Home Life in Britain

Factual Questions
1

Being a US fan of shows like “Bob & Margaret”, “Waiting for God”, “Keeping Up Appearances”, and “Are You Being Served” I get a rather limited view of what a British home is like. These questions are for Dopers in the UK who may be able to clarify and correct any misjudgments on my part.

  1. Is a standard refrigerator in Britain approximately 4 foot high? The ones I see are typically built into a countertop. It also seems that freezer space is extremely small as well. I know from traveling in London, that British restaurants are not big on ice cubes (or at least don’t offer unless asked).

  2. Do you have to put electrical plugs together yourself? For example, it looks like electric space heaters and televisions come with bare wire. It is up to the consumer to assemble to plug and remember “green is earth” (grounding?)

  3. Does the average British household get bothered a lot with door-to-door salespeople? It seems from watching these programs that salespeople come to the door a lot. They sell everything from house products, to satellite television, to bendy toy dinosaurs on the television shows.

  4. Do British households still get milk product delivered to their door in glass containers?

  5. When it comes to televisions, are most Britons satisfied with an 18” screen or less in their living rooms? Most of the televisions in these programs tend to be rather small compared to the 27”+ behemoths in the USA.

2

[ul]
[li]Fridges - it depends how much space you have. I have a small fridge with a tiny freezer compartment, because that’s all there’s room for in the flat. My parents have a much larger (6’) fridge/freezer.[/li]
[li]Plugs - most electrical goods come with pre-wired plugs these days. I haven’t had to assemble one in years.[/li]
[li]Salespeople - I can only speak from personal experience, but I’ve encountered maybe one door-to-door salesperson in the last ten years. Telesales is much more common, but I guess it’s not as telegenic.[/li]
[li]Milk - most people get milk in cartons from shops, especially in cities. Delivered milk bottles are still available, but are definitely on the decline.[/li]
TV size - it’s not the size of the screen, it’s the quality of the programs (!). As well as house-size constraints, I think traditionally the lack of choice in TV viewing meant that people weren’t bothered by having state-of-the-art TV/cinema systems. With satellite, cable and digital TV very common now I think that take-up is much higher.[/ul]

3

I don’t know if I’d call it standard, but certainly quite common. Houses in the UK are generally quite a bit smaller than North America, so there’s not enough room for massive appliances.

Yes, absolutely nothing comes with a plug already attached… you have to buy it seperately… a big con if you ask me!

It’s been a while since I lived there, but I can’t say I ever noticed that…

I would suspect that many people just get it in plastic jugs from the supermarket these days… but yes, there are still milkmen doing daily deliveries

This would be more of a personal choice I guess… however, keep in mind that again, houses are smaller in general, so you’re closer to the TV in an average UK home. Also, as the TV signal is PAL, the quality is better, so you can get away with a slightly smaller screen. I’m sure cost would have something to do with it also… while I’ve not seen recent prices, I bet that a large screen TV costs a small fortune.

4

Oops… I didn’t know that… it’s been a while :slight_smile:

5

The programmes you mention are all presenting a slightly stylised, and somewhat out-of-date picture of British middle class lifestyles. I wouldn’t take them as gospel. However, to take your points in order…

  1. Waist-high refrigerators are pretty normal. I’ve got one. But then I live alone in a small flat, I don’t need a big freezer. People who feel they need them, have them.

  2. This was pretty much a standard until a few years ago. The trend towards supplying plugs and batteries with products that need them is something of an innovation, but a welcome one. (As recently as 1994, my mother wrote a letter of thanks to a shop where they put a plug on her new electric kettle for her).

  3. I think this is in decline. The only people who’ve ever knocked on my door are political canvassers and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Junk mail, now, that’s a different matter…

  4. Yes. Well, some do. I think this is declining from “almost universal” to “pretty common”.

  5. There are plenty of big-screen TVs in the shops, someone must be buying them… particularly at the moment, as we are supposed to be going over to all-digital television by 2006, which is making lots of people buy new, digitally-compatible sets. (On the other hand, I only traded up to an 18" model once smoke started to come out of the top of my old 14" set… but, then, I might not be average in this regard…)

6

[slight hijack]

On British television sets – I always noticed that in 1970s and 1980s Britcoms, televisions had picture tubes that projected out from the face of the set. During that time, in the United States and Canada, picture tubes were recessed behind the face of the set. (Now, the picture tube is usually flush with the face, which is shaped to match the curve of the picture tube.) I can’t see how NTSC/PAL format issues don’t play a role in whether picture tubes are projecting from or recessed into the set.

There’s weird schedule times, too, with shows in the UK starting on the quarter hour or twenty minutes after the hour, but I won’t get into that.

