Report from England November 23, 2007

London’s grey, chill November drizzle can depress one’s spirits. But somehow
the bustle of the city, the crowds surging into and out from the Tube,
provides some comfort, perhaps as reassurance that life yet thrives beneath
the pall.

Lodging at one of London’s five hostels (this one rated as the “five star”)
I have the chance to mingle with other transients, many of them youngsters,
and to experience a neighborhood that’s off the beaten tourist track. One
evening, I wandered into a pub in the neighborhood of Bermondsey. I was the
only patron, except for a white-bearded man and a pale, thin, fourtyish
woman, both very drunk, who were seated together at a table opposite the
bar.

As usually happens in such situation, patrons will sooner or later get
round to introductions. “‘ees from Airy-zona,” she kept repeating, as if it
were a mantra that could conjure up some sort of escape from her drunken
fog. “‘ee should marry me and take me to America,” she said to no one in
particular, but uttered in the general direction of her drunken companion.
I, the whole time wearing my friendly foreigner smile, paid it little mind
as I sipped my pint, glanced up at the telly, and chatted with the
bartender. If she had been the least bit attractive, I might have made some
attempt at conversation, but she wasn’t, so I didn’t. Anyway, conversation
with drunks is something I’ve always found difficult.

Ten days into my stopover, the cold I caught the second day in England has
just about cleared out. I suspect that the rapid changes in climate and diet
that I’ve experienced over the course of my journeying may be the shocks
that account for my frequent periods of illness. Fortunately, I’ve always
managed to recover, and except for the typhoid episode, my impairment has
not been severe. Still, I marvel at the seemingly endless issues of mucous
that I cough up, spit out, and blow from my nose.

There are, of course occasional breaks in the English gloom. My arrival in
England on November 12 was met with chilly winds under sunny skies, a sharp
contrast to the heat of India that I had left just 12 hours before. After
dropping my excess luggage at Hugo’s small midtown flat I made my way to
Trafalgar Square where I joined the lunchtime crowd and tourists enjoying
the warmth of the noontime sun. St. Martin in the Fields sits opposite one
corner of the square.

That was the prearranged meeting point with my friend
Peter Etherden. Peter and I have known each other for more than 20 years and
that was our first meeting since 2003 when I visited him and his partner
Connie on their sailboat in Rye harbor. That was the occasion of a memorable
crossing of the English channel and a three day stay in Boulogne harbor
where we lounged around and acquired enormous stocks of French red wine that
we bought in five liter brown plastic jugs for something like five euros
each. I doubt that bargain remains, and even if the euro price remains the
same, it would cost sixty percent more in dollars at today’s exchange rate.

For the first three days of my visit, I enjoyed the hospitality of my old
friend the Rev. John Papworth at his home in Wiltshire, a couple hours west
of London. John is a unique phenomenon. Multi-talented and accomplished in
many areas, he is, at 85, still fit, sharp witted, and active. He fed me
well with a bit of the remaining produce from his own garden and a nearby
organic farm, cooked up the most delicious and wholesome of meals, provided
me with eggs from his hens, whole grain bread baked in his own kitchen,
Damson plum jam from his own trees, and entertained me with his remarkable
recitations of Shakespeare’s plays and Samuel Johnson’s letters.

Upon my return to London, I’ve had occasion to meet up with various
colleagues, correspondents, and supporters, many of whom have been working
on the “money problem” in one way or another for years. There is a group
called the Christian Coalition for Monetary Justice, that has been very
active, and who have a regular weekly “Open Table on Monetary Justice” at
the Friends (Quaker) House opposite the Euston Road underground station.
I’ll be posting a few photos on my blog sometime soon.

Today I had to move from my lodgings at the Rotherhithe hostel in east
London to another over near Earl’s Court. (The former had been pre-booked
for the weekend, but the latter had one remaining bed). Earl’s Court is a
livelier neighborhood with many cafes, restaurants, and pubs, but in either
case, close proximity to the tube makes it easy to move quickly (usually) to
any part of the city.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I’ll attend an all-day public meeting of the Global
Justice Strategy Forum, entitled, What’s Wrong with the Global Justice
Movement? I expect it will be a lively and productive gathering.

Sunday will be my last day in London. I’ll be moving over to a hotel that
will give me easy access to Heathrow airport in preparation for my flight
back to San Francisco on Monday. Fortunately, the $150 tariff will not
further deplete my available cash because the booking has been arranged
through Bartercard and will be paid from my Universal Currency (UC) account.
UC is a private credit system that enables commercial trade exchanges
(”barter” companies) to transact business with one another without using
conventional money. I am an exception in that I have a personal account. My
credit balance came about when I accepted UC instead of cash for my
honorarium that was paid when I delivered the keynote speech at the 2006
IRTA convention.

Bartercard, which started in Australia, has extensive operations in the UK.
It is one of the largest (among many) cashless trading operations with
franchisees in several countries around the world. While cashless exchange
based on credit clearing remains mostly unknown, here is evidence of viable,
highly developed structures that are being used today to mediate the
exchange of significant amounts of valuable goods and services
internationally.

My next report will be written from America.

Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
P. O. Box 42663, Tucson, Arizona 85733
520-820-0575.
thg@mindspring.com
Website: Money

Blogs: Beyond Money:Blog

Tom’s News and Views: News

This entry was posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2007 at 11:44 am and is filed under Tom Greco. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.