Whose Side Are You On?

We all know they drive on the wrong side of the street here. But what about walking?

I’ve lived in a lot of big cities (NYC, Boston, DC) and, yes, I’m one of those jerks who always seems to be in some sort of great rush, dodging and parrying through people, sometimes simply barreling through in a huff if they can’t move fast enough. Why am I in such a hurry? Hmm, issue for a different entry. . . perhaps a different blog.

The point is, I’ve always been pretty deft at navigating the maze of people on Manhattan’s busy avenues. But London has been my downfall. I figured, okay, I’m going to keep to the left instead of the right in this town, to avoid that unnerving and awkward dance you do with the guy who’s walking towards you. You know, the one where you go left and he does the same, so then you go right and oops he’s there, and after two more of these you both freeze, paralyzed and annoyed, before one person simply chooses a side and goes.

But my “always take the left” philosophy has backfired. Turns out London is so international that more than half the people on the sidewalks and streets are keeping to the old rules of staying right, while the Brits are too polite to really commit to one or the other, and so walking to work has basically been an endless series of bumping into people from all over the world.

I’m definitely going to get bird flu this way.