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   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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