HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cjackson@adobe.com (Curtis Jackson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: seperate hot and cold water taps in th
Date: 26 Jan 93 17:25:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: adobe.1993Jan26.172500.2923
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Mountain View

In article <1k3ce7INN43a@lily.csv.warwick.ac.uk> cstadgs@csv.warwick.ac.uk (Mr R J Tinsley) writes:
}Sure, you do now have two contaminated supplies, but if the hot tap (which I
}assume picks up more lead because of the heat) is used only for bathing and
}washing up, and the cold for drinking and cooking, then you will ingest far
}less lead.

This is true, if you make the quaint UK-centric assumption that the rest
of the civilised world is still plumbing with lead rather than copper.
Some more trivia for you: Unlike the UK, some countries have actually
provided pre-wired power cords for refrigerators for decades, instead
of expecting each naive consumer to wire up their own. And some countries'
refrigerators actually function as advertised.  ;-)

-- 
Curtis Jackson			'91 Black Lab/Blue Heeler "Studley Doright"
cjackson@mv.us.adobe.com	'92 Collie/Golden "George"
DoD #721	KotB		'91 Hawk GT	'81 Maxim 650
"I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead." -- J. Buffett
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jyc@leo.Stanford.EDU (Jon Corelis)
Subject: Re: John & Marsha
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: 27 Jan 93 16:33:19 GMT

mckeonj@ul.ie writes:

>Does anyone remember "John & Marsha"?
>Their steamily erotic exchanges thrilled us back in the
>late forties on the wireless.
>Does anyone have a transcript, or better still an original
>recording?

   I didn't realize this was a show in Britain/Ireland too.  Actually, I
never heard the radio show -- the forties were a little before my time
-- but I remember that in the fifties the American comic recording
artist Stan Freberg did a hilarious satire of this show, a three minute
track of nothing but John saying "Marsha" and Marsha replying "John" in
various emotion-laden tones of voice.  I believe that anthologies of
Freberg's work are still in print, so you could probably find this
track if you looked.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Subject: Re: The Poll Tax
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 13:50:06 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.130000.15581@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:

>And who are these "thousands of people who notionally didn't
>pay rates"? Although rates bills were nominally sent to the
>"head of household", are we really to take out there were
>households all over the country with worried husbands voting
>Tory to keep down the rates, and wives gaily voting Labour
>without a care for the potential higher rates bill?

No, but there were households all over the country containing grown-up
children who didn't make a separate contribution towards their
parents' rates bill, or with lodgers (usually with no tenancy
agreement) who paid an inclusive rent with no specific rates element.

By the way, rates bills weren't sent to the "head of the household".
If the local authority didn't know the name of the occupier they'd
address the form to "The Occupier", and (in owner-occupied properties
anyway) it was the responsibility of the occupier(s) to decide whose
name appeared on the rates bills -- indeed the rates account could be
in joint names if the occupiers so wished.  This caused problems when
Housing Benefit was first introduced, since the DHSS (as it then was)
insisted on treating all claims by married (and unmarried) couples
in the man's name, whereas the local authority's rate account
was in some cases in the woman's name, or in joint names.

--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: garrod@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (David Garrod)
Subject: Re: Charles's DNA tested to prove not illigitimate
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:54:03 GMT

In article <11821@sun13.scri.fsu.edu>, quelch@ibms7.scri.fsu.edu (Geoffrey Quelch) writes:
> In article <1993Jan25.211333.15955@ttinews.tti.com> jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
> >
> >Apparently the kings and would-be kings did lead their
> >gangs/armies into battle and take the chance of being slit up. Question:
> >who was the first English monarch not to lead the English army in person?
> >
> >Dick
> 
> The last King to lead his troops in battle was George II at Dettingen
> (1743). Of course this isn't a direct answer to the question because
> presumably some earlier Kings may not have had any battles to lead troops
> in. My vote therefore goes to George III as the first King not to lead
> his troops in battle.
> GEQ
> 
Since the question was monarch not king, I would vote for Mary I.
Actually, `though it`s been a while (30 years) since I was in
school, I can`t actually recall Henry VIII actually doing the
leading.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Subject: Re: Americanisms (was Re: Back from the UK)
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 16:28:01 GMT

>>This brings to mind a question.  When and why did the Americans
>>and the Brits part company in the pronunciation
>>of the "ary" sound at the end of words?

