Today, cheaper electricity and fuel prices, better insulation, and more modern lifestyle allow Brits to walk around the house in June without a sweater. American fast food is here in abundance. Twenty-five years ago there was one Kentucky Fried Chicken that I knew of in London. No McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut. Now, they're everywhere.
Brits are more concerned about crime and violence now.
Traditionally, the police do not carry guns, but the Nottingham force is regularly going on patrol with guns now. Several other changes come to mind, but here is the one that struck me most deeply. Even though it had been over for nearly 30 years when I first went to Britain, World War II still occupied an important place in the British mind and heart. Many of the everyday habits of the British then had been picked up during the war and passed on to the next generation. People talked about the war, and if they remembered it, related personal experiences.