HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.canada
From: migod@turing.toronto.edu (Mike Godfrey)
Subject: Re: Are foreignborn kids of UK citizens british?
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Date: 14 Sep 92 15:18:49 GMT


I just applied for (and got) a UK passport based on my father having been
born there (he hasn't had a UK passport for 20 years!).

If your father is/was British, then you are British too.
If your mother is/was British and you were born after 1983 (+/- 1 year --
I can't recall), then you are British too.

There's also a charming footnote on the passport application telling you
that "child" does not include "illegitimate child".  You have to provide
the birth certificate AND the marriage certificate of your parent (and your
own birth certificate) to get a UK passport.

-- 
Mike Godfrey	          "I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty.
Dept of Comp Sci, UofT     I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty."
migod@turing.toronto.edu			   -- The Simpsons
From: nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Gordon Bennett
Date: 14 Sep 92 11:01:53 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Sep11.044524.24763@nuscc.nus.sg> hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (Richard C. Pennel (Dr)) writes:
>Another stone in the pond. Gordon Bennett was the name of the Australian
>General who left Singapore (and his troops) just as the Japanese were
>arriving in 1942. A certain amount of dissatisfaction was expressed by
>Australian troops at the time. Since I've always associated the use of
>the expression with a. the military and b. Australia could this be
>another possible source for it

This is the derivation I had always assumed - particularly because it seems
more common in Oz than here in Pom-land. Could there possibly be a
cross-fertilisation here with GIs and Diggers in SE Asia using the same term
for different reasons - but extending it's use none-the-less?

Nick.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: colins@bmdhh182.bnr.ca (Colin Smith)
Subject: Re: Unemplyment in England
Organization: BNR Europe Ltd, Maidenhead, UK
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 12:01:09 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.084726.22336@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>, mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
|>
|> To pre-empt the whingeing Scots, unemployment in Scotland (that
|> in the part of Britain to the north of England) is lower than
|> in England, lower even than in London and the south-east.
|>

Makes a change.

Regards
Colin
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: rhaller@oregon.uoregon.edu (Rich Haller)
Subject: Re: Tanstaafl (was:Americanising of the UK
Followup-To: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Organization: University of Oregon
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 92 21:38:27 GMT

In article <kc3y#1r@rpi.edu>, danaf@vccsouth28.its.rpi.edu (Frank R. Dana
Jr.) wrote:
> 
> In article <H12oqB1w165w@cybrspc.UUCP>, roy%cybrspc@cs.umn.edu (Roy M. Silvernail) writes:
> the feeling of this being a moon colony, sometime in the future. However, I do
> not remember Heinlein actually DEFINING "tanstaafl", so it may be that he
> assumed his readers would already know what it meant from some other source
> (like Niven?).

Heinlein predates Niven by quite a bit.  He (Heinlein) is definitely
responsible for popularizing tanstaafl through use in his works.  (The one
that made the biggest splash in the world outside SF was "Stranger in a
Strange Land", though I don't recall if he uses it in that particular
book).

I have a vague memory that that he used 'tanstaafl' as the title for one of
his short stories published in Astounding (later Analog). It may have been
the basis for a later novel, or he may have just used it in dialog in one
or more works (or I could be full of beans).

I suspect he did get the phrase from the economists mentioned in another
post, but I believe he originated the acronym.

Speaking of economists and pithy phrases, my favorite is "In the long run,
we are all dead". Anyone know in which of Keynes works (and where) this
appears?

-Rich
From: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: buying peerage
Date: 11 Sep 92 13:46:03 GMT
Organization: Software Engineering Institute

In article <1992Sep10.223106.19223@dscomsf.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:

>You show remarkable courage in bringing up that precedent! I would have brought
>it up myself to show just how unrepresentative such systems can be. Here we have
>an elected government dismissed by an unelected official, namely the govenor
>general.

The Governor General was doing his constitutional duty.  In Australia as
in the United Kingdom, a government that cannot obtain supply must resign.
The crisis was caused by Prime Minister Whitlam's attempt to violate the
constitution, and it is precisely against such demagogues that those
constitutional safeguards were erected.

> The result is that Australia will be a republic before the end of the
>decade.

