I had not given him enough money. Well, I was ready for that one. I spoke not a word of the lingo, but I flourished the calculator at him, pointed at the pump and entered 7.5, pressed multiply, pointed at the sign and entered 1100 and showed him the answer. His mates were pissing themselves laughing, and after a second of disbelief he grinned as well. His mates laughed again.
Brits have a reputation for being fantastically careful with their money.
Well, I certainly reinforced the stereotype that day, and, I think, won a little respect. And the night was bloody long. I got ravenously hungry, but after a while the hunger went away, and all I was conscious of was the fatigue, the steady note of my engine and the comforting glow of my instrument dials. I decided it would be a good idea to pull into a service area and try to sleep on the grass for a couple of hours. Sod It and got going again.