HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: New World beer (was Re: Americanising
Date: 18 Aug 92 08:40:35 GMT
Organization: Glasgow University Computing Science Dept.

jmunro@wyse.wyse.com (Jim Munro x2497) writes:

>In article <1992Aug10.083200.19167@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>>
>>The drink particularly associated with "lager louts" is
>>Tennant's or Carlsberg special brew, both of which have no
>>redeeming qualities whatsoever, and taste and have the effect
>>of poor quality beer to which quantities of industrial alcohol
>>have been added.
>>

>When I was in Britain last, I did not get much chance to choose the pubs and bars
>in which I drank, and wound up drinking quite a lot of Tennants lager. Compared
>with much of the slosh which passes for bitter, I was glad to be drinking Tennants.

>Sure, parts of England have some pretty good beer. I remember Ind Coope having
>some decent bitter, also Abbotts, and of course Ruddles. The brewery in my
>home town closed down in the last few years (Greenall Whitley), so I actually
>find decent beer pretty hard to find in the 'average' bar and pub. Typically, they
>stock some fizzy 'keg' beer, and some fairly ordinary 'ordinary' bitter. 

>As for Scotland, the beer is uniformly lousy. No wonder the Scots dring Scotch!

You can find good beer here such as Belhaven, Campbells etc but it's hard to
find a pub stocking it. If you're in Glasgow or Edinburgh then there's no
problem, else where your lucky to get a pub which has more than 3 taps, 1 lager
1 heavy and 1 stout. Lack of decent beer up here is one reason I drink stout
(Beamish usually, Guiness if a *really* have to), we don't have the choice 
of beers up here they appear to have in England.

Surprised you liked Tennants lager, its made here in Tennant Caledonian's
Wellpark Brewrey in Glasgow!! Tennant's were taken over some years ago though,
by Bass Charrington group. Personally I hate the stuff...and on the subject
of lager...anyone worked out yet how to pull a pint from the cute 5 litre
DAB kegs now available in supermarkets without getting a glass full of foam?

Dave

--
From: sandee@Think.COM (Daan Sandee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: succession by posthumously born sons.
Date: 22 Aug 1992 21:29:29 GMT
Organization: TMC
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: telecaster.think.com

In article <BtCC9E.3Bn@newcastle.ac.uk>, w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
|> 
|> If the king has daughters then do they have to wait several months
|> to see whether the child is a girl (in which case eldest daughter
|> is queen) or a boy (in which case he is king)?????????

Don't know specifically about the House of Windsor, but in British Peerage
in general, where titles are inherited through male primogeniture, 
posthumously born sons do inherit, and yes, surviving brothers of the
deceased peer have to hold their breath for another nine months. There
are plenty of examples in history.

Daan Sandee                                           sandee@think.com
Thinking Machines Corporation
Cambridge, Mass 02142                                 (617) 234-5044
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: chem91@Rosie.UH.EDU ("Bill Harrison (713)-743-2789")
Subject: Re: What are the yellow "H" signs?
Reply-To: chem91@Rosie.UH.EDU
Organization: University of Houston
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 19:58:45 GMT

In article <l8o293INNiuj@news.bbn.com>, clements@bbn.com (Bob Clements) writes:
>I'm sure I'll smack my forehead and say "Of course!", but I
>couldn't figure it out.
>
>On many buildings in the UK there are metal signs, about a foot
>square, with a yellow background and a large black "H".  There
>are smaller numbers written in the space above and below the bar
>of the "H".  Every hypothesis I came up with for meaning of these
>signs seemed to be disproved by a contradicting set of numbers.
>
>So I'll publicly admit my ignorance and ask:  What are these signs
>and what do the numbers mean?
>
>Thanks,
>Bob Clements, K1BC, clements@bbn.com

------------------------------------------

BriTrivia #1...

The yellow signs with an "H" and cryptic numbers are fire hydrant markers
(for fire[wo]men). I don't ever recall seeing an above-groun hydrant, as
the Americans invariably have... The codes tell them where the hydrant is 
(usually buried) and what type it is...

