Embittered

I’ve got into a habit of writing these entries, forgetting about them and posting them up on the blog at almost the precise moment they lose relevancy. A bit like the UK government then. Maybe I should consider going in to politics, I’m lazy enough.

So, this is the entry where I pour great steaming heaps on disappointment on you all; I won’t be returning to Britain any time soon. I’ve decided that, because of my limited time here and the fact that when I return home Tony Blair is not going to let me (or anyone) leave those hallowed shores ever again, I should make the most of my time here. So, I’ll be heading off to China for 2 weeks, more specifically to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an (where all those terracotta solders are kept).

I know many will be thunderstruck by this news, and many others will simply not hear about it as this blog must now be reaching less people than Steve Irwin, but I’m afraid the rainy, scum ridden, expensive, US-pandering, freedom hating, racist streets of Britain were just edged out by the home of one of the most ancient civilisations on Earth and the many ridiculously cheap attractions contained therein. Sure it’s Communist, but after looking at today’s UK from a distance I’ve come to realise the Chinese could be a lot worse off.

You may have noticed from that last paragraph that I’ve become somewhat disenchanted with the country of my birth. Well, sort of. I really do recommend that everyone who reads this and who hasn’t done so already takes a few months off and lives in a country outside of Britain. Any country, it doesn’t matter. It changes your perception radically. While living in England, I knew that everything was more expensive here and that the government had long since stopped acting for the people. I knew that the British populace were often considered mean, rude and miserable by the international community (although I couldn’t see that at the time). But I thought of places in far off climes and said to myself…well, it could be worse.

Of course that all changed after about 2 weeks in Japan. Even now, when traditions I first thought were quaint have brought me to the brink of insanity, nothing here has made me pine for the grassy hills of home. I miss the people back in England, I really do, and as it’s coming up to Christmas I’ll miss the atmosphere of the place (but again, that’s mainly down to family and friends) but the country itself…I’m incredibly glad to be shot of the place, even if it is only temporary.

Possibly the aspect that gets my goat the most are the prices we pay. Japan is a country that was not built with humans in mind. 70% of the place is taken up with huge impassable mountains that only the most hardy of sheep would dare ascend. They have zero natural resources over here, none; they import it all. But still, the 120 million people they have here manage to get by. Not only get by, but also in most cases get by comfortably. This is probably because the price of consumables over here is reasonable. Not cheap, but reasonable. Compared to the prices infesting the UK though, they might as well be free. I don’t pretend to know all the politics behind it, why it is the UK government charges us 17.5% VAT while the Japanese government gets by on 5% consumer tax, but I know that I can get all the food I need for a week for £20. In Leeds that would barely last me 2 days. I know that my car insurance is not going to cost me as much as my house does every month, because some statistic from the 70s said that people under 25 can’t drive. I know that flights out of the country will not induce a 3-year saving plan. I know that my wage will not be cut in half by taxes to be spent on red tape and administration.

I could go on and on (and I have) but I’ll stop ranting now. As it is, I’m having a good old time over here at the moment, with a long weekend on the horizon and someone special to spend it with.

Next time: The 7 reasons I hate you and your family.