I wonder what Britons think the typical Anglo-North American home is like, considering the growing amount of U.S. shows on their airwaves. Do you Pommies really think kids straight out of college can afford 2,000 square foot lofts in midtown Manhattan? Do you think every house is like what you see on the Sopranos?

[/slight hijack]

7

I’ve never heard of ‘Bob and Margaret’! (Also ‘Are you being served?’ was set in a store.)

  1. Is a standard refrigerator in Britain approximately 4 foot high?
    Mine is, but I’m single.

  2. Do you have to put electrical plugs together yourself?
    I don’t know how to. Everything I’ve bought in the last 20 years came with one.

  3. Does the average British household get bothered a lot with door-to-door salespeople? It seems from watching these programs that salespeople come to the door a lot. They sell everything from house products, to satellite television, to bendy toy dinosaurs on the television shows.
    Depends where you live, though it’s certainly not as bad as the TV (just a plot device). The latest fashion is ‘energy providers’, though charity collections and electioneering feature regularly. I get about 1 visitor a week, or less.

  4. Do British households still get milk product delivered to their door in glass containers?
    Dying out.

  5. When it comes to televisions, are most Britons satisfied with an 18” screen or less in their living rooms?
    Size doesn’t matter! I have 21", my parents have 14", my mate has about 40", plus a special sound system.
    I think most are small, but it’s changing as the price comes down.

8

Refridgerators - Depends on the way the kitchen units are intalled. Some are five feet high and divided halfway up into fridge and freeze, this saves floor space, others fit under the work counters.

Only time you have to fit a plug these days is if you need to change a damaged lead or if the plug as been damaged.

Door-to-door, sit-coms can be very conservative in their attitudes and this is just a stereotype plot device.Some neighborhoods do get salespersons but rarely do they actually sell the product there and then, they are often opinion pollsters.
Most householders would never trust a complete stranger offering double glazing or roof maintenance etc to be reliable.

Yup milk is still delivered in glass bottles, and most milkies will also supply other products.

TV’s are usually 24" at least. You will usually find smaller ones in bedrooms.

9

elmwood - I don’t know what you were watching, but most shows start on the hour of half-hour.

10

The shows listed in the OP mostly premiered in the UK at least a decade ago:

Are You Being Served: 1972 to 1985
Keeping Up Appearances: 1990 to 1995
Waiting for God: 1990 to 1994
Bob & Margaret: 1998 (This ran for such a short time that it’s not surprising that many people don’t remember it.)

Given that a decade has gone by, you can expect that some things have changed. I lived in the U.K. from 1987 to 1990 and you still had to install your own plugs on most things. This has changed in the past decade. The TV shows started and ended at odd times. This may have changed since then. I got my milk delivered. This is now becoming less common, I gather. (In the '50’s in the U.S., it was still common to get milk delivered.) Some things were changing in the U.K. even during the period when I lived there. The town I lived in got its first really large supermarket, comparable in size to the ones I shop at in the U.S.

U.S. houses and apartments are about 50% larger on average, so it’s not surprising that refrigerators and TV’s are larger on average.

Door-to-door salesmen are no more common in the U.K. than in the U.S.

As has already been pointed out, a lot of American TV shows are filled with utter lies about American life styles. American TV shows tend to show only people above average in income. When they do show someone with an average income, they have a home or apartment that someone like that couldn’t possibly afford.

11

Legally, every company that sells electrical goods must supply a pre-fitted plug. (thats in Ireland, I believe it is the same in the UK also.)

12

I’ve got the 5 terrestrial channel times for today (Thursday) here. (Yes, we only have 5!).

Children’s programs certainly start away from the hour / half-hour. They tend to be 20-25 minutes long.
From 18.00 - 23.30 , the only exceptions to the hour / half-hour are:

BBC 1 (no adverts!)
18.55 Election Broadcast (lasts 5 minutes)
22.40 Boxing: behind the scenes investigation
23.20 Film 2001: Cannes Film Festival

BBC 2 (no adverts!)
18.45 Buffy :D:D:D (repeat of first series, though)

ITV
18.25 Election Broadcast (lasts 5 minutes)
23.14 City Guide (lasts 1 minute?!)

Channel 4 (nobody thinks up names better than us Brits)
19.55 Election Broadcast (lasts 5 minutes)
22.35 Eurotrash
23.05 The West Wing (jolly good, though a touch right-wing ;))

Channel 5 (nobody thinks up names better than us Brits)
19.25 Election Broadcast (lasts 5 minutes)
22.50 Escort Girls
23.20 Erotic Drama (yes, Channel 5 is like that)

So apart from shoehorning in election adverts, and knock-on effects of films (e.g. Channel 5 has a Bronson movie from 21.00 - 22.50), we do start on the hour / half-hour.

