Went to the UK for a fantastic holiday in 2009, and for a Filipino not used to right-hand driven veh

After living in the UK for a year in 2009, and visiting countless times since, I ve come to notice a couple of quirky things that make the UK, well, the UK. I would not have it any other way and this is absolutely not a critical post just a series of observations virginia beach discount hotels I made over the years. virginia beach discount hotels If you know me at all, you know I hold the country ( especially its capital ) very dear in my heart, and would gladly move there again if the circumstances permitted virginia beach discount hotels me to do so.
Stand on the right. Look left. Mind the gap. All iconic sentences, but to me, they mean a little more than that when you look at the bigger picture. No matter where you go, you are bound to face some kind of instruction at some point, and I never really understood the point of all that. The instructions space in the buses is a good A4 size! Is decorum really more efficient when people are being told what to do and how to behave?
That was something I had never heard of, anywhere. virginia beach discount hotels Before you even think about getting a TV pack, you have to pay for a TV licence , which is priced at a hefty £145.50 per year! Meaning that watching television in Britain comes with a hefty price but considering they have some of the best shows in the world, virginia beach discount hotels I d be willing to cut out on other expenses. If only for the BBC documentaries!
Am I the only one who noticed that? Fire doors, virginia beach discount hotels fire blankets, exhaustive In case of fire instructions, everywhere! I have a personal case against the fire doors, which, if you ve never had the chance to see, are super heavy, tightly closed doors in the middle of each corridor to slow the process of the flames in case of a fire very fun to go through with a suitcase or groceries! I ve never seen so many anti-fire items anywhere else in the world outside of the great fire of London, a mere 450 years ago, do anybody knows why Britain is obsessed with fire?
That one I actually find very endearing. Whenever you step in a park or a public square, you are guaranteed to find at least one wooden park bench dedicated to someone who had a history there. Hyde Park , my favorite place in the world, has hundreds of them, some dating only a few years, other a few decades. I love walking around and imagining all the stories behind the benches!
Despite virginia beach discount hotels the popular belief that it rains all the time in the UK, it s actually virginia beach discount hotels not true at all. The weather is one of the craziest I have seen, starting foggy in the wee early hours, raining in the morning, sunshine in the afternoon and strong winds at night. The absolute best way to strike up a conversation virginia beach discount hotels with a Britton is to talk about the weather with a simple mention of the dreadful skies or the sunny forecasts for the weekend, you are guaranteed a lively little chat.
British groceries are full -and I do mean full- of sweets: candies, liquorice, chocolate, everything! The grocery I used to go to had two full rows of godsent orgasmic goodness just waiting for me to throw them in my trolley. My favorite? The all-time classic Galaxy chocolate bars!
Considering just how peachy and not at all antagonistic the relationship between the British and the French have always been, I was a bit surprised by this fact. Why on Earth would Britain have French mottos? The answer virginia beach discount hotels is simple, though. Because of William the Conqueror, French was the main language in the Royal Court for about 300 years, and the mottos were later on adopted by Edward III. France and Great-Britain have a more complex history than either virginia beach discount hotels one of them care to admit!
That one particularly stroked me last time I was in London. It seemed that no matter which street corner I was waiting at, or which restaurant I was in, there had to be a group of French people nearby. Has half of Paris moved to London and forgot to tell the world? I know all about the so-called virginia beach discount hotels French connection of South Kensington, but trust me, it goes far beyond that neighborhood London virginia beach discount hotels is actually the 6th largest French city!
For a nation that has such an important drinking culture, one of the most shocking things I came across while living in the UK was how early pubs close last call is at 11PM, even in central London! Considering just how much the Brits like their pint in the evening, I was convinced that pubs were like regular bars in Canada and closed at 2 or 3AM. Was I wrong! It was definitely weird at first, virginia beach discount hotels not having anywhere to get a cold pint so early on in the evening maybe that s why there are so many clandestine bars in the city!
With some laws dating back to the Middle Ages (and still in effect!), it s only normal that a few would be qualified as outdated, to say the least. But that doesn t make them any less interesting did you know it s considered treason to place a postage virginia beach discount hotels stamp with the Queen s head upside-down? That all swans living on the River Thames are actually property of the Queen, virginia beach discount hotels and that by killing one you are committing a crime against her? That it s illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament? That for 400 years, it was illegal for woman to scold, and if they were caught virginia beach discount hotels doing so, they had to wear a metal cage enclosing their head? Did you also know that tarot card reading is illegal because it s considered witchcraft?
