Mind the gap & look to the right

It was with a deep sense of guilt that I drove a rental car around the North Island of New Zealand. No, I hadn't done anything wrong, but I was driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and the feeling of moral turpitude just wouldn't go away for almost two weeks. What a great reminder of how powerful culture can be in shaping our feelings and attitudes without necessarily asking our permission or being persuaded by the simple logic of difference! 

On the other hand, it seems to me that the pretense of empire has been finally abandoned in Britain by the simple act of painting big yellow letters at the zebra stripes warning this alien pedestrian to "Look to the right." While the nation and parts of the Commonwealth have preserved the direction of their vehicular flow, it now more quaint rather than quintessential. Jolly good! I survived the traffic, making my way safely across Albermarlie Street. Now it is high tea at the Brown and the gastronomic delight of a watercress finger sandwich shared with genteel folk.

It is indeed a service to warn the visitor to mind the (cultural) gap!