"Excuse me, are you English ......"

I gave a presentation to health colleagues late this afternoon. Coming out I took my camera out of my bag to take a photo.

"Excuse me, are you English". A stout chap on a bike had stopped next to me. "Yes" I said - a little surprised. I stand out a mile in my suit and tie (daft clothing on a day like today perhaps).

"Why is there so much glass on the roads. And why do the English throw litter around. It doesn't happen in Poland and Germany. I don't understand it".

I asked where he was from - he was 52, and from Poland, working in security. We chatted for a while. I no doubt looked like officialdom (well - I am !). 

We get really annoyed about the litter dropping in our own area - largely people throwing things out of cars, and people chucking plastics and tins away when they've eaten the food in them. People in other north european countries don't seem to do this, why pollute your own environment - it's a part of our national psyche I don't like.

The tower block in the photo had a fire this last weekend (it looks like it has a black eye in this blip). It's lucky no-one suffered serious injury, it must have been a real challenge for the fire service.