HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: A Levels and Statistics
Date: 21 Aug 92 09:02:17 GMT
Organization: OSF RI Grenoble

In article <1992Aug20.192008.25723@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, regeorge@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Robert E George) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug20.153712.29473@bnr.uk> agc@bmdhh298.bnr.ca (Alan Carter) wr

|> >> ...AS levels are at the same standard as A levels but involve
|> >> roughly half the work.
|> >
|> >What is this nonsense?
|
|>       [3] The number of subjects covered (e.g., A requires fluency in
|>       two languages while AS requires fluency in only one?)
|> 

AS levels are supposed to have half the syllabus content of an A level, and hence receive half as many points.  1-5 as opposed to 2-10.  Presumably the standard of questions is the same.

I too have a problem with the record number of A level passes, unless Lead Free petrol means we have a brainier crop of 18 year olds this year :-).

The number of 1 and 2.1 degree awards (as a percentage) also crept up in the 80s.  This was attributed to harder work by students in a more competitive job market.  Not so many shelf stacking jobs at Sainsbury's for all the arts graduates I guess.

David. 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse)
Subject: Re:  Does Prince Philip have a French Mistress?
Reply-To: esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 16:50:32 GMT

I found it.  In Elizabeth and Philip by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley
Prince Philip is mentioned as being in France to visit Marie
Bonaparte and "saw a good deal of Helene Foufounis".  She was 
a childhood friend who had two children and Prince Philip is their
godfather. 

--
From: BERNARD@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (Bernard BELL)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: K Registrations?
Date: 15 Aug 92 01:23:01 GMT
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Ref: assigning letters to cities for registration plates.

I seem to recall that back around 1970 the AA (UK equivalent of the
American AAA) annual handbook had a list of what 2 letter codes were
assigned to which cities. Am I wrong or does anyone else recall this?
Or does the AA handbook still list such things that happily filled my time
as a kid on long drives with my parents.

Bernard Bell
From: ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: New World beer (was Re: Americanising
Date: 13 Aug 92 21:18:23 GMT
Reply-To: ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant)
Organization: U of Cambridge Comp Lab, UK

Matthew Huntbach writes:
> I said "the ordinary bloke in the pub" deliberately. I don't
> mean someone who drinks 15 pints a night, I just mean someone
> who goes to the pub primarily to socialise and not to go on
> about how wonderful the beer is, what specific gravity it has,
> what sort of hops it's made out of, and all the rest of the
> real ale bore's vocabulary.
 
Oh come on, that's feeble. Not even CAMRA members (of which I am not one)
talk like that, though many ordinary people _can_ talk coherently about
beer. Nobody would say that a basic knowledge of wine varieties is evidence
of train-spotterness. (Now _there's_ an 'ordinary' pastime for you.)
And someone who doesn't care about the specific gravity of what they're
drinking is heading for obesity or liver failure.
 
> By "down-market pubs" you mean the pubs that the ordinary bloke
> goes to, thus proving my point.
 
What is this 'ordinary bloke' business? Do you have a fixation with brutal
young men? Middle-aged women are ordinary people too. By down-market I mean
pubs which don't care about pleasing a variety of customers and creating a
regular clientele. Estate pubs _do_ care about this, because they're
ordinary peoples' locals.
 
> And where is this pub? I bet it's not in an ordinary working
> class or lower-middle class housing estate, or used primariuly
> by clerical and shop-floor staff. Don't get me wrong
> - I far prefer cask ale myself, but the aura which middle class
> real ale snobs have put round it makes it rather like wine used
> to be -  an up-market product, not "for the likes of us".
 
It's a Young's pub, so it's always been that way. CAMRA was a _reaction_
against cheaply produced keg bitter (not lager) and a (successful) attempt
to educate the public to reject this stuff. If bitter hadn't been the drink
of the 'ordinary bloke', there wouldn't have been the keg bitter explosion
that there was when the major brewers got their hands on industrial brewing
methods. CAMRA wasn't creating a mystique - quite the reverse.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: mfriley@pacman.WPI.EDU (Margaret F Riley)
Subject: British Embassies
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 20:04:11 GMT

A few friends of mine were wondering ...