Bill

-----------------------------------------
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\               /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+
| Bill Harrison,            \             /       "Be as radical as... |
| University of Houston, TX  >-----------<         reality itself"     |
| CHEM91@JETSON.BITNET      /             \                V. I. Lenin |
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/               \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+
From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Britain/UK/GB (again!) (Was: Meggy and
Date: 13 Aug 1992 10:28:33 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
Distribution: world
Reply-To: martin.baines@uk.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: bottomdog.uk.sun.com

In article 22582@dcs.qmw.ac.uk, mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
>In article 3421@dsg.cs.tcd.ie, sloubtin@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Sylvain Louboutin) writes:
>>>cross-posted in so many newsgroups?);  by the way I still don't
>>>understand what is the status of the Channel Islands or Isle of Man;
>>>(another favorite thread of s.c.b :-) how do the inhabitants of less
>>>controversial parts of UK which are not in Great Britain proper call
>>>themselves?...
>>
>>The ones I have heard:
>>
>>Jersey:         Jerseymen
>>Guernsey:       Guernseymen
>>Isle of Man:    Manx
>>Orckneys:       Orcadians
>>Isles of Silly: Scillonian
>
>The Scillies are legally part of England, the Orkneys legally
>part of Scotland. Thus both come under UK law (English and
>Scots varieties respectively), their inhabitants vote in UK
>elections and are subject to UK taxes.

I never said they weren't: the question was about what inhabitants
of parts of the UK, that were not part of Great Britain 
themselves. As these are all islands, they are definately not
part of the island of Great Britain!

Actually it is not *quite* as simple as you described: legally
legislation in westminster has to marked as to which territories
it covers, for this purpose, the Isles of Scilley, the Orkneys
and the Shetlands are all separate territories. It's just that
these days they get always get included in English or Scottish
legislation.

Another (almost) useless fact regarding the various islands near
Britain that owe allegiance to the crown (what a mouthful there
must be a better term!):

In English counties, the Queen's representative is called
the "Lord Lieutenant" (I don't know what happens in Scotland),
the islands have a different office known as either "Governor"
or "Lieutenant Governor". There appears to be no logic as to
which island gets what: apparently the Isle of Wight is the
only island which actually has a full "Governor", the rest all
have Lieutenant Governors, despite the fact that Jersey, Guernsey
and Man are all self governing.

Martin

---
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"

Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us
From: dj@ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Cartoons (was Re: Americanising of the UK)
Date: 12 Aug 92 18:05:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: pixel.1992Aug12.180525.25847
Organization: :noitazinagrO

In article <1992Aug12.170629.6181@tcom.stc.co.uk> bruce@tcom.stc.co.uk (Bruce Munro) writes:
>In article <782@ozz.oasis.icl.co.uk> jas@oasis.icl.co.uk (Jason Morris) writes:
>>
>>  Or "Je t'aime" (the one to which two ladybirds roll around together in the
>>John Smith's Bitter advert, for the Brits out there). I can't remember who
>>sang it, as it was originally released a little before my time. However, I
>>believe it also spent some time at the top of the charts.
>
>Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.
>
Wasn't it Jane Firkin & Serge Forward??

-- 
||)) Dump the Whatzit!  Ren and Stimpy for Olympic mascots in '96 !  )))))))|
||)) "What is it, man?!?" ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))|
||))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))|
||Dave Jones (dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com) | Eastman Kodak Co. Rochester, NY   |
From: jmunro@wyse.wyse.com (Jim Munro x2497)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: New World beer (was Re: Americanising of the UK)
Date: 12 Aug 92 21:01:42 GMT
Organization: Wyse Technologies San Jose, Ca

RE: The UK/US Beer Discussion

What no one seems to have noticed is that the BRitish are no better than the 
Americans when it comes to discerning taste in beer. Just because there is a
vocal minority in England which appreciates good quality real ale does
not alter the fact that the vast beer drinking majority will happily chug
down anything United Breweries can brew up. Sure, Bud is digusting, but it
certainly has it's BRitish counterparts. I can't abide TArtan or Youngers in cans.
Countless Brits seem to be quite happy pouring cheap lager substitute down their 
throats.

