American Scott Waters visited the West Country, Devon and Cornwall and posted his observations on social media. His humorous comments masquerading as tourist advice to the people of the US soon became an internet phenomenon, attracting 110,000 followers and a six-figure set of likes.

He fell in love with Cornwall the moment he saw it, comparing it to Hawaii, his once home of 20 years. He loves South West coast, and the pasties and cream teas. He has affection for Devon, yet describes the county’s cream teas as “upside down”.

Here’s the best of Scott’s observations:

• Almost everyone is very polite, there are no guns and too many narrow stairs
• The pubs close too early, and are not bars, they are community living rooms
• You’d better like peas, potatoes and sausage
• Everything is generally older, smaller and shorter
• People don’t seem to be afraid of their neighbours or the government
• Hot and cold water faucets. Remember them?
• The bathroom light is a string hanging from the ceiling
• All the signs are well designed with beautiful typography and written in full sentences with proper grammar.
• There’s no dress code
• They eat with their forks upside down
• They don’t seem to use facecloths or napkins or maybe they’re just neater than we are
• The wall outlets all have switches, some don’t do anything
• There are hardly any cops or police cars
• 5,000 years ago, someone arranged a lot of rocks all over, but no one is sure why
• When you do see police they seem to be in male & female pairs and often smiling
• HP sauce is better than catsup
• Obama is considered a hero; Bush is considered an idiot.
• After fish and chips, curry is the most popular food
• The water controls in showers need detailed instructions and they can boil anything
• Nearly everyone is better educated than we are
• If someone buys you a drink you must do the same
• Many of the roads are the size of our sidewalks
• There’s no AC, and instead of turning the heat up, you put on a jumper
• If you speed on a motorway, you get a ticket. Period. Always.
• They took the street signs down during WWII, but haven’t put them all back up yet
• Everyone enjoys a good joke
• Dogs are very well behaved and welcome everywhere
• You can get on a bus and end up in Paris
• Everyone knows more about our history then we do
• Radio is still a big deal. The BBC is quite good
• Beer comes in large, completely filled, actual pint glasses and the closer the brewery the better the beer
• Excess cider consumption can be very painful.