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Original poster

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

389 replies

NotQuiteCockney · 07/10/2006 21:12

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?

OP posts:
foundintranslation · 07/10/2006 22:11

There are usually these 'shavers only' things. What else would you want plugs for, in the bathroom?

bctmum · 07/10/2006 22:12

Something good about uk houses is the windows open out and have a catch to hold them open (what's it called!)

fridascruffs · 07/10/2006 22:14

you don't have to call before you visit in Wales madchad! That's an English thing I reckon. (and southern at that)
automatics use too much petrol. And are we talking tea as in cuppa, or tea as in dinner? I mean a cuppa hardly needs explaining does it- nectar of the gods .

Gillian76 · 07/10/2006 22:15

Calling before visiting depends on the individual I reckon. We don't usually

Molesworth · 07/10/2006 22:16

I'm appalled when people don't call before they visit

hana · 07/10/2006 22:17

having a good laugh here
also don't get

no screens on the windows - have been thinking of going into business for this....
washing machines in the kitchen
Mr Blobby
celeb culture and those cheap weekly mags

prob lots more it's just too late to think
and ditto lots people have already said

Gillian76 · 07/10/2006 22:17

I hate it because our house is a tip. But it happens all the time

madchad · 07/10/2006 22:19

Yes, I am in the SE.
I could have added no-one talking to you on buses, and my pet hate people not routinely admiring babies (a friend of mine thought hers must be ugly because of the lack of compliments that even a gorgon would have gotten at home)
All that said I do like it here, have three English kids, and have come to terms with the fact that I probably won't ever leave.

madchad · 07/10/2006 22:22

Why do people invite you to dinner, or anything else, months in advance. I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow generally.

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:23

dry hair in front of the mirror?

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:25

madchad, I'm the same. I find this thing of not admiring (or smiling) to babies and kids in general quite upsetting. convinced that mine are horrible.

brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:26

well I've lived here for 23 yrs now I still hate the single tap thing,have finally had ours changed.

Also chips with lasagna or pizza,how much carb do you need?

Hate the fact there are no basements here,they're so useful.

Used to think it was very strange when the whole world stripped bare when the weather gets slightly warm,but now kind of understand they're making the most of it.

Must say I prefer manual cars though

Molesworth · 07/10/2006 22:26

harrumph

I'm English

I admire babies and wouldn't dream of having carpet in my bathroom!

southeastastralplain · 07/10/2006 22:28

aw i admire babies! we can't have basements because our earth is so clay ey

Linnet · 07/10/2006 22:28

I'm Scottish and I agree with Hana, why don't we have screens on our windows?

I hate it in the summer when it's hot and you have the windows open you either have to sit in the dark or deal with all the daddy long legs and moths that come in. then during the day you get flies and wasps. I live in an older house but I'm amazed that with all the new houses being built they don't build them with screens on the windows.

I don't get cryptic crosswords, or any drossword for that matter, much to the disgust of my late mother who was a huge crossword fan. I just don't get them, my brain doesn't work that way. I prefer sudoku myself.

madchad · 07/10/2006 22:30

Obsession with house ownership?
I am enjoying this thread no end!

brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:31

I also used to find it odd that everyone went on a summer holiday, every year.
I'm completely converted now though

southeastastralplain · 07/10/2006 22:32

house ownership / maggie thatcher

brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:34

Oh god I would kill for screens on the windows.

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:35

me too, but don't want to sound too rude... as I do love a nice cuppa.
I really missed that stage when in my home country old ladies would have surrounded the pushchair going all ohhhh ahhhhh.
I'm now convinced that mine weren't exactly the cutest kids ...

brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:35

There are sooo many things I love about the uk though,that's whhy I'm still here.

Molesworth · 07/10/2006 22:36

I never 'got' Thatcher either

Earlybird · 07/10/2006 22:37

Don't get eggs or pineapple on pizza.

Pruhoohooohoooooni · 07/10/2006 22:38

I am Scottish too, completely agree about the screens.
I can't understand why perfectly well-off people live in old houses with mismatched worn carpets, lino that doesn't fit, curtains that aren't lined, no insulation in general...I mean I understand that houses are old and upkeep is ongoing (I live in one myself) but surely, come on, some insulation?? We lived in one that had no insulation except two windows that had been double-glazed, in the two rooms at the top of the house that even the owners didn't use when they lived there. WTF?????
We don't tend to live for comfort here, many of us, it's a puritanical thing I think: must be stoic, come on, straighten your back, that sort of thing.

kama · 07/10/2006 22:39

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