I went to the shopping center today to buy some gardening stuff. When I went down to the busstop, the bus was already there and I started running but the bus left. When it was already halfway back on the street the driver stopped, opened the door and let me in!
This is something quite unusual for Swiss bus drivers and so I did something quite unusual for Swiss bus passangers. I left the bus through the front door with a: "Thank you! Have a nice day!" And the driver smiled.
I'm quite used to buses, here in Switzerland and in the UK. And so I'm not able to overlook the differences.
Most Swiss bus drivers drive busses cause they have to work something. Not cause they like to drive passengers from A to B. Of course, there are some really nice ones - mostly eldery ones - who where helpful and friendly and so on. But most of them are grumpy and do not really care. In the UK it is the other way round which is great!
But it is not only a difference in the way the drivers are, the passengers are different too. When a Swiss bus is delayed - and delayed means more than one minutes late...! - everybody is complaining. When a bus is overfilled, people still put their bags on a free seat and try to use as much space as possible. Oh and try to teach Swiss bus passengers to queue to get into the bus...
When a bus in the UK is delayed there is just a comment like: "Well, most likely it is stuck in traffic." and everybody continues to read a newspaper. Sitting in a crowded bus is not half as annoying as it is here, as everybody takes care, people who stand make space for the ones who have to go off and everything is much more civilized than I'm used to.
It may sound all a bit too clichee-like and of course it is not always like this, but it is more or less my experience.
However, there is another reason why I love busses in the UK. Is is because of all the nice incidents... There are bus wheels on fire, missing bus drivers and engine problems. And nice people I met while waiting for a delayed bus. Oh and something else... Switzerland does not have any doubledeckers and there is nothing better than sitting upstairs in the front row!
Yours bus-loving P
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
Downton Abbey
Is there a better way to feel English than by watching British series? We are not that spoilt here in Switzerland with good series so we have to go back to English ones... Normaly H discovers something new (well, better old as we watch series from the seventies and eighties) and then starts with things like: "You simply have to watch it!" So the DVDs wander to my flat.
But this time it was the other way round. When I was googling for Maggie Smith I came across Downton Abbey and had to buy the DVD of the first series. The DVDs then went for a holiday at Hs place. And then the wating for the next series started. And here we are now, Downton Abbey 2 is on for four weeks now.
We watched the first and second episode two weeks ago and the other twos tonight. What sould I say? I can't wait for next week! I have to know thats going on and I have to know why O'Brian wakes up Cora in the middle of the night cause something is going on downstaires. I have to know! Really have! And I'm so glad Mr Bates is back! I just love howvAnna says: "Mr Bates" And I like so many of the characters and really worry sometimes when some things are going on.
Beside Downton Abbey I'm watching Yes Minister right now and the first series already went over to H and I'll start the second part tomorow. it is so incredible good fun and I really like to watch it.
So, and now I'm off to bed.
yours P of HP
But this time it was the other way round. When I was googling for Maggie Smith I came across Downton Abbey and had to buy the DVD of the first series. The DVDs then went for a holiday at Hs place. And then the wating for the next series started. And here we are now, Downton Abbey 2 is on for four weeks now.
We watched the first and second episode two weeks ago and the other twos tonight. What sould I say? I can't wait for next week! I have to know thats going on and I have to know why O'Brian wakes up Cora in the middle of the night cause something is going on downstaires. I have to know! Really have! And I'm so glad Mr Bates is back! I just love howvAnna says: "Mr Bates" And I like so many of the characters and really worry sometimes when some things are going on.
Beside Downton Abbey I'm watching Yes Minister right now and the first series already went over to H and I'll start the second part tomorow. it is so incredible good fun and I really like to watch it.
So, and now I'm off to bed.
yours P of HP
Sunday, 9 October 2011
The singing bins
Hello again...
A few weeks ago i read a funny article in the newspaper about singing bins beeing installed in London.
what a cool and great idea.. and honestly.. only the british could come up with such a classy english idea..
the bins will be installed in the beautiful city of London around mid of October 2011 and stay there for 2-3 months before they go on a tour across the country...they will be back in good old London on time for the big events next year.. like the olympic games.. (which are for me honestly not a big deal as i'm totaly not interested in it.. :) )....
the singing bins will start singing (who would have guessed ;) ) when you put something in it.. they will thank you for your help keeping the city clean.. and some of them will sing you songs like: i'm singing in the bin.. or rubbish keeps falling on my head....
so now guess what.... i do have to see these singing bins.. i do i do i do..
so for next year.. i have to visit London again.. thats for sure.. :)
Big hug
H from HP.. :)
A few weeks ago i read a funny article in the newspaper about singing bins beeing installed in London.
what a cool and great idea.. and honestly.. only the british could come up with such a classy english idea..
the bins will be installed in the beautiful city of London around mid of October 2011 and stay there for 2-3 months before they go on a tour across the country...they will be back in good old London on time for the big events next year.. like the olympic games.. (which are for me honestly not a big deal as i'm totaly not interested in it.. :) )....
the singing bins will start singing (who would have guessed ;) ) when you put something in it.. they will thank you for your help keeping the city clean.. and some of them will sing you songs like: i'm singing in the bin.. or rubbish keeps falling on my head....
so now guess what.... i do have to see these singing bins.. i do i do i do..
so for next year.. i have to visit London again.. thats for sure.. :)
Big hug
H from HP.. :)
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
This place has been officially HPed!
