When we were visiting the UK in mid-spring we stayed with friends in Kenilworth for a week and a half. A new store, Waitrows, had opened since the last time we were there (in 2005). It's a rather upscale and very appealing place, in particular, the beer section! Compared to the swill we drink over here (a few specialty labels and those from Canada excepted), that part could only be described as "died and gone to heaven".* At the meat counter, the deli, the produce section, in fact, pretty much everywhere except the bottled milk, everything was in metric only.
Carleton *So then explain how the petrol station at the south end of town had beer in the refrigerators and half of what they had was Budweiser. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 17:00 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:45968] Re: teaching customary units It's probably the circles one frequents with - I've never heard about this 'laughing stock' thing. I worked at a European HQ for a large organisation and we had many co-workers from all over Europe. Many adopted the lingo with miles etc. Some thought it was 'great' and was one of the things that makes the UK - well- the UK! As far as ebay is concerned it depends what you're searching for. We recently had a baby and all the forums and groups etc we see/go to talks in terms of imperial (I mean baby food, etc as well as babies). That doesn't prove that all conversations about food will be in ounces. Watching TV and listening to the Radio (for our US friends) would be a better glimpse of measure usage - especially if it's casually spoken. _____ From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [USMA:45963] Re: teaching customary units Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 15:57:07 +0100 Blair is pro-EU because he has always wanted a prominent EU position - now it looks like he's going to get to be EU president (ughh!). As for the UK being the world's laughing stock for clinging to imperial - IT IS!! My friends, colleagues and family in Canada and Australia really do laugh at the UK for clinging to miles, yards, feet and inches on the roads, and pounds in the markets. That the UK is a laughing stock in this respect is something I have been banging on about for a long time - glad someone else is of a similar opinion. It's actually embarrassing, and I am careful to distance myself from our stupid government (and those stupid individuals who support it) on this issue. Fortunately, there is hope yet. I have recently been selling some of my surplus stuff on eBay (with only two of us we really don't need a huge 4 bedroomed house to rattle around in, so are looking to downsize), and whenever I look to see what similar items are selling for, item descriptions (and these are descriptions placed there by everyday people like you and me) are almost always in metric (even if the centimeter gets used rather than the millimeter - not a problem in my view). The UK is far more metric than our politicians give us credit for. And that can only be a good thing. John F-L ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Humphreys <mailto:[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric <mailto:[email protected]> Association Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 12:59 PM Subject: [USMA:45963] Re: teaching customary units > > > > I suspect that is the reason why imperial made a return to the > > curriculum in the UK from the 90's (when I was at school in the 80's I > > can't remember being taught any imperial, although I can imagine > > teachers 'spoke it' so to speak). > > I believe the real reason was that those who were anti-EU successfully linked metrication in the > public mind with European integration (despite the fact that metrication was initiated as a British > Commonwealth wide project). Thus retention of these units became part of defending British culture, > rather than ensuring that British people and industry could enjoy a better tool by which to conduct > commerce. Pupils have since paid the price in terms of additional baggage they have to endure in > schools. > It was under Blair that the current curriculum was formed - arguably the most pro-EU and pro-metric government we've had since Heath in the early 70's > By all means teach both sets of units if your desire is to end up with the mess of units used in the > UK, but if you want to lay the foundations for a complete transition in the long run, international > experience would suggest removing them completely from the classroom as soon as possible. > It's really not perceived as a "mess of units" by the ordinary punter in the street. Only those with an interest in the subject might hold that opinion - but for obvious reasons. It's a bit like the "imperial measures makes us a laughing stock in the world" quote. I've yet to hear a Barbadian say "Ha ha! You said 'mile' ! " However I fully understand why some people might think this way if they have a strong opinion on this - but let's balance that with how the wider community views it. Just a thought. _____ Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. Find out how. <http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/167688463/direct/01/> _____ View your other email accounts from your Hotmail inbox. Add them <http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/167688463/direct/01/> now.
