Strolling into work

Well it has been a long day and Mondo is a bit bushed. The start this morning was a little later than will be the norm and coincided with the school run. Unlike dear old blighty though there appears to be a little more traditional approach to the whole affair with parents walking les enfant to school; or in the case of one little girl, carried by her suit wearing father while she dozed gently resting her head on his shoulder. Other walked leisurely while conversing with their little mites. This should be compared to the average school in England where the surrounding 300 yards is jammed solid by motor cars driven by indolent mums and dads ferrying their rotund gameboy engrossed cherubs, dreaming of that magical parking space next to the gates that may save them the nightmarish task of walking more than dozen strides to and from their vehicle and no doubt looking forward to their morning break when they’ll consume a Special K snack bar while wonder how they’ve put on yet another 4 pounds.

Other commuters and sometime pavement users included those leisurely cycling into work, adopting a freestyle approach by using both road and path to make the most of crossing lights and minimise both journey time and the risk of contact with motorcars. For whilst it is accepted by drivers that pedestrians and cyclists will sometimes need to traverse traffic, it is also assumed that you know the rules and that any collision will not be personal and would be entirely your fault. Hence you share your path with statuesque girls drifting past on their cycles or may have to stand aside as a gendarme peddles towards you across the narrow footway on a bridge over the Seine. I have yet to see the narcissistic lycra clad peddlers or those fans of folding bikes who represent what is left of Britain’s utilitarian cyclists.

It should also be accepted that once in the office the working day should not be rushed. You may start your presentation at nine to assembled Germans, Brits and Antipodeans but you should not take it personally that your French colleagues may choose to join you over the next 20 minutes or so. It is simply a matter a cultural norms and why should these be changed for you?