This is not a goodbye thread

It's completely true that the Canadians were so afraid of becoming the USA (a legit and completely justified fear, btw) they enacted this law. It's also true that yeah, if a band was that good, it would have been heard anyway. Look at bands like Rush. I dunno exactly when CanCon caame in (it was raised to %30 in the 80s though. Maybe it started then?) but they seemed to do fine without it. In other forms of music, every Jazz guitarist needs to know of Lenny Breau and every Jazz player period knows of Oscar. What about Neil Young? Did HE need CanCon? Of course not. It's just paranoia, leading to a load of crap. The other issue I have is who is CaCon for, the US or the Canadians? Because Ic an tell you, it's not for the Yanks. They don't care about Canadian, they care about CHARTS. Hence Nickelcrap. So it must be for Canadians then? What Canadian needs to hear more Blue Rodeo? Don't we all know 'Diamond Mine' by heart anyway? You know what I'm saying? Seriously. CanCon is a joke.

Duncan- plenty of room.

Eddie- Downing Street was cool! Whitehall too. It was great, parliament, all that. I'll put up some more random pics soon. But now.....things I have learned/questions I have come up with since I have been in Britain!!!!:

1. How are you all not 20 stone?! I've seen more greasy assed, fry ups than I could imagine!! They are EVERYWHERE, fried this, fried that. I got fish and chips (which were AMAZING) and they were obviosuly fried but MAN it was a massive hunk of fish.

2. For as vast as London's transit system is, if I can follow it, it must be super organized. No fooling, I thought I was f****d for sure coming here with no sense of direction and unable to follow a map, but NO! It's all good, really really impressive.

3. Why are there not screens on the windows? I'm currently being driven mad by a fly and earlier I was terrified that a pigeon who lives nearby (I assume) was going to come in my window. (edit- he is back....).

4. Carphone Warehouse is everywhere.

5. Even if things might be a bit more expensive here, I LOVE having the taxes included. Coming from Canada, when something says it costs 25 bucks, that might mean 27, 30 something, I never know.

6. The Starbucks here have better food.

7. I have finally gotten the hang of walking across the road, looking the appropriate way at the appropriate time. But do motorists HAVE to stop for you at a crosswalk?

8. Beef paste is what you think it is and very gross.

9. I know why everything here is in a pasty. Because the British can make a pocket like no one else!!!!

10. Where can I get (and what do you call) the kind of liquid cream that you whip to make whipped cream, like 'table cream'?

More soon, when I remember them=)

GB
 
7. I have finally gotten the hang of walking across the road, looking the appropriate way at the appropriate time. But do motorists HAVE to stop for you at a crosswalk?

Depends on the crossing. Zebra crossing (the black and white ones with the beacons) they have to stop if you have stepped out and most of the time people will stop if you wait. At least, I always do and so do 90% of motorists, apart from the obvious BMW 3 Series drivers. The other ones, you have to press the button to cross and wait for the lights, but I'm assuming you knew that anyway.

10. Where can I get (and what do you call) the kind of liquid cream that you whip to make whipped cream, like 'table cream'?

You can just buy whipped cream in an aerosol can. But I'm assuming it's not as good?

9. I know why everything here is in a pasty. Because the British can make a pocket like no one else!!!!

Get a pasty from the Cornwall Pasty Co. Their shops are black and yellow (the Cornish colours) and those are, bar none, the best. That and the obvious Steak and Guinness pasties.
 
Hey man,

Er...I forgot there was an off topic section, I never post there. DB, Jason, any chance you could move it there? Sorry about that.

I'm in Toronto, so I've no idea whatsoever about Winnipeg, except that it seems to produce good trumpet players. What's making you go to Winnipeg? Man, I'd say Toronto (plus, I can recommend you everything I know=). If you HAVE to go to Winnipeg, I can ask around for you. Let me know,

GB

Hey,

I'm in toronto too, whereabouts are you? And what drum shops do you go to? The only ones i know are Just Drums and Soul drums.

Depends on the crossing. Zebra crossing (the black and white ones with the beacons) they have to stop if you have stepped out and most of the time people will stop if you wait. At least, I always do and so do 90% of motorists, apart from the obvious BMW 3 Series drivers. The other ones, you have to press the button to cross and wait for the lights, but I'm assuming you knew that anyway.
actually it doesn't depend on anything. they have to stop for you, even if you're jaywalking
 
I'm talking about being in the UK. As somebody who drives most days, I believe I know what the laws are concerning our crossings. Plus there's no such thing as 'Jaywalking' in the UK, as there aren't that many crossings, walking across without one is absolutely normal. It doesn't need a separate name.
 
