Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

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:
brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:39

mushy peas ..bluergh

kama · 07/10/2006 22:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

jennifersofia · 07/10/2006 22:42

Hey, what about washing machines that take about and hour and a half or longer. Why? why why why?
Plumbing generally - showers tend to be a dribble, and the design of toilets (don't think I will go into detail on this one).
Also, that programme (why does that word need two m's and an e?) on Radio 4 where contestants are given various clues and they have to figure out what the answer is (what is it called?) seems so terribly British to me.
I do love marmite and (quietly) the Archers, but can't get stout.

southeastastralplain · 07/10/2006 22:42

i love carpet!

Linnet · 07/10/2006 22:43

At the risk of sounding stupid here, Kama what do they use in Norway if they don't use carpets?

Do they just have wooden floors with rugs?

I'm in a rented flat and we're not allowed to have laminate or wooden floors unless it's agreed with the landlord as neighbours have complained in the past because of the noise.

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:44

agree with the stoicism pruhooooo. and my inferiority complex kicks in, always feel like a spoiled brat here. don't understand what are the screens you are talking about?

Linnet · 07/10/2006 22:45

bug screens on the windows like they have in America and Canada and I'm sure other countries have them also. Means you can open the windows when it's hot but no nasty wasps etc can get in.

Earlybird · 07/10/2006 22:46

I had never heard of carpet in a bathroom until I moved here. I now live in a flat with carpet in the bathrooms, but it's fine because:

  1. I've got one child
  2. That child is a girl
  3. The carpet was new when I moved in, so it's only ever been used by me and my friends/family
  4. I have carpets professionally cleaned twice a year.

Under any other conditions, I would find it awful.

kama · 07/10/2006 22:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

geekgrrl · 07/10/2006 22:47

lamb with vinegary mint sauce

gag, gag, gag - it just does not go.

and separate taps for hot & cold water - why??????

carpet in toilet areas - another gagging one.

Linnet · 07/10/2006 22:51

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:51

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 22:52

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

franca70 · 07/10/2006 22:52

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 22:52

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

GhoulsToo · 07/10/2006 22:54

weirdy people

brimfull · 07/10/2006 22:55

Page three
topless women in newspapers

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 22:56

Crisps are nasty.

I remember when I first moved to France, and it was 1986, and when you went to a sort of supermarket, there was like one tiny part with a few snack foods.

And I met a Brit who was aghast.

'Wot? No crisps?'

It was like heaven to me!

Medea · 07/10/2006 22:59

I don't get:

--gardening obsession
--non-preventative health care (eg no mammograms until you actually have breast cancer)
--indirect criticism
--use of the word "sorry" to mean "move!"
--and most of the things expat mentions (taps, brown sauce etc)

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 23:01

Yes, too right, Medea, about the preventative health thing.

What's with that?

At any rate, it's SOOOO cost-prohibitive .

I do like the watershed, though.

I remember the first time I saw TV here after 9PM.

My mama and I were staying a B&B in Bath, and as I went for a shower down the hall, she said, 'I'm going to watch British TV.'

I came back and she was staring at it w/her mouth agape.

She said, 'They're saying the F-word on TV! On regular TV!'

I thought, 'Cool!'

cece · 07/10/2006 23:02

I'm English and prefer separate taps - don't get on with those mixer things at all...

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 23:04

Line-dried everything, including towels and sheets and jeans.

Mmmm, crunchy towels and stiff jeans!

Just what I wanted in the middle of winter.

Bathrooms w/NO shower.

Huh??

expatinscotland · 07/10/2006 23:04

'The toilet'.

No, sorry, but you will never catch me saying 'I need the toilet'.

TMI!

Excuse me, but where is the ladies' room?

kiskidee · 07/10/2006 23:14

why decamp to the Med in august? its effing hot there in august! why not stay home in august when you have a modicum of heat? go in november when its effing miserable here.

bran · 07/10/2006 23:21

Madchad, do people really ask what you earn? That doesn't sound very English to me.

I don't get Marmite (I think you have to have tasted it before a certain age to like it), or yorkshire puddings. On the whole I've adapted pretty well to English ways and I think I will find it difficult to settle back into Irish ways when I move home. For instance I really like that strangers never start up conversations on public transport, they do in Ireland and the subject is usually varicose veins or arthritis. I also really love people phoning before they come around, so I can either tidy or pretend I was just going out the door when the phone rang.

I don't get the working hours thing, people seem to either drop whatever they're doing in order to walk out of work the second their working hours finish, or they work all the time only going home to sleep and shower before starting again. Surely there's a happy medium.