# Observations about England **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272 "2014-12-04T00:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/21 "2014-12-04T16:21:50Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Surely the usual stereotype within Britain is that the east (at least the south east, where London, and most of the people are) is urban and modern, whereas the west is mostly bumpkin country. In reality there is probably not a discernible difference in terms of how modern they are, but the idea that anyone would regard the west of England as more “developed” than the east (in anything but cider making) is quite bizarre to me. > > Admittedly, East Anglia, specifically, is sometimes considered bumpkin country too (by Londoners and other urbanites, anyway), but not the east as a whole. I was talking about infrastructure. Roads and motorways are better developed along the west coast than the east. Consider the main road from London to Edinburgh: it’s basically a dual carriageway that sometimes turns into a motorway for 10 mile stretches and other times turns into a single carriage road north of Newcastle into Berwickshire. Compare to the M6-M74 along the west coast into Glasgow. Similarly, the roads into London from East Anglia are basically glorified dual carriageways for most of their length, with the A1(M) and M11 having two lanes until you’re just outside London, and East Anglia itself have no real motorway other than a short stretch of the M11 from North Essex into South Cambridgeshire. Also, the roads around London: where to start? The Dartford Crossing would never be tolerated by Mancunians, and Manchester as a city has a very effective motorway system in contrast to London’s. A city of 6 million+ people has a single crossing across the Thames on its main motorway with a series of tollbooths directly placed on the other side? What the fuck? ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/22 "2014-12-04T16:30:31Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > **Rodgers** , is it difficult getting used to driving on the other side of the road? Allow me to jump in here. Not really. Mostly you think about driving more and look at the signage. If you notice that things like the speed limit sign is way on the other side of the road, well, you might not be where you should be! I had the occasion to drive a left hand steering car there and it was much more difficult that drive a RHD car made for those roads. I actually had some trouble getting back into driving back in the USA. I didn’t ‘think’ about driving, assuming that I knew what I was doing, and found myself on the wrong side of the road a couple of times until my brain was reset. I also got into a car a few times only to see the glove box instead of steering wheel in front of me. :smack: If walking around look BOTH ways a couple of times before crossing a street. Evidently there have been some tourists who have looked one, wrong way only to step in front of a car. London even had warnings at pedestrian crossings about this. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/23 "2014-12-04T17:15:40Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > I lived in England from 1988 to 1992 so I might have a couple of insights. > > Mixing taps. Look around outside. Do you see any water towers? Probably not. Many homes and buildings have a reservoir in the attic to keep the water pressure steady and provide some water in case of an outage. Some of these reservoirs can be down right nasty with dead birds, dirt, and things in them. The only safe drinking water is usually from the cold water tap in the kitchen! It’s connected directly to the main water supply and not from the reservoir. That’s why you don’t want the taps mixed as least in the kitchen. I lived in a house build in 1989 and it was true then. Not in recent history. Taps are connected directly to the mains. The cold tank in the loft is used to feed the old types of copper cylinder boilers without drawing water directly from the mains and therefore affecting water pressure. So, historically, you probably didn’t want to drink from the hot tap, but these days most people have combi boilers anyway, which don’t require either a copper cylinder heater or a cold tank in the loft and all taps are connected directly to the mains. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/24 "2014-12-04T19:27:34Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > Hey ! I come originally from that part of England ☹ : no, it’s true that those parts have something of a reputation. Some folk believe, or suspect, that Fenland denizens have webbed feet… Oh, my wife’s family is originally from East Anglia too - they just had the sense to live on Ely. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/25 "2014-12-04T19:58:16Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Not in recent history. Taps are connected directly to the mains. The cold tank in the loft is used to feed the old types of copper cylinder boilers without drawing water directly from the mains and therefore affecting water pressure. So, historically, you probably didn’t want to drink from the hot tap, but these days most people have combi boilers anyway, which don’t require either a copper cylinder heater or a cold tank in the loft and all taps are connected directly to the mains. I think that may be an overstatement. Newer houses or updated systems will probably use a combi, or a “system” boiler and do away with the old “tank in the attic” arrangement, but a large proportion of houses are still configured the old way. My house is 1980s and everything except one tap in the kitchen comes by gravity from said tank. Which doesn’t have any “dead birds” in it, but I still avoid drinking from it. