Hi, Ardith Hinton! -> Alexander Koryagin
I read your message from 16.12.2020 22:21

 AK>> So we see why the cavaliers could not afford the right road
 AK>> traffic. If the queen got off the horse/carriage from the left
 AK>> side going to the Buckingham palace,

 AH> |AFAIK residences which have names... such as
 AH>  Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and Windsor
 AH>  Castle... don't usually involve "the".  But I
 AH>  have heard talk of the Smith residence or the
 AH>  old Johnson place (e.g.) when the building is
 AH>  not generally known by any other title.

 AK>> it was a strong example.

 AH> Interesting thought. Not all European countries accepted the idea
 AH> of driving on the right at the same time... and I don't know when
 AH> Russia did.

In technique, Russia, during the Tsarist time, followed mostly behind France,
Germany and Italy. A lot of specialists were invited from these countries, and
we adopted many things from them.

 AH> But IMHO what teamsters & other working class folks preferred may
 AH> have carried more weight in countries where a lot of folks wanted
 AH> to get rid of the monarchy too. In feudal times... when only the
 AH> upper classes could afford to ride horses they personally owned on
 AH> thoroughfares available to everybody else... I reckon there was
 AH> less competition for space. As times changed, a lot more may have
 AH> depended on how her subjects felt about their queen. And I imagine
 AH> countries which were next door to one another would have found it
 AH> inconvenient to have people switch sides every time they crossed
 AH> the border, just as we did in North America.

The UK is isolated in this sense. Maybe it is the reason why it has followed
its own habits without looking at its neighbours.

 AK>> You should not rake your brains and think which variant is better.
 AK>> That's why they still follow the rule in England.

 AH> Because my experience with horses is almost nil, I found it a
 AH> stretch to get my mind around the various reasons some folks prefer
 AH> one over another... especially now that we no longer have knights
 AH> who use swords & lances, and most farm produce is transported by
 AH> truck &/or by train. I am reminded of a story I once heard to the
 AH> effect that the distance between railway tracks is equivalent to
 AH> the width of a horse's rear end, since that's how the ancient
 AH> Romans did it. This strikes me as being akin to folk etymology, but
 AH> I can't help noticing that the gauge is narrower in coal mines
 AH> where Welsh ponies are used... [chuckle].

All temporal railways are usually narrow-gauged. They don't need big speed, but
you can save a lot of wood on sleepers.

 AH> WRT the way things are done in the Old Country, I can relate. If
 AH> the Brits drive on the left it doesn't matter to me. I just have to
 AH> remember (as a pedestrian) that the kindergarten rules I was taught
 AH> work in reverse Over There.. and that the pounds, shillings, and
 AH> pence in our school math textbooks have been replaced by a system
 AH> which took Dallas & me a bit of getting used to. The first time we
 AH> travelled to England as a couple, we got some coins labelled "ten
 AH> new pence" in change & had to ask a relative what on earth that
 AH> signified.: - Q

But to understand the decimal system is a lot easier than the old English one.
I also knew the latter sometime, when I learned English, reading "Essential
English for foreign students", by C. E. Eckersley. But I don't remember the old
British money now. I forgot it probably by the same reason the UK dropped it.
;)

 AH> [re the British roundabouts]
 AK>> But we also have a circular motion in the places where several
 AK>> roads are connected with a doughnut style road. It works, too.

 AH> It works in England & I think we could make it work. What we have
 AH> in this neck of the woods, however, are the so-called "traffic
 AH> calming devices" on residential streets. We saw them in England as
 AH> well.

We called them "Sleeping policeman" (a speed bump). Its a very useful thing. We
in Russia have a long time saying that there are two main troubles in Russia -
fools and bad roads. Times have changed. The roads have become good and smooth.
And fools are speeding along them with crazy speed. So - "Don't make good roads
for fools!", I invented my own saying. ;-)

Bye, Ardith Hinton!
Alexander Koryagin

english_tutor 2020

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