2007 - What sucked, what rocked...

We saw an article in Wired magazine the other day, simply entitled "Why Things Suck". Although it sounded very negative, it was actually really entertaining - just a list of things that we as humans are still struggling to get absolutely right - examples: batteries, customer service, and junk mail. To draw our catch-up of 2007 to a close, we thought we might do the same.

Things That Sucked:

• Air travel. Especially "discount" air travel: Massive queues. Luggage surcharges. 100ml liquid limits and resealable plastic bags. Hypersensitive metal detectors. Delays. Last-minute gate changes. Unreserved seating. Full overhead lockers. The list goes on...
• UK supermarket self-packing. In the UK, you pack your own bags at the supermarket checkout. If this doesn't seem like such a hardship, you should try it. The plastic bags are in a clump at the bottom of a ramp. Your purchases start tumbling down the ramp and into each other while you struggle to get a bag detached and open. (A skill both of us seem unable to get the hang of). You then have a mad panic, stuffing everything you can into the bag you finally got open, only to be asked by the cashier for some money. It's dumb, it's double-handling (why can't the cashier put things in bags instead of at the top of the ramp?) and it's stressful. On the plus side, it encourages you to bring your own, easy-to-open bags from home - which is good for the environment.
• Floods. Or more specifically, the UK's apparent inability to deal with heavy rainfall. It seems like as soon as there has been precipitation for more than 24 hours, somewhere in the British Isles is under 10 feet of water, cars are floating down the streets, all train travel to or from the area is suspended, and people have fallen trees in their lounge rooms.
• Smoking in Europe. Or "A nice continent, spoiled". Is there anything worse than getting a face full of somebody's Euro-stinky second-hand smoke? It always seems to happen when you're about to tuck into something Euro-tasty too.
  
• Traffic. UK roads are very, very busy. All the time. The motorways, which criss-cross the country, all seem to be close to capacity. As a result, when there's an accident on a motorway, it grinds to a standstill and you can be stuck behind it for hours. Even if you're not on the afflicted road, if you're anywhere near you'll feel the effect as tens of thousands of cars take to the smaller roads to get around the obstruction.
• Commuting by Car. Related to a couple of the previous points! Commuting by car puts you at the whim of the traffic, makes you a part of the problem, and exposes you to the delights of flood-closed roads - where there is just no way to get to your destination, by any road. But more than that, commuting by car effectively puts a dampener on any after-work social engagement that might involve a drink or two. Boo!

But on the plus side:

Things That Rocked:

• First Class Mail. From anywhere to anywhere else in the country, overnight, every night. Magic. Especially good when you get your rental DVDs by mail - send yours back and the next batch is at your house two days later. Mail even comes on a Saturday!
  
• UK Music. It's poppy, bouncy, unashamedly catchy and you can't get away from it if you try. Luckily, we love it. If you want to hear what we're taking about, seek out Mika, The Feeling, Amy Winehouse, The Kooks and The Fratellis.
  
• Pubs. Sleepy, cosy country pubs; Bold, trendy London pubs; or top-quality Gastropubs, it doesn't seem to matter. England is all about The Pub and happily, they deliver. Best of all, they're now smoke-free! If you haven't experienced a local ale or cider pumped by the arm of the publican (not compressed air) into your pint glass, you simply haven't lived.
• The Countryside. Once you escape the motorways, the English countryside is simply beautiful to behold. Rolling green hills, stone cottages and walls, patchworks of fields and hedgerows, multicoloured forests and birds of prey hovering motionless overhead, seemingly for your benefit. Carpets of daffodils (Bec made me write that!), lambs with black faces gambolling around in spring (that too!). Simply gorgeous.
  
• English Accents. Imagine if a Sydneysider could be distinguished from a Melbournian just by their accent. But then multiply that by ten. Imagine being able to hear a difference between Geelong and Ballarat residents. That's how much English accents change as you move small distances around the country. It's amazing and incredibly entertaining. Get a group of English people around a table and you'll almost certainly get a fantastic range of accents - yet they can all understand one another. Mostly :-)
• Europe On Our Doorstep. Despite being wreathed in cigarette smoke and usually being on the end of a hellish discount flight, Europe still rules. More than forty countries, each with their own distinct culture and attractions, wedged into an area slightly smaller than a postage-stamp, and all accessible within just a few hours. We never seem to tire of it.