You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Don't get me wrong I'm having an amazing time in London, just a couple small pet peeves I wanted to pass along...

1. There's no bill smaller than 5 pounds.
        This just seems like a no-brainer to me.  The first time I bought groceries I hand the cashier 20 pounds and got a handful of change back.  I have a mountain of change on the desk next to me right now, it's starting to feel like Monopoly money.  By my count there's 8 different types of coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pence, and then 1 and 2 pounds.  Simple solution: make a pound and 2 pound bill so my pockets aren't making clinking noises every time at the bar.  And now I actually have to pay attention if I drop change.  Shit with the conversion rate, that coin could be worth like $3.60...

2. You can't toss a football in the park, but you can walk your dog without a leash.
         Again, I can't wrap my mind around this.  Last weekend we went to the park right by our street, and within 5 seconds of starting to toss a football a guard yelled at us to stop.  That the sign CLEARLY said there was no ball played allowed (conversely, he had no problems with us tossing a frisbee...so glad I brought one).  Meanwhile you can let your dog run freely through the park.  That's cool and all until two dogs get into a fight, which leads to their owners getting into a fight.  I've seen at least four such occasions, and it's always a big guy with a smaller dog versus a tiny guy with a big dog.  Yeah the dog you purchased because of your Napoleon complex might win it's fight, but you sir have no chance.

3. There is no rhyme or reason to how people walk on the city streets.
          Back home, I think it's pretty commonly accepted that you stay on the right side of the street, just like you drive on the right side of the road.  So initially I thought maybe people walked on the left side, it kinda made sense at the time.  Nope, not at all.  People just want down the middle of the sidewalk, or 5 people across so they block everyone else.  To make matters worse is that awkward moment when you're about to walk into someone.  I always instinctively go right, and everyone here goes left.  So we both ended up juking back and forth like it's Madden, looking ridiculous in the process.

4. People are always willing to give directions, whether or not they're right is a different story.
            One of the first days here, me and a couple friends got pretty lost.  We eventually caved and pulled the "stupid American" card and asked for help.  The people were incredibly friendly, and gave us perfectly detailed directions.  For a fleeting moment my hope in society was restored, until about 20 minutes later and we were even more lost than before.  People here seem very content to play Good Samaritan, when in reality then are just as lost as you.

But in reality I'm loving everything else about London, and I had to really think to come up with this list.  Wait I lied....I hate the conversion rate too.  Come on America, step your game up.