Maybe so.  And if so, how long before the Australian government reaches
the same level of anarchy as the USA, which has been unable to pass
a budget for over a decade, and where everybody blithely conspires to
ignore the clear constitutional requirement to that effect, to the grave
detriment of the Republic.

Yes, it's often fine and dandy to live in a democracy.  But history
shows us that if we live in a domcracy, the odds are very high that
our grandchildren will live in a tyranny.  Political systems that
self destruct so quickly are simply not a good idea.
From: dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: O-levels, A-levels etc was Re: THE COMPLETE BRITISH TO AMERICAN DICT.
Date: 8 Sep 92 09:10:35 GMT
Organization: Glasgow University Computing Science Dept.

miriam@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Miriam Jackson) writes:


>Okay, this is the English and (I think) the Welsh system.  (Phew, shouldn't
>get flamed so much this time).  The Scottish system is different, and
>I am sure someone will enlighten you.

In Scotland O levels when your 16, Highers at 17 and SYS (Sixth Year Studies)
and/or more Highers at 18.
However all this is currently changing. O Grades have been replaced with
Standard Grade and there is a proposal to replace the Highers and SYS with
a SCOTVEC and SCOTBAC but nothing is finalised yet. Think its the Howie
Report which is looking into this.


Dave
-- 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: johnf@apollo.hp.com (John Francis)
Subject: Re: Classic-FM (was: VNS: Mon  7-Sep-1992)
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 20:24:26 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

In article <Bu9pBL.2E2@wpi.WPI.EDU> mfriley@pacman.WPI.EDU (Margaret F Riley) writes:
>In article <laphbhINN55s@news.bbn.com> clements@bbn.com (Bob Clements) writes:
>>
>>Too bad.  I really enjoyed the bird calls they were testing with.  They
>>were the most informative transmissions I could find on the dial...
>
>Bob, are you sure you aren't listening to WGBH Boston too much?  Gee,
>do you think we could trade them for Robert Leurtsema?
>
>--Margaret


What


do you 

have

against



Robert J. ?

-- 
John Francis                                johnf@apollo.hp.com
Seen passing on the net:  Spotted Owl - the *other* white meat!
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12196 rec.arts.tv.uk:5257 rec.arts.drwho:5812 alt.tv.prisoner:1297
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
From: ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead)
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 92 13:18:58 PDT
Organization: Paradox Alley F&SF BBS 805-492-8789

jac54@cas.org () writes:

> In article <1992Sep2.214059.5243@macc.wisc.edu> husted@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Jac
> >
> >Now, would someone PLEASE enlighten me as to the origin of the
> >phrase GORDON BENNETT used most often by Ace?  I assume he
> >must have been infamous to have his name become an epithet.
> >An American example is 'Your name is Mudd.'  I would
> >appreciate the particulars on GB.
> >
> 
> 	I think it's supposed to be Gordon-Bennett.  John Gordon-Bennett
> 	was the richest man in Britain in or aroun the 20s and 30s and
> 	he was a great believer in flaunting it.  This was probably the
> 	origin of the use of his name as an expression of exasperation.
> 
> 	One story about him relates to his favourite table in his
> 	favourite restaurant.  When it was occupied and the customer
> 	refused to change tables, GB bought the restaurant, thereby turning
> 	it into a private house, and threw the miscreant out.  After
> 	the meal, he gave the restaurant to the head waiter as a tip.
> 
> 	Alec.

That makes sense.  It must be what it is refering too.  After reading that
story I felt that only one expression fit as a response.  GORDON BENNETT!!


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Catherine Beckstead                    ace@kryton.uucp
"Do you want to argue with a can of deodorant that registers
NINE on the Richter scale?"        --Ace, in "Dragonfire"
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hallam@zeus02.desy.de (Phill Hallam-Baker)
Subject: Re: buying peerage
Reply-To: Hallam@zeus02.desy.de
Organization: Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, Experiment ZEUS bei HERA
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 22:31:06 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.134715.27383@cl.cam.ac.uk>, ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair
Grant) writes:

|>In article <1992Sep9.164257.2338@maths.nott.ac.uk> anw@maths.nott.ac.uk (Dr A.
|>N. Walker) writes:
|>>they will often be of different complexion from the government.  Whether
|>>or not they have "real" power, you then have a recipe for constitutional
|>>crisis, with both sides screaming about mandates, and fixes -- as we see
|>>occasionally in France and in the USA when the President is at loggerheads
|>
|>Or in Australia in 1975, when the only time that country's Senate has
|>been influential at all (how many Australians can name three Senators?)
|>brought about the worst constitutional crisis in modern Commonwealth
|>history, requiring the Sovereign's representative to dismiss an elected
|>government. Australia's Senators are usually non-entity career politicians
|>and bureaucrats, rather like British MEPs today.

