Rob Blackhurst

I'm just back from a frentic trip from Shining Sea to Shining Sea - dipping my toe in the Pacific and the Atlantic and exposed my whey pallor to some gorgeous Floridian and Californian sunshine. My insane travel schedule meant that had lots of time as I looked at nothingness/shack/nothingness/chapel/nothingness/boiled peanut stand to ruminate on cultural differences between Britain and America. I made a mental note of all the things that, despite globalisation, we have yet to import from Stateside.

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1. Free phone/laptop charging at Airports. This is surely the mark of a civilized society. And something the hellishly corporate Heathrow would never, ever think of.

2. Ok, we've had McDonalds in England for thirty years - but the American version is so much better. (I'll try and avoid a Pulp-Fiction style riff here). The honest American is trusted to pour his own super-size Coke - unlike here - and there's a grilled chicken fillet thing on offer that is actually edible.

3. Californian Supermarkets - especially one by the name of Ralph's. (I kept thinking of Judy Bloom's Forever when I saw that name - but maybe I'm unique in that). This place makes Waitrose look like Doncaster Co-Op in 1952. The fruit and vegetable section belongs on Pandora.

4. Civility. Brits still cling to some undeserved reputation for being polite - all entirely untrue. Whereas the average American still is incredibly warm, helpful, and prone to invite you round for home-made spaghetti.

5. People actually still drive Pontiac Firebirds. In fact, I rode in one. I have never seen one on an English road.

6. Cab-drivers with flamboyantly Right-wing views. In England, cabbies may often be Thatcherites but rarely say anything very interesting. In America, a casual ride in a yellow taxi can leave one exposed to a filing cabinet full of conspiracy theories. The Tea-partier who picked me up in Panama City told me at great length why Elvis was killed by the CIA, and why Obama was, in fact, born in a Kenyan village, and how his birth certificate had been forged.

7. Air-hostesses. There is something so comforting about American air hostesses. I'm not sure why. They have a kind of slightly maternal sarcasm and warmth that is entirely winning. Or maybe anything is better than BA.