We arent use to it. Its not part of the system in the UK. We oftern worry about giving too much or too little.

19, but only been able to fly for 9 years:D.
had been grounded since the age of 17 (Dan air flight) by fear of flying so bad I couldnt even drop family members at an airport!

Not so much anymore, with all the speed cameras, and driving 100 mph on the motorway is easy, its basically flat and straight. Try it on winding mountain roads that have an elevation profile like a roller coaster, it's a lot more difficult, and the consequences of missing a curve are much more dire: it's either plow into a rock wall, or go off a cliff into the abyss.

Ahhh ... you have a point, albeit somewhat OT.

The thing is, in UK the cars are set up differently. I've owned a few Jeeps, and rented them in the US ... they're completely different vehicles! Brakes, gearing, suspension: it's spooky.

Brit drivers have loads of winding high-speed roads, and we get used to coping with them [Darwin Principle exempt for a moment ... they don't do it for too long]. Our vehicles are set up to cope, and whenever you get off the major motorways you have to be able to drive.


Meanwhile ... in the next hour we'll be discussing why we vacation in the USA :D

The answer to the original question is I don't. For me Asia Pacific region any day.

I don't agree with this, from my understanding; at least in Florida, most Indian Restaurants are run by people from the Punjab state. There are very few Bangladeshi in the USA.

Also, I think the Olive Garden is the National Restaurant of the US. Its odd, most Americans don't like British food; for much the same reasons many of you have stated, about your thoughts about American food.

All I own are Jaguars, so I'm quite aware of how a British car drives in the mountains. That particular road is a challenge, to give you an example of its steepness in my V12 car I start at the bottom at 70 mph, throttle wide open, eventually the grade pulls my speed down, it drops to second gear and I hold that for about an hour until I reach the top at about 45-50 mph. Once over the summit is's a wild ride down the other side!

It's actually very similar to Monty Pythons description of mountain climbing. " It's a tricky climb, its up, up until you reach the top and then it slopes away rather sharply..."

That's being generous. The essential rule of thumb is 15% of the pre-tax amount, rounded up to the nearest dollar. Hence a proper tip on a $42.40 bar tab ($37.15 + $4.85 tax) is $6.00. More if the service was excellent, or if you were a large and challenging party, or if someone spilled something on the floor, etc.

Old preconceptions die hard. A lot of Americans still think British cuisine begins and ends with bangers and mash, mushy peas, gluey gravy, heavy / fatty roasts, Heinz beans on toast, etc. They have missed the Brit food revolution at both ends of the price-sophistication scale. The same might be said for Brits who delight in dismissing American food as fried, starchy, mass-processed crap because they saw someone say so on television back in the 1980s.

I only had 3 x 4.0 straight six XJ6's ... so it sounds like you have a a big hill :D

For decades I wondered why the UK/European Fords I rented, Escorts and Mondeos and so on, were so tight and agile and responsive, while US-spec Escorts, etc. were such dull and bloated slugs. Now we are finally getting some European DNA in our Fords; the new Fiesta and Focus sold over here are very close to yours.

It is! I had a 95 XJ6 as well, it struggled. The 6.0 V12 is better. The Daimler limo with the low compression 4.2 really bogs down. It's a leisurely climb! The 3.8 E Type was ok, but I always kept one eye on the temp gauge.

As an American ex-pat in London, def. one of the most intriguing threads on FT in quite a while.

Have learned about people in THIS country just from reading....

Canada since they measure in km/h... :D

Then you really haven't driven properly in Manhattan. I can clock 50m/hr going down the avenues trying to avoid the taxis/pecs/buses and others.

You should drive with me one day. :)

Then we all should do a comparison driving, after HB's pool party. ;)