You show remarkable courage in bringing up that precedent! I would have brought
it up myself to show just how unrepresentative such systems can be. Here we have
an elected government dismissed by an unelected official, namely the govenor
general. The result is that Australia will be a republic before the end of the
decade.


--

Phill Hallam-Baker
From: csp48@seq1.keele.ac.uk (J.W. Kirriemuir)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Date: 13 Sep 92 21:12:07 GMT
Organization: University of Keele, England

> Well you can get a 'pass' degree which is lower than any of these and
> means you don't have honours which all the above have. Mind you if you
> plumbed these depths you'd probably not want to mention the degree at
> all.

Maybe, but I'd rather mention that I got a pass degree from a decent
university like Hertfordshire than a 1st or 2:1 from a "campus with no
hope" like Keele...
From: rahman@ces.cwru.edu (Rahman A. Soomro)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Rain Relief Fund
Date: 9 Sep 1992 19:22:23 GMT
Organization: Computer Engineering and Science, Case Western Reserve University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: easy.ces.cwru.edu


Dear friends,

Recent rains in Pakistan have caused devastating effects on the 
daily life of the Pakistani people. Scores of people have lost there
lives and more than a million have been homeless.

	I appeal to you to help our brothers and sisters in need
and donate some money to help them. Please send your contribution
(tax deductible) with your name and also I request you to collect 
donations from any source -- your colleagues at work, friends, business
associates, customers, persons from any nationalities and backgrouds
to help people in trouble. 

	We are tying you help suffering peoples, who are suffering
from disease and malnutrition.

Please mail your contributions to:

Pakistan Rain Relief Fund
4105 Providence drive
St. Charles, MO 63304
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: sp@osf.org (Simon Patience)
Subject: Re: British Slang
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 09:51:41 GMT

In article <CC.92Sep15094319@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk>, cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke) writes:
> In article <12SEP199217480222@sscvx1.ssc.gov> godfrey@sscvx1.ssc.gov (LAURENCE GODFREY) writes:
> 
>    In fairness it must be said that "gobsmacked" is not truly British slang,
>    but was invented by Murdoch's appalling SUN newspaper 
> 
> No, wrong.  It's been around for years & years; the Sun presumably just
> popularised Northern slang in the South.

I don't think the Sun did that either. I had been using bonk for some time
before the Sun started debasing it. The first I heard of it in the media
was Chris Tarrant on Capital Radio, but he probably wasn't the first to
us it either.

Simon.

-- 
  Simon Patience
  Open Software Foundation			Phone: +33-76-63-48-72
  Research Institute				FAX:   +33-76-51-05-32
  2 Avenue De Vignate				Email: sp@gr.osf.org
  38610 Gieres, France				       uunet!gr.osf.org!sp
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: VNS: Fri  4-Sep-1992
Date: 7 Sep 92 16:40:49 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <1992Sep4.231252.28247@seas.gwu.edu>, jens@seas.gwu.edu (Jens Johansen) writes:
> In article <Sep04.205948.2028@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> hg798502@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Hugh Graham) writes:
>>>
>>How does this compare in magnitude and strategy to Dennis Healey asking
>>the IMF for a few quid back in the 70's?  Call me dumb, but I don't
>>recall this being called 'buying time for the battered pound' and forgive
>>me if I have inadvertantly deleted memories of 'euphoria in the City'
>>from my memory of that decade :-)  Bet the City wouldn't be too happy
>>if I borrowed 7.5million sponduliks.  Ho hum.  Wish I was a Tory.
> 
> Call me clever (although if you are, you probably won't--and you'd probably be
> right) but wasn't it the case that the Government and the British economy was
> so short of funds, and in such dire trouble that the IMF thing was the only
> option available to get out of the trouble Britain was in?  Remember the
> Winter of Discontent?
> 
Yes, and the Government and the British Economy are now so short of funds and
in such dire trouble that a bank loan of something over 7 billion is apparently
the only option available to get out of the trouble Britain is in. Frankly I
don't believe them, but I'm not an economist or an income-tax payer, nor (thank
heavens) do I have any direct connection with the British Mega-Death industry.

