Funny Farm

The course of a London afternoon runs smoother than the New York equivalent primarily because of the sense of humor of its inhabitants. That is to say, events which generally raise alarm in the United States seem to roll of the backs of British no holds barred.

Early on we took a guided bus tour of the City of London (as opposed to the City of Westminster). There were a few snags over the course: for one, the air conditioners stopped working, the driver took us, perilously, down several one-way streets, and the guide encouraged us to take pictures of Saint Paul's Cathedral from the middle of a busy avenue (her advice: "Just hurry!"). The rising heat and thinning oxygen was met with, "It's no worse than menopause!", and when our coach clogged up that side street, face to face with a dozen honking black cabs, she rebuffed: "My, my -- they're getting horny!"

In short, at times it can be difficult to take this culture seriously. With names like Piccadilly and Paddington, a history of leaders especially concerned with the size of their cod pieces (Henry VIII), a high ratio of ceremonial declarations to every piece of practical legislation, and very few written laws -- well, it's safe to say, despite once being the largest empire on the planet, this little island nation does have a fair number of things to laugh at.

Meanwhile, everything smacks of ceremony. On one hand, everything in this ancient civilization sits upon a mountain of history and insists a connection to eternity, but, on the the other, there social order retains a sense of temporariness as well. The monarchy, for example, though entirely ceremonial, retains the ability to disband the real government at a moment's notice. And the government, from time to time, circulates a poll questioning just how attached Britain's average citizen is to Her Majesty the Queen. There's no written constitution -- everyone would rather muck through thousands of years of historical precedent. And there's just enough mishaps to keep things interesting: the Millennium Bridge (circa 2001) was constructed without a thorough test of its stability, and instead of rigging up its support the community renamed it The Wobbly Bridge. I'm getting used to a country where a good joke ends a discussion without addressing the problem.

In all honesty, the method seems to be working fine.