Before it slipped down the memory hole, I wanted to mention one aspect of my visit to Old Blighty, now sadly ended. The last time I had been in the UK was fifteen years ago. Then as had been the case in my several previous visits I was impressed by the observation that every visit to the restroom was like a visit to a plumbing museum. Not only were the fixtures old their variety was incredible. I am convinced I didn’t see any two the same. I was also convinced that being a plumber in the United Kingdom must have required at least a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the complexity of interconnecting so many different systems.
No more. On this visit every fixture was remarkably the same. My speculation is that it was a consequence of an attempt at becoming more “green”. Low flow shower heads, toilets, and so on.
I also found the many signs, billboards, etc. proclaiming the naturalness or low resource utilization of the premises a marked difference from my previous experience.
Interesting. It may also be a consequence of EU membership. There’s a massive push for standardization across the EU, which has obvious economic benefits but also some high up-front costs.