Considering that a litre is about 1/4 of a gallon, £1/litre is about $7/gallon.

 

I allways wondered if british people really precisely referred to distant relations a family, I have seen a lot of stuff like
third cousin twice removed or some such.
I will probably never comprehend who that really is. But my question is, is the daughter of your great aunt really someone you would call family or is it some relation? Where does the family end? I was thinking of the Black family, for example?

 

I don't know about others, but my family like to forget about certain members.

We have quite a few family feuds, and then pretend that branch doesn't exist. It's really funny when you're not on the receiving end.
Usually though family is referring to close relations, like siblings, aunt/uncles, grandparents.

Then again being in my family is like living in a war zone, partly because the scottish branch hates the english side.
Also some of my family are catholic and they hate the protestant family members. There is no surprise I turned out atheist.

Litha

 

Go the Scots!!! lol

ONe side of my family is very very big. To give an idea, my grandfather died a couple of weeks ago, and at his funeral, 300 family members turned up, no non-family person barring special guests were allowed in the church. And non of these folk were further away than cousin branches from my grandparents. Its a big family. I can claim to be able to recognise maybe a quarter of those folk who turned up, and name maybe half of those I can recognise.

The other side of my family, is rather small in comparison.

To me, close family stops at cousins, aunts and uncles. But I have enver had any problem with the whateverth cousin however many times removed. Once introduced to a member of the larger side of my family, I can generally palce how close a relation they are. And if I can't, we usually have a great time trying to work it out. Its a good conversation starter, lol.

 

My family is huge on my mothers side but my dad's family is smaller.

The present feud is between my mums sisters, over my dead grandad. It's silly but they take it so seriously, I'm sure I'll need therapy soon.

The scottish/english feud is made worse by my irish family, it really is funny. It's not helped by the fact that they almost run two villages, one in Ayr and the other in Nottinghamshire.
When they get into physical fights the police wont do anything, because they call it village politics. It gets me laughing but it can be stressful.

I've still never met all the members of my family, because it's that big.
It didn't help that my grandad was a man whore, he's got kids everywhere. When I moved to where I am now I actually met someone who claimed to be his. It makes for interesting family reunions though.

Litha

 

Do you guys really know how many people have to die for you to be king, or am I just an idiot?

 

Hate to tell you, but your being an idiot.

We know how many folk have to die for there to be a king on the throne (read 1).

I know that if the entire royal family dies out, plus about 100 other extended families and most of my family, then i could technically clame the throne, cause I am very distantly related to a former royal bloodline from Scotland. Think so former it was before the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Litha, you say a village in Ayr? Ayr is a large town. Did you mean Ayrshire? There are 3 Ayrshires, lol. North South and East. I happen to live in East Ayrshire. Could you tell me what the village is? Or at least which part of Ayrshire.

 

So you can trace your family line back to around the year 1000?

I know that this does not directly relate, but how far back can everyone here trace their lineage back?

 

Whats the legal age to buy and posses tobacco in Britian?

 

16. Though there's been some confusion as people get things mixed up.

 

It's legal to buy it at 16 but somehow kids of around 12 always manage to get their hands on 'fags' (that's cigarettes to anyone who doesn't know) by somehow convincing older, and sometimes more stupid, people to buy them.

And for the record, not many people as far as i know are that obsessed with knowing what the queen/royal family are up to everyday. Their more interested in the PrimeMinister, he has the real power.

I have rarely heard anyone say 'bloody hell' when speaking to themselves, a lot of the time they just say damnit or the like.

 

I say bloody hell alot but i swear like a bitch to.
Main ones are: fuck, shit, cock, wank, arse (not ass), tits, mother fucker, bastard, bitch, crap, or any combination of them.

Normal adjectives are: brilliant, cool, awesome, shit, crap, fucked up and fit (as in good looking). Most people would not use the C word (its generally seen as the worst swear word).
Sarcasm is a way of life among sixth formers and Monty Python/Red Dwarf is the pinacle of British pop culture. We have Sky TV over here, not cable. No one goes to art museums. People are generally nice and will talk to you on a bus, which don't have conductors except in big cities (like London)

Soccer is football, which is Britain's main sport.
No one likes the French and Scotland is disliked. Wales is full of Sheep-Shaggers and Ireland is constantly drunk.

We call pubs pubs/bars/clubs and we buy pints of beer/lager.
National drinks are England - Beer, Scotland - Scotch, Wales - I have no idea, Ireland - Whiskey.
The Uk is England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland, Great Britain includes Ireland (Eire - pronounced Ire)

Money is in pounds and pennies. 100 pennies to a pound. We call pounds quid up here call any coins we have in our pockets shrapnel.

No one in England talks like Hugh-fucking-Grant. We mostly abbreviate as much as possible.
Accents change from region to region.

Up here in Newcastle (which is generally considerd the shit hole of England) we invented charvers (chavs to the southerners) who dress in white, wear shiny fake-gold manhole covers for jewelerry (not to mention the budgie earrings for the girls), smoke tabs/cigs/fags, listen to dance music, drink 50p bottle of cider, hang round on street corners in groups of 20+ and randomly insult anyone who is not like them. (I being what they call "goffic" get a lot of shit).

There are a shit load of groups of people in England you have (this could go on for a while): goths, punks, metalheads, charvers, trendies (slightly nicer versions of charvers), normal people, geeks (not nerds), freaks, pikeys (watch the film Snatch for an accurate portrayal of pikeys), immigrants (racist remarks abound for these guys, but most of em are cool - normally called paki's, though not in front of em - I don't count it as an insult) who normally run the local shop and then just the buisnessmen, trekkies (they deserve their own mention, unfortunately) and dolers (those are the people on 'the dole', which is a Government provided fund that give people money for being unemployed)

Everyone is on the way to being 'politically correct', which is the Government's attempt to make everyone be 'nice, kind pigeons' who don't get in fights and don't hurt anyone - like that's gonna happen. They even stopped people calling black people black for a bit if i remember correctly.

Ok that's all I can think of for now, enjoy

P.S. Chips are crisps and fries are chips (only ours are so much better) and we don't watch CNN over here.

 

Ok, i just gotta say, most of that is right but its not like that everywhere. Some of it is but most of it will be stereotypical but not the views of everyone.

 

I did mean Ayrshire Mordecai, my geography is crap.
I think the village they live in is near Cummnock or something like that.

I went up last year for my papa's funeral but don't go there very often.
Mostly because my mum tried to get away from him controlling everything.

I liked him but my mum still has difficulty talking about him.

I must also say that the age limit for alcohol is 18, pubs in my area now get shut down if they sell to anyone too young.
The police now have young people go in and trick pubs into breaking the law. Then they shut them down and fine them.

About the royal family, I really hate it that people think we want them.
They are a bunch of freeloaders who open hospital wards, and the queen signs of our laws.
Usually it's only a formality because what can the queen do. When a law takes three readings through parliament, then a few more times through the House of Lords.

About the television thing we have five terrestrial stations, and countless satellite/cable channels. Although channel Five is pretty young, I think about 7 yrs old.

About the racism thing, unfortunately there are tensions due to the war on terror. Plus letting 1000 foreign criminals loose instead of extraditing them, tends to piss people off. Which is to say I don't condone racism and hate it with a vengeance.
Where I am people have been so accepting of each other, I think it's due to people here being more intergrated.

I would also say that not all British people are racist, and not everyone hates the french. I also hate the word 'paki' as it is most often used in a derogatory manner.

Litha

p.s please don't think all British people are racist, as that is usually the exception rather than the norm.

 

We do have cable TV. NTL is one such provider.

I'm not going to comment on that.

This is wrong. "Great Britain" is the collective name for the three countries of England, Scotland and Wales.

The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The official name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" came into use in 1922 after the constitution of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), the former name of the Republic of Ireland.

The expression "British Islands" has been defined in the Interpretation Act 1978 as meaning the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The Republic of Ireland is not included in this definition.

The expression "British Isles" is geographical and not political. They are a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe consisting of Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Wight, the Scilly Islands, Lundy Island, the Channel Islands and many other smaller islands.

You can find a full list of the British Isles here

Britain also as a number of overseas territories called the British Overseas Territories. These are:

• 
  [*]Anguilla
  [*]Bermuda
  [*]British Antarctic Territory
  [*]British Indian Ocean Territory
  [*]British Virgin Islands
  [*]Cayman Islands
  [*]Falkland Islands
  [*]Gibraltar
  [*]Montserrat
  [*]Pitcairn Islands
  [*]Saint Helena
  [*]Saint Helena Dependencies (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha)
  [*]South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  [*]Turks and Caicos Islands

It could also be worth noting that Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926) is not just Queen of England. She is, in fact, Queen of 16 independent nations known as the Commonwealth Realms. These are:

• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Jamaica
• Barbados
• The Bahamas
• Grenada
• Papua New Guinea
• The Solomon Islands
• Tuvalu
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Belize
• Saint Kitts and Nevis.

 

To start with, I know a large number of english folk, mainly the afformentioned family of mine, who mainly live in England, who like the Scots, adn in some cases prefer the general attitude of Scots, to that of the English.

YOu may not know this, but Scotch and Whiskey are the same thing. Yes, Scotch is the national drink of Scotland (as is Iron Bru), but I don't think you should class Ireland as having a national drink. Historically they have been involved in he manufacture of countless different types of alcohol, from vodka, to guinness (sp) to whiskey.

And i seriously doubt that folk in Newcastle "created" "charvers". They are found all over the land, and go by a variety of names in England. In Scotland it is generally accepted that they are called Neds.

While your post was accurate in the main, it wsa slightly insulting, very derogitary and you really shouldn't post if you don't know exactly what you are saying.

 

Sorry about the post, I was kinda drunk at the time and my somewhat, erm... extremist opinions decided to ask to be let out. I was wrong about the Wales thing but that's the general view most of the people up here have. Just the steriotypical view of the various countries. Although there is more resentment for Scotland the closer you get to the border. I dread to think what the people at Berwick think. Its switched hands more than a magician in a poker game.

About the 'paki' thing - I don't stand by it. I hate people who are racist. The paki shop is called that because it always has been. Khan's has been around since before Iw as born and it was the paki shop then. Its just a hand-me-down from my parent's era.

The Royal Family, in my opinion, is pretty valuable to us. It provides us with a ton of tourism from random foreigners. The Yanks (Americans) seem to have an obsession with royalty, from what I've seen of them. To me the Royal Family is what is setting us apart from being a 'client-kingdom' of America. No offence to you guys but you're acting more and more like conquerers than liberators.

Just look at the unhealthy obsession with the middle east. Libya and North Korea are some of the biggest threats to us and yet we ignore them in favour of places with a shit load of oil. Coincidence? I think not. As well as that there is talk of invading Iran for developing Nuclear Reactors when they are the most efficient means of producing electricity known to man (discounting the chance of meltdowns).

I still find it funny that everyone calls them 'weapons of mass destruction' instead of nuclear because George Dubya Bush can't.

Sorry for any offence I caused in the last post, I was drunk and in a bad mood and I wanted to bitch about something. Again, I'm very, very sorry.

Aekiel

P.S. it is true that the North-East 'created' charvers. They evolved as a sub-class in the poor, Council Estate areas. They started 'evolving' in the mid-80s and have become, over time, what you see today. Do not be taken in by these celebrity 'chavs' - it is not just a fashion - it is a way of life for some people.

And my knowledge of geography is very, very bad. So the Great Britain/UK thing is entirely due to my ignorance.

 

Also I don't think you are doing Newcastle any favours.

Newcastle is a nice city with lots of great history, also they brew the famous Newcastle Brown Ale (which is very nice ). I'm surprised you think so little of Newcastle as they are not called the arse of England, in fact I'd say areas like Birmingham, Manchester and Hull are just as deprived.

Every area as a bad side, I live in St Anns which is called the gun capital of Britain. I don't think you do jeordies (Newcastle people) justice, and you should have more pride in your area.


Scotland is a beautiful country with some truly brilliant people, and Wales is not filled with 'sheep-shaggers'.
Wales is a fantastic place with a rich history of it's own, with some good rugby. Not to mention Tom Jones came from there, aswell as the longbow.
It's very working class due to the large amount of coal villages, although the coal mines are almost gone.

I know lots of people who think very highly of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
The bit about france is more a friendly rivalry, rather than hatred.

Although as in every society we do have some bad apples, but usually they are shunned or ignored.

Litha

 

Which area would you guys say is the nicest in the UK and why?

 

Nowhere is totally nice, or totally bad, but I would have to say the Highlands of Scotland, where there are hundreds of small hamlets with about 7 folk living in them, lol. you can't beat the hospitality you get there.

I was once in the hihglands on holiday with my mum. I was about 5 at the time, my older brother was 7. We got lost on one of the many small twisty turny lanes, stopped at a house that was there to ask directions (we were heading for a castle) and got invited in for for a cup of tea and scones. Where else in the world would a couple of maybe 30 years of age invtie compeltel stranger in for tea?

Something I do like about Britain in general is the history. Its comforting in a way to know that my house is older than the US, lol.

Another really cool thing is all the really old laws, that never got repealed, so are technically still in place. Like ona full moon, if you use a longbow it is legal to shoot someone is England, if you are on the other side of the welsh border.

In Scotland it is verbal agreements are legally binding.

It is illegal for an MP to enter the House of Commons wearing a full suit of armour (this cracked me up, the image of any of our illustrious PM's wearing a suit of armour. Imagine Maggie Thatcher wielding a abttle axe to get folk to do thigns her way, lol.)

In Scotland a pregnant woman can legally do the toilet anywhere she wants.

IN Scotland again there are no trespassing laws. You can walk straight through a persons house, so long as you don't touch or damage anything in the house.