In advance

So far during these months of British life I really have no complaints about British people. They say sorry when they bump on you (and in lots of other occasions) and, even more important, they try not to bump on you on the tube. But apart from all the politeness and sense of humour, there is one British habit that really drives me crazy. Planning everything too much in advance!

I can't just pop up at the salon and have my hair cut, even if the woman that cuts the hair has nothing to do at the moment. I have to call them and set an appointment.

I even like when people tell me about parties that will happen one month from now, but it still sounds strange. How can I know if I can go to a party one month from now? I can assure you I want (or not) to go today, but I don't have a clue if I will have a headache or a terrible deadline for the following day.

And what about restaurants? Half the fun of dining out is when you figure out, by the end of the day "today I'm in the mood for Japanese food!" and then go there and eat lots of sushi and sashimi. Not that I eat out here in London, but that's what I used to do in Rio (when I was rich compared to my current student budget). The only time we have a proper restaurant dinner here we celebrated my birthday one day after the right day, because the restaurant we wanted to go was already fully booked. I wonder if British people has ever heard of spontaneity.

But with no doubt the worst "centuries in advance" thing is buying tickets for concerts. Six, seven months in advance!!! Sometimes almost a year! How can I possibly know if I will still like this band eight months from now? Or that I will be on the mood for music and crowded places that specific Saturday? I don't even know if I will still be at London or someone will have offered me a great job in Reykjavik!

Anyway, it doesn't matter for the planning gods of UK. Buy it now or regret it later. Ages later.

I imagine a single woman living in the UK, who buys tickets months in advance for theatre and concerts. One day she starts to date a nice guy, who becomes her boyfriend. During the first six months of their relationship, he can't go with her to any of the concerts that she booked when she hasn't met him. But they are already buying tickets for concerts the following year, this time planning to attend to them together.

Now imagine they break up. What happens? For the next six months, will she be haunted by the possibility of meeting the guy in all the places they planned to go together? Or should he sell her the tickets? What is the right way to deal with these things? Is there a special kind of etiquette?