>Another classic is the long "u" sound:  only (certain) Americans will 
>say "It's Toosday, and I've finished tootering and put away the test toobs. 
>Let's go out for a tooner sandwich...  etc."  It sounds ***terrible*** to me.

This is a feature of some British accents, in particular those of East 
Anglia. It's heard all the time in Norwich, but sometimes reaches as far
as Cockney (it's one of the distinguishing features of Cockney, as 
opposed to, say a south London accent).

I've heard it said that a good part of the American accent can be 
traced back to the fact that East Anglia was the heartland of
English puritanism, and thus supplied many of the early American
settlers, thus American English has several features of East Anglian
English.

Matthew Huntbach

Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:19234 soc.culture.celtic:8858
From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Speaking Our Language
Date: 22 Jan 93 17:29:27 GMT
	<CC.93Jan22101950@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk> <30673@castle.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

In article <30673@castle.ed.ac.uk> jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk (Jeremy Henderson) writes:

   I suppose this is a desperate attempt to justify the apparently endless
   Gaelic programmes on Scottish TV by increasing the number of Gaelic
   speaking TV-licence holders from the present level of about 3.

Yes Jeremy.  I'm sure things would be much better if we all just wallowed in
complacent ignorance, like you.
--
	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)

		
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
From: gtoal@pizzabox.demon.co.uk (Graham Toal)
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Organization: Cuddlehogs Anonymous
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 21:46:09 GMT

In article <CAH.93Jan21145806@fat-controller.cs.bham.ac.uk> cah@cs.bham.ac.uk (Ceri Hopkins) writes:
:To start another thread. How anyone can put up with the impersonal
:"Have a nice day" without screaming back "Go f*ck yourself"/"Do you

"Thank you, but I have other plans..."

G
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:19112 alt.usage.english:10877
From: cah@cs.bham.ac.uk (Ceri Hopkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 21 Jan 93 14:58:06 GMT
	<1993Jan15.224527.3732@news.columbia.edu>
	<93019.124925IO20467@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
	<1993Jan20.030157.15946@watson.ibm.com>
Organization: School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK

>>>>> On 20 Jan 93 03:01:57 GMT, yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo) said:

Ralph> To satisfy my curiosity, what are other stereotypical American
Ralph> characteristics?  
Ralph> I remember seeing a Monty Python skit where an American couple
Ralph> was dining with a British couple and the Grim Reaper dropped in.
Ralph> In the skit, the American was stereotyped as a pushy, overbearing
Ralph> know-it-all.  

Ralph> So, here's your chance, Brits.  Let us Americans have it.

Why this stereotype came about could have something to do with verbal
"delivery". To some British ears, some Americans sound as if they have
been on assertiveness training courses and use the raised voice,
*seemingly* pushy delivery when it appears inappropriate to British
people, i.e. why use a loud voice when people are listening anyway,
or why use a voice loud enough to be overheard by other people who
don't want to listen.

Of course, if many people in a society express themselves in that way
then everyone has to raise him/herself to that level to be heard, over
others in the same group, or people on the next table, say. This would
suggest that the corresponding American stereotype of British people
is that they talk quietly, are unassertive/reserved. I.e. there's a
difference between cultural norms of verbal delivery.

How many British people have noticed that if a couple of people are
talking in an inordinately loud voice [British definition]..

(i) they're having a heated debate (in which all nationalities appear
to raise their voice), or (ii) they're American

But of course this doesn't take into account all the Americans who go
unnoticed because they don't display the characteristics of the
stereotype, and remain unheard.

In Britain, someone with a consistently loud voice (to our ears) is
often thought to be an overbearing arsehole with little to say in
content, who uses volume to gain attention.

To start another thread. How anyone can put up with the impersonal
"Have a nice day" without screaming back "Go f*ck yourself"/"Do you
know me?"/"Do you really care?", I'll never know.  How can there be
any sincerity wrapped up in this throwaway expression? Answers
required to (i) how prevalent this is, (ii) what net-people think
of the practice? (iii) examples from Britain.

