Tony Day <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Mark Hewitt" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > > > > Everyone except the idiots who stick in the middle lane doing
    > exactly
    > > 70
    > > > and
    > > > > causing tailbacks and frustration.
    > > > >
    > > > Why?
    > > > They're almost certainly overtaking slower stuff on the inside lane.
    > > > If you want to break the law, overtake on the outside lane (which,
    > > > officially, is only there for overtaking, so where else should they
    > go?).
    > > > :-))
    > >
    > > Much of the time they aren't overtaking slower stuff in the inside lane
    > > (except perhaps that lorry on the horizon) and hence could move over and
    > > give more roadspace to other traffic.
    > >
    > > Even when I'm not breaking the speed limit, I recognise other drivers
    > right
    > > to break the law if they so wish and will try not to get in their way.
    > Surely that makes you an accessory to the act? If you were an honest law
    > abiding citizen (ie not a motorist) you would surely try to prevent
    > criminality?

You mean you stick at 70 in the outside lane?!

Surreyman

The Reids <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > If you go down to, for instance, the west country you can find
    > villages with a fairly high % of thatched buildings.
    > --

Or just try our village here in Surrey!

Surreyman

Keith Willshaw <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Yaofeng" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > A few British terms take getting used to...
    > >
    > > double carriageways > I guess the equivalent in the US is divided
highway,
    > Usually dual carriageway
    > > Garage > in the US it is pronounced gaRage,
    > Though often people say garage when they mean gas station
    > > take away > take out
    > > loo > rest room
    > car Park > Parking Lot
    > Boot > Trunk
    > Bonnet > Hood

And the one that ended an early sweet romance - homely = ugly!

Surreyman

"The Reids" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Following up to Björn Olsson
    > >It seems to me it would work until enough cars have come into the
    > >roundabout to fill it up. Then everyone would just be standing there
    > >waiting to let the next car in from the right..
    > >
    > >But I guess it works anyway, by people simply ignoring the rule.
    > we get a mexican stand off situation in UK with mini roundabout,
    > a car waiting at all four entrances all waiting, looking to the
    > right (americans etc read left, sigh). Eventually somebody goes,
    > sometimes everybody goes! :-)
    > Its magic.


Talking of magic roundabouts try this one:

http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

In article <[email protected] >,
[email protected] (Yaofeng) wrote:

    > A few British terms take getting used to...
    >
    > double carriageways > I guess the equivalent in the US is divided
    > > highway,
    > Garage > in the US it is pronounced gaRage,
    > take away > take out
    > loo > rest room

And of course some of the old favourites...

crisps -> chips
chips -> fries (though fries is widely understood in the UK too)
biscuits -> cookies
fags -> cigarettes
jam -> jelly
jelly -> Jello
porridge -> oatmeal
head teacher -> principal

And many more. Some of the differences are much more subtle.
University/college, for example, is a minefield; in the UK a 'college' may
be a sixth-form college (equivalent to grades 11 & 12), or it may be a
specialist institution of higher education (the Royal College of Music),
or an examination-based association of professionals (the Royal College of
Organists), or one of the residential and teaching institutions at certain
universities (King's College, Cambridge). But it's never used synonymously
with 'university'; you wouldn't call a teacher at the University of
Sussex, say, a 'college professor' or one of her undergraduates a 'college
student'.

It's amazing we ever manage other languages when there's so much scope for
going wrong in our own, really.

In article <[email protected]>,
nightjar@<insert_my_surname_here>.uk.com> (nightjar) wrote:

    >
    > "Owain" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Colin Bignell wrote
    > > | > Take roofing for example, almost every roof in England is
    > > | > built of terra cotta or slate tiles.
    > > | In London, that is due to the regulations brought in after the
    > > | Great Fire.
    > >
    > > in the year 1666, for the info of the OP
    >
    > I think the Rebuilding Act, which required a fireproof building design,
    > was
    > brought in the following year.

