheer enormity of it all, the scale and scope that is mind boggling. New Zealand is such a tiddler in comparison.
Many people have asked me whether I think that New Zealand is a little like it’s reputation – stuck in the 1950s. It gives me great pleasure to say no it is not quite that out of date. New Zealand may be a little lagging in picking up the global trends but I’m now beginning to think that this is what makes New Zealand such an endearing place.
Right now I could do with a little less complexity and a slower pace. Just so I can catch my breath.
This means a bit of sightseeing to see the country showcase what it does best. I know that this means I’m going into a tourism bubble but that’s fine by me. After all that’s what I have now accepted that’s what I am, a tourist in my homeland. And it’s fun!
One one hand it has stunning natural beauty, a deep sense of history and confidence about it’s place in the world. On the other it’s a monstrosity. A big, ugly, overwhelming place. A blot in it’s own landscape.
I think that pretty much sums up the way I think of the UK 🙂
I love the UK, always have, and probably always will. The history and countryside is for me, just teh epitomy of home. But there are also so many things not to like: the busyness, the urban sprawl, the huge ugly buildings.
Im glad you are having such a good time. I do enjoy going back to the UK and being able to see it as a tourist – we got to see it without the hassle of having to go to work – and we could just take off and see what we wanted to see.