# Ask the fairly average British bloke\* **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259 "2001-06-01T21:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/1 "2001-06-01T21:00:38Z")
hey, why not? \*that’s me, BTW. (Sincere apologies to those of you who are finding these _ask the…_ topics tedious) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/2 "2001-06-01T21:02:02Z")
dammit, sorry, didn’t mean to post it here in GD, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/3 "2001-06-01T21:17:06Z")
how in God’s name do you tolerate that gloomy weather without drugs? You have sunshine what… 5 days a year? Who can stand that? blah But hey, you can \* talk \* to me all day long… ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/4 "2001-06-01T21:29:01Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Hm…no politicans or politics, no sex, no religion, no rhetoric…get thee to IMHO. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/5 "2001-06-01T22:43:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\*how in God’s name do you tolerate that gloomy weather without drugs? > > You have sunshine what… 5 days a year? Who can stand that? > > blah > > But hey, you can \* talk \* to me all day long… \*\* The winter of 2000/2001 has seen the highest rainfall since records began, I have been unable to work on my garden or allotment until fairly late in the spring. The variable weather gives us something to talk/complain about. We do, however get fairly hot summers most of the time (Britain isn’t as it is portrayed in the Sherlock Holmes films, well most of the time anyway) Personally, I love the variety of our seasons, OK it’s not warm enough for citrus trees to survive our winters which is probably my only regret. Perhaps I should turn the question around and ask: wouldn’t you find that having unbearably hot, sunny days all the time might get just a little boring? PS: thanks for moving the thread **Gaudere** ---
**Author:** ![VitrolicBump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a587f6/32.png) [@VitrolicBump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VitrolicBump)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/6 "2001-06-01T22:56:42Z")
Maybe not all the time, but that is the first thing that popped into my head. > [@](#): > > Wouldn’t you find that having unbearably hot, sunny days all the time might get just a little boring? Just thought I would answer as one who deals with this 10 months(if I am that lucky) out of the year. I do find it a little boring. Living in this area, I feel like I am in Hell. I don’t think there is a hell after life, because I know God strategically placed a few of them around the world.🙂 The problem is, I probably wouldn’t move anywhere else. Well, maybe I would. Someone, take me away. Please? ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/7 "2001-06-01T23:19:51Z")
So why didn’t you turn up when we had a London dopefest a few months ago ? ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/8 "2001-06-02T00:08:03Z")
Is the Britpop scene dead? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/9 "2001-06-02T00:19:46Z")
OK, I’ll bite. Here’s a few questions: 1. What do you think is the biggest misconception Americans have about Brits? 2. Why do British car magazines hate American cars so much? 3. What’s the current attitude toward the Royal family? 4. What American thing do you wish you had in the UK (if anything)? 5. What are some things Americans can do to not piss off your fellow Brits when travelling in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/10 "2001-06-02T00:40:25Z")
What’s the story about those tests aspiring college students take? Firsts vs. seconds? And what exactly is a “public” school? In the USA “public” schools are those that are state-operated, and private schools are those that aren’t. What grades are children given in schools? In Switzerland we were graded from 6 to 1, with 6 being the best grade and 1 being the lowest. In France it used to be 20 to 1 (with 20 being the best grade.) In the USA the grades in elementary education are A, B, C, D, F with A being best and F being worst. High schools/colleges translate those grades to a numerical system, A being 4.0 and F being 0.0. ---
**Author:** ![McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/11 "2001-06-02T00:52:34Z")
I hope you don’t mind me hopping on the bandwagon but different opinions can only be a good thing, right? > [@](#): > > how in God’s name do you tolerate that gloomy weather without drugs? I don’t. The second I have the money I’m emigrating someplace warm. I love my country as much as the next guy but for fucks sake, we have longer winters than Antarctica! > [@](#): > > Is the Britpop scene dead? It’s not strictly dead, it’s evolved. Bands that used to exemplify Britpop such as Oasis, Blur, Supergrass etc… have all moved on to different styles of music. Young Britpop upstarts such as Clearlake also show signs of being influenced by the more experimental musicians their peers have become. Old Britpop is dead, new Britpop his just beginnng. > [@](#): > > What do you think is the biggest misconception Americans have about Brits That we’re all uptight and sexually repressed. > [@](#): > > Why do British car magazines hate American cars so much They hate all non-German cars. > [@](#): > > What’s the current attitude toward the Royal family It ranges, on the most part, from strong support to total apathy. I myself dislike them but I’m in a minority. Most people don’t really care about them > [@](#): > > What American thing do you wish you had in the UK (if anything)? Caprice, Cindy Crawford, Sarah Michelle Gellar, that really fit bird from the Dorito’s adverts (you know who I mean) Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu…the list is endless 🙂 > [@](#): > > What are some things Americans can do to not piss off your fellow Brits when travelling in the UK Well one thing that annoys me and something that I’ve only found to be peculiar to American tourists is the way you talk _really_ loudly on public transport. It seems to stop as soon as you get off but when you’re crammed into a dirty smelly tube train with about 500 other people with your nose shoved into some fat, sweaty old woman’s armpit the last thing you need to hear is a planned itinerary of a whistle stop tour around London at full volume. But even that’s not _really_ annoying. I had to think for about 5 minutes to come up with that. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/12 "2001-06-02T04:07:08Z")