Ceri (*)

(*) I am a "choir-singing coal miner, who shags sheep" (age old
stereotype of the Welsh).
--
Ceri Hopkins                                    
School of Computer Science                        C.A.Hopkins@Cs.Bham.Ac.Uk
University of Birmingham			  Tel. +44-21-414-3743
From: cah@cs.bham.ac.uk (Ceri Hopkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British passport needs re-newing in Canada
Date: 22 Jan 93 17:54:29 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK

>>>>> On 21 Jan 93 11:50:09 GMT, jac54@cas.org said:

Alec> 	took less than a week by mail.  The only problem was that
Alec> 	they issued me one of those tiny EEC passports not much bigger
Alec> 	than my photograph and a sort of nasty dried-blood red.

Oh, you mean the one which fits conveniently into a pocket :-)

When was the last time someone received a non-EEC passport? I believe
different passport offices switched over at different times -- can
anyone confirm this? When I renewed mine from Peterborough in
1989/1990 (?) it was the old black oversized rigid type.

Ceri
--
Ceri Hopkins                                    
School of Computer Science                        C.A.Hopkins@Cs.Bham.Ac.Uk
University of Birmingham			  Tel. +44-21-414-3743
From: Mike Wright <M_Wright@icrf.icnet.uk>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Daily Sport
Date: 22 Jan 1993 16:26:27 GMT
Organization: Imperial Cancer Research Fund
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: mac001114.lif.icnet.uk
X-UserAgent: Nuntius v1.1.1d17
X-XXMessage-ID: <A785D1D573010172@mac001114.lif.icnet.uk>
X-XXDate: Fri, 22 Jan 93 16:31:17 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.113704.12960@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> Matthew Huntbach,
mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk writes:
>Yes, to some extent, but there's plenty of evidence that the
>slow drip of Tory propaganda mixed up with the "fun" in the Sun
>works. At the last election, readership of the Sun was a strong
>statistical factor in Tory voting. Someone who read the Sun
>was much more likley to vote Tory than someone who was
>identical on all other ways but did not. 

But then again the Daily Mirror openly supported the Labour party. On the
day before the election, both the Sun and the Mirror ran full front page
headlines telling readers which way to vote. I can't believe how a
newspaper can put such a bias on an article and still call it "news".

For the record, I read the Daily Sport. They back the "Monster Raving
Loony Party" :-)

Mike
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: bemj1@cl.cam.ac.uk (Bernie Jones)
Subject: Re: Squidgy? Was: Re: Dianagate [was Re: Different Newspapers ...]
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:29:01 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.072138.2697@netcom.com>, sue@netcom.com (Sue
"Squidgy"
Miller) writes:

|>In article <IDF.93Jan22021648@fat-controller.cs.bham.ac.uk>
idf@cs.bham.ac.uk
|>(Ian Fitchet) writes:
|>>
|>> On 20 Jan 93, Sue Miller wrote
|>>> Unfortunately for me, I bear a slight resemblance to Mrs. Wales (big
nose,
|>|>>> bluish eyes, blonde hair) and several of my coworkers have taken to
|>calling 
|>>> me this name...
|>>
|>> What, `big nose'?
|>
|>Didn't you hear me?  Oh, you think that's what they
|>call me.  I wish.  No, I'm "Squidgy".  Sigh.

Still on the Squidgy theme, I feel duty bound to relate an amusing 
fact that my parents recently noticed on holiday.
One of the German papers reporting the whole "Squidgy" thing didn't
understand the word, and thought it was "Squidy" - as a result the
translation that they published was "Tintenfischchen", or little
squid/octopus. The amazing thing is that a lot of other German
papers/magazines seem to have used this as their source, since they
too now refer to Diana as "Tintenfischchen".
Ah well, nothing like proper research....

--
Bernie Jones            (0)223-335478             bernie.jones@cl.cam.ac.uk
U of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QG, GB
From: mike@fionn.lbl.gov (Michael Helm)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: "Not too bad"
Date: 22 Jan 1993 03:48:44 GMT
Organization: N.I.C.E.
Reply-To: mike@fionn.lbl.gov (Michael Helm)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.128.60
X-Subject: Re: england(quite) ? somewhat : very (was: Back from the UK)

[It's my nite for changing the Subject: line]
Jim Munro x2497 writes:
>I learned very quickly that when asked how I was, not to answer 'Not too bad'. THis
>gets interpreted as 'really ill'.  The correct answer in the US is 'Great!!'.