Who is responsible for guarding the British Embassies?   For the 
US, I believe the US Marine Corps is charged with this duty.   Are
the Royal Marines charged with a similar duty, or is another branch
of the military utilized.

Thanks for any assistance.

Margaret
mfriley@wpi.wpi.edu
From: cc433336@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Constantinos A. Caroutas)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: royal family
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:47:49 GMT
Organization: Colorado State U. Engineering College

In article <16gaf5INNca1@early-bird.think.com>, sandee@Think.COM
(Daan Sandee) writes:
>In article <1992Aug13.895.15961@dosgate>, richard.tanner@canrem.com (richard tanner) writes:
>|> 
>|> 1. Those of us fortunate enough to live under a constitutional monarchy, 
>|> as we do in Canada, are protected from the situation in the United States 
>|> where a president is both political leader and head of state. We are much 
>|> freer here to relate to our prime minister as a politician who is 
>|> accountable to us as our elected representative. 
>
>Absolutely, but, like many people, you are making the error that the American
>presidential system is the inevitable alternative. In many constitutional
>republics, the president is a figurative head of state with the same
>constitutional powers as the monarch in a constitutional monarchy. Look at

With such setups, a party has to get more than half the seats in the
parliament for government stability. This is difficult without the aid of a
law that distorts proportionality.
--
Constantinos A. Caroutas

"It's easy to make mistakes when others will be held responsible."
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: skcgoh@tartarus.uwa.edu.au (Shaw Goh)
Subject: I NEED an address
Organization: University of Western Australia
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 04:07:34 GMT

I heard from a friend from London Business College or London School of
Commerce or something like that that they've got email facility.  I know
that the school is near a famous library for politics but can't remember
what it's called.
If anyone knows the address (email one that is!) of the place, I would
be grateful if you can email me.

CYa!
skcgoh@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
From: "richard tanner" <richard.tanner@canrem.com>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: royal family
Date: 18 Aug 92 20:33:46 EST
Reply-To: "richard tanner" <richard.tanner@canrem.com>
Distribution: soc
Organization: Canada Remote Systems

On 08-16-92, Daan Sandee wrote the following to All on the subject, "ROYAL 
FAMILY":

DS>The only thing Canada needs to do to become a republic is to rename th
DS>office of Gov Gen to President and figure out some way to elect the ma
DS>(woman). There's no reason *at all* to give more power to the office.
DS>In recent years, you have got yourself a flag and an anthem and a curr
DS>and even the metric system, so you could just as well abolish the mona
DS>Not that I'm advocating it ; suit yourself. It's just that there's no
DS>reason not to except tradition. Ireland did just that, though it took
DS>them half a century.

With all the constitutional wrangling that's going on at present, I'm sure 
they would just love it if I threw that one on the table. Seriously, 
though, your response to my monarchist ravings was a good one. Stripped of 
all appeals to common sense, however, I suppose I'm still a monarchist at 
heart. For better or for worse, the royals are part and parcel of the 
British family. We can get upset with them, ridicule them and even be 
quite embarrassed by them, but they're still family. How's that for an 
appeal to sentimentality! When all else fails . . .

Oh yes, in answer to your question I did not quote, all members of the 
Canandian armed forces swear allegiance to the Queen and all 
commissioned officers receive their commission from the crown. The Queen 
Mum herself is Honorary Colonel in Chief of the Toronto Scottish (sister 
regiment 
to the London Scottish) in which I served for a time.

Richard



--- WinQwk 2.0 #0
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
From: smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: K Registrations?
Date: 19 Aug 92 11:23:12 GMT
Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol

In article <1992Aug19.084338.8662@dscomsf.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:
>Think you got problems? I own *now* an L reg...
>
>Question is after replacing the engine, brakes, exhaust, starter, and most of
>the bodyshell is it the same car?

