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September 20, 2007
Some Final Observations: II
There are some things that caught my eye, were pointed out to me, or that I noticed and think are true (but may not hold up under close scrutiny), while I was in England.
This was, originally, one very long entry. Now it's three. Today:
Things that were pointed out to me:
Gas is expensive. [UPDATED] This is something I would have noticed on my own but what was pointed out to me is that the British are tired of hearing us complain about just how high our gas prices are. It's about $4.00 a gallon in the UK and has been for a long while. (What the Brits don't tell you is that all their gas stations are old, converted castles and being able to pump gas out of one of these babies is worth a buck a gallon any day of the week.) You know, I thought that sounded too cheap. I fell into two traps here; the first was a rounding error and the second was a conversion error. I rounded .96 per liter up to 1.00 per liter and then I converted .96 to cents forgetting it started out as pence. So, I had a buck a liter or $4.00 when it should have been a pound a liter. Gasoline is $7.70 a gallon (roughly). The joke about the castles stands. (My thanks to Lady Penelope for correcting this.)
The driver to the right of you as you enter a rotary has the right of way. I didn't realize there were any rotary rules as we take a free-for-all approach here. Having said that, the rotaries that I encountered in England were a lot busier than the two I run across in Hilliard on a regular basis.
Even this rotary, which is nothing more than a dot painted in the middle of an oddly-shaped intersection of roads, is no challenge for the British driver. We would mark such an intersection with a sign that said, "Traffic Accident Ahead."
There are no billboards along any of the interstate-type roads. And yet the British seem to know what to buy, where to stop for lodging, and where to get their adult sex toys without these obtrusive, gentle, reminders [You have to be familiar with the Lion's Den billboard to appreciate that last remark. Clink the link now to see their 20%-off Back to School special (I'm not kidding)]. As you drive along you get an unobstructed view of the English countryside.
The only in-your-face outside advertising I recall seeing was Piccadilly Circus in London and it had sort of a Times Square thing going for it (and absolutely nothing in the way of circus going for it. No three rings. No Animals. No trapeze artists. No Monty Pythons).
No tipping in Pubs, though you do tip in restaurants.
Tax is already added into prices. At least on the clothing I bought.
The national lottery is tax free. I won 10 pounds and was pretty sure it was going to be tax free as I wasn't in the mood to do any paperwork. I found out later that had I won one million pounds it would have been tax free as well. (If only I'd known ahead of time I'd have tried harder.)
Posted by delmer at September 20, 2007 9:20 PM
Comments
1) the gasprices are high due to the tax the governament puts on the nett price the producers calculate.
2)Roads as crowded as in the UK (or Holland) should be watched for other users. Billboards intervene with that so...are not allowed.
3)Pubs are a social thing for the poorer people....so no tipping. Restaurants are for the wealthy..they can spare the 10%
4)The Brittish people will be gratefull for the tax you paid unknowingly for them
Posted by: Jack at September 21, 2007 8:46 AM
I like your thoughts on billboards. People should be paying attention to driving and not reading ... or staring at partially clad women on billboards.
Ah. 10%. I remember when that was considered a good tip. (Back when I was waiting tables.) I give 20% on a regular basis now. All things considered it's just a couple dollars more, usually.
Lady P did tell me, at one point, that VAT was already included in the price. I guess there's no way of getting around 'the man.'
Posted by: delmer at September 21, 2007 8:51 AM
You're welcome! Could I have got away with an "FOD" for that mistake? Said in context like; "FOD!!! We pay 8$ a gallon, so quit your whining about gas prices!!" I rather like the sound of that ;o)
xxx
Posted by: Pen at September 21, 2007 11:25 AM