Depends on the crossing. Zebra crossing (the black and white ones with the beacons) they have to stop if you have stepped out and most of the time people will stop if you wait.

Yes, I've always considered this an interesting one - the motorist is only obliged to stop to let you cross if you've already put a foot onto the crossing, by which time you've placed complete trust in the motorist to actually stop! Should they not stop, at least you've got the law on your side and a juicy compensation payout :)

As my memory serves, double cream should whip up nicely. And tell me more of this beef paste. Is this a sandwich filler kind of thing? I'd recommend Shippam's crab paste for sandwiches.
 
actually it doesn't depend on anything. they have to stop for you, even if you're jaywalking

You're certainly right in a moral sense. I'd hope there aren't too many people who'd be happy to run a ped over just because they weren't using a designated crossing! That said, walking out in front of fast moving traffic on a dual carriageway expecting cars to stop and let you pass is only going to earn you a mental health assessment.
 
The whole 'CanCon' thing (good name btw, yours or a real term?) seems to be utter BS. The UK don't have anything like it, although I would imagine that Canada are a bit more likely to be influenced by the US. Regardless though if good music is being made people will listen to it, if not a nation are being forced to listen to mediocre music. doesn't seem fair.
 
It's completely true that the Canadians were so afraid of becoming the USA (a legit and completely justified fear, btw) they enacted this law. It's also true that yeah, if a band was that good, it would have been heard anyway. Look at bands like Rush. I dunno exactly when CanCon caame in (it was raised to %30 in the 80s though. Maybe it started then?) but they seemed to do fine without it. In other forms of music, every Jazz guitarist needs to know of Lenny Breau and every Jazz player period knows of Oscar. What about Neil Young? Did HE need CanCon? Of course not. It's just paranoia, leading to a load of crap. The other issue I have is who is CaCon for, the US or the Canadians? Because Ic an tell you, it's not for the Yanks. They don't care about Canadian, they care about CHARTS. Hence Nickelcrap. So it must be for Canadians then? What Canadian needs to hear more Blue Rodeo? Don't we all know 'Diamond Mine' by heart anyway? You know what I'm saying? Seriously. CanCon is a joke.

Duncan- plenty of room.

Eddie- Downing Street was cool! Whitehall too. It was great, parliament, all that. I'll put up some more random pics soon. But now.....things I have learned/questions I have come up with since I have been in Britain!!!!:

1. How are you all not 20 stone?! I've seen more greasy assed, fry ups than I could imagine!! They are EVERYWHERE, fried this, fried that. I got fish and chips (which were AMAZING) and they were obviosuly fried but MAN it was a massive hunk of fish.

2. For as vast as London's transit system is, if I can follow it, it must be super organized. No fooling, I thought I was f****d for sure coming here with no sense of direction and unable to follow a map, but NO! It's all good, really really impressive.

3. Why are there not screens on the windows? I'm currently being driven mad by a fly and earlier I was terrified that a pigeon who lives nearby (I assume) was going to come in my window. (edit- he is back....).

4. Carphone Warehouse is everywhere.

5. Even if things might be a bit more expensive here, I LOVE having the taxes included. Coming from Canada, when something says it costs 25 bucks, that might mean 27, 30 something, I never know.

6. The Starbucks here have better food.

7. I have finally gotten the hang of walking across the road, looking the appropriate way at the appropriate time. But do motorists HAVE to stop for you at a crosswalk?

8. Beef paste is what you think it is and very gross.

9. I know why everything here is in a pasty. Because the British can make a pocket like no one else!!!!

10. Where can I get (and what do you call) the kind of liquid cream that you whip to make whipped cream, like 'table cream'?

More soon, when I remember them=)

GB

1. Actually most people are fat in england, some stats say it will be 90% or something in the next 50 years. That's just insane.

2. The underground was the first and imo still the best, i think london has some of the best public transport in the world.

3. summers and that didn't used to be this hot!!!

4. i just got my phone from tesco but yeah you can go there if u want.

5. It's good that there aren't any hidden charges, i suppose that's the ONE good thing about the EEC is that we don't have to pay the import taxes although i blame the EU for our VAT charges anyway.

