How Driving Restores My Faith in Humanity (Country Roads, Take Me Home)

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 17 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 112

  • @craigjovanovich6450
    @craigjovanovich6450 18 днів тому +24

    Po, I wanted to wish you both a Happy New Year and congratulations for the soon to be addition. :-)

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +3

      Thanks. I forgot to mention that in the video, so I've pinned your comment.

  • @EatRawGarlic
    @EatRawGarlic 16 днів тому +2

    As a European mainlander cycling in England, I was pleasantly surprised by how considerate the English in the countryside still were. All the drivers passing me kept as much distance as physically possible on your beautiful but narrow Postman Pat roads.

  • @stumbling
    @stumbling 18 днів тому +36

    "I'm on a walk because I wanted to get away from my house and my family." Based.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +15

      They are great, I just need an hour or so to myself ocassionally.

    • @aleidius192
      @aleidius192 18 днів тому +8

      Solitude is heathy in small doses.

  • @fadrus
    @fadrus 18 днів тому +15

    Victoria Wood had a joke that went "Sometimes I go for a drive just so I can let people out at junctions".

  • @truthoverlies1820
    @truthoverlies1820 16 днів тому +2

    I have to say I had completely the wrong impression of you a few years ago. Obviously you're a stranger on the Internet but you come across as a very admirable person. Happy new year Po!

  • @jackhadroom4540
    @jackhadroom4540 4 дні тому +1

    I love the symmetry of the last two videos; how four people live in a one-bedroom flat followed by one of those people needing me time!

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  4 дні тому +2

      At least there's always outside when you need it!

  • @radhanisthebold562
    @radhanisthebold562 18 днів тому +9

    I cycle as my hobby and I generally find almost everyone is great and courteous. I really love positive road interactions on my rides.
    Often the road is such that it isn't safe for someone to squeeze by. I'll take the lane here with a wave of acknowledgement and look to help best flow for everyone. People don't expect me to immediately let them by and I don't expect them to wait ages- an agreeable medium is found >99% of the time.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +4

      That's good to hear. I used to cylce to commute before I had a license. Most drivers would wait for a safe place to pass, but a few times a week someone would slip by without using the other lane and come quite close. Like you, I pulled over to let cars pass if they were following more than a few seconds (to get a rest, too).
      Also, pedestrians (yobs and chavs) would heckle me while I was cycling through town, which I didn't like.

  • @1dustbranch111
    @1dustbranch111 5 днів тому +1

    I really liked the flat, I know it was never ideal and something to really wanna move from, but it was lived in so masterfully that despite the small space and short video I got the impression of people loving life

  • @deeayenn
    @deeayenn 17 днів тому +4

    Wow! Great to hear from Po again. And not from under the stairs...
    Hope all is well for you & your family.

  • @FirefoxisredExplorerisblueGoog
    @FirefoxisredExplorerisblueGoog 18 днів тому +4

    You don't do good because you gain something in return, you do good because it's the right thing to do.
    Driving like this and communicating with each other (visually) is of utmost important in my neck of the woods (The Netherlands). Yes, even cyclists and car drivers have this kind of respect for each other. Most foreigners quickly adapt to it too - thankfully - because it's just so omnipresent. And taking the bike is often enough more convenient than driving so they quickly gain a healthy respect for non-car road users.
    Merry (late) Christmas to you and yours and a happy new year :)

    • @rocketpig1914
      @rocketpig1914 18 днів тому

      However in this case, people do let each other past because it helps them get down the road. It makes very little odds who stops first.

  • @invertedgentleman8137
    @invertedgentleman8137 18 днів тому +5

    I think every country's country side is more polite. Congratulations Po. Love to hear from you.

  • @LostInThe0zone
    @LostInThe0zone 17 днів тому +2

    Betwixtmas, perfect. Hope your new year is happy and healthy.

  • @Womberto
    @Womberto 18 днів тому +3

    Happy new year and congrats on the new sproglet.

  • @rat_king-
    @rat_king- 18 днів тому +2

    Merry Christmas Po! and a happy new year!
    And despite the highway code. Mass always wins.

  • @Clyde__Frog
    @Clyde__Frog 18 днів тому +5

    Driving in Cornwall takes this concept to the next level!

