Rod's general reflection on rural England (Tenbury Wells)

Here are some thoughts of daily life in rural England….it is very similar to rural U.S.  Our town, Tensbury Wells reminds us very much of West Branch.  There is a main drag through town with shops and restaurants along either side.  It is not a tourist town, so no souvenir shops and such.  The main livestock in our area were sheep…they are everywhere!  A few pigs and cows and even fewer horses.  We got used to driving on the other side of the road, although the most common comment from the kids in cars is “curb!”….meaning we are getting too close to the curb, not the oncoming traffic.  The major roads are nice, but the more rural are narrow, in some cases very narrow!  Speed limit signs are few and far between….and NO stop signs, all are yield signs (think rolling stops).  The locals have been very nice and we have been able to understand everyone just fine (no thick English accents).  The stores and shops are just a little smaller than U.S. stores and getting food and supplies is the same.  The new “Tesco” grocery store is just a small version of Meijer…and they have tons of food to choose from; pop has a sugar tax of about 20 cents per bottle of Coke.  The body type here in England is very reminiscent of Americans….it is easy to see the difference between Italy (no obesity issues) and England (just like us); but still don’t see exactly why.  Bottom line, there hasn’t been that much of a culture shock for us….not like Spain and Italy.