[LargeFormat] Prague/London travel tips&

[Alan Davenport]

I've only been to England once, and that a long time ago, but it seems
to me that Tio Ricardo has missed a couple of (possibly) salient points:

First off, don't forget that you can get Irish beer just about
anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales.  They might be British, but
they're not stupid.  Irish beer will ALWAYS trump anything the
English can produce.  At least the stuff that the Irish are willing
to export.

Secondly, always eat at the local (pub.)  Look for the one with the
rattiest cars, that's where the food will be excellent lest the cook
get thrashed by his patrons.  Then order the kidney pie.  It's always
the freshest thing in the place because they won't cook it until
someone actually demands it.  Don't worry about it being full of
animal entrails; that's what the Irish beer is for and you should have
a couple pints down before supper gets there anyway.

Lastly, forget about Britrail when you're going more than 50 miles
from London; rent a car and join the mayhem!  Once you get past your
initial disbelief that people can actually drive on that side of the
road, and the urge to cover your eyes and scream when meeting a lorry
on a road with barely enough room for even one vehicle between the
ancient stone walls on either side, you'll realize that it's all a great
carnival.  If you have a small enough car and drive it fast enough
then the lady driving the lorry will scream and cover her eyes.

I will say, Dick is absolutely right about the intelligibility of
the natives.  I went days in Scotland without understanding a
single word.  Fortunately, by extending a handful of various
denominations of currency I was always able to avert violence.