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому

      Tell me

    • @sharp1977
      @sharp1977 18 днів тому

      I live in Cornwall and Yes
      Same with walking back from the pub Emits can not under stand why they see people laying in the hedge at nigh. PS we think you are going to run us over lol

    • @Clyde__Frog
      @Clyde__Frog 18 днів тому +2

      The County roads in Cornwall tend to be extremely narrow, hilly and lined with dry stone walls or thick, tall hedges on either side. There are usually many passing spots where a car can pull in to let others pass, but sometimes a driver will actually have to back up 50 or 100m to a passing spot.
      To me this is a minor miricle! I couldn't imagine this working in a lot of other places, there would probably be much horn honking and anger, but everyone just seems to get on with it in a civil manner.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +1

      Interesting. I consider backing up to be a last resort, but I do deploy that maneouvre when it's called for.

    • @eliaseal331
      @eliaseal331 17 днів тому +1

      Can confirm. It must be a bit of a nightmare driving some of the narrower Cornish roads during peak tourist season, unless you’re in no hurry and have a sensibly sized vehicle. Some of the minor coastal roads in South Devon are similar, but not as confined. I guess it’s the price to pay for access to the beautiful English coastal landscape

  • @Terpsichore1
    @Terpsichore1 16 днів тому

    A breath of fresh air- thanks Po!

  • @janmalaszek1459
    @janmalaszek1459 12 днів тому

    Happy New year, nice to see you out from under the stairs!

  • @lapoguslapogus7161
    @lapoguslapogus7161 18 днів тому +4

    The 'who is going to pull over' on singletrack (and even some narrow B or even A roads) is a big issue in the Scotland Highlands, but, because very few roads are flat, it has an extra complexity; the Highway Code says that it's the car which is going downhill which has to stop (because in the old days engines were pretty crap and it made sense to let the car going uphill maintain its momentum). However, increasingly few people now know this rule, so sometimes you stop when going downhill and you find that the car coming up has also stopped. And then you have to break the rule. And vice versa if you are going uphill. On the island of Tiree, singletrack roads are the norm but you don't have to worry about whether you are going up or downhill, as there are very few hills on the island. However, if you stop to let someone past, or they stop to let you past, and you don't give them a friendly 'Tiree wave', word of your anti-social behaviour will go round the island before you have arrived at your destination. Good the house move went well, best wishes for 2025, Po.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +2

      Interesting. I had not considered the uphill/downhill difference and had never heard that rule before. I will try to give way when driving downhill from now on (though it is not very hilly here).
      Never heard of the "Tiree wave" before. I sometimes like to share a dark joke with myself that we are exchanging a Sieg Heil.

    • @williammkydde
      @williammkydde 18 днів тому

      @@PothePerson I never expected an English countryside to be as flat as in your video.

  • @TheMOV13
    @TheMOV13 17 днів тому

    In Germany we talk about the time between Christmas and New Year, as "Zwischen den Jahren" or "between the years" - apparently from times past when people were never quite sure when the year began.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  17 днів тому +1

      The Germans have a word for everything

  • @kriss1_
    @kriss1_ 18 днів тому +2

    It's the same in rural Norway, you nod or wave and make room on the narrow rural roads. It's a stark contrast to general city driving i find. However on narrow end streets in suburbs it is similar, probably because people assume it's their neighbour.

  • @alertmachine
    @alertmachine 18 днів тому +2

    It's so nice to see your vid today.

  • @goodlookinouthomie1757
    @goodlookinouthomie1757 18 днів тому

    What a delightful video Po because it is so integral to the experience I have of driving around country roads in my rural part of Warwickshire. I've constructed my own etiquette around these situations; for example I drive a dented and muddy agricultural 4x4 and I feel that it's appropriate that I am the one who goes "off-road" if I meet someone coming the other way in a smaller car. Also if I meet someone on a hill I try and be considerate and get myself out of the way, especially if the weather is icy or wet, because obviously it's trickier to stop and get moving again if you're going uphill in a front wheel drive vehicle. I'm nothing special as I suspect a lot of people do similar things - I do think this evokes some of the quintessential qualities of Englishness.

    • @dzzope
      @dzzope 17 днів тому +1

      As a delivery driver on similarly narrow roads, it's 50/50(on a spectrum rather than extremes). Some are oblivious to others, some are V considerate, like everything in life I suppose.

  • @23Revan84
    @23Revan84 18 днів тому +1

    Driving here is courteous, people will help you if you’re stuck. Give you the right of way and you have to do it in turn. I see this more among Anglo Americans than foreigners. We have the worst driving on the interstate, this is from the many foreigners who are driving carelessly, not paying attention to the road too busy on their phone. We see many accidents during the winter when they don’t slow down and have their feet on the dashboard.
    Glad you have better living Po, having the country helps a lot.

