When does the bus get here? The answer varies depending on where in the world you are. In some parts of Europe you’ll get an answer accurate to the minute. In others you may hear “Mañana”—tomorrow, which as little orphan Annie observed, is always a day away. In Jamaica the question will be followed by a long, thoughtful drag on a cigarette, a glance into the distance, and then the enigmatic “soon come ...” In the South Pacific, the explanation “island time” is used to cover both lateness and earliness.

Ask the question in the UK and again, the answer depends on your whereabouts. In some places you’ll be regarded as the nutter with whom no one wants to sit because you have broken some sort of silence taboo. Other places the only person who will answer will be the nutter, and you’ll be on the receiving end of a tirade, either about the lateness of the buses reflecting everything that …