Yes, it was. The essential objective was to restrict fire /spread/ (as
opposed to individual buildings catching fire in the first place) -
facings were required to be almost entirely of brick or stone, with very
little exterior timber. There were also rules about the minimum distance
between buildings. The Building Regulations today apply similar principles
(in much more complex ways, of course) - a good example being their
treatment of thatched roofs!

Incidentally, there /were/ building regs before the Great Fire, though I
don't think they were much enforced. <michael_caine>Not a lot of people
know that.</michael_caine>

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Alec) wrote:

    >
    > "Yaofeng" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > A few British terms take getting used to...
    > >
    > > double carriageways
    > >
    > Dual carriageway

When I was a child I used to think they were jewel carriageways, for the
Queen's carriages. A much nicer image than the reality.

"Tony Day" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > >
    > > Even when I'm not breaking the speed limit, I recognise other drivers
    > right
    > > to break the law if they so wish and will try not to get in their way.
    > Surely that makes you an accessory to the act? If you were an honest law
    > abiding citizen (ie not a motorist) you would surely try to prevent
    > criminality?

Nope just a good driver.

The highway code is quite clear that the outside lane is
for overtaking only, when not doing so you should
use the inside lane.

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/11.shtml

Keith

"a.spencer3" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:CgRhc.98$pd6.11@newsfe1-win...
    > <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > In article <[email protected] >,
    > > [email protected] (Yaofeng) wrote:
    > >
    > > > A few British terms take getting used to...
    > > >
    > > > double carriageways > I guess the equivalent in the US is divided
    > > > > highway,
    > > > Garage > in the US it is pronounced gaRage,
    > > > take away > take out
    > > > loo > rest room
    > >
    > > And of course some of the old favourites...
    > >
    > > crisps -> chips
    > > chips -> fries (though fries is widely understood in the UK too)
    > > biscuits -> cookies
    > > fags -> cigarettes
    > > jam -> jelly
    > > jelly -> Jello
    > > porridge -> oatmeal
    > > head teacher -> principal
    > >
    > > And many more. Some of the differences are much more subtle.
    > > University/college, for example, is a minefield; in the UK a 'college'
may
    > > be a sixth-form college (equivalent to grades 11 & 12), or it may be a
    > > specialist institution of higher education (the Royal College of Music),
    > > or an examination-based association of professionals (the Royal College
of
    > > Organists), or one of the residential and teaching institutions at
certain
    > > universities (King's College, Cambridge). But it's never used
synonymously
    > > with 'university'; you wouldn't call a teacher at the University of
    > > Sussex, say, a 'college professor' or one of her undergraduates a
'college
    > > student'.
    > >
    > > It's amazing we ever manage other languages when there's so much scope
for
    > > going wrong in our own, really.
    > And what *are* grits - cornflakes?
You should also try eating a pair of hush puppies :-)

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > In article <[email protected] >,
    > [email protected] (Yaofeng) wrote:
    > > A few British terms take getting used to...
    > >
    > > double carriageways > I guess the equivalent in the US is divided
    > > > highway,
    > > Garage > in the US it is pronounced gaRage,
    > > take away > take out
    > > loo > rest room
    > And of course some of the old favourites...
    > crisps -> chips
    > chips -> fries (though fries is widely understood in the UK too)
    > biscuits -> cookies
    > fags -> cigarettes
    > jam -> jelly
    > jelly -> Jello
    > porridge -> oatmeal
    > head teacher -> principal
    > And many more. Some of the differences are much more subtle.
    > University/college, for example, is a minefield; in the UK a 'college' may
    > be a sixth-form college (equivalent to grades 11 & 12), or it may be a
    > specialist institution of higher education (the Royal College of Music),
    > or an examination-based association of professionals (the Royal College of
    > Organists), or one of the residential and teaching institutions at certain
    > universities (King's College, Cambridge). But it's never used synonymously
    > with 'university'; you wouldn't call a teacher at the University of
    > Sussex, say, a 'college professor' or one of her undergraduates a 'college
    > student'.
    > It's amazing we ever manage other languages when there's so much scope for
    > going wrong in our own, really.

