An ongoing problem of mine is with how people walk in London. I have yet to figure out if there is a correct side to walk on. I assumed that people must walk on the left here, since people drive on the left. My friend from New Zealand confirmed that that's how it works where she's from. Plus, when riding escalators you typically are on the left of the people going in the opposite direction. And on an escalator, you are suppose to stand on the right and walk on the left. But when actually walking down the street, people do not seem to follow any rules.
Each morning on my way to the tube I walk down a long arcade, packed with people swiftly heading in the opposite direction from me. Each morning I take a different path. One day to the right, next day to the left, next day in the middle, then maybe the zig-zag. Each day I meet with near head-on collisions, awkward dancing when both parties try to get out of each other's way, and a lot of angry scowls. What seems to work the best is what I call "The Leo Method" - walking down the center, chest puffed out, body rigid, with a bitter look on your face. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the way Londoners walk, just that they will always try to walk exactly where there is a person walking in the opposite direction.
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6 comments:
I had the same problem in Singapore - I could not figure out which side to walk on. My explanation there was that a lot of people come recently from different cultures and confused about it as well, so they keep changing their mind as they walk down the street. But I do not know if this explanation holds any water in London.
Olga
London is a melting pot in the same way, so I think your theory makes sense.
I appreciate the way you have started to use British spellings. I look forward to reading more about your favourite colours :)
Ashleigh
Sometimes it's intentional and other times I'm writing during my lunch break at work and the computer does it for me.
Ali and I had a good giggle over this at breakfast today.
And I know y'all have prior commitments (sigh) on May 25 - but can you email one of us with your address, so we can send you some info anyway?
If you figure out the rules, let us know. I think the melting pot theory is a good one. I do know that Londoners walk even faster than New Yorkers. But New Yorkers tend to walk in packs and that keeps the traffic moving better.
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