Our adverts last about 3 minutes and pop up a couple of times an hour, so ITV + Channel 4 + Channel 5 programs do finish early to allow for that.

Pommies? Are you an Australian gentleman, perchance? (assuming that’s not a contradiction! :))

Let’s see what we learn about the US from today:

The New Adventures of Superman:
A useful look at a Metropolis and a reporter’s premises. Viewing of interiors is, alas, made trickier by flying people and Teri Hatcher :cool:

Buffy:
A typical US small town, located above the Hellmouth :confused:
Viewing of interiors, including a school is, alas, made impossible by Sarah, Alyson and Charisma :cool::cool::cool:

The West Wing:
The Oval Office looks authentic. But the US president is morally decent and intelligent. Not based on a recent one, then. :wink:

That 70’s show:
A useful look at Wisconsin, full of pleasant people. (Actually I’ve been to Milwaukee, and everyone **was **!). Oh, and Laura Prepon :cool:

Sorry if I’ve used too many smilies. Do we need a ‘drool’ smilie?

13

He’s probably thinking of watching US shows on BBC…Like Star Trek is 50 mins or so (without adverts), so the next programme starts at (say) 7.50pm…

14

Yes, it is now an EU regulation that all appliances come fitted with the correct plug. One reason why they did not for so many years may be that UK plugs are much larger than normal European or American ones and it makes packaging more dificult.

15

quote:

originally posted by RainbowDragon

  1. Is a standard refrigerator in Britain approximately 4 foot high? The ones I see are typically built into a countertop. It also seems that freezer space is extremely small as well. I know from traveling in London, that British restaurants are not big on ice cubes (or at least don’t offer unless asked).

I think there is an aversion in the UK to paying Coca Cola prices for frozen water… for that reason, ice is normally only served upon request rather than as a matter of course. Bar and restaurant staff are trained to prompt the inclusion of ice… it provides a very healthy profit margin!

16

I’m not sure where you live walor, but here in Manchester it is impossible to get an ice-free drink without specifically requesting it.

17

Salespeople: depends entirely on where you live. I get somebody about once a fortnight, but usually selling gas/electricity/cable TV subscriptions/double glazing rather than physical goods out of a bag; but I know other people who are never bothered at all.

Plugs : I was taught to wire a plug in school in about 1983, and I remember doing it for several appliances over the next few years, so I would guess the legislative change that ticker refers to came in the late 80s or early 90s.

Another reason manufacturers didn’t put plugs on appliances was that they than had liability under the Sale of Goods Act (or whichever piece of legislation it is) for the plug and fuse: if the fuse went in the first week or so, the customer could return the whole item for a replacement.

Milk: Again, depends on where you live. Doorstep delivery is more common in small towns, rural and suburban areas than in inner cities.

18

I’m 35 miles to the South West of you, in deepest rural Cheshire. We tend to be several years behind the major urban centres like Manchester in terms of the ‘latest’ trend. Ice without asking has still to hit us. Given that Manchester is probably several years behind the USA :smiley: I reckon that we must be at least four years off the pulse. Big screen TV sets could be launched in Nantwich around about 2005! :rolleyes:

Can’t wait for big fridges too…

19

Wendell Wagner – I understand that the programs are rather dated. Still overall home life rarely changes drastically (even over a decade or more). For example, if a British person judged a US lifestyle to “The Brady Bunch” they would see Alice opening a standard US sized refrigerator. They would also see a larger sized console television (true console TVs are out, but still the size holds true). They would also buy appliances with the plug already installed. True that one might make some misconceptions, as we don’t all have maids and we aren’t that sappy (I hope).

glee – Yes, “Are You Being Served” was set in a department store. However if you were a die-hard fan you would remember that there was an episode where Mrs. Slocomb’s entire apartment was brought up to a floor of the store. We got a peak at her life in her flat. Also I remember an episode where Mr. Rumbold had to install a plug on his electric space heater when he forbid the floor staff from having heat.
“Bob and Margaret” is a Canadian made cartoon representing a British couple. An episode of that show really sticks out where Bob’s Canadian relatives come to visit. There is a lot of comparison of British and North American home life. The show was sadly a very short run.

walor – Yes I agree with your viewpoint that you don’t pay for ice. However on this side of the pond most places give you all the cola you can drink. When I visited London 16 years ago I thought it was really cool how Pepsi cans said “Best Served Chilled”.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my OP! You helped upgrade my brain.

20

It is the absence of adverts which makes the difference. The BBC itself sometimes makes programmes which last only 25 or 50 minutes on the assumption that these will later be sold to foreign broadcasters who will want to insert commercial breaks. That said, the BBC now shows far more trailers of its own between programmes than it used to do, thus disguising the mismatch.