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I love the French fact in particular. Now I live in France, I have learnt more about French / English history, including the fact that England was actually ruled from France for a long period virginia beach discount hotels of time. Even iconic historical English Kings like Richard virginia beach discount hotels the Lionheart lived in France.. and didn t even speak English!
1. Yes, if you go to the Imperial War Museum and see the hundred of leaflets issued during WWII you will see it works for us. LOL When I moved to the US I was shocked at the LACK of public information.
What a great list! Living in the UK now, I m discovering virginia beach discount hotels little things virginia beach discount hotels like this all the time. Like the fact that small businesses here are far less likely to have a website (which has caused me some grief when trying to find prices from hair salons in the area!). And the sense of humor, how ribbing each other all the time in a sarcastic-but-could-almost-be-serious way.
It s interesting to see the things you picked up in UK, and you re not half wrong about the French in London. It is infact the 6th biggest French city with 300,000 expats. This even makes it an important campaigning place for the French presidential virginia beach discount hotels elections!
I think your first point is especially interesting because while living in Australia (I m from the UK) it really feels like you can t do anything virginia beach discount hotels without getting into trouble. In the UK you are given lots of advice, but can be helmetless whilst riding your bike without contravening the law for example. You are not obligated to vote either. I think there is a lot more individual freedom in the UK (than here).
This is a great list, I m from the UK but currently living virginia beach discount hotels in Seoul. Sometimes I think they could do with a few more signs telling people the polite way to act out here, wait your turn, don t push etc
You re right Britons do love sweets, my friend just sent me a big box of sweeties out to Seoul! yum yum! and the weird laws thing is quite funny, one I remember is that a pregnant woman is allowed to urinate in a policeman s helmet if the need arises and there is no public toilet nearby! So Strange!
Fire doors aren t the only evil (but they definitely *are* evil). You can t have outlets in bathrooms except for shavers. When I asked about this, I was given some vague nonsense about moisture seeping behind them and .he trailed off at that point. I asked why that didn t happen to the shaving outlets virginia beach discount hotels or light fixtures and was met with silence and an eventual don t confuse the matter. I m all for the nanny state, but I d like to be able to use a hairdryer in the bathroom.
And while I m amused by your list, living in the UK on a permanent basis as an ex-pat isn t fun. The hassle I get for everything from my accent to paying bills is obnoxious, and I never thought I d miss the States as much as I do. I used to love it here, but now I long to leave. Thankfully my husband also wants to leave, so someday we will. And then we can miss Muller yogurts/rice. And Cadbury s. And ginger crunch creams.
You will realize virginia beach discount hotels you are going to miss it SO MUCH!! i lived there for 3 yrs and most others i know feel the same. Look past what you dont like any really enjoy the opportunity provided to you to explore the uniquesness that only the uk can offer.
British is not obsessed with fire safety as most of the buildings are not even sprinklered. Fire doors even though it could be a nuisance (depends on who looks at it) is a life saving passive fire protection system. virginia beach discount hotels Installed in hotel room doors or along corridor, they are supposed to contain fires in the room or section of corridor so that others can escape unharmed. If your hotel room is more than 10 storey above it is even more critical as the vertical fire escape virginia beach discount hotels staircase is also protection on every floors by fire resistant Doorsets. So please do not wedge any fire doors in open position or you may have just compromise the fire resistant integrity of your room or protected corridors.
Went to the UK for a fantastic holiday in 2009, and for a Filipino not used to right-hand driven vehicles, being told to Look right or Look left before crossing virginia beach discount hotels the streets can actually virginia beach discount hotels save your life and limb. Smashing article, by the way!
Signs telling people what to do are a relatively new thing. It is probably because people are terrified virginia beach discount hotels that if they don t have a do not poke the hungry lion with a stick sign, someone will do so and then complain that they weren t warned not to. Dealing with this will create huge amounts of paperwork, so it is easier to stick up a notice. It might also help foreigners who are not used to local ways o