When I left for work today at quarter to eight... The post-it-note was still in our lift. But by the time I came home which was half an hour ago, it was gone. Maybe somebody removed it. I hope it gave Lady Bruton something to wonder about.
Lady Bruton is our elderly - or better, old! - neigbour and is quite similar to Lady Bruton in Mrs Dalloway. Our neigbours have quite English nicknames anyway, there is also Lady Poirot - she is a curious French lady and so we named her after Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot - and Lovely Rita. Oh, and Mr BBQ, but this is another topic.
Some quite odd but amusing story mady me day today - and not only mine. When I came to the office this morning I had a mail from H with an article about Londons new singing and talking bins! Another reason for loving London, England and the English! Such humor! We could use one of them as well in front of our house. Some students of our local school love to sit on our stairs, leaving their litter there and Lady Bruton spents quite some time running - or better gasping - to the teachers room to complain. But a talking bin would solve the problem!
H by the way has a new dream job. She wants to become a lollipop lady for hedgehogs. I'm proud of her!
Hugs,
the P-half of HP ;-)
Lady Bruton is our elderly - or better, old! - neigbour and is quite similar to Lady Bruton in Mrs Dalloway. Our neigbours have quite English nicknames anyway, there is also Lady Poirot - she is a curious French lady and so we named her after Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot - and Lovely Rita. Oh, and Mr BBQ, but this is another topic.
"You've been HPed"-decoration in our lift
Some quite odd but amusing story mady me day today - and not only mine. When I came to the office this morning I had a mail from H with an article about Londons new singing and talking bins! Another reason for loving London, England and the English! Such humor! We could use one of them as well in front of our house. Some students of our local school love to sit on our stairs, leaving their litter there and Lady Bruton spents quite some time running - or better gasping - to the teachers room to complain. But a talking bin would solve the problem!
H by the way has a new dream job. She wants to become a lollipop lady for hedgehogs. I'm proud of her!
Hugs,
the P-half of HP ;-)
A jolly wolly hello to P from H
Good morning everybody
The second half of HP just would like to inform you that H is also joining the boat :)..
Let's do it.. it will be geat fun!! i'm sure of that.. :)
HP rocks..!!
Let's live english in Switzerland and Swiss in England.. oh no.. thats not right.. of course i meant: let's live english in every way we can think of.. :)
PS: dear world.. yesterday night.. after another bte (black-tea-event)(HP likes to shorten words :) ) we tagged our elevator with a little post-it with: you have been HPed on it....and yes...it was still there this morning.. great..!!
Hugs
the other half of HP :)
The second half of HP just would like to inform you that H is also joining the boat :)..
Let's do it.. it will be geat fun!! i'm sure of that.. :)
HP rocks..!!
Let's live english in Switzerland and Swiss in England.. oh no.. thats not right.. of course i meant: let's live english in every way we can think of.. :)
PS: dear world.. yesterday night.. after another bte (black-tea-event)(HP likes to shorten words :) ) we tagged our elevator with a little post-it with: you have been HPed on it....and yes...it was still there this morning.. great..!!
Hugs
the other half of HP :)
Monday, 26 September 2011
HPed - or only half of it at the moment
Hello everybody
I hope this is going to be a real HP blog, even if there is only me at the moment. I'm P. At least, this is short for one of my many nick names. One day my best friend and me started with the HP thingy. Means, that we took the first letters of our nick names, a H for her and a P for me and created HP. HP is kind of our signature, so if you ever come across a pink or yellow post-it-note with something like: "You've been HPed" or so, you know that it is from us ;-) You can find quite some of them in London, left during a marvellous holiday in Summer 2010. We even postet one on a bin ;-)
Well, London. Or better, England. We both really love England, actually we feel quite British though we live in Switzerland near Zurich - not only in the same small town but also in the same house, on the same floor, but in two different flats.
We love tea - if there is something like Anonymus Teaaholic please let us know! - good old British humor, soaps like Downton Abbey and Are you being served and shops like Monsoon. We both write notes and shopping lists in English and of course all mails and texts are like this as well. It happens quite often that we change between German and English during a chat. I guess we simply live in the wrong country!
So, now dear friend. Fancy joining me for a little project? Something like blogging about the way we try - and manage - to live something like a English live in Switzerland? About our English soaps, books, shops, teas... Or simply tell about the post-it-notes we left somewhere?
I hope you join me!
hugs
one half of HP
I hope this is going to be a real HP blog, even if there is only me at the moment. I'm P. At least, this is short for one of my many nick names. One day my best friend and me started with the HP thingy. Means, that we took the first letters of our nick names, a H for her and a P for me and created HP. HP is kind of our signature, so if you ever come across a pink or yellow post-it-note with something like: "You've been HPed" or so, you know that it is from us ;-) You can find quite some of them in London, left during a marvellous holiday in Summer 2010. We even postet one on a bin ;-)
Well, London. Or better, England. We both really love England, actually we feel quite British though we live in Switzerland near Zurich - not only in the same small town but also in the same house, on the same floor, but in two different flats.
We love tea - if there is something like Anonymus Teaaholic please let us know! - good old British humor, soaps like Downton Abbey and Are you being served and shops like Monsoon. We both write notes and shopping lists in English and of course all mails and texts are like this as well. It happens quite often that we change between German and English during a chat. I guess we simply live in the wrong country!
So, now dear friend. Fancy joining me for a little project? Something like blogging about the way we try - and manage - to live something like a English live in Switzerland? About our English soaps, books, shops, teas... Or simply tell about the post-it-notes we left somewhere?
I hope you join me!
hugs
one half of HP
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