UK or England thread?

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When I first moved out of my Dad's, the letters were so threatening that I nearly paid for a TV license even though I had no TV receiving equipment at all. They kept saying they would send someone to come into my home, even though I didn't think legally that was possible it was really scary because of my obsessive (contamination) issues. Also the wording on the letters and online never said that if you don't watch live tv you do not need a licence. I did watch BBCIPlayer when it was legal but I don't now, they changed the rules but didn't say on IPlayer that they were doing this. They advertised the changes on telly I watch some ITVPlayer there's always a series of Morse or Lewis to work my way through when I don't feel well but mostly I prefer to read

I figure that all the TV shows I'm not watching now will all still be there when I get old. If I get to the point where I can't read, go for walks, play music, program a computer etc. as I age, I can watch them all then from my rocking chair in an old folks home - I'll be the only one who isn't moaning that they're all "repeats" because I won't have seen any of them yet!

I'm not sure how enjoyable that will be with them all moaning, at the tops of their voices.

^ Hmm, that's a good point. To be honest, I rather dread the idea of ending up dumped in a old folk's home - I have no finances for my retirement and no offspring, so if I do, I don't suppose I'll have much choice over what I get. Not that I have anything against older people, I usually get on with them pretty well, but the idea of living with no privacy, and intrusive carers trying to force socialisation on me, all rather frightens me. If I get too decrepit, I think I'd rather just be left on a mountain top to let the elements take me and feed the wildlife.

^Unless I go gaga (then it won't matter because they're usually quite happy) I plan on taking myself out, definitely before I'm put in a home. I rather fancy living my last years on a house boat and when I've had enough, setting fire to it. Death and funeral all in one. The problem is someones bound to try to save me and I'd hate anyone to get hurt so it'll probably have to be something less dramatic like digitalis in my tea.

I like your idea too but nature getting you might take a bit long. I think you should make sure you've positioned yourself near enough to the edge that you can roll yourself over if you want to hurry yourself along. Not for a long time though, I hope

Aw, that's really sweet of you - likewise!

Don't think I could do the Viking-style fire-ship thing, though it does seem rather heroic and romantic - I dread the idea of burning too much for that one. Hypothermia is a strange one (I learned a lot about it in my caving days and experienced the initial stages a couple of times.) It's not unusual to find people who died that way naked because the lack of energy to the brain induces a euphoric state where you can feel paradoxically very warm and take all your clothes off. I've always been far too shy for the naturism thing, so it can be the last thing on my bucket list! Seems not a bad way to go, especially as I already know what the worst (still lucid) part feels like.

On a lighter note (not that I mind talking about the morbid stuff), and speaking of warmth, it looks like we're due another run of nice weather for a few days, and the bluebells are in full bloom round here at the moment. I'm looking forward to a bit of al-fresco aromatherapy in the woods over the weekend. I have a social worker appointment to assess whether I qualify for some day care tomorrow, which I'm rather nervous about, so a bit of countryside in the sun will be nice to look forward to.

I must admit that I do appreciate my TV programs, especially the series I get into.

Reading is very relaxing and helps me to sleep. I get an awful lot from reading both leisurely and formal. Not sure I could do without either now.

I don't agree with the tv license thing. Paying for all the services and a license. I think the bbc should get their money from service providers like Sky or Virgin as they are charging us in the first place. Unless of course you get freeview, but even then you have to pay for an expensive box to view it.

Of course there are ways around this, which is why law abiding citizens like yourselves get scruinised with disbelief.

Yes I am a tv person. And a book person. And an internet person. I also like people sometimes.

I finally mowed my lawn on Wednesday, trimmed all the evergreen stuff, and weeded the front garden. Lots of jobs still to do but if I can get out there on Sunday (my next day off) I'm going to do the more fun bits, the planting ect.

