Questions that you need answered: International version

[Timetogiveupnow]

I believe there are people world wide on this site so how about asking those questions that others can answer?
America mumsnetters: without kettles how do you have hot water bottles? Or instant hot chocolate? Is it true you make tea in the microwave?

US MNetters who were around in the 1980s - what did 'New Coke' taste like?

why the obsession with the class thing in the UK?

I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with it, but I do find it interesting. I'm working class. What fascinates me are non-obvious class indicators. For example, it's a common misconception that the aristocracy drive gleaming, posh cars - they're more likely to drive battered, old cars full of muddy wellingtons. Hollywood films don't seem to recognise any style of UK living between a large country house/London townhouse and a graffiti-strewn tower-block - the lower/middle-middle class person living in a suburban semi is ignored by the American film industry.

@TeenPlusTwenties

Thank you for your explanation.
I did indeed notice the very wide and clearly defined cycle lanes.

I suppose if there were frequent accidents resulting in head injuries, the law would change but this is apparently not the case.

To anyone living in a country with poisonous creatures such as spiders or snakes, is it a daily worry?
Can you relax and let your kids play out where they may get bitten?

I live in Australia - I've lived in the city and way out in the outback. In 60 years I've never been remotely close to a poisonous creature. Obviously you are careful, not sticking your fingers down holes or lifting up rocks in the garden, and keeping the screens closed on doors and windows. Most Aussie children would only ever see dangerous critters in the zoo.

Southern California:
Best street food is tacos or the Mexican fruit stalls with Tajin on freshly cut mango
I haven’t taken a U.K. driving test but here my test was 7mins, had to drive round the block and safely go up to 40mph then pull over on an empty street and drive backwards in a straight line. That was it!

Oh and we regularly find black Widow and brown WiFi’s spiders. We’re warned of rattle snakes in the summer but I’ve only seen a dead one

I also live in Australia, in Sydney but on the edge of the bush. We have our house and garden sprayed once a year for spiders and insects so we don’t see them much. We have had a death adder in the back garden, a large python and at our local park I’ve seen a red bellied black snake twice.

I don’t worry about it though when they’re in the garden although when we go on bush walks we don’t tend to go at the height of summer and when we go after it rains we always take a pot of salt for leeches.

Re: bikes in the netherlands
You are expected to take care of yourself , trust others are being just as aware, and bike at a reasonable tempo to keep things flowing. Generally bikes are not going too fast and keeping to a socialable speed. Scooters still scare the crap out of me and older people are having accidents on electric bikes. I have seen some wearing helmets because the electric bikes do go faster.
I am ouside of Amsterdam though.
I made my kids wear helmets to a certian age and they stuck out like a sore thumb, though i do see it more now. Hypocritically I have not worn a helmet here but you do feel safer with the separated bike lanes.
And yes there are head injuries from bike falls and there is talk of helmets but I am not sure the Dutch will take to it as it has been like this for do long.

why the obsession with the class thing in the UK?

The only people that seem to be obsessed with class are those who say they are working class. Guaranteed any thread that refers to class is someone saying they are working class.

Upper or middle class people don't seem to give a shit - or at least they don't see it as a major defining factor about themselves in the same way.

Why is it that the thousands of cyclists I saw riding in Amsterdam do not wear protective headgear?

Because cycling is seen as a perfectly normal and equal way to get around and people accept that they shouldn't need to kit up as if they're going to war, just to go to the shop/work/wherever. The car is not seen as king.

(If we really wanted to get serious about reducing road deaths, we'd make drivers and pedestrians wear protective gear, or of course remove motor traffic from vulnerable road users' spaces entirely)

In the Netherlands is it automatically the car drivers fault if there is an accident with a bike? Somebody told me it was some time ago.

Because cycling is seen as a perfectly normal and equal way to get around and people accept that they shouldn't need to kit up as if they're going to war, just to go to the shop/work/wherever. The car is not seen as king.

Helmets are not just to protect from cars though - falling off a bike can kill you from hitting your head on the hard concrete of the pavement. Cars have safety equivalents - seatbelts, car seats, air bags etc.

The Brits are absolutely obsessed with class. I’ve been out of the UK for many years now, and it’s really apparent from reading on here that it comes into everything in a way that foreign people won’t understand (I’ve seen it used to discuss issues in America on here, and that’s Brits looking at things through a very British prism). You guys probably don’t even notice it.

Brit in the USA. We have a kettle that goes on our hob. You can buy electric kettles, but they aren’t that common, and our kitchen is tiny (and our “stove” is massive, so I’d rather not lose counter space). Most Americans are surprised we don’t have a coffee machine, but we don’t drink coffee much. DH has one on a morning and just uses a little caffetiere. Or we use instant, which is not common here at all.

