It was fun cycling in the snow today. I couldn't bear driving or catching the bus. The snow was falling lightly and the main roads were clear. It was exhillarating and my spirits rose. I have just finished my second course of antibiotics and had my first night's sleep without painkillers. My jaw and teeth feels bruised like I have been in a fight so I am hoping my tooth trouble is over for now.
I have just heard it is still sunny and warm in Kenya! I think they get pleasure out of hearing about our snow and chaos! I love the way a bit of snow humanises us and changes everything. I was once stuck in the snow miles from home in a massive jam of cars for about 5 hours. It was strange but not that bad, I asked a passerby to ring Sheila for me and I sat in a stranger's car for a couple of hours having one of those inconseqential late night conversations. Suddenly we were no longer English!
We have just done a brilliant session with Colin Lago on cross cultural issues and it has led me to think how complicated we white English are. (OK I can claim some of my Welsh heritage and relate how my Dad used to say my moodiness was down to my bad Welsh blood!) But there is so much unspoken about being English. Like we all do class but pretend we don't but I notice white English people's class and region of origin straight away its almost instinctual but never talked about. I have always felt on the edge of class which is probably why I notice it so much. I don't identity as middle class (even though I am objectively - educated, Guardian reading etc)but I was brought up to know I wasn't working class although a lot of my upbringing was around working class people. So I know this stuff as an outsider. I didn't go to Oxbridge because I didn't want to deal with class there, plus I couldn't wait to escape from home.
Enough for now,
Bill on bike
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