NHS debates and opera

I had my second class today - Contemporary Britain. The teacher seems pretty cool, and very approachable and knowledgeable. Not about traffic apparently, as he's never driven and was a bit astounded by all our questions about driving rules, but about London and Britain he seems to have it all at the tip of his fingers.
We talked a lot about the monarchy and the Queen, and what she's really like (nobody really knows, other than a few random facts). And then yours truly inadvertently started a debate about the National Health Service, and health care in general. He said that however much people complain about it and try and reform it, nobody wants to get rid of it. The political parties may debate on the best way to reform the NHS, but they're united in their support of it. And that caused contention.
Justin (the professor) says that people have heated political debates here, and can be totally opposed ideologically and politically, but they remain great friends, which I personally don't see much of in the US. Both he and Mary have said that people in the US judge quicker, and they judge by things like opinions, beliefs, and sexuality. They have said (and I have yet to verify this for myself) that in the UK, people judge slower and on the basis of what you do. An affair wouldn't necessarily ruin a politician's career here. So a slower judgment on the basis of deeds leads to more understanding and an ability to be friends despite different political leanings.
And then I watched the Incredibles. The BBC has a website where you watch the stuff that they showed the day before. I love love love it.
I had two opportunities to hear opera tonight. One was in the Piccadilly Circus tube station, with a guy holding a long tremulous note, and one was a girl in the lower area of Covent Garden market. She sang "I Could Have Danced All Night", and one Italian one that roughly translated to "Dad, if you don't let me marry this boy I'll kill myself". The Italian one might have been a bit over my head.
But the wandering around tonight was fun. I went to Piccadilly Circus and walked around for a while. Dusk really doesn't seem the time for Piccadilly - either in the morning so everything's visible, or at night so the lights stand out. Dusk = lame. But I took a couple back streets (if there is such a thing in that area) and ended up in Covent Garden. It was a combination of cool stores that are way too expensive for me, and little stalls of crafty things. I saw some neat jewelry and really cool photographs. It was a bit of a zoo, since it's by a lot of theatres, but I found a place to get waffles with frozen yogurt on top, and it was pretty cool.
Tomorrow is my full day of classes (all two), and I'm sure that Screenwriting at least will have some stories.
I'm hoping I don't have to go back out tonight, but I think I'm pretty well out of groceries AGAIN. Despite all I buy and eat, I'm never full.