Baby on board stickers on women’s coats. Ok, you’re pregnant. So was your mother at some point, and your grandmother, your great-grandmother and billions and billions of other women, too. Get over it.
Spitting. Particularly charming are the sudden spurts when you’re about to overtake someone who in that very moment decides to turn his head (because it’s ONLY men) and let it all out to the side. Not acceptable. Under no circumstances whatsoever.
Person walking in front of you flicking off their ashes on you. Smokers, there will always be someone walking behind you. This is London. Lots of people, you know. If you need to smoke, don’t let other people have to deal with your debris. And no, I don’t care if this is a wee bit pathetic. It happened too many times. And I’m not any smoker’s ashtray!!
Tourist line-ups. Oh, yes, isn’t it lovely walking side by side, leisurely sauntering along, chatting, stopping, pointing at your surroundings. You’re blocking the way. That’s what you’re doing. And that is, see 2, not acceptable. There are certain nations particularly prone to this. Feel free to take a guess.
Caution: Only fully to be appreciated by Germans. This is about rubbish: Overflowing bins, rubbish put next to bins, rubbish on the street in general, rubbish bins indicating that they’re to be used for paper only stuffed full with EVERYTHING but paper, people simply letting their rubbish ‘slip’ out of their hands while walking. Again, see 2 and 4, it’s not acceptable.
The lack of bins. There are whole stretches completely devoid of any bins. If you want to get rid of your empty coffee cup (and NOT just toss it on the street) between, for example, the eastern end of The Mall and Sloane Square via Constitution Hill and Belgrave Square - good luck. So, therefore 5. And please spare yourself the “security/bombs/terrorists” argument as an explanation for not enough bins. Not accepted.
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