  • @gundulf5686
    @gundulf5686 18 днів тому +2

    Merry christmas and happy new year

  • @AlBQuirky
    @AlBQuirky 18 днів тому

    Looks like a refreshing walk/break from family. I live in Minnesota, USA where smaller towns still have 4-way stop signs! Happy New Year!

  • @motchey
    @motchey 17 днів тому

    The area you're describing hits all the major points of where i grew up and learned to drive. Tiny village, rural essex, inexplicably with a train station going right into central London.
    My family is from north-east London originally, and all learned to drive there. I learned to drive on roads like this. When I was 18 (not long since I got my licence) I ended up in a situation where I was driving to east London to spend the week, and coming back home at the weekends. Obviously there's a lot of social differences between rural Essex and Barking, but the driving was something I'd always noticed. Driving in cities is bad enough on it's own, but people really are just much worse - angrier, less courteous - behind the wheel if they regularly drive in cities I think. Maybe it's just latent hatred building up from sitting in traffic all day. Only time you get that back home is for the school run and if someone's driven into a ford thinking they could get through it and people are rubbernecking to watch idiots try and pull a mini out of a road river.

  • @eliaseal331
    @eliaseal331 17 днів тому +1

    Wow beautiful! You’re lucky to have those clear skies despite limited daylight hours. There’s been a crazy temperature inversion causing “low clouds” to gather in urban valleys mostly all over England, by all accounts… will clear for crisper cold sunny days after the NYE windy weather front passes however.
    I remember enjoying that peculiar highway high trust reciprocity when I used to drive.
    Happy house warming for 2025 🥂

  • @aleidius192
    @aleidius192 18 днів тому +10

    Single Lane Nationalism

  • @williammkydde
    @williammkydde 18 днів тому +1

    Christmas is 12 days, isn't it?
    Ironically, just today PJWatson came up with a video about an increase in road incidents due to wrong people riding on the right side of the traffic in Britain.
    Merry Christmas and a happy New Year at your new location, Po.

  • @bros4654
    @bros4654 18 днів тому

    Po! So good to see you. It feels like I haven't seen you in forever.
    I hope that your still find time to draw and make art.
    I also experience the "little joy" of small acts of kindness. Sometimes it truly is the little things that make a difference.
    Happy New Year to you and your family!

  • @sakarose
    @sakarose 15 днів тому

    Happy new year!

  • @nickbarber2080
    @nickbarber2080 17 днів тому

    Most people are OK.
    Happy New Year.

  • @some1online2
    @some1online2 18 днів тому +3

    Driving in a city reinforces my lack of faith in humanity!

    • @goodlookinouthomie1757
      @goodlookinouthomie1757 17 днів тому +1

      Well driving in a city is impersonal. On my commute I might meet one car every few minutes as I drive the country roads. I can give them a wave and very often its the same car I waved to the day before. If I happen to go into the city I have line of sight of at least 50 cars at any given moment. It really is a dehumanising environment.

  • @quackhouseproductions5572
    @quackhouseproductions5572 17 днів тому

    I live the narrow lane life. I know all the passing places and how far I would have to reverse and have all the calculations to who needs to reverse. I’m also exceptionally good at reversing. It’s all good fun. Especially with all the dozens of delivery drivers we now have. I hate them all (but 1) and make them reverse.

  • @MarblyMan
    @MarblyMan 18 днів тому

    Can't believe you spoke to Peter F Hamilton! Looking forward to the interview. Happy new year!

  • @rfarrr2817
    @rfarrr2817 18 днів тому +6

    Enjoy it while it lasts. I went hiking across Northern England last year and it was breathtaking.
    However. Multicultural Britain is coming to you. Soon England and the English of old will be memories from a distant land

  • @subj3ctt0chang3
    @subj3ctt0chang3 18 днів тому

    Marry Christmas and Happy New Year, Po!

  • @TheOriginalFishPond
    @TheOriginalFishPond 17 днів тому

    I commented on a video of yours in 2017 about Adam Smith. I see you're doing well, this is good.

  • @MrMontyFontaine
    @MrMontyFontaine 18 днів тому +1

    I look forward to the PFH interview! I don't think I've read anything of his but will have a nose. Can anyone recommend a goo starting novel? Merry Crimble, Po! Congratulations on the news! Also congrats on the move.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +1

      I really like The Great North Road. It's a stand-alone work. It's quite long, but it begins right in the middle of the action so you can get into it quickly.

