# The British and their odd ways **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390 "2014-04-18T03:45:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/61 "2014-04-21T01:55:02Z")
In every modern british book I’ve ever read, when someone’s in the hospital they get grapes. Grapes? What’s with that? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/62 "2014-04-21T04:18:19Z")
Posted with the permission of a British friend of mine, now in her early 50s: \*I certainly did not rinse the bubbles when I was young - that description strikes a chord. The order you wash in matters if you aren’t rinsing! Oddly one would rinse when camping. By the '90s we were generally rinsing - I had German friends who washed everything under the running tap which was impossibly wasteful of water for me! Now I would think most people use a dishwasher if they have room for one. No recollection of soapy food. We were careful not to use too much ‘fairy liquid’ so there weren’t too many suds. I suspect double sinks became more readily available in the '90s too… \* ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/63 "2014-04-21T04:19:31Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > In every modern british book I’ve ever read, when someone’s in the hospital they get grapes. Grapes? What’s with that? I suppose that they taste quite nice, are easy for the visitor to find, are easy for a sick person to eat, and aren’t bad for you. Other than that, I have no idea. Would it be better if the typical UK hospital visitor arrived with a Big Mac, fries and a Coke? Stilton cheese and a loaf of wholemeal bread from the nearest farmers’ market? A bottle of single malt? ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/64 "2014-04-21T07:24:07Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Posted with the permission of a British friend of mine, now in her early 50s: > > \*I certainly did not rinse the bubbles when I was young - that description strikes a chord. The order you wash in matters if you aren’t rinsing! Oddly one would rinse when camping. By the '90s we were generally rinsing - I had German friends who washed everything under the running tap which was impossibly wasteful of water for me! Now I would think most people use a dishwasher if they have room for one. No recollection of soapy food. We were careful not to use too much ‘fairy liquid’ so there weren’t too many suds. I suspect double sinks became more readily available in the '90s too… > \* Yes - I think it’s not terribly uncommon for Brits to omit the rinsing of dishes, but in many cases, this is mitigated by towelling them dry and in other threads, I’m sure we worked out that unless you’re doing something really dumb, the amount of soap left on the dishes _even if not rinsed_ is approaching homoeopathic levels of concentration. I wash up in a plastic bowl for a ‘big’ family meal and use less than 10 litres of water, including rinsing, and allowing for several changes of the water - judicious ordering of procedure makes it easily possible to get sparkling clean dishes more efficiently than a dishwasher. In some ways, I’d like a dishwasher, but it would involve compromise - dishwashers ruin some items (so I would still have to hand wash), and we would forever be running the thing with half a load - or would probably have to buy additional crockery/cutlery/utensils so we had spares when one set was waiting in the dishwasher in an incomplete load - and I don’t have storage space for extra stuff (my kitchen/dining storage contains diversity, not volume/redundancy). ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/65 "2014-04-21T10:09:18Z")
I’ve never tasted soap on dishes, but I do rinse the suds off. Teatowels get soaked very quickly when you dry dishes which still have loads of suds on them. I don’t think Fierra was claiming that the UK do chocolate best out of anywhere in the world (cheese, maybe). But they do it better than the US. I can take bashing of English food from French people, who are anyway more likely to know that stereotype isn’t true anymore. But not from Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/66 "2014-04-21T11:10:58Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > In every modern british book I’ve ever read, when someone’s in the hospital they get grapes. Grapes? What’s with that? I think the reason they are considered good food for an ill person is that they are bite-size, so you can just have one or two if you don’t have a big appetite, and the rest won’t spoil. Of course, the same could be said for Skittles or M&Ms… 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/67 "2014-04-21T11:24:02Z")
> [@alexandra](#): > > I can take bashing of English food from French people, who are anyway more likely to know that stereotype isn’t true anymore. But not from Americans. I’ll take bashing of British food from anyone who is doing it out of experience, rather than ignorance. We certainly do have some shitty examples of food available here - and some of it is quite popular - but it’s quite easily avoided by anyone who cares to find the good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/68 "2014-04-21T11:28:31Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I think the reason they are considered good food for an ill person is that they are bite-size, so you can just have one or two if you don’t have a big appetite, and the rest won’t spoil. Of course, the same could be said for Skittles or M&Ms… 🙂 Also, grapes are something like 80% water, so they’re a good way of delivering small, mess-free, tasty packets of hydration and nutrition. So all-in-all one of the most sensible things to bring someone in hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/69 "2014-04-21T13:07:22Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > All excellent examples. ISTR a few years ago in one of those “What should I do in London?” threads by an American poster, some wag gave advice along the lines of “go to Paris and get some decent food.” And I though, yeah, OK, joke and all, but it’s really tired. If you can’t find good food in London you’re simply not looking for it. London is one of the best places in the world for good food. But getting on a Eurostar and ordering in Paris might be cheaper. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/70 "2014-04-21T13:24:41Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > I suppose that they taste quite nice, are easy for the visitor to find, are easy for a sick person to eat, and aren’t bad for you. > > Other than that, I have no idea. Would it be better if the typical UK hospital visitor arrived with a Big Mac, fries and a Coke? Stilton cheese and a loaf of wholemeal bread from the nearest farmers’ market? A bottle of single malt? I don’t think we have a standard food item to take to people in the hospital. In fact I don’t think it’s expected to take food for such a visit. If I am in the hospital, though, I expect that the staff will give me Jell-O. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/71 "2014-04-21T13:43:19Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If I am in the hospital, though, I expect that the staff will give me Jell-O. That seems to be the case in both countries. Must be the common language thing. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/72 "2014-04-21T14:07:23Z")