I’ve been to friend’s houses where they’ve boiled water in a pan or used the microwave to make tea. which they then drink with the tea bag in. And think I’m weird for taking it out!

I did my driving test when I first moved here. The theory part is quite similar to the Uk. The practical part was pretty straightforward. Basically drive round the block and do one maneuver. Here they do drivers ed at high school. And basically they learn how to drive and then go and sit their test at 16. They have a lot of restrictions on times they can drive and who they can have in the car for the first few years I think.

I don't think the British are obsessed with class. I think we all know what our origins are, that's all. I find it's non Brits who go on about this "obsession" all the time thinking it's us, when it's really just a stereotypical load of rubbish like the fact the whole country stops at 4 for a pot of tea.

Helmets are not just to protect from cars though - falling off a bike can kill you from hitting your head on the hard concrete of the pavement. Cars have safety equivalents - seatbelts, car seats, air bags etc.

But the risk is assessed and managed. As witnessed every single day with millions of people who ride bikes across Europe helmetless. And enough people still get crushed under trucks while helmeted here.

And I don't want to labour the point, but it's other road users who really should look at more safety equipment before cyclists, if fewer injuries and deaths are the desired end result. If all pedestrians wore helmets, for example, the stats would be vastly different for nasty injuries from falls. But we don't. We look to people riding bikes to be the sole users of safety equipment.

I dunno mate - my DH had a horrific bike accident a few years ago purely because ice had created a new pothole he wasn’t anticipating, his front wheel went in and flipped him, he landed right on his head. Had concussion and broken ribs and the doctors said if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet (which had split in two due to the impact) I’d be arranging his funeral or feeding him through a tube - I always wear a helmet and make my kids do the same

Well I wear a helmet too, but that's my choice and mainly because I go out for fun and can get up some serious speeds.

If however I was sedately riding to work in my work clothes with hair and makeup done, on a properly maintained, segregated cycle path in a place where cycling was the norm and other road users actually had awareness and respect, then maybe I wouldn't.

I'm not pro/anti helmet, I'm just a bit fed up of being told I MUST don armour to be safe to ride on our roads when millions of people prove that it isn't true every single day.

The one thing that would make all cyclists safer is (lots) more cyclists. Not helmets or lights or any other defensive gear. That's all peripheral in the big scheme of things.

Again, as so many European countries have proven.

One thing that would make cyclists safer would be to observe the rules of the road! I live on the corner of a one way street between two fairly major roads in London. Not a week goes by without a cyclist going the wrong way down the road being hit by a car.

When did we start wearing cycle helmets in UK? I used to cycle to school in the 70s and 80s and no-one wore a helmet.

@ILikTheBred
Prams in Dk are so big because children nap in them until they are 3 or 4. They sleep outside. We all have sensible cars and car salesmen use it as a selling point.

justascratch it's illegal to take away any employees passport here.

What can and does happen is that employment agencies in the worker's country of origin charge huge fees to get people over to Dubai before they work.

To answer another question about poverty, Dubai is a city of great contradictions and polarization when it comes to money. (Oh and yes, Dubai is a city not a country.)

Those who work in the service industry, hotels, wait staff, cleaners, will be on low wages. And of course the laborers.

What we see here in our community is a recognition of this and a huge appetite for change and to support those less fortunate. Zakat (Charity) is a pillar of Islam, and so giving is ingrained into our culture and a wonderful part of life.

This means that during Ramadan in particular, everyone, whatever religion, is very focused on giving and helping others. This goes throughout the year too and we regularly organize and take part in community activities. I'm from the UK, have lived in the UAE FOR 12 years, and the attitude to giving and helping others is incredible to see here.

I was shocked on my last visit home to see how the gap had widened in the UK and no one seemed inclined to do anything about it.

Does it rain less in the Netherlands. I am in Scotland and cycling is great but it rains so often - wouldn't want to get to work regularly looking like a drowned rat.

UK Class system, down to history imv.
Well the french had a revolution if I recall and in the US most immigrants, I would guess, arrived with virtually nothing so that would be a great leveller. Germany, two Wars would do away with most of the class system. The UK wasn't invaded, so the King would have had to flee. So our class system with rich landowners, followed by very rich industrialists in 19thC, just rolled on as it suited those in power.

Surely the gap between the life and income of a local person from the UAE and the life and income of a labourer from Korea/Pakistan/ Malaysia etc is huge. And they are immigrant labour who will be sent home, no option to stay.