"This is the very axe which was used to behead Mary, Queen of Scots.  Since
then, it has had 3 new handles, and 2 new heads..."

-- 
Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK
 P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!uknet!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132
From: mhs@ukc.ac.uk (M.H.Smith)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: British Working Practices
Keywords: VNS,news,sport
Date: 21 Aug 92 15:14:51 GMT
Reply-To: mhs@ukc.ac.uk (M.H.Smith)
Organization: Electronic Engineering Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

In article <1992Aug21.085628.779@osf.org> david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George) writes:
   It's when it comes to the regimented worker ant mentality needed to
   stamp out Golfs and Hondas that we're crap. 

Apparently, during the nineteenth century other European nations used
to moan about the Brits and their inhuman work practices. You know, the
same sort of drivel as is used about Japanese workers now and how it
gives them an unfair advantage. Maybe we lost the knack.

Malc
From: dbe2@dcs.exeter.ac.uk (David Bennett)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Champion Beer Of Britain 1992
Date: 21 Aug 92 15:48:15 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept. - University of Exeter. UK

In article <1992Aug19.142806.7695@rz-berlin.mpg.de> gray@rz-berlin.mpg.de writes:
>In article <1992Aug17.222135.7316@amgen.com>,
>  sushilm@amgen.com (Sushil Madhogarhia) writes:
>
>> I am looking for email address of MOBIL in london.
>
>  Is it me, or did Shushil just make the most succinct and
>accurate comment yet about British beer?
>
>Struan

Think about it...

Beer = 1.00 to 1.80 a pint (OK OK lots of regional vraiation still possible)

Petrol = 2.50 ish a gallon

Which do you think is better value ... and is the ideal reason NOT to smoke.
:-)

Dave
(Mine's the more expensive pint please !!)


-- 
| JANET  : dbe2@uk.ac.ex.dcs       | "I say what it occurs to me to say when  |
| UUCP   : dbe2@ex-dcs.uucp        | I think I hear people say things. More I |
| Undergrad @ University of EXETER | cannot say." HHGTTG Radio Scripts.       |
| Computer Science Dept. EXETER,UK | by D N Adams                             |
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.usa
From: eisimps@cie.uoregon.edu (Eileen Simpson)
Subject: Re: Prince Edward - is he a well-known homosexual?
Summary: It's Not That Clear
Organization: University of Oregon Campus Information Exchange
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 17:08:57 GMT

In article <BtC1q3.8uE@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
>
>  Is it true that some American newspapers have reported widely accepted 
>stories about Prince Edward being homosexual?  It would seem unlikely
>that the UK papers would voluntarily refrain from publishing such a 
>story.

American newspapers, at least the ones I have seen are careful what they
report about this prince.  They imply more than they say, and they are
careful what they say.  They usually raise the issue by saying that "some
have suggested."  Now our _tabloids_ on the other hand, probably say Edward
is gay and make no bones about it.  I don't read tabloids, tho.

After the Fergie and Di stuff, tho, some mainstream press ran articles of 
the ilk of "The Troubled Royal Family," which reported rumors of Prince 
Philip's affairs (and what his example did to the kiddo's ideas of marriage), 
and the stories about Prince Edward.  It was suggested that someone would 
be found to marry him and quiet the rumors, and that was written in a way 
that conveyed the writer's obvious belief that Edward was gay.  This
solution was supposed to have been seriously considered by the royals, 
but people said that might just heat the tabloids up to go after him like 
they did Fergie.

I think it's pretty clear that the tabloids are playing a difficult game
with the royals:  they feed the public gossip (to the max if it's someone
like Fergie, whom they hate) but don't want to kill the goose that sells
their papers or take the blame for destroying the institution of the monarchy.
I don't see how the monarchy can survive unless it radically changes its 
historic much-less-than-ideal family behaviors OR it gets a press restriction.
From: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Mansell out ? [was Re: VNS: Mon 17-Aug-1992]
Keywords: VNS,news,sport
Date: 20 Aug 92 09:52:16 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Aug18.083428.10239@osf.org> david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George) writes:
>On French T.V. news last night it was reported that Alain Prost will be the Williams No.1. driver for '93.  This is at the insitence of Renault who supply the engine.  It was reported that Mansell is considering retirement.  Renault gave their reason as "Prost with 3 F1 World Championships has a better track record than Mansell".
>
>Personally I suspect this is another move by FISA to even up the teams - an old crock like Prost will be completely stuffed by Senna, even with a rocket powered car.
>

Mansell is a crap driver. He only won because he had the best car by a
long stretch and he is a little better than Patrese.