However, the Americans don't especially care about British beer, partially because
they have access to an enpourmous range of decent quality stuff from the
entire world. British beer when compared with the best of American, European, and 
others, is just one among many. 

Santa CRuz (where I live) is a small town and has two thriving breweries, both
producing a range of  pale ales, ambers, porters, and the occasional 'special'
brew to equal anything to be found in Britain. LIkewise, there are countless
others up and down the coast, all producing their own distinctive brews.

I prefer some to others, but I put that down to my own personal preference 
rather than claiming one to be literally 'better' than the others.a


Jim Munro
From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: royal family
Date: 18 Aug 1992 11:19:54 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
Distribution: world
Reply-To: martin.baines@uk.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: bottomdog.uk.sun.com


With all this dicussion about the Royal Family, their role and
their costs I have had an idea: let's PRIVATISE them!

Just think: we advertise in the world's "Rich People's Magazines"
inviting tenders for the job. The highest bidder gets to call
him/herself King/Queen and live in Buck House. In return they
undertake to pay the upkeep of all the "Royal" residences, and
to undertake formal duties as required by parliament for a fixed
term. If they fail to perform their duties in anyway, the position
is re-advertised.

This way we keep all the symbolic pagentry we have today, and make
a profit! And what is so very different from importing (say) a rich
Arab for the job, from importing a minor German price?

Just a thought.

Martin

---
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"

Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: sp@mirabeau.osf.fr (Simon Patience)
Subject: Re: Brits and Irish ---
Reply-To: sp@mirabeau.osf.fr (Simon Patience)
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 14:12:44 GMT

In article <1992Aug17.094643.2397@cicb.fr>, moisan@cicb.fr (Herve Moisan
-  stagiaire CICB) writes:
> ----> can i give my opinion about name of irish and brits?

Certainly.

> in france we say  "britanniques"(british) for irish and  welsh,scotish,
> english people because they live in british isles which are Britain
> and Ireland.(and others)
> 
> This doesn't implicate a politic sense but simply a geographical meaning.

Are you sure about this? I would have thought it more likely that
"Britaniques" comes from Grande Bretagne rather than Les Isles
Britaniques. My dictionary seems to concur translating "Britanique" as
"Briton or British". 

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: ELE@psuvm.psu.edu (jeremy)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: New Road Signs
Date: 17 Aug 92 09:58:58 GMT
Organization: Penn State University

I saw one this very morning.  My guess wouuld be automatic speed detectors
(from a sensor bouncing something off from the other side).  Kind
of like the road markings they have in the USA for detection from above.

I really hope there are no cameras taking piccies of your license plate!

--
jeremy..
Any replies to: cramptonj@csovax.portsmouth.ac.uk
From: pete@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: K Registrations?
Date: 19 Aug 92 09:49:56 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Paul Roberts (proberts@informix.com) wrote:
: You know you are getting old when .....
: 
: You have a nagging feeling that you can remember the last time "K"
: registrations coming out.

Oh, most certainly...

: I can definitely remember "S" ... 
: 
:   ``S-reg specials coming down the line!
:     S-reg specials, right on time!''
: 
: Paul

Ahhhh. I remember the days when we all looked forward to the new British
Leyland adverts, and wondered what they were going to do to that Classic
British Car the Austin Allegro this year.... 

And wasn't it ``the S-plate special'', not ``S-reg''.

Ancient, ancient, ancient....

pete
--
*Peter Fenelon -- Research Associate -- Software Safety Assessment Procedures*
Dept. of Computer Science, University of York, York, Y01 5DD (+44/0)904 433388
EMAIL: pete@minster.york.ac.uk `There's no room for enigmas in built up areas'
From: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Money-The falling value of a pound
Summary: the falling pound, the biggest ever value coins
Date: 9 Aug 92 11:34:30 GMT
Reply-To: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.


