Xmas in Igirisu Part 2...Getting home.

The flight home was relatively painless due to the company of Louise and a few hours sleep achieved (thanks to copious amounts of tsing tau in HK.) I was reminded of the British let-me-tell-you-my-life-story tendancies on the plane up to Manc through my neighbour chatting incessantly to me for the whole time on subjects ranging from her broken thumb to her broken marriage(!) The paper we were given had the headline "ELTON TAKES DAVID UP THE AISLE" (reffering to Elton John's gay wedding) Genius. Within seconds of walking into the pub on my first night back a drunk scally pinched my arse and said "ey up sexy." I replied "piss off" He replied "piss off yourself you snooty cow." I was home. (by the way "ey up" is northern for hello roughly translated)
One thing I hadnt anticipated was how nice it was to be in a proper HOUSE. I mean I love my aparto in Yanai and I realise its one of the best in the ken (size and location-wise) but I had forgotten how lovely it is to be somewhere with a) central heating b)thick carpets c) a propher big bath d) a fully stocked fridge e)sky TV and f) other people to talk to/make you brews e)comfy sofas and f)a lot of space! Despite being home being a bit odd cos of the absense of my beloved doggie ;( I realised that I really like English interior decor. Tatami can go weave itself.
So not that much has changed back home. This did not stop me, however, looking like a total twit at times and feeling like a bit of a foreigner IN MY OWN COUNTRY!! Case point one:the whole chip and pin thing. Now in most places when you pay with your credit/debit card you have to type in your pin number into a little machine. We didnt have this 18 months ago and noone warned me of!! My pals took great delight in telling a waitress I was confused because I lived in Japan. She was shocked that they don't have them there. Hello, we don't even have cash points past 5pm here luv! If you tried to pay with a credit card in a shop here they would look at you as if you just put left your chopsticks in your bowl! (sorry bit of a Japan in joke there people at home-you're not suppost to do that cos its associated with funerals)
I was also aware that despite my DVD splurging tendencies, there will always be some stuff I've missed out on. A new catchphrase back home is "Am I bothered?!" which is, I'm informed from the Catherine Tate show. No I've never heard it either. Theres always going to be a two year gap in my understanding of British culture, I spose. I'm not that bothered. haha