The comparison with Healey was made, but Lamont brushed it aside so no-one
appears to have followed it up. 
-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   Remember what happened to the dinosaurs!
wilcox@maths.oxford.ac.uk  |    I did---and look what happened to me.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: weed@venus.ycc.yale.edu
Subject: Need advice for friend going to Cambridge
Organization: Yale Computer Center (YCC)
Date: 6 Sep 92 15:05:29 EDT

Unfortunately, I do not have access to any other newsgroups which may be able
to help me get the information I need.
Basically, I have afriend who is going to be on an overseas scholarship to
Cambridge University for the next two years.  As with many American College
students, she is a macintosh user, and has little knowledge of IBM or
clone-type computing.  She owns a mac, but not a printer, as facilities for
printing at Yale have been more than sufficient to her need.  However, the
materials which she has received from Kings'(sp) College suggest that printing
facilities for macintosh users are very limited at Cambridge.  She wanted me to
ask around and see whether those who might know thought that she should
purchase a printer, or will the facilities at Cambridge (as a whole), be
sufficiently accessaable to make such a  purchase unnecessary?
I realize that Cambridge is not in session right now, but if anyone who has
attended university there can send what they know to this address as soon as
possible, I (and she) would very much appreciate it.
Matt Weed
From: jim@cs.strath.ac.uk (Jim Reid)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Democracy in London (was Re: The LSE)
Date: 9 Sep 92 12:41:58 GMT
	<1992Sep8.111718.8730@vax.oxford.ac.uk>
Organization: Computer Science Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland.
In-reply-to: reese@vax.oxford.ac.uk's message of 8 Sep 92 10:17:18 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.111718.8730@vax.oxford.ac.uk> reese@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:

   When/If democracy is restored in London, it can be housed in the old
   LSE building.

Well a better place to start would be the Houses of Parliament.
There's not much sign of democracy there......

		Jim
From: cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Archers are more popular than TV soaps
Date: 13 Sep 92 19:43:18 GMT
Organization: University of Keele, England

From article <1992Sep13.165937.15434@cs.nott.ac.uk>, by avyfdvg@unicorn.nott.ac.uk (David Gatenby):
> song into the theme tune from the Archers.  I tried with "God Save the Queen"
> (looks like he's the only person who can!),


And after all as he's an Englishman he's got a vested interested in doing so.


Andy
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12307 rec.arts.tv.uk:5342 rec.arts.drwho:5951 alt.tv.prisoner:1341
From: yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 92 05:45:15 MDT
Organization: Edmonton Remote Systems #2, Edmonton, AB, Canada

rbt@dracut.keps.kodak.com (Bob Tufts) writes:

- What has smegma & Gordon Bennet got to do with the Prisoner (he said one week
- later). I know!
-
- I am not a Gordon Bennet, I am a free smegma!
-
- Can we reduce the bandwidth by not shotgun blasting so many groups?
- This has got to be the most expensive smegma ever! :-) :-)
-
- -Bob T.
-
-

I am going to take responibility for this.  Neil P. you did a good job of
presenting the Americanization issue; however, thanks to a stroke of genius,
I did prove that British TV is having an effect on the USA, and the point has
been proven.

Now, with that discussion going on, could we please:

1) Keep the whining to soc.culture.british.

2) Any assorted whining and UK TV issues to rec.arts.tv.uk

3) The relevant Doctor Who discussion to rec.arts.drwho

and

4) McGoohan's TV shows to alt.tv.prisoner?

Thank you.  Mind you, i WAS ALSO GOING TO POST to place like
alt.fan.monty-python, however, I believe death by comedy might have existed.

