I don’t drive and, as a result, I can be found walking or
bussing around London. If I am not on the street walking, I am watching
pedestrians at bus stops form a traditional orderly British queue to get into
the bus. When I arrived in London some 22 years ago, I remember trying to board
a bus in Kent before it was my turn only to find a large gruff bearded Kentish
man behind me who thundered “Oi! It’s not your turn mate!”
Since then I have respected the orderly British way of boarding
a bus and they way we abide by escalator etiquette on the Underground and
“stand on the right”! I don’t see why we should suddenly have this tradition rudely
interrupted by sweaty spandex-clad folk who seem to be rather upset by actual
pedestrians interrupting their fitness routines. I wonder if perhaps they refer
to us as ‘street walkers’!
