Leeds and British Plumbing

After Birmingham, Shirley and Warwick we headed up the M1 with Newcastle as our primary destination. However, we made it as far as Leeds and decided to stop for the night. After a long day on the road and meeting with relatives we decided that more driving would be dangerous. So, we pulled into a Travel Lodge and luckily got a room. From here we booked rooms for the rest of our stay in the UK.

The drive was not without sights: we quickly passed Nottingham, Sherwood Forest, Sheffield and Castle Donnington. Just inside Leeds we found a nice little place to stop and wander around on horse trails. It was a great place to stop and enjoy the peace of the British countryside.

In Leeds I came up with the saying, it takes a physics degree to figure out British plumbing. Each place we’ve visited has had some unique way of setting up their bathroom, each different from the others. Leeds was a real puzzle. It took us each about five minutes to figure out how the shower worked. dP went first and after a while I started to wonder if he was ok because the water was running, but the shower wasn’t on. After his shower he came out and said, “I have a puzzle for you. See if you can get the shower to work.”

So, in I trekked and stood forever with the water running trying to figure out how to get the damn shower to work. I pushed every button I could find, pulled and twisted everything that looked like it moved, played with the shower head itself, and in the end stood completely perplexed. It was only when I went to turn the water off that I discovered that you turn the tap used to turn the water on in the opposite direction. One way turns it on for the tub and the other way turns it on for the shower!

This little piece of knowledge was no help whatsoever at the next hotel, because there was completely different plumbing system and another puzzle. In Birmingham the puzzle was how to keep the water running the entire time you’re in the shower.