That's funny.  Now I would say the same thing, that is, "Not too bad".
Ain't much about me that's English.  In the part of the USA that I
come from, tho, that sort of minimizing speech is normal -- I mean,
not too unusual.  The weather's not too bad -- it could be worse.
Supper was not too bad tonite.  If you start spouting off about how
"Great!" or "Terrible!" everything is, the locals know either a)
You're drunk b) It's the Second Coming c) You Are Not From Around
Here, Are You?

Where is this place?

>Anyway, things could be worse,

Amen to that.  Another cuppa coffee?
From: smckinty@sunicnc.France.Sun.COM (Steve McKinty - Sun ICNC)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Northen Ireland again (was Re: Britain and HK)
Date: 22 Jan 1993 13:18:57 GMT
Organization: SunConnect
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: hardy.france.sun.com

In article <1993Jan22.111728.12232@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>, mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:

> Yes, yes, point taken, but look at the Euro-elections, where in
> NI the transferrable vote is used so the "don't split the vote"
> argument doesn't hold. Who tops the poll? Ian Paisley. I don't
> think we should take very seriously a province which puts such
> a buffoon top of the poll every time.
> 
Paisley is a loudmouthed religious bigot, but regarding him as a 'buffoon' is
a dangerous underestimation. One thing that he and Gerry Adams have in
common is a considerable degree of cunning. They know what 'their' people
want to hear, and they know just how far to go to keep them happy without
getting themselves slung in jail (well, not for too long).

As to euroelections, the 3 MEPs returned are DUP, Official Unionist, and
SDLP, which is a fairly close match to the political makeup of NI.
Besides, when you're a small insignificant province at the extreme edge
of Europe, there's something to be said for electing a stubborn, cunning
and far from naive loudmouth as a representative. At least you don't get ignored.

Steve



-- 
Steve McKinty
SUN Microsystems ICNC
38240 Meylan, France
email: smckinty@france.sun.com	   BIX: smckinty
From: eagv17@castle.ed.ac.uk (M Babilas)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Different Newspapers ...
Date: 25 Jan 93 18:26:13 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

>  fledgist@weber.ucsd.edu (Fragano Ledgister) writes: 
>> Bernie.Jones@cl.cam.ac.uk writes:

> > (...)Brits simply aren't interested in anything that's
> > happened outside the country (...)

> This, alas, has been true for many years. A survey carried out by
> the Colonial Office in the 1940s, in preparation for a public
> education programme on the empire, revealed that three percent of
> the British public believed that the US was still a colony.

Nothing peculiar, I would say. In 1992 many Britons in Edinburgh (!) 
didn't know/belive that Poland was indigenously inhabited by white 
people. ("So, you're one of the settlers, aren't you?" - the  funniest 
reaction). Alas, story based on my own experience. A bit mortifying. 

mike/the polishman/ ==eagv17@castle.ed.ac.uk
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Daily Sport
Date: 25 Jan 93 14:01:56 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.


In article <1993Jan22.113704.12960@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> Matthew Huntbach,
mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk writes:
>>Yes, to some extent, but there's plenty of evidence that the
>>slow drip of Tory propaganda mixed up with the "fun" in the Sun
>>works. At the last election, readership of the Sun was a strong
>>statistical factor in Tory voting. Someone who read the Sun
>>was much more likley to vote Tory than someone who was
>>identical on all other ways but did not. 

>But then again the Daily Mirror openly supported the Labour
>party. On theday before the election, both the Sun and the 
>Mirror ran full front pageheadlines telling readers which
>way to vote. I can't believe how anewspaper can put
>such a bias on an article and still call it "news".

It's not open endorsement of a political party that worries me.
It's biased reporting and commentary on the news. In many cases
newspapers which supported the Conservatives more or less
printed out Conservative Central Office press releases as
news or comment. For example, although the Labour Party clearly
stated that various proposals would only be put into practice
"if and when resources allow", the Tory Party put out a press 
release and ran an advertising campaign on the basis that tax
rises to pay for these proposals would be put in place
immediately the Labour Party was elected, and lo and behold,
this appeared as "news" in the papers.

The Mirror is the only paper which openly endorses Labour.
Even then, it is often highly critical of the Labour Party,
in a way that the Conservative supporting newspapers, in
particular the tabloids, are not of the Conservative Party.
Besides the Sun, those which are more or less Conservative
Party mouthpieces include the entire range of "middle-brow"
papers, the "Mail", "Express" and "Today". In the "high-brow"
range the "Times" and "Telegraph" always support the Tories,
though they make some effort to distinguish between news and
comment, when they are biased, they are at least openly biased.