And what *are* grits - cornflakes?

Surreyman

The Reids muttered....

    > Following up to Björn Olsson
    >
    >>It seems to me it would work until enough cars have come into the
    >>roundabout to fill it up. Then everyone would just be standing there
    >>waiting to let the next car in from the right..
    >>But I guess it works anyway, by people simply ignoring the rule.
    >
    > we get a mexican stand off situation in UK with mini roundabout,
    > a car waiting at all four entrances all waiting, looking to the
    > right (americans etc read left, sigh). Eventually somebody goes,
    > sometimes everybody goes! :-)
    > Its magic.

Mini roundabouts seem popular in the land of the heathen Scots, a tribe
given to economies, as is obvious by the large number of important roads
constructed only 11 feet wide with a narrow (inches) "verge" (Do verges
need vergers?) on either side, followed by drystone walls or deep arroyos
with bubbling torrents at the bottom. Having saved a lot of arable land in
that fashion, they do install "lay bys" every few miles, intended as sort
of passing or meeting lanes, not as I thought, parking spots for picnics
and photography.

Unlike the US, where Bar(row) ditches are an adoption of a Celtic tradition
to keep elephants off of major highways (except in Louisiana and Florida,
where it's gators), the British have forsaken wide barrow ditches as
escapes from collison, and substituted the narrow verges, upon which
hundreds of folks regularly park, sprawl, picnic, carry out mechanical work
on vehicles, etc. Parking on the sidewalk is another British thing,
ranging from a "just on the lip" to a "Building front squat" approach.

The greatest appliance for auto travel in the UK is the immersion heater
powered by car lighter/powerport. Under normal conditions it allows making
tea or coffee in a travel mug, but can be used to defrost the driver's
hands during cold spells which can occur as late as mid August in the far
North.

As for rain gear, it rarely rains in the UK, but seeps 5-7 days a week.
Seepage defeats even the most modern of rain suits, coats and cloaks,
traeling around and under the best of them. Clammy best describes the
result.

TMO

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 15:07:06 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:

    > In article <[email protected]>,
    > [email protected] (Alec) wrote:
    >
    >>
    >> "Yaofeng" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected]...
    >>> A few British terms take getting used to...
    >>> double carriageways
    >> Dual carriageway
    >
    > When I was a child I used to think they were jewel carriageways, for the
    > Queen's carriages. A much nicer image than the reality.

Me too! :-)
--
Tim C.

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 16:13:39 +0100, a.spencer3 wrote:

    > And what *are* grits - cornflakes?

uh a sort of rough milled wheat, like, if not identical to
polenta/couscous. I think.
--
Tim C.

[...]
    > > right (americans etc read left, sigh). Eventually somebody goes,
    > > sometimes everybody goes! :-)
    > > Its magic.
    > Talking of magic roundabouts try this one:
    > http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

Heh Heh Heh
I used to live in Cornwall (top of Falmouth road, Truro) a while back and we
had one of those.
Granted it was only 2 mini roundabouts and a funny junction.
If you knew where you were going, and had sussed out who had prioty, it
worked very well.
More often than not it didn't work very well. It was called the magic
roundabout because everyone negotiated in their own special way.

Mark Hewitt wrote:

    >We do have a very strict vehicle inspection regime, called the MOT, all cars over 3 years old must
    >undergo a full check every year. Does the USA not have a similar scheme?
Hi,

some States have vehicle inspection, and a few cities/counties have
their own, but there is no federal inspection system regardless of age
of the vehicle.

even the places that do have inspections they're no where as strict as a
good MOT inspection.

now a few places inspect a few things... like California has -tough-
inspection stations for commercial trucks... as a driver you do NOT want
to be waved over for inspection there... they WILL find something wrong
and you will have to have it fixed THERE before you're allowed to drive
away.


--
Derringer Kit Sideplates
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3673152291