Icy Impressions

After World War II Americans came home with certain impressions of the Brits, and the Brits came away with certain impressions of the Yanks.  I suppose some of the stereo types remain and are reinforced by a lot of visitors.  I've heard the England is the land of big ears and bad teeth.  On the other hand they say that we are vulgar, noisy and have tomb stone teeth.  Seemingly, orthodontia is one of our big faults.  It is said that they only serve warm beer over there. This may be true in  a pub that is intended only for locals, but most venues cater to travelers whom are unaccustomed to the delicacies of the UK palate.

OK, I am American and I enjoy my hot beverages hot and my cold beverages cold.  There is no room in my short life for things that are tepid.  With this said, I like ice. My refrigerator has an ice dispenser of which we have already worn out one activation switch and I'll put money on this process being repeated again in the next few months.

Water is served in its tepid state.  The water there is very soft and tepid soft water will not quench ones thirst.  You just need to drink more and more of it and still end up thirst and disappointed.  I learned long ago that ice seems to harden water up a bit.  I don't know why, it just does.

In the UK you need to ask for ice, and then they may drop a cube or two into your glass.  Totally insufficient and rocking the chair towards passive aggressive behavior..  It was time to become the Ugly American.  Any time I asked for water with a meal I also ordered a separate pint glass of ice.  Sure I got some weird looks, but the end result always left me happy and quenched.

I admit I did unearth my inner Ugly American, but to my credit I didn't wear a baseball hat,khaki pants, jogging outfits, running shoes, anything with advertising, logos or images, or even a hoodie so I stayed under the radar only until I asked for ice with my water.