I’ve been in London for 5 days and I have discovered I have this uncanny knack for seeking out the rudest people in this bloody city. Perhaps it is my stupid need to talk to random people I come across, who knows; all I know is that today I cracked the shits!
It started Friday night – well very early Saturday morning really – on the night bus back to my friends house in Kent after drinks with her work buddies in the city. Lisa and I were being our usual selves, laughing and talking to the people around us, trying to rouse the man asleep behind us so that he didn’t miss his stop, chatting with the music director (ha!) sitting in front of us who was awfully polite until he offered us his spare weed. Then we encountered the rude fella sitting beside our friendly stoner. When Lisa said hello and asked how his night was he ignored us, when the friendly stoner tried to get him talking he ignored us too. Then when he stands up to leave he turns to us and calmly told us that he doesn’t like Australians because they are uneducated. Well – did that get my goat up or what? Of course being a teacher of education and all I found it terribly offensive being called uneducated, and coupled with the fact that it was closer to sunrise than it was to sunset and we had yet to make it home to bed, I was down right peeved! So I did what any self respecting, educated person would do and gave him the what for! Anyway, I got over that by about 8pm the following night – ha.
Today however, was a different story. I left the comfort of my friends home in Kent yesterday and made my way to a hotel in the city before I depart on a tour of Europe tomorrow. So after going on a hunt last night for a Pizza express and then getting incredibly lost, I was a little bit wary today about being let loose on this city. I went in serve of a coffee shop at lunch for a sandwich, found myself a nice one and entered. To start with the two men who were serving were reluctant to acknowledge the fact I was standing there, then when I ordered they didn’t ask whether I wanted to eat in or takeaway, they just assumed and put my sanga in a bag and my coffee in a paper cup. They were too busy talking to each other to notice I tried to get their attention so I just walked outside and sat myself down at one of their tables in the sunshine. Just as I bit into my not so tasty sandwich, the little waitress comes out and politely tells me that seeing as I asked for a take-away I cannot sit at their table. I politely countered that I was never actually asked whether it was takeaway or otherwise and I really wanted to sit there. She didn’t seem to mind but said she had to talk to the boss, who then inturn came out and refused to have it that when he served me I never allocated takeaway or eat in and that I had to pay £2 to sit at teh table. I very politely told him that his sandwich was shit anyway and it wasn’t worth the hassle and slowly packed up my stuff. That put me in a bad mood to start with.
After I finished my shitty lunch on the steps of the museum, I went inside to have a wander. Now let’s not gloss over the fact that the British Museum is well worth a visit. If not for the artefacts that it contains, but even for the imposing building itself. I managed to spend a good 3 hours wandering around. However, in order to wander and not get lost inside this massive building I quickly realised that I needed a map. Over I head to the information desk where teh two men let me stand there for a good few minutes while they continued their conversation. One eventually looked at me like I had completely ruined their day by interrupting their terrible important conversation, and I took the opportunity to request a map. Without even pausing in his chatter, he said down there and gestured to the hoards of pamphlets sitting inbetween us. So i picked up one that he had roughly gestured to and the other wanker says with more sarcasm than I though was possible, ‘No the one that says map on it’. I just smiled weakly but had half a mind to scream at him that there was no need to be so rude. Then after I walked off I thought I should have gone back at asked for a complaint form and filled it out in front of them!
Tonight it my last night in London for a while and I really hope that some Londoners will come my way to redeem my shitty opinion of Londoners at the moment! Here’s hoping!