I’m sure you can get good food in London, but is it good _British_ food? There’s a reason why foods from elsewhere in the Empire caught on so heavily. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/73 "2014-04-21T14:53:09Z")
I don’t know why, but this is one of the most bothersome things I’ve ever read about a foreign country. This is disgusting. Soap isn’t magic. Yes, it traps the filth on the plate in its sudsy goodness. But if you don’t then wash off the soap, then the filth is still on the plate. If you can still taste the soap (provided you’re not so used to it from a lifetime in that country where apparently everything you eat tastes like soap), then it’s still got filth on it. Give it a quick rinse. What is wrong with you? Do you stop washing your car when it is still in the sudsy phase? Do you not spit and rinse when you’re done brushing your teeth? I’m generally a cultural relativist, but in this specific situation our country clearly has the better culture here. Fucking barbarians. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/74 "2014-04-21T14:54:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m sure you can get good food in London, but is it good _British_ food? Here we go again. The answer to your question is yes. > [@](#): > > There’s a reason why foods from elsewhere in the Empire caught on so heavily. I submit that the reason is curiosity and a cuktural deep seated love of variety. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/75 "2014-04-21T15:02:10Z")
> [@Cerealbox](#): > > I don’t know why, but this is one of the most bothersome things I’ve ever read about a foreign country. This is disgusting. Soap isn’t magic. Yes, it traps the filth on the plate in its sudsy goodness. But if you don’t then wash off the soap, then the filth is still on the plate. If you can still taste the soap (provided you’re not so used to it from a lifetime in that country where apparently everything you eat tastes like soap), then it’s still got filth on it. Give it a quick rinse. What is wrong with you? Do you stop washing your car when it is still in the sudsy phase? Do you not spit and rinse when you’re done brushing your teeth? I’m generally a cultural relativist, but in this specific situation our country clearly has the better culture here. Fucking barbarians. The linked article is poorly researched and casually racist. Well done for jumping on the bandwagon. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/76 "2014-04-21T15:33:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m sure you can get good food in London, but is it good _British_ food? There’s a reason why foods from elsewhere in the Empire caught on so heavily. As a vegan, I’m not going to eat these meats, but as a traditionalist hearkening to the call of my ancestors I really can’t see that this sort of food is inferior to any other: Soup Salad Roast Beef or Lamb Roast or Mashed potatoes Yorkshire Pudding Thinly cut Cabbage, Cauliflower, Onions Baked or Stewed, Green Beans, Roast Parsnips Sprouts Garden Peas Gravy, Parsley Sauce, Mint Jelly, Horseradish Sauce, Salt, Pepper, Herbs and whatever Water, Wine or Beer to drink. Orange Juice for the wee folk Dessert some form of sticky pudding Assorted Cheeses and Crackers Port, Brandy and Cigars _I’m_ not going to eat it, but that is a typical Sunday menu since the 19th century, apart from the poor who were fed wholesome gruel; it’s heavy and requires some training, but no _worse_ as food than any other cuisine. And I’m sick of hearing that some form of fat-filled Indian food ( it varies by quote ) is now the national dish of Britain, it was invented by some poor ( dead ) idiot called Robin Cook, a politician, to suck up to our new multiculturalism. Indian restaurants are popular, but most people don’t eat curry daily, and myself maybe 5 times a year. The best food I ever tasted was in a Seventh Day Adventist restaurant in Edinburgh, near Greyfriars Bobby. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/77 "2014-04-21T15:44:08Z")
> [@Cerealbox](#): > > I don’t know why, but this is one of the most bothersome things I’ve ever read about a foreign country. This is disgusting. Soap isn’t magic. Yes, it traps the filth on the plate in its sudsy goodness. But if you don’t then wash off the soap, then the filth is still on the plate. If you can still taste the soap (provided you’re not so used to it from a lifetime in that country where apparently everything you eat tastes like soap), then it’s still got filth on it. Give it a quick rinse. What is wrong with you? Do you stop washing your car when it is still in the sudsy phase? Do you not spit and rinse when you’re done brushing your teeth? I’m generally a cultural relativist, but in this specific situation our country clearly has the better culture here. Fucking barbarians. Yes. Yes that’s right. Not rinsing our plates is a deeply-rooted part of the British cultural identity, as evidenced by the 2-hour-long not-rinsing-the-plates segment of the opening ceremony at the recent London Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/78 "2014-04-21T15:45:04Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > London is one of the best places in the world for good food. But getting on a Eurostar and ordering in Paris might be cheaper. Eating out in Paris is expensive and usually disappointing. Having spent considerale time in both London and Paris, London’s restaurant culture is light years ahead of Paris’. Cafe food, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/79 "2014-04-21T17:13:05Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > . . . Proper British cheddar is wonderful, sharp, savoury and crumbly almost to the point of being crystalline. And NEVER orange. Not fair. That description has me salivating. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/80 "2014-04-21T18:15:05Z")
Cheddar? Not much call for it around these parts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390.md?page=5)