  • @MakeMeAmerican1812
    @MakeMeAmerican1812 17 днів тому +1

    People who live in rural areas often complain about tourists because they don't understand the unstated rules of the narrow roads.

  • @RedactedBrainwaves2
    @RedactedBrainwaves2 18 днів тому

    New litmus test to go alongside returning the shopping cart.

    • @rocketpig1914
      @rocketpig1914 18 днів тому

      If there is any litmus test, it's who is courteous enough to raise their hand in thanks. Everyone lets you past in the end because it's clearly in their self-interest to do so.

    • @RedactedBrainwaves2
      @RedactedBrainwaves2 17 днів тому

      @@rocketpig1914 fair

  • @some1online2
    @some1online2 18 днів тому

    At least you live in the country, I assumed you were in a town if not a city from your video - very lucky to be out in the country!

  • @CriticallyRealist
    @CriticallyRealist 18 днів тому

    Idea: interview people walking on this road, you setup with a mic on you and a a mic on them. A pub is probably going to be more noisy than the wind on this road. Would be cool, different.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому

      What would I ask?

    • @CriticallyRealist
      @CriticallyRealist 18 днів тому

      @@PothePerson Haha. Po, I think you misunderstood my idea. I didn't meant to interview locals, I mean to find interesting guests, like the "alternative" right sphere you are part of, drive them there or to a similar place where you can walk for like 30 minutes and record the interviews. Would be something different, maybe good, maybe not, IDK.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому

      OOOOH that does sound fun. The most awkward part of filming while walking is passing other walkers. It's a bit embarrassing to film myself in public, but it might be less embarrassing if someone was with me.

    • @CriticallyRealist
      @CriticallyRealist 18 днів тому

      @@PothePerson Yes, it would be fun to watch, I think, I mean it's different. If the format works out you can eventually get better equipment and go to different secret little places that are beautiful in your country. Get us DOA maybe, it has been a long time she doesn't show up anywhere, you don't need to film her, of course.

  • @MindbodyMedic
    @MindbodyMedic 15 днів тому

    The tiny house is to maximise growth potential of the land.
    VERY TRAD

  • @lapoguslapogus7161
    @lapoguslapogus7161 18 днів тому +1

    And on the Isle of Skye, people used to see a Ghost car, which was from another dimension - people would see the car coming in the distance, so stop and wait for it to pass. But it would never appear. It's a tragic story, but even for a ghost story it has an amazing twist. This sets the scene - ua-cam.com/video/yqmkEeQIzBc/v-deo.html but Neil Oliver explains the whole story here: ua-cam.com/video/d4NxUGXvJQ8/v-deo.html

  • @burlatsdemontaigne6147
    @burlatsdemontaigne6147 18 днів тому +1

    It's the same in the city - London - where I live. If you don't let people out of side roads or let cars merge into lanes ahead of you the entire place would grind to a halt. Conversely in Australia, where i have also driven quite a lot, any 'yielding'' to another driver is seen as a weakness and they all drive like absolute arseholes.
    Congats on the new baby too!

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому

      That's a country of convicts for you!
      I didn't expect Londoners to be this courteous, so thanks for enlightening me.

  • @JoeeyTheeKangaroo
    @JoeeyTheeKangaroo 18 днів тому

    An uninsured driver crashed into me last night.

  • @jamesconnolly5164
    @jamesconnolly5164 18 днів тому +2

    These are Western norms and customs that come from who and what we are. Don't think it's a human universal or that you'll keep it once the founding stock of your country is erased.

    • @dgphi
      @dgphi 16 днів тому

      Yeah, driving courtesy has really eroded over the last few decades in the city where I am in Australia. Drivers routinely block me from changing lanes. Thank-you waves are virtually non-existent now where they used to be common.

  • @radimnechut519
    @radimnechut519 18 днів тому

    I believe it a mark of a healthy driving culture and properly working traffic. I at least know these situations from my European country, so I would guess it would be similar in many other European countries. I heard an argument for Italians being best drivers on basis similar to this. They, at least nowadays, drive seemingly with little to no regard for the traffic _laws,_ but they seem to still behave on the road according to some _code,_ which allows them to drive fast and safe.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +1

      That is a distinction I had not considered.
      Personally, I found it difficult to cross the road in Italy , as a pedestrian.

