16 December, 2005 | Leave a Comment
So I’m in a cab this morning. I have a chatty driver. He asks me where I’m from and I say “Boston,” even though that’s not really true. I lived in Boston for the last 4 years before coming to London but that doesn’t mean I’m from Boston, does it? I grew up in California and Utah and as an adult lived in New York and New England. I have the sensibilities of a Northeasterner but I was born and bred in the West and that always colors my perspective. Still, I don’t feel that I have strong connections to any of these places. Perhaps that’s why I felt I could come to London and start from scratch. I’m a tabula rasa! Help!
[Note to self: Must figure out where I’m from.]
Back to the cab driver. He says his favourite passengers are Texans because they’re the friendliest. He says New Yorkers are the least friendly. No news there. Then we discussed how to pronounce Marylebone, which I find very confusing. He then began to quiz me on the pronunciation of other London place names, such as Leicester Square. But having lived in New England with Worcester and Gloucester, etc., he really couldn’t stump me.
As we drove through Notting Hill, he asked me if I had ever seen the movie of the same name. I told him yes and that I thought it was lame. He then took great pains to assure me that there are no real-life English men like Hugh Grant. At first I didn’t really understand what he meant. My cabbie said: “Well, you know, he’s…” He was trying to describe him in a way that wasn’t offensive, apparently.
“Girlish?” I ventured.
“Yes!” He then went on to explain that English men are tougher than Mr. Grant. Why he felt the need to dwell on this issue is beyond me. Perhaps I don’t know enough about English men yet.
Anglofille said @ 7:51 pm | london & uk |
