Foreigners in the UK: What do you just not "get"?

[NotQuiteCockney]

I've been in the UK for 10 years now, I think. I do not understand:

• the Archers
• tea (why? why? why?)
• cryptic crosswords

Anyone else?

I'm telling you, if that darn baby had been a couple of weeks older...

Oh, I do speak to strangers, even in London.

That being said, people comment on it - at our local childcare co-op, about half the parents have come to the co-op via me, and one claims we met because I walked up to her in a park and started talking to her . I don't remember doing this, but it wouldn't be out of character, so I probably did do it.

DH was in a park in Canada in the summer with one of my friends, who was explaining that he makes his own aftershave now. The woman next to them got involved in the conversation, and got his recipe, because she was interested. DH pointed out, that would never happen in the UK. He's probably right.

(But then again, there's a dark side to being overly friendly, some North American women (not me!) will tell other women they don't know about their periods, appropros of basically nothing. So I'd rather have UK standoffishness ... as long as I get my 'foreigner exemption', so I can do what I like.)

aftershave recipe, now thats a first, and he makes it?!

Yeah, he makes it. Apparently he now shaves with a straight razor, so you need something particularly calming afterwards? Or something?

I don't really want to think about it, tbh, why would you shave with a straight razor? Freak.

you said it . I am impressed, does he have any other recipes?

I don't think he has any more recipes. I was a bit perplexed by the whole conversation ... the aftershave involves a lot of honey, and is hence very sticky ... not a quality I'd look for in an aftershave, but what would I know?

Hmm, I hated all the banks in Canada, who charge you for things like "making a withdrawal from a machine", even if you only use the machines of your bank. Oh, and they charge you per cheque you write!

And soaps suck everywhere, imo. At least the English ones have normallish-looking people in them, from what I know.

Ah, see, DH is v English, but doesn't watch any soaps, or support any football teams, so we're used to weird.

(DS1 has told us, because of the "house" he is in at school, he supports Arsenal. Grr.)

Hi there. On top of what you have already said I've always wondered why the majority of you just washes the dishes in a bowl and do not rinse them afterwards under running tap water to take the washing up liquid off and ... why being so fussy about drying them? In my country we have cupboards over the sink purposedly designed to let dishes, glasses etc get dry.
Not a criticism, just a question...

Where are you from eli70?

and what's this 'reading' business at university

'Joe Bloggs from Oxford Uni is reading Classics and Latin'...blah blah

what's wrong with 'studying' or 'taking'

and why do consultants go by Mr or Mrs and not Dr - haven't they worked bloodly hard to become doctors, so why don't they use the title?!

oh yeh that got me - consultants called mr or mrs or miss but gps called Dr.... very strange.

eidsvold, it's all about their expertise, iirc.

They start off as Miss/Mrs/Mr then when they qualify they become Dr. But the higher they go in their chosen profession depends on if they become a Miss/Mr or stay a DR

Mr/Miss/Mrs is higher in medical/dental fields than Dr. Hence a dentist is a Dr, but once he specialisesms etc and becomes a MR..etc.

specialisesms etc and becomes a MR..etc.

should be "specialises and starts passing more exams, he comes a Mr etc"

Hope that previous post makes sense!

I still called them all by their dr X - but did that mainly for dd1 - at least now she can say doctor. Our GP is Dr Michelle..... much easier for dd1 to say than her surname.

Message withdrawn

what about the wait to see one of the little buggers on the NSH (consultants). Thats a whole other thread

In response to the USA demanding that anyone arriving in the USA has a criminal reoord check or a visa is denied.

Anyone entering the UK will now have to have the same treatment.

Plus show a full understanding of the Archers, and demonstrate, they can make drink tea without pulling a face..

And on fear of the Stocks, stop whineing about manual cars and not having plugs in bathrooms

Kevin

Oh, I thought of another one: fruit and veg stalls. The quality is often lovely, the prices are great ... but why can't I bloody well pick out my own fruit and veg? Why can't I touch the fruit and veg?

I once got into an ... altercation ... with a fruit and veg guy because I wanted to check that the corn wasn't gross.

(Also, why do they have to call me "lover" or "sweetheart" or whatever? This morning's one was clearly not that comfortable calling random women "lover", but did it anyway, maybe it's some sort of bylaw?)

I don't get 'lover', either.

That's too intimate.

Luckily I don't have to worry about that in Scotland.

Just call me 'hen'.

Oh yes!! The stalls! What's with that? My suspician is they keep the best stuff in the display and sell you the minging fruit without you realising. I go to the stalls run by Africans because they look at you funny if you don't touch the fruit first. Mind you, I love the cheap bowls of fruit and veg on sale or "A pahhhnnd fer a pahhhnnd" as they say round here.

I was boggled today to find they also have other fruit and veg that's not on display - I asked for Russets, and ta-da! they had them! Grrr, what's wrong with lovely seasonal english apples, rather than crap red "delicious" from somewhere random.