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/26 "2014-12-04T20:26:29Z")
I had those damn’ mixer taps ripped out when the kitchen was refurbished a few years ago. Poxy things. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/27 "2014-12-04T21:03:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, my wife’s family is originally from East Anglia too - they just had the sense to live on Ely. Ah, Ely-- wonderful place – and, where Hereward the Wake reputedly did his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/28 "2014-12-04T22:35:57Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > If you think we have too many roundabouts, go visit Milton Keynes. Then you’ll know what too many roundabouts is. > > Don’t worry about the accents- I grew up here, and there are several I can’t understand at all. “Note for Americans and other aliens: Milton Keynes is a new city approximately halfway between London and Birmingham. It was built to be modern, efficient, healthy, and, all in all, a pleasant place to live. Many Britons find this amusing.” and “Neither [Heaven nor Hell] claimed any responsibility for Milton Keynes, but both reported it as a success.” -Pratchett/Gaiman, Good Omens > [@Rodgers01](#): > > - You’re _still_ not mixing your taps? Why?? I know there MUST be a good reason, but I can’t think of it. I’m always scalding one hand and freezing the other. Yeah, yeah - I get that you’re supposed to plug the sink then mix the water in the bowl, but how practical is that? Better than in Romance language countries, where C is hot and cold is F (although C-H exists too I’m sure). > [@](#): > > - “TO LET” signs still make me think for half a second that you are advertising a “TOILET.” What does “to let” mean though? > [@](#): > > - Your roads, I’m sorry to say, are terrible - narrow and bumpy and inconsistent. This is apparent within the US as well. Crossing into California the road gets immediately and visibly worse. > [@](#): > > - I’ve heard more warnings about crime than I have in any other country I’ve been to in in western Europe, though less so than in the US. I can’t remember ever seeing pickpocket warnings in the US but many European countries have signs all over (not sure about London). > [@](#): > > - In the US I was taught that [some] women’s habit of turning every sentence into a question is a sign of insecurity and internalized sexism. But most Brits - male and female alike - do that too, don’t they? They can’t help themselves, can they? They turn everything into a question - d’ye know what I mean? Kind of annoying, innit? It’s called the [high rising terminal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal)? And it’s seen as an Australian/SoCal thing normally? …? > [@](#): > > - Everyone complains about the trains, but so far they’ve worked perfectly well for me. Heathrow is however the work of Satan. > [@](#): > > - The populace seems to be almost uniformly well-traveled. Even your seemingly backwards, uneducated people who in the US would have probably never left their home state have typically been to Spain, Greece, somewhere in the Middle East… Things are a lot closer and you can go through several countries in the same distance that it takes to reach the Canadian or Mexican border for many people. And your trip will cost hundreds of dollars and not the thousands it takes to cross the Atlantic. > [@](#): > > - Cheese and pickle sandwiches are…delicious. Does that mean like giant gherkin (cornichon) style pickled cucumbers or like Branston pickle? Either way, I’m hungry now. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/29 "2014-12-04T22:46:08Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Does that mean like giant gherkin (cornichon) style pickled cucumbers or like Branston pickle? Either way, I’m hungry now. Branston. And you’re right to note that international travel comes easier to Europeans, because Europe is lots of small countries right next to each other, and near other large land masses too. Surprising how often people fail to account for that. “Americans don’t travel”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/30 "2014-12-04T23:24:17Z")