What's everyone reading at the moment? I'm on Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose, it's good so far and I've followed the series. Each book is terrible things happen but good overcomes it and wins in the end. My taste is fairly wide in fiction, Bernard Cornwell, Anne Perry, Douglas Reeman, Elizabeth Chadwick, Alistair Maclean, Georgette Heyer, Dorothy L Sayers, but I have to have the good over evil thing in the end otherwise what's the point.

I am fascinated by the British culture. Americans here seem to believe everyone should help and take care of themselves while the Brits seem to believe in helping each other because they will give welfare people nice houses to live in and everyone has healthcare and will never see a medical bill in their home. Here, we have waiting lists for houses, people live in apartments, people have to juggle bills, we have food programs and "free" healthcare only for the low income. Plus we are very harsh on juveniles when they commit crimes but in the UK, they seem to go easy on them because they are released to the public in their adulthood and given a chance to live life. Plus your prisons seemed more homey and comfy while here our prisons are tough and you won't see a xbox in your cell.


You guys are into hanging up linen to dry while we all want to dry our clothes and we prefer larger homes while you guys live in tiny homes. You guys commute more than drive and how easy it is to access other towns and cities by bus or train.

We don't need to pay for a TV license but we do have many commercials. That is how companies make money, they advertise and that is how the TV stations make their money, advertisements.

We have more lawsuits here because of lack of health insurance. People mostly sue to get their medical bill paid or get money to pay for therapy for the damage you caused. You won't see that in the UK. I am sure you won't see crazy warnings either like you do here.

I really liked the UK despite how expensive it is there and how small your cars are and your homes. A decent sized home you would find in America, you would basically have to be wealthy to afford such a home in the UK. I bet even having a garage there is a luxury, here it is treated as a necessity because almost everyone has one. It's like us Americans are spoiled because we need big rooms and stuff and a wide kitchen and we don't wanna dry our clothes. We also need a big bathroom. We must have more than one because we don't wanna share or want to wait to use the toilet.

^ Careful not to stand us on too tall a pedestal, we might fall off!

We do still have very long housing waiting lists and food banks for folks who can't even afford their food bills, and the public health service is massively oversubscribed, underfunded and has some rather wide cracks in it these days (no adult services for autistic people, for one!). The idea of the "welfare state" has been under attack and undermined pretty much ever since it first got going, and services for disabled people, in particular, have been devastated over the last decade or so. The current government would love nothing more than to introduce US style health insurance etc., and most social housing is no longer state owned - and, sadly (IMHO), plenty of the population seem to agree with them. We're importing the "American dream" faster than we import tea-leaves!

I watch TV very little these days, but I always thought the way American shows come across over here is really weird. The ads that you seem to have every few minutes get removed, so scenes end up with these very odd edits and "deja vu" or "glitch in the Matrix" moments. You can spot where the ads used to be by the totally unnecessary re-caps of a scene that you were watching only a few seconds earlier - as if all Americans forget what show they were even watching while the ads are playing.

I tend to see people in the UK as something of distant relatives here in Canada. This Monday is Victoria Day, when we honor the memory of Queen Victoria. It's also considered by some Canadians as the unofficial start of summer.
It must be a bigger deal in the major cities, however, where they have parades and even fireworks. Where I live nothing all that exciting happens.

I take this as a compliment being related to Canadians.

Such a kind perspective.

Aaargh - the nice weather has finally brought the midges out! I had such a lovely day out otherwise, sitting amongst the bluebells and the hawthorns just blooming, and thought how lovely it would be to have a little picnic next to the local beck while avoiding the royal nonsense - right up until I started getting eaten alive by the little buggers (the midges, not the royals!). No insect repellent with me of course - my rose-tinted mind forgets every single year that this is going to happen. Horrible little spoilsports - kill, kill!

I actually watched the Royal Wedding early this morning. Me of all the people on WP. I tend to play hide and seek with Britain a lot.

Canada Day is the start to my summers.

It'd be unthinkable to have a 'Victoria Day' in the UK. Unfortunately the term 'Victorian' is very frequently used with a negative connotation, most notably in phrases like 'Victorian values'.