         The falling value of a pound

the following list show how many 1985 pounds the pound was 
worth at different dates.  Put another way they show how the
purchasing power of the pound declined over the years, each 
year showing what the purchasing power of a pound in that year
was in terms of its power in 1985

1870   26.76
1886   36.51
1909   31.66
1925   17.17
1949   12.30
1957    8.00
1970    5.35
1976    2.76
1979    1.68
1985    1.00

Note I don't know how the book (Guiness Book of Answers) calc'ed 
this, and I would recommend treating them cautiously, especially 
when it comes to comparing values decades apart.

That said it is useful as an indicator.   Here are the earliest 
dates at which some coins were minted
     1838   Sovereign (one pound)
     1887   2 pound
     1887   5 pound

Using their 1870 values they would be worth the equivalent of
     P25, P50 and P125 (in 1985 Pounds)
Yet the biggest coin is now only P1, and the biggest normal note 
is P50.

Just imagine it - a P100 and P50 coins, so you could get your
weekly wage in just two or three coins :-)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:11758 soc.culture.greek:7831
From: cc433336@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Constantinos A. Caroutas)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.greek
Subject: Re: Name for Brits and Irish?
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:55:15 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.greek
Organization: Colorado State U. Engineering College

In article <3795@keele.keele.ac.uk> cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear) writes:
>
>Since all of the island of Ireland is part of Britain, I think British
>still works. However if you don't like it the late John Biggs-Davidson proposed a union between UK
>and Eire with the proposed name of IONA (Isles Of the North Atlantic) so
>I suppose Ionians might work - don't any one tell the Greek government
>though as if current policies are anything to go by they'd sulk like
>mad.

You don't seem to want to understand the reasons behind the Greek policy
toward Skopje...
--
Constantinos A. Caroutas

"It's easy to make mistakes when others will be held responsible."
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson)
Subject: Re: Confound their politics
Organization: Transaction Technology Inc.
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:46:58 GMT

In article <1992Aug10.204331.13175@news.Hawaii.Edu> gerard@caliban.soest.hawaii.edu (Gerard Fryer) writes:
=>I recently watched that old classic "The Ruling Class" (early
=>seventies, Peter O'Toole).  The opening titles are run to that verse of
=>"God Save the King" which was dropped long before Liz's coronation.  I
=>must have heard my father sing it dozens of times (he'd sing it
=>instead of the tame first verse) but now I can't recall it accurately.
=>Can someone give me the words?  Does anyone know the circumstances
=>under which the verse was dropped?

It was dropped not because it is a bad verse, in fact it is a jolly good
one, but because when England became a third rate power we couldn't afford
to offend the knaves anymore.

Dick Jackson
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.french
From: eisimps@cie.uoregon.edu (Eileen Simpson)
Subject: Re: Does Prince Philip have a French Mistress?
Summary:  And probably several other nationalities, too
Organization: University of Oregon Campus Information Exchange
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 16:50:54 GMT

In article <BtC0K4.6nt@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
>I have been told that some French newspapers have revealed that Prince
>Philip has a French mistress who he regularly spends time with.  This 
>has been known for quite a while in France but the UK press refuses 
>to report it.
>

While I have never seen the Prince with anyone, and cannot speak from
personal knowledge, Prince Philip has been known as "Thhe Rake of Europe"
for many, many years.  I suspect his tastes are not limited to the
French...