Milton Keynes was laid out on a gridiron pattern. The experiment was not much liked, and it was not repeated. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/31 "2014-12-04T23:35:47Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > **Rodgers** , is it difficult getting used to driving on the other side of the road? > [@JerrySTL](#): > > Allow me to jump in here. Not really. Mostly you think about driving more and look at the signage. If you notice that things like the speed limit sign is way on the other side of the road, well, you might not be where you should be! I had the occasion to drive a left hand steering car there and it was much more difficult that drive a RHD car made for those roads. > > I actually had some trouble getting back into driving back in the USA. I didn’t ‘think’ about driving, assuming that I knew what I was doing, and found myself on the wrong side of the road a couple of times until my brain was reset. I also got into a car a few times only to see the glove box instead of steering wheel in front of me. :smack: > > If walking around look BOTH ways a couple of times before crossing a street. Evidently there have been some tourists who have looked one, wrong way only to step in front of a car. London even had warnings at pedestrian crossings about this. If I may also jump in… My experience was similar to JerrySTL’s. Going from driving in the US to driving or driving in Japan was much easier than switching back to driving in the US. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/32 "2014-12-04T23:59:16Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > Allow me to jump in here. Not really. Mostly you think about driving more and look at the signage. If you notice that things like the speed limit sign is way on the other side of the road, well, you might not be where you should be! I had the occasion to drive a left hand steering car there and it was much more difficult that drive a RHD car made for those roads. > > … Actually, adjusting to driving in a city, while you might think would be harder, is actually very easy. All you do is follow the car in front of you. It’s when you get on deserted or country roads that you’re most likely to fall into old ways. I had 1 close call on a curvy country road… J. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/33 "2014-12-04T23:59:50Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What does “to let” mean though? It means “available to rent”. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/34 "2014-12-05T00:46:52Z")
The last time I visited the UK was decades before mobiles. I had to use public phones a lot. Apparently, there was a certain amount of force needed to get the phone to accept the coin. It was different than the US phones and I’d have to try 4 or five times to get the coin to register. I do remember having to put more coins it if the call went over so many minutes. It was like a movie. And talking to the operator was like talking to someone from Mars. Neither of us had any idea what the other was talking about. Could not wait to get back to the US. I was a fish out of water. When I traveled around Asia, it was easy compared to the UK. Oh, and by the way Mr. Barman in London Pub: Yes I do want Ice in my coke! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/35 "2014-12-05T01:16:25Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > I really like the notion of towel warmers. When you get out of the shower (and lots of places have just a shower attachment to the tub, your towels are nice and cozy. Not many places in the U.S. have those. Ditto. When we were in Scotland I would put my socks on the towel warmer every morning before I put them on. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/36 "2014-12-05T01:29:27Z")
I was told by an English friend that there’s a form that you submit to your employer when you start employment. And each time you change employment you need to get this form back from them and turn it in to your new employer. What’s with that form? Does it contain your work history? Rate of pay? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/37 "2014-12-05T02:09:09Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I was told by an English friend that there’s a form that you submit to your employer when you start employment. And each time you change employment you need to get this form back from them and turn it in to your new employer. > > What’s with that form? Does it contain your work history? Rate of pay? > > Thanks. The P45, yes, whenever you leave an employment. It is used by the tax authority to track your earnings and tax paid. It shows what you have earned in the tax year with this employer, and what tax you have paid. There are other such forms, but P45 is so well known that terms such as “getting your P45” are slang for getting the sack. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/38 "2014-12-05T03:24:34Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What does “to let” mean though? It means “vacancy” (rental unit available in an apartment building or boarding house). > [@Mk\_VII](#): > > I had those damn’ mixer taps ripped out when the kitchen was refurbished a few years ago. Poxy things. What? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/39 "2014-12-05T03:41:19Z")
Is it the “poxy things” part that is unclear? “Poxy” in this context means something like unsatisfactory or annoying. It’s an all-purpose derogatory adjective that can also mean small or insignificant. From “pox”, as in the disease mark. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/40 "2014-12-05T03:49:03Z")
I know what “poxy” means. (Although the use of a reference to infectious lesions for simple dislike kind of grosses me out.) My “what?” was an expression of astonishment at the notion that anyone in his right mind would prefer separate hot and cold taps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272.md?page=3)