Matthew Huntbach
From: stevek@cellar.org (Steve Kraisler)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Traffic flow in G.B.
Date: 21 Jan 93 21:00:21 GMT
Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system

> Most traffic roundabouts in the UK exist because they are proven to
> improve (1) safety and (2) traffic flow over any other form of
> intersection control.  This sounds grand and patriotic, BUT this relies
> on the median-x% connaisance of the driving populi.
My mother-in-law who lives in Prestwick (Scotland) tells of American and
Candanian tourists arriving at the airport(until recently Prestwick Airport 
was THE airport for international flights in Scotland).  These folks would 
pick up their rent-a-car at the airport and never make it past the first 
roundabout.  Many times their trip to Scotland would begin and end before 

------
stevek@cellar.org (Steve Kraisler)
The Cellar BBS - (215) 539-3043
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: gamiddle@math.uwaterloo.ca (Guy Middleton)
Subject: Re: British passport needs re-newing in Canada
Organization: University of Waterloo Software Liberation Army
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 19:40:49 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.115009.4688@cas.org> jac54@cas.org () writes:
> In article <21JAN93.01100591@sklib.usask.ca> scott@sklib.usask.ca writes:
> >I live in Canada and need to re-new my British passport.
> >Any suggestions to scott@sklib.usask.ca
> >Thanks ahead.
> 
> 	Just call the British Embassy in Toronto and get them to
> 	send you the forms.

It's the High Commission, not the Embassy.  And it's in Ottawa, not Toronto.

	British High Commission
	80 Elgin St
	Ottawa, Ont.

	613 237-1303
From: jgszursz@eos.ncsu.edu (JOSEPH G SZURSZEWSKI)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Graham Gooch vs. Joe Montana ??
Date: 24 Jan 93 20:31:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: ncsu.1993Jan24.203117.18277
Reply-To: jgszursz@eos.ncsu.edu (JOSEPH G SZURSZEWSKI)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Originator: jgszursz@c00752-400wi.eos.ncsu.edu


	It's that time of year when we Americans become obsessed 
with the Super Bowl, and I'm curious about the popularity of American
football in the UK, namely why and how?  Judging from the amount of space
given over in The Times and The Observer to stories about and color 
(sorry, colour) photos of the recent playoffs, one could get the impression 
that American football was almost as popular in the UK as cricket or rugby.
Can this possibly be true?  Does anyone have an explanation for this 
popularity?

Joe Szurszewski
North Carolina State University
jgszursz@eos.ncsu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: colin@cwsoft.demon.co.uk (Colin Wilson)
Subject: Re: Robert Burns Dinners 
Distribution: world
Organization: CW Software Ltd
Reply-To: colin@cwsoft.demon.co.uk
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.19)
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:37:07 +0000


In article <1993Jan14.161906.14212@st-andrews.ac.uk> rm4@st-andrews.ac.uk (Rosa
 Michaelson) writes:
>That should be SUPPER not DINNER - we in Scotland call the evening spent
>eating haggis, neaps, tatties, shortie and drinking loads of whiskey, and
>listening to Burn's poetry, scottish music, and more whiskey toasts 
>BURN'S SUPPERS.
>

Although haggis, neeps and tatties (turnip/swede and potatoes) is now
traditionally associated with Burns it is unlikely that Burns ever saw or
tasted "neeps".  The turnip or swede was only introduced into Scotland
in the early 18th century. The Earl of Rothes was growing turnips around
1716, largely as a winter feed for cattle.  The vegetable was still not
widely eaten by people, even by the early 19th century.

The "General View of Agriculture in Scotland (1793-1816)" referred to
turnips as a field crop.  It rated the value of the vegetable as a food
for sheep or cattle but made little mention of its value as a food
for people.

Potatoes are also a "new" vegetable, though Burns would have been
familiar with them.

Burns was an obvious lover of haggis as witnessed by his poem
"To a Haggis" where he calls it "Great chieftain o' the puddin' race!".

Colin


Whiskey! You mean whisky.


-- 
+--------------------------+
| Colin Wilson             |
| CW Software Ltd          |
| colin@cwsoft.demon.co.uk |
| +44 (606) 74778          |
+--------------------------+
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british