Dave Shariff Yadallee (yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca,
userLIBE@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca)
God Save the Queen, God Bless us All! Remember! Jesus Saves!!
Treaty of Maastricht, synonymous with the Key to Armageddon.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: O-levels, A-levels etc was Re: THE COMPLETE BRITISH TO AMERICAN DICT.
From: mnor1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Mark Hiro           Norman         )
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 08:59:34 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept. University of Auckland

In <813@dsbc.icl.co.uk> mbm@dsbc.icl.co.uk (Malcolm Mladenovic) writes:

>In article <25582@castle.ed.ac.uk> egpv29@castle.ed.ac.uk (JHenderson) writes:

>I don't know about Oxford (though I would expect it to be similar) but most
>(perhaps all) colleges in Cambridge use interviews and A-levels/S-levels
>these days.   The CCE (Cambridge Colleges' Examination) was already beginning
>to go out of favour when I took it (1979), though it depended a lot on the
>individual college.

How do they judge mature/graduate candidates for entry to a BA at Cambridge?
I suppose graduates are judged on their marks in their previous degree.

I spoke to a sixth former who was on holiday in NZ who had applied but not
been accepted for Cambridge; I gathered from him that the interview was one
of the main criteria for selection (assuming your marks in exams were up to
the mininum standard, whatever that might be).

>-Malcolm

-- 
Mark Norman           | My university doesn't let me send email.
mnor1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz | "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful..."
From: egpv29@castle.ed.ac.uk (JHenderson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: O-levels, A-levels etc was Re: THE COMPLETE BRITISH TO AMERICAN DICT.
Date: 6 Sep 92 13:16:53 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <1992Sep5.192103.13256@cco.caltech.edu> miriam@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Miriam Jackson) writes:

=>There are also O/A levels, halfway between O-levels and A-levels,
=>and S levels which are harder that A-levels, and are taken by
=>people aiming for Oxbridge.

Small quibble here: S-levels have/had? no special significance for Oxbridge,
because most Oxbridge applicants take/took? the special entrance exams, which
are/were? harder than S-levels.

-- 
=======Jeremy Henderson========egpv29@castle.ed.ac.uk===============
Q: How many user support people does it take to change a light bulb?
A: We have an exact copy of the light bulb here and it seems to be
   working fine.  Can you tell me what kind of system you have?  
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
From: ewm6965@venus.tamu.edu (Ford Prefect)
Subject: Re: Tanstaafl (was: Americanising of the UK
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 04:28:00 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.141623.7870@rtf.bt.co.uk>, fletcher@rtf.bt.co.uk
(Catherine Fletcher) writes...
>What exactly does tansnaafl stand for?
>There are no such things as a free lunch?

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.  The source of the acronym seems to 
be Robert Heinlein's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," though Mencken et al. may 
have used the phrase before that.


Ford Prefect, regional VP in charge of putting things on top of other things.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jac54@cas.org ()
Subject: Re: Gordon Bennett
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 14:59:32 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.153945.27617@philmtl.philips.ca> ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn) writes:
>I lived in the UK for thirty years before I left in '76 and yet I'd never
>heard the phrase "Gordon Bennet", nor any reference to it, until recently
>on various TV shows and then the discussion here.
>
>I have a collection of British humour from the 50's to the 80's, ranging
>from the Goons, Monty Python, Ted Ray (!), Beyond Our Ken, Not the Nine
>O'Clock News etc. and there is certainly no mention in any of this
>material.
>
>I think this is a fairly new expression.  Can anyone show otherwise?

	I definitely remember the use of the phrase in 1976.  In our
	context it meant "Oh dear, I've just spilled 50 millicuries
	of 32-P on my jeans (again)."

	I think that the phrase was much more widely used in the London
	area than in the rest of the country and it had probably gone
	somewhat out of fashion until Ace (bless 'er) resurrected it in
	Dr. Who.

	Alec Chambers.
From: EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: BBC Radio World SErvice ??
Date: 10 Sep 92 15:51:36 GMT
Organization: University of Liverpool

It's ages since I've listened to it but I'm sure it used to be on
5975 kHz (49 m band) Short Wave most hours of the day - also 648 kHz
(463 m) MW  but only in Europe.

-Ian.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner