Episode X - A Strange Place Called Home
In late November of last year I came back 'home' to England after living for just a little under thirteen years in The Republic of Turkey.
In late 2015 my Dad was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive form lung cancer that results from exposure to Asbestos. One of the many truly horrible things about this is that the asbestos exposure can be 40 years in the past and, as far as I understand it, lies kind of dormant until the full blown cancer develops.
I'm not going to make this episode a long, sad monologue on the horrors of watching a loved one suffer with this kind of disease but needless to say it was heartbreaking.
The suffering was great but there may be one small grain of solace in that I held his hand as he died. I loved him very much and he is, and will always be sorely missed. (https://www.hasag.co.uk)
What this post will examine is how my beloved green and pleasant land has changed over the past decade and a bit. Highlights will include :
- WOW! Free wifi on buses!?!
- There are Polish shops all over Reading
I initially arrived on the evening flight from Istanbul to Heathrow, jumped on a train and went direct to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. A short walk later and I located my Dad and spent a wonderful evening laughing, gossiping and chatting without a computer screen between us. I should mention that after going to live in Istanbul I actually had more contact, we would speak 2 or 3 times a day, 7 days a week. An initial effort for us both but once the standard was set it became second nature. Dad would even sometimes have a breakfast date with my family and I by being on the iPad at the head of the table.
I guess the first startling change that hit me apart from Reading town's wonderful new station was that my bus had free wifi. I didn't have to sign in, register or otherwise provide some marketing asset in return, just accept some conditions of service provision and use. It's not a token service either, the bandwidth is very useable for streaming and in a couple of cases WhatsApp audio calls.
The buses are gas powered or Hybrid too! I guess that the UK is developing a digital population faster that 'back home' in Turkey and that this is a priority for local government. The only stumbling block that I can see is the rather shocking cost of £2 to travel on this techno double decker express. That's $2.78!!! Great technology but at what seems to be a prohibitive cost. One even odder thing was a recent train journey from Reading to Banbury on the Cross Country Rail line where ticket price of £13.30 did not include free wifi. That costs and extra £2, the same as the bus ticket. So far the busses seem to be far more advanced, in terms of available digital tech for the customers than the trains. I mean, where do you find ONLY printed tickets these days.
It was on my first bus journey along Reading's infamous Oxford Road on my way to Tilehurst that I noticed a distinct proliferation of Polish shops. Not one or two, but at least twenty that stand out. Please don't think this is going to be some Trumpian anti-immigration rant because it will not. I'm an immigrant, kind of, and have been twice, kind of. It's not just Polish shops either, there's the the huge Istanbul Food Market and Exotic Superstore. In fact over the last 13 years the entire road seems to have been remodeled. It's this, I think, that gives rise in some way to the anti-immigrant brexit supporting local that I have encountered so often. There is talk of how 'foreigners' have taken over and destroyed the local 'culture'. But what, exactly, was the local culture? Where there very traditional English shops selling English products? I really can't remember any Cream Tea cafes or Roast Beef restaurants, Union Jack flag emporium or the local branch of the East India company.
The Oxford Road for the nearly 40 years that I can accurately remember it has always had a kind of tired charm, a slightly shabby aspect that seemed worth investigating just for the adventure. Actually the only shop that remember distinctly that has gone was a second hand shop from which my Dad bought me my first air gun. Hardly a distinctive or cherished cultural loss.
I think the brexit crew have been angry not about a precious and historical culture that has been lost but rather that it was never really there to start with. Hindsight seems to come with rose tinted specs.
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| Even the cat would Skype Dad |
I guess the first startling change that hit me apart from Reading town's wonderful new station was that my bus had free wifi. I didn't have to sign in, register or otherwise provide some marketing asset in return, just accept some conditions of service provision and use. It's not a token service either, the bandwidth is very useable for streaming and in a couple of cases WhatsApp audio calls.
The buses are gas powered or Hybrid too! I guess that the UK is developing a digital population faster that 'back home' in Turkey and that this is a priority for local government. The only stumbling block that I can see is the rather shocking cost of £2 to travel on this techno double decker express. That's $2.78!!! Great technology but at what seems to be a prohibitive cost. One even odder thing was a recent train journey from Reading to Banbury on the Cross Country Rail line where ticket price of £13.30 did not include free wifi. That costs and extra £2, the same as the bus ticket. So far the busses seem to be far more advanced, in terms of available digital tech for the customers than the trains. I mean, where do you find ONLY printed tickets these days.
It was on my first bus journey along Reading's infamous Oxford Road on my way to Tilehurst that I noticed a distinct proliferation of Polish shops. Not one or two, but at least twenty that stand out. Please don't think this is going to be some Trumpian anti-immigration rant because it will not. I'm an immigrant, kind of, and have been twice, kind of. It's not just Polish shops either, there's the the huge Istanbul Food Market and Exotic Superstore. In fact over the last 13 years the entire road seems to have been remodeled. It's this, I think, that gives rise in some way to the anti-immigrant brexit supporting local that I have encountered so often. There is talk of how 'foreigners' have taken over and destroyed the local 'culture'. But what, exactly, was the local culture? Where there very traditional English shops selling English products? I really can't remember any Cream Tea cafes or Roast Beef restaurants, Union Jack flag emporium or the local branch of the East India company.
The Oxford Road for the nearly 40 years that I can accurately remember it has always had a kind of tired charm, a slightly shabby aspect that seemed worth investigating just for the adventure. Actually the only shop that remember distinctly that has gone was a second hand shop from which my Dad bought me my first air gun. Hardly a distinctive or cherished cultural loss.
I think the brexit crew have been angry not about a precious and historical culture that has been lost but rather that it was never really there to start with. Hindsight seems to come with rose tinted specs.
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