Okay, since you offered and we’re Fighting Ignorance and all…what’s with the class thing? Now I’ll emphasize the U.S. sure isn’t a classless society either but the signals and context are way different, y’know? The outside view is distinctly schizophrenic and probably totally divorced from reality: classic and pop culture collide. This may be unanswerable but there has to be _some_ base of relative influence. Everyday life in Britain surely can’t be a “Masterpiece Theater” set with stereotypical _types_–rockers, soccer thugs, etoliated aristocrats, etc.–tossed in for color. So…what’s going on? Veb ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/13 "2001-06-02T09:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > **how in God’s name do you tolerate that gloomy weather without drugs?** I love the weather here! Not too hot, not too cold. Moderate sun. Doesn’t rain too much (for my liking), but the moisture is sufficient that the grass and shrubs stay green year round – a big boost to morale for those who find winter generally depressing. Also there’s not too much ice and snow, at least where I am on the coast. The only thing I don’t like is the excessive wind. Mr Nim has suddenly decided he wants to move to the States, and I think the thing I’ll miss most is the weather! I dread going back to those extreme temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/14 "2001-06-02T10:17:57Z")
OK. Why are there certain accents that other Britishers (a word I just invented) consider dead common but leave me paralyzed with lust? And which London suburb should I emmigrate to? ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/15 "2001-06-02T10:37:44Z")
Do you really eat all? ---
**Author:** ![illuminati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@illuminati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illuminati)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/16 "2001-06-02T13:31:48Z")
i am English and I love it. Englands got most of the good things America has but without the Americans and gun crimes. I believe that there is no real ‘class system’ any more and the only people that think there is are trying to put others down. If you think your are upperclass your are not. England has snowy winters and fairly hot and sunny summers, but for some reason in every film it depicted as miserable. All British men are not sexually repressed, as depicted by John Cleese in a ‘fish called wonda’. England is an exciting place to be living in at the moment ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/17 "2001-06-02T16:09:14Z")
What’s up with English cuisine? Why are there no “English” restaurants in America? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/18 "2001-06-02T18:08:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheVoiceofReason \* > … that really fit bird from the Dorito’s adverts (you know who I mean) \*\* Name’s [Ali Landry](http://www.google.com/search?q=Ali+Landry), if you want to download her pix or cyberstalk her or something. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/19 "2001-06-02T21:08:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*OK, I’ll bite. Here’s a few questions: > > 1. What do you think is the biggest misconception Americans have about Brits? > > 2. Why do British car magazines hate American cars so much? > > 3. What’s the current attitude toward the Royal family? > > 4. What American thing do you wish you had in the UK (if anything)? > > 5. What are some things Americans can do to not piss off your fellow Brits when travelling in the UK? > > \*\* 1. Crikey, dunno, perhaps that we are overly reserved, or insular, not sure really. 2. Don’t read them except in waiting rooms, but (Opinion) I’d imagine it stems from the (perhaps false) conception that American cars are big and fuel-thirsty. 3. Disinterest mostly, although the media is always trying to whip something up. 4. Beef jerky 5. Ask if it’s near London, compare things unfavourably with those at home (although this is inevitable and **all** tourists do it). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259/20 "2001-06-02T21:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*What’s the story about those tests aspiring college students take? Firsts vs. seconds? And what exactly is a “public” school? In the USA “public” schools are those that are state-operated, and private schools are those that aren’t. What grades are children given in schools? In Switzerland we were graded from 6 to 1, with 6 being the best grade and 1 being the lowest. In France it used to be 20 to 1 (with 20 being the best grade.) In the USA the grades in elementary education are A, B, C, D, F with A being best and F being worst. High schools/colleges translate those grades to a numerical system, A being 4.0 and F being 0.0. \*\* It’s been a while since I was in school, and the grading system has changed since then; my own kids are only just starting school, but… A ‘Public’ school is actually private (yes I _know_) and the parents have to pay for the education (I think this is sometimes subsidised by a grant). The examinations that children take at the end of their compulsory education are called GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education, I think), which replaced a dual system of GCEs and CSEs, which were in place when I attended school. (GCEs were more advanced than CSEs, GCEs had grades A-F and Ungraded, I believe, and CSEs had grades 1-5 and ungraded). I think the current system of GCSEs has quite a few more grade levels. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-fairly-average-british-bloke/67259.md?page=2)