Oh, to be in.........England?

Spent the last week in Tenerife getting some sun on the old bones - not that there was that much sun actually, but it was nice and warm, and that's the main thing. I'm always struck by the complete difference in attitude you find more or less wherever you go abroad - certainly in the Med and the Canaries. We're so used here to being regulated every step of the way that it's a breath of fresh air to go somewhere where everybody seems to do their own thing in their own way, and is equally prepared to let others do the same. Our apartment overlooked a main street, and people just double-parked outside whichever shop they wanted to visit, or if they saw someone they knew on the pavement, they would simply stop in the road and have a chat. But more to the point, the other road users seemed quite happy to go along with this, whereas here such behaviour would result in curses and horn-blowing, not to mention a probable fixed-penalty fine from an officious policeman or meter warden. Perhaps it's the climate that makes everyone more laid-back, but whatever it is, I wish we could import it over here.