  • @travtotheworld
    @travtotheworld 18 днів тому +1

    In addition to the Shopping Cart Theory and the Right of Way Reciprocity Rule as building blocks of strong societies, I would like to add the Purchase to Pee Principle. Generally, outside of major cities in the US, you can use the bathroom at most any store or gas station regardless of whether or not you buy anything. HOWEVER, almost no one would ever use a public restroom at a store without at least buying SOMETHING, even just a pack of gum or bottle of water. It would just be considered rude and inappropriate not to.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому

      I made a short video about public restroom gatekeeping last year. It was called The High Trust Horseshoe.

    • @goodlookinouthomie1757
      @goodlookinouthomie1757 17 днів тому

      Yes high trust is the lynchpin of it Po. If this is not upheld then you end up with the many towns and cities these days where it's routine to see human effluence on the street.

  • @cannaroe1213
    @cannaroe1213 18 днів тому

    Do NOT yield
    Do NOT make space
    In this life you're either the obstructed, or the obstruction.
    Stand you're ground!
    Be the immovable object all unstoppable forces fear.
    Gravity is not a constant, but a field.
    Become. massive.

  • @davidwilliams5248
    @davidwilliams5248 17 днів тому

    "Country Roads, Take me Home" is much much better in the original Welsh "Ffyrdd y Wlad" which you can find here on youtube.

  • @marktyler3381
    @marktyler3381 18 днів тому +1

    I don't get notifications from you anymore. I will make an effort to support you.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +2

      But you found me anyway, so well done. If you keep watching, UA-cam will get the idea, I'm sure.

    • @marktyler3381
      @marktyler3381 18 днів тому

      @PothePerson Karen Straum sent me your way many years ago.I don't get any notifications from her either!

  • @SP-yl1qz
    @SP-yl1qz 18 днів тому

    I was hoping for another reading of A Christmas Carol from you. Or at least an abridged version - you could have provided your own relevant illustrations.

  • @FullMonterey
    @FullMonterey 18 днів тому

    Golden One vibes

  • @sharp1977
    @sharp1977 18 днів тому +2

    See a woman just back up will be faster in the long run

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +2

      Maybe this explains why people appear to be so courteous

  • @jackhadroom4540
    @jackhadroom4540 17 днів тому

    A new child on the way? Cool. Is Mr Po hoping and praying for a boy?

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  17 днів тому +1

      He doesnt believe in the power of hope or prayer
      but yes

  • @Fedoratip79
    @Fedoratip79 18 днів тому

    Wellington city drivers are really good, it's a deteriorating high trust society. But Wellington city drivers are still mostly the most considerate in the country, largely because the roads are often very narrow and twisty. And if that's where you've learned to drive it becomes a habit to go on certain roads at 25 k or less and make room for the neighbors. Just going as far as Lower Hutt is a culture shock as everyone speeds up to 50 ks even around all the corners.

  • @dcpack
    @dcpack 18 днів тому +1

    It is bizarre to this American that those roads exist like that. Seems to be plenty of shoulder to at least widen most of that road. Although, it could be intentional to force civilized behavior. Happy New Year!

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  18 днів тому +3

      I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect that the land on either side is owned by the farmers. The roads were built on top of the dirt track that was once the field boundary between two properties

    • @Raygun9000
      @Raygun9000 18 днів тому +1

      ​@@PothePerson as I understand it (at least where I live) the roads were often planned by the parish council way back when. So it's usually a matter of cost as there were so few people paying for it.

  • @KonyCurrentYear
    @KonyCurrentYear 18 днів тому

    Hey Po

  • @MOOSEHEADstadia2024
    @MOOSEHEADstadia2024 17 днів тому

    Do you still have a space under the stairs? On another note, I wonder if Dawkins still attributes this courtesy to a evolutionary impulse. If so, it flies in the face of Darwin. Have a happy new year and may God bless your family.

    • @PothePerson
      @PothePerson  17 днів тому

      Our new house does indeed have a space under the stairs, though it's a cupboard at the moment.

  • @banderfargoyl
    @banderfargoyl 18 днів тому +1

    American here. Our bicycle lanes are wider than that.

  • @knickebien1966
    @knickebien1966 18 днів тому

    Hi Po!

  • @UnrulyU-Turn
    @UnrulyU-Turn 18 днів тому

    I'm in Florida. They drive drunk and on drugs. And they're all going to jail.

  • @TheAnglishTimes
    @TheAnglishTimes 16 днів тому

    Some systems should not be contributed to.

  • @DavidWhite-n7v
    @DavidWhite-n7v 18 днів тому

    If you want shitty roads, you can get them much cheaper outside the London commuter belt