Prost and Senna are far better and I really want to see both of them in
a Williams next year. A real war on the track.

Michael Schumacher, Martin Brundle and John Alesi are pretty promising
prospects for the future. I would like to see all these three in 
competetive cars aswell.

Apart from the engines (though Cosworth/Judd make many of the rest),
Formula 1 is one sport where the UK nails the rest of the world: McLaren,
Williams, Benneton, Lotus (among others) are all British teams.
From: bruce@tcom.stc.co.uk (Bruce Munro)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Cartoons (was Re: Americanising of the UK)
Date: 12 Aug 92 17:06:29 GMT
Organization: BNR Europe, New Southgate, London.

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.

-- 
Bruce Munro.  <bruce@tcom.stc.co.uk> || ...!mcsun!uknet!stc!bruce
BNR Europe Ltd, Oakleigh Rd South, London N11 1HB. 
Phone : +44 81 945 2174 or +44 81 945 4000 x2174
"There are no strangers, only friends we don't recognise" - Hank Wangford
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: Re: Brits and Irish ---
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 16:04:29 GMT


In article <1992Aug17.135436.30161@bas-a.bcc.ac.uk>, skaamjm@ucl.ac.uk (Matthew Moore) writes...
>moisan@cicb.fr (Herve Moisan -  stagiaire CICB) writes:
> 
>>a word from britanny,
> 
>>yes, little britain is britanny.
> 
>>(
>>because in the 5th century and 6th, briton people (celtic)
>>from Wales,Cornwall,Devon leaked britain because of germanic people
>>and picts people.
>>moreover, english people in breton language is "Saozhneg" : Saxon
>>)
> 
>interesting. Does anyone think it comes from similar roots to "sassenach"
>(scots word for the English)?

-ach is a common adjective ending in Scots Gaelic.

The Scots Gaelic for England is "Sasainn". This is very similar to the
Irish Gaelic for it (Sasuna?) and the Manx Gaelic (which I can't remember
off the top of my head). 

Craig

p.s. The English _language_ is called "Beurla" in Scots Gaelic, only 
     English _people_ can be sassenachs. The Gaelic is probably
     "sasainnach", due to vowel balancing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  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
From: sandee@Think.COM (Daan Sandee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Henson's the name
Date: 14 Aug 1992 13:22:45 GMT
Organization: TMC
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: telecaster.think.com

In article <7202@skye.ed.ac.uk>, ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Ken Johnson) writes:
|> 
|> In article <1992Aug10.181119.17378@cl.cam.ac.uk> ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant) writes:
|> 
|> %  [Far] more people have heard of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay than have heard of
|> %  Matthew Henson. 
|> 
|> In article <1992Aug13.143926.16518@ttinews.tti.com> jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
|> 
|> #  Who's he??
|> 
|> Come to think of it, far more people have heard of Jim Henson than have
|> heard of Matthew Henson. 
|> 
|> -- Ken "square eyes" Johnson

So who's HE ? (Jim Henson, I mean).
But I take Alasdair's original point, though in all fairness, Matthew
Henson is a bit longer ago than Tenzing Norgay. Tenzing, after all, is
living memory for at least some people on the net.

Daan Sandee                                           sandee@think.com
Thinking Machines Corporation
Cambridge, Mass 02142                                 (617) 234-5044
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George)
Subject: Mansell out ? [was Re: VNS: Mon 17-Aug-1992]
Keywords: VNS,news,sport
Organization: OSF RI Grenoble
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 08:34:28 GMT

On French T.V. news last night it was reported that Alain Prost will be the Williams No.1. driver for '93.  This is at the insitence of Renault who supply the engine.  It was reported that Mansell is considering retirement.  Renault gave their reason as "Prost with 3 F1 World Championships has a better track record than Mansell".