Newsgroups: uk.misc,soc.culture.british,soc.culture.usa,rec.travel,misc.consumers
From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: Re: Do I pay VAT & Duty on good bought mail order from US
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 08:09:42 GMT


In article <714445791snx@pizzabox.demon.co.uk>, gtoal@pizzabox.demon.co.uk (Graham Toal) writes...
> 
>In article <BtBuEG.1zq@eonsw.demon.co.uk> root@eonsw.demon.co.uk writes:
>>The moral (if there is one)? If you buy from the US it's cheaper, until
>>something goes wrong.
> 
>Yes, but at $250 you might as well buy two so you always have a spare,
>and it's *still* much cheaper than buying one in Britain.  ($500 ==
>pounds 270 - cheapest modem = 350? 400?)
> 
Readers might be interested in a useful publication I got recently.

It's called "Buying direct from the USA" by Richard McBrien
52 pages, softback

4th edition just published by,

Running Heads Internation
Grove House
82 East Dulwich Grove
London
SE22 8TW

The book is #12.95

The answer to the question "do I pay duty..." is that duty rates vary 
between 0 and about 15% for most items. CD's are 4.9%,  Computers 14%
for example, according to the book. 

Gifts do not attract duty, but must be worth less than #32 and not
for everyday use.

Duty is paid by the receiver of the package when the postman delivers
it. sometimes you might get lucky and not have to pay anything if the
customs folk didn't notice the parcel.

I got fed up paying twice the price for goods in the UK than goods in
the US, and so I expect to do more of my shopping by post in future
now that I have the book.

Craig

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Internet: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com                           leis
  UUCP:..!decwrl!edieng.enet.dec.com!cockburn                      a'
                                                                   Gha\idhlig!
  Views here are my own, and are not necessarily those of Digital
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:11738 soc.culture.french:6025
From: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.french
Subject: Does Prince Philip have a French Mistress?
Date: 21 Aug 92 11:43:16 GMT
Reply-To: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.

I have been told that some French newspapers have revealed that Prince
Philip has a French mistress who he regularly spends time with.  This 
has been known for quite a while in France but the UK press refuses 
to report it.

If it really was reported in French papers was it just junk news 
(ie made-up just to fill pages).
From: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Can a foetus succeed a dead monarch?
Date: 21 Aug 92 15:56:01 GMT
Reply-To: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.


   Can a foetus succeed a dead monarch?
                 or
   If a childless king dies and his wife is pregnant, who gets
      the throne?

When the king dies the throne passes to the eldest son, or if he
has no sons then to the eldest daughter, if he has no children then
to the nearest other relative.

   Now what happens if on his death his wife is pregnant?  

If the king has daughters then do they have to wait several months
to see whether the child is a girl (in which case eldest daughter
is queen) or a boy (in which case he is king)?????????

In Days of old when knights were bold,
And kings could be sadistic,
I suppose the issue would be settled by force, the supporters of the
2 claimants just fight it out.  But what would be done now.

  Say Charles becomes king, then he and his sons die in a bomb
explosion.  So Andrew becomes king.  But what if a month later
Queen Diana found she was pregnant.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Subject: Re: Confound their politics
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Reply-To: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 04:06:23 GMT

In article <1992Aug13.162532.25210@osf.org> I miswrote:
>    Scatter her enemies,

*our* enemies.

>    Defeat their knavish tricks; [?? yes, I know, scansion is off]

*Frustrate* their knavish tricks (thankyou, Arthur Mee's Children's
Encyclopaedia).
-- 
David Brooks					dbrooks@osf.org
Open Software Foundation			uunet!osf.org!dbrooks
Five more months!  Five more months!
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.new-zealand,soc.culture.usa
From: paulf@w6yx (Paul Flaherty)
Subject: Re: Any more new countries due???
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 05:27:50 GMT

The Republic of Belau, part of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific
Islands (administered by the US), should emerge from trusteeship within 
the next few years.  The other island groups (Marshall Islands, Micronesia,
and Marianas) have already split off.

Puerto Rico is unlikely to leave Commonwealth status for a number of reasons.

--
-=Paul Flaherty, N9FZX/5W1JX  |"Anyway, nothing can beat Good Old American
->paulf@Stanford.EDU          | Know - How." -- Harry Canyon, _Heavy Metal_
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:11778 soc.culture.french:6065