Random facts about the UK...

Post Reply New Topic

...that some non-British people might not know.

1. Most standard houses are small, unless you're rich enough to expand your house or live in a bigger house

2. The majority of schools in the UK require uniforms (I wore a uniform at school)

3. London isn't the only large, busy city in the UK. There are many large, busy cities and towns, which are getting bigger and bigger each year (sadly)

4. We don't worship the royals, in fact some British people hate the royals (not me though)

5. The old cockney accent used in things like Oliver Twist barely exists any more

6. Food is served in small portions, compared to some countries like the US

7. It is not considered impolite not to tip the waiters or waitresses

8. Halloween isn't much of a big deal

9. There is no bill for doctor appointments, but there is for dentists and opticians, although it can sometimes vary depending on your financial status

10. You have to pay for a shopping bag each time, unless you pay a little more for a longer lasting shopping bag that you can reuse again and again

11. Tax on purchase items is already included in the price, for example if the price tag says £5.99 then that's exactly what you'll pay for that item

12. You usually have to pay to park your car

13. It is illegal to carry weapons around with you

14. Most homes do not have air conditioning, nor are homes required to have air conditioning

15. Streets are narrower than other countries like the US, and footpaths (sidewalks) are usually made of all sorts of different concrete types or are sometimes full of cracks or potholes

The first time I went to America (Florida Keys) the tax thing in shops really confused me and the tipping thing caused my great anxiety as I didn't want to get it wrong and offend anyone.

16. Most people have forgotten how to think in or use Imperial / non-metric measurements

My Dads workmate went to the USA about 30 years ago and was arrested for "Window shopping". He was let go without charge when he explained he was from the UK. Here in the UK nearly all shops will have some sort of window displays and they are there for you to look at. They are designed so you go up to the window and look in to see what is in the shop to try to intice you in. I guess looking into shops from the outside is considered something one must not do in the USA? Or does it depend where in the USA one lives?

Cockney seems to be very much alive to me.

The late Amy Winehouse spoke in a very broad Cockney dialect when she wasnt singing. And many youngish Brits on Utube who expound upon learned topics speak with atleast a Cockney inflection (which a Yank like me who is used to TV docs on PBS notices because I expect Brits who talk about learned stuff to sound like David Attenborough, and to speak in BBC English).

I have one or two mates from London, who are a bit cockney.
Although where I live (Jersey) we mostly as a people have lost our own accent.
Which originally sounded a lot like someone from South Africa, and we say "aye" after everything
(nice day aye?, where you going you aye? etc.).

When I lived in Liverpool (city in the UK where the Beatles come from) some people thought i was Australian (not everyone from Liverpool was all that bright though).

The people of Jersey, being in-between France and Great Britain, does have its own idiosyncratic language,
called Jersey French, spoken by about 10 people.... who revel in speaking it. very strange to be honest,
but some people like to keep dead traditions alive.

The Jersey (UK) accent now is either a little posh, or what many refer to as "mockney" i.e. pretend cockney.
Mockney accents often are taken on by the local kids, in attempt to sound more worldy wise while really coming from a tiny little sheltered island that thinks its bigger and cooler than it really is, although, apart from its bizarre history and bad tax nature, it is a naturally beautiful place to live, if you can only get away from people which are everywhere!! !

These days the cockney accent has become "chav speak" (equivalent to "yank" in the US). Many get confused with modern cockney and old cockney. Even in British TV shows like Grange Hill, the true cockney accent started to fade away by the 90s. I'm a cockney but I don't speak like those in Oliver Twist. You'd probably say I'm "Essex girl".