Personally I suspect this is another move by FISA to even up the teams - an old crock like Prost will be completely stuffed by Senna, even with a rocket powered car.

At this rate they'll be bringing back Graham Hill !

David.

p.s. this reminds me of way back at start of the Turbo era.  John Watson who'd recently been bumped of the Maclaren team claimed that Mansell was not competitive and not worth his drive.  He reckoned that he could make better use of the 1000HP turbo power.  After a couple of laps he came of the track very white, very quiet and a bit wiser.
From: jch+@cs.cmu.edu (Jonathan Hardwick)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: VNS: Thu 13-Aug-1992
Keywords: VNS,news
Date: 13 Aug 92 14:31:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.BsxF11.L6.1
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com (Gwyn Evans @ IME) writes
>      {Here is some additional information from George Cooper of Salem, NH,
>      about the QEII which ran aground off the coast on Friday evening: }

>       There hasn't been to much said as to who the responsible party or
>      parties are. Drug test results have not been released. The US Coast Guard
>      has stated that the charts for the pilot and QE 2 Master do agree, and
>      both the Master of the ship and the pilot aggree on the ships location
>      when the incident took place. "

Latest news from this side of the pond is that a BIG uncharted rock
has been found right where the grounding took place.  So I doubt that
they'll pin the blame on anyone -- you can't be expected to avoid what
you don't know about.

Jonathan H.
From: davel@ampex.com (Dave Larkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.american
Subject: Re: can you get right hand drive cars in the US
Date: 13 Aug 92 16:39:26 GMT
Article-I.D.: ampex.1992Aug13.163926.23744
Organization: Ampex Corporation, Redwood City CA

In article <1992Aug12.203815.21028@projtech.com> sanjiv@projtech.com (Sanjiv Gossain) writes:
>
>
>I guess what he really needs to know is...
>
>- can you order right-hand drive cars in the US for export abroad?
>- and if so, is it worth it?
>- and if so, where from?
>
Sure, those little Jeeps that are used to deliver mail are right hand drive!

davel.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
From: baylor@force.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
Reply-To: baylor@force.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com
Organization: LMSC, Sunnyvale, California
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 19:50:32 GMT

In article <2812@perl-sun.dwrsun4.UUCP>, perl@dwrsun4.UUCP (Robert Perlberg) writes:
>In article <ko1FPB3w165w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee) writes:
>> It seems to me that it is equal.  British shows like "Doctor Who", "The
>> Avengers", "Blake's 7", "Monty Python", "Fawlty Towers", "Butterflies", and
>> other shows, "The Secret Agent", and "The Prisoner" included, I say that
>> the USA is being "Britonized". ...
>
>But notice the titles you cited.  All of them are either science
>fiction, spy shows, or comedies.  The SF and spy shows appeal to a very
>narrow and generally enlightened audience.  Not what I would call the
>majority of Americans.  And all of these shows including the comedies
>are show in the USA on public television.  Again, not something that
>reaches into most American households.  I don't see a basis for your
>claim that American television is any more Britonized than it has ever
>been.  Public television has borrowed (almost depended) on the BBC for
>as long as I can remember, and there is no trace of British TV on any
>of the commercial stations.

Actually, there is a 'trace' of British TV on American television.
Notice the closing credits of some very popular shows. All in the
Family (& its many spin-offs), Sanford & Son, and Three's Company
all credit British shows for the original concept. In addition, there
was recently talk of doing an American Red Dwarf. This reminds me of 
the beginning of rock & roll, where the black artists wrote the songs
and the white artists became popular copying (stealing?) them. 
It may be that, as with the rock, we'll move into the era of seeing
the creators' works directly. Perhaps the PBS stuff is the vanguard
of a new "British Invasion." ;-) 

RB