Pronounciation of place names seems to be very topsy-turvy. Some they pronounce every syllable, such as Herefordshire, which is pronounced "hair-e-ford-sure", but then other ones they skip most of the word, such as Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster". Berkeley is pronounced "barkley" and Pall Mall is pronounced "pal mal".
When I first came here, there was some confusion with where I should be walking on the street. In Canada, of course, you walk on the sidewalk, which is right beside the pavement where the cars drive. Here, you walk on the pavement, which is right beside the tarmac where the cars drive!
Banking is another interesting thing. Most payments that are not done online are done by direct transfer from one bank account to another. This means that you are giving banking information out to everyone and their dog! It is strange in a country that is so fanatical about security! And, it takes 3 working days for these transfers to take place, as opposed to a few hours in Canada. So, for instance, my rent comes out of my bank account 3 days before it is actually due, so it will be in my landlord's account on the day it is due. So, I actually get paid about 4 days before payday to account for this, and my salary comes out of my company's account 3 days before that!! It's all quite silly, really!
The English line up, or queue, for everything!! The queue is a long-standing tradition, and is strictly observed. Although the English are too polite to actually tell someone to get to the back of the queue, they will let them know they are queue-jumping by all sorts of subtle little signals. The queue is always orderly and straight, even when waiting for a bus! I, of course, hate queues and often refuse to wait in one, choosing instead to come back later. It's very un-English of me! Queueing is very important to the English, and is considered by some a national past-time. Someone shoot me, please!!
World Cup fever has hit big time over here. I have never seen anything so fanatical, except perhaps when Calgary was running for the Stanley Cup two years ago. There are English flags everywhere - not British ones, mind you, with the red and blue - but St. George's Crosses, which specifically represents England. Wales and Scotland have their own flags. The whole of Englad has been gripped in the agony of whether their best player, Wayne Rooney, will be fit enough to play after breaking his foot or something a number weeks ago. He was declared fit last night and everyone is so excited. Me, I'm planning my shopping trips during England's world cup games so the stores will be nice and empty!
Here's some more words, a lot of them from Paul, who is from Lancashire in the north of England:
Chook - affectionate name for a woman, could be daughter, wife, close friend, etc.
Skive - procrastinate, such as "skiving off work".
Brew - tea, as in "would you like a brew?"
Kit - clothes, as in "I need to change me kit". Which brings up another interesting colloquial, the use of "me" instead of "my". It's very addictive!
Our
Stone - weights here are all done in stone and pounds, with a stone equalling 14 pounds. It is quite inefficient, but that's the way it is. Most of the English I asked didn't even know how much a stone was - I had to find out from Google! So, somone who is 148 lbs would be 10 stone, 8 lbs.
Well, that's it for now. I hope I haven't offended any of my English friends by my mini-rant. Despite what it may seem, I am absolutely loving it out here. I'm having the time of my life and there is so much to do and explore! I'm happier than I've been in a very long time!
Cheers!
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