London’s Fetish

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In America, one thinks of the English as the prim and proper sort, always dressing appropriately, sipping tea, and generally exuding what we like to refer to as “class.” However, in our three days in London we have discovered the Brits’ dirty little secret. A fetish so prevalent that evidence of it litters the streets. It is a city-wide obsession with…gloves.

We have been unable to discover the use of these articles, but discarded gloves of various types and varieties could be found everywhere we went. Under fences (or was that a human hand?), in streets, and by trash bins, we saw work gloves, plastic baggie gloves, and latex gloves (these inspired the most alarm). We saw a policeman preparing to deal with a man on the South Bank donning some bright blue rubber gloves. What was he planning to do that gloves were a necessity? One shudders to think.

One question has been answered in the process though. The Smiths’ song, “Hand In Glove” makes much more sense now.