There are certain things in life that are certain.- One of them is that wherever I go in life the place that I call home will follow me. Years ago Valencia wouldn't have been a blip on my radar but now wherever I go I find Valencia all around me. We go to Little Chef for breakfast, I know I know, but it was right next door to the hotel and what do we find, Valencia orange juice for breakfast. Now I know this is no great shakes in the grand scheme of things but until the last decade you can guarantee this wouldn't have happened. It is the same as recently all we have seen on the road has been the Kia Carnival because we recently got one. Until something is in your Universe you don't notice it at all. Anyway to the point, what have I started noticing now that I am in the UK for a few days? I went to the UK in November but was so wrapped up in a conference that part from the 3ºC and constant drizzle I didn't really notice much. This time its different. I am here for family reasons and my small ones are having a great time as they meet their cousins for the first time. Here are my impressions of the UK. 1) Cones: Travelling in the UK is shocking. I have been proved right, in my mind at least, that where possible I do my travelling in Spain to an airport and do as little as possible in the UK. We traveled today in a constant drizzle and mist and fog with just 6ºc outside, it is British summer time remember and to do 150 miles we took just under six hours. Now public maths I have no fear of but I have to say that is just so slow. In Spain if I have to travel anything up to 100 kilometres I give my self an hour and Madrid and Barcelona I give myself three and a half hours from Valencia. That is 220 miles give or take so yes traveling in Britain is painfully slow. Roadworks, speed limits and speed limits as well as speed cameras everywhere mean that I actually resorted to caffeine today. 2) Cost or rather Costa: Costa coffee has taken over the country. This of course means that something which should cost about a pound for some brown liquid with a bit of milk in it now costs around 3 or 4 times that. If you are on the motorways expect four times otherwise three times. 3) Weight: It would be very easy to put on about four or five kilos roughly 10 pounds here in a couple of weeks. Fast food abounds and healthy options are really not that healthy. I mean really how much more healthy is a vegetarian Lincolnshire sausage compared with a normal meaty Lincolnshire sausage? It is difficult to find a place that doesn't overfill the plate. Good value, not great for the waistline. 4) Internet: Wi if is a right not a privilege right? Not at certain hotels i have stayed in where an hour would cost five pounds and 24 hour access a tenner. Am I that desperate to check my email? Actually yes!! 24 hours without email was actually starting to induce withdrawal symptoms. Although the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night tapping on my wife's knee and insisting whilst talking in my sleep that I needed to check something on the computer is just a nasty rumour and not at all true of course. 5) Commerce: Spain doesn't get it. However I am glad. Why should I have to pay an extra three pounds for the privilege of parking in the car park of the Travelodge when I have already paid for the room? They weren't too keen on me bringing the car into the room to sleep for obvious reasons so really unless I want to be clamped anywhere within a ten kilometre radius I am forced to pay it. 6) The Weather obviously! As my daughter would say duh!! I am not freezing but I have this constant feeling of cold and it is almost April. Five live decided today that it is going to snow tomorrow and the next day in certain areas of the country. Sounds good. 7) Shopping: The huge variety in the shops astounds me. Yes it does. There is a whole aisle of crisps in the shops, and cakes, and bread, and ice cream and acres of ready meals and … jesus… just give me a coffee with milk, I don't need sixteen different types. Henry Ford didn't really say it but please…. you can have any colour as long as it is black has never seemed so apt. 8) Electricity: Generally works which can surprise you when you come from Spain but wherever I go I am always caught out by the fact that after plugging something in I still have to actually flick a switch before anything will actually happen. At least you can put on the oven, microwave, kettle and TV without the whole of the house being plunged into darkness! So am I enjoying it? Yes absolutely. It is extremely important at times to ground yourself and I am beginning to feel grounded and starting to appreciate where I live in Spain. Despite the high costs of certain things in Spain, the lack of attentiveness by the waiters, the amazing lack of customer service, the lack of choice, the cheap coffee, the ease of travel and the fact that everything is done with a scowl by public servants I think i will find that on going back I have started to appreciate my home again. About time too because as a Brit I do have a tendency just to complain about what isn't there rather than appreciate what is.