John: 

This is going to be interesting, getting to know England with
perceptions that are 17 years out of date.  My initial impression is
that the country is more American in many ways both good (brighter, with
more choices in everytbing from buses to food) and bad (less
distinctive, more materialistic) than when I left, but still more
relaxed, more human-scale, than America.  The town where we are
currently living, Grange-over-Sands, has probably changed less than
almost anywhere in the country, in fact is probably little changed since
Edwardian times.  It is still a genteel seaside town fronted by
Morecambe Bay's vast expanses of mud, sand, and river channels, and
backed by rocky wooded hills which lead back to the higher mountains of
the Lake District, fifteen miles to the north.  It is mostly occupied by
older, retired, folk, though this is the only way in which it resembles
U.S. retirement communities like Sun City.  The main street is still
lined with small shops supplying the basics of life- a butcher,
greengrocer, sweet shop, general grocer, electrical shop, etc.  Our
elderly "Aunties" (who themselves date back to Edwardian times though
they have changed a bit since then), living near the town centre, have
been able to get everything they need on foot, and have lived
independently without cars (neither has ever driven one, in fact). 

My morning commute is delightful- beginning with a quick walk to the 
railway station, then a 25-minute sunrise ride on the railway line that 
curves around the Kent Estuary and Morecambe Bay,  with views of 
herons and oyster-catchers by the water. Because I cross the estuary at 
the same time every morning, I will get a slow-motion stroboscopic 
picture of the changing tides over the next couple of weeks- right now 
the tide is out when I go to work.  The sea is miles away, out of sight, 
and the River Kent flows toward it through endless mudflats.  From 
Lancaster Railway station I walk through the city centre to the bus stop, 
and take a bus ride into the University of Lancaster campus, 
surrounded by students who were babies when I last lived in the UK. 
The reverse journey, in the dark when I'm tired, is going to be more of 
a chore, but will improve when it starts being light in the evenings- 
right now the sun sets before 4:30pm.  Our routine might change before 
long, however, as finding long-term accomodation in Grange may be 
harder than we had first hoped, and we may need to move elsewhere.

To be continued.