6. haha yeah they probably do, to cater for our more sophisticated european tastes :p oj

7. motorists do have to stop at any zebra crossing, unlike what MFB said, they should even stop even if you haven't started crossing. If you're at the junction when the car gets there it's technically your right of way.

8. forturnately i tend to eat real food like chicken so i can't comment on beef paste :)

9. Pasties (not to be confused with Paistes!) are really very nice, they're also sold at most good supermarkets and petrol stations if you fancy one for dinner tonight ;).

10. As MFB says, they mostly come in aerosol cans. Dunno how to make it, look at a nigella or jamie oliver book or something lol.

The whole 'CanCon' thing (good name btw, yours or a real term?) seems to be utter BS. The UK don't have anything like it, although I would imagine that Canada are a bit more likely to be influenced by the US. Regardless though if good music is being made people will listen to it, if not a nation are being forced to listen to mediocre music. doesn't seem fair.

actually, that's not quite true. We do have a similar thing (in principal) on the BBC and ITV where they have to show something like 10 or 15% regional content like look north and the local politics show and stuff.
 
3. summers and that didn't used to be this hot!!!



7. motorists do have to stop at any zebra crossing, unlike what MFB said, they should even stop even if you haven't started crossing. If you're at the junction when the car gets there it's technically your right of way.


3. Yes they did

7. No - the driver is only legally obliged to stop if the pedestrian has already set foot off the curb
 
do you even live in the UK?

Yes, he does.

And trust me, after driving for three years, you know the law. You are only obliged to stop when the person has stepped onto the crossing - but the CONVENTION is that you stop when somebody is standing.

i blame the EU for our VAT charges anyway.

The EU has nothing to do with our VAT charges. Absolutely nothing. It's a completely internal system, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to reduce the VAT charge last December. Your banging on about the EU seems uninformed at best, and dangerous at worst. You've been watching far too many UKIP party election broadcast specials.
 
The EU has nothing to do with our VAT charges. Absolutely nothing. It's a completely internal system, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to reduce the VAT charge last December. Your banging on about the EU seems uninformed at best, and dangerous at worst. You've been watching far too many UKIP party election broadcast specials.

I don't even like UKIP but i hate the EU even more and maybe it's not VAT (although all the other EU countries charge high r8s of VAT too, coincidence?) but it is responsible for a lot of our taxes and laws and as they say "my enimies enemy is my friend".
 
From a self preservation standpiont, don't step off the curb in front of any moving vehicles.
By the way......I am the Stig....
 
The Cornish Pastys are amazing! I had one at London Bridge today, I could eat ten....yeah, they really know how to stuff things in other things here. Did I mention the most amazing sausages? I have to conciously look for green things or else I'd just eat those.

What's the VAT?

So for cream, I'm looking at 'single cream' or something, I think, right? I don't want to MKAE whipped cream, I want LIQUID CREAM'. I mean, I KNOW you can get it here, I just don't know where it is, or what it's called! Speaking of getting things, I have only one complaint so far: WHY DOES EVERYTHING CLOSE SO EARLY!?!??! Not just pubs, but everything!!!! I saw an ad the other day for a store 'open late', until 8 pm. When do you people BUY stuff?? lol


Beef paste? Well, it tastes of chicken, actually. It's quite gross, come on by and you can have the rest of mine!! I dunno what it's for but I'm making a concious effort not to buy anything I could buy in Canada (and for things like bread and butter, I'll only buy brands I've never heard of or that are from here). I'd never seen beef paste so for 50p, I thought: Hmm...I like beef....=) I assume I can buy this crab spread in the...er...spreads...isle? I like spready things made from things that were once really un-spready.

Speaking of (no pun intended) phones, the whole sim card thing here is new to us. My razr2 from Canada (that I was hoping to use) doesn't even HAVE one!! That you can buy a phone and just switch sim cards is very cool. Strange but cool. I need a new phone, the one I had to get here (that cost me 5 quid the day I got here) is so crap it isn't funny. Wait till you see it, Duncan.

Also, I'm not terribly quick on the 24 hr clock thing either.....

GB
 
VAT = Value Added Tax. Sales tax.

Five quid? Oh Christ - that phone will be interesting. You can more or less swap cards in and out of phones, as long as they're not locked to networks. Single cream is available at all good supermarkets. Trust me, it's there. Look for Sainsbury's - they'll have it.
 
although all the other EU countries charge high r8s of VAT too, coincidence?
.

Economic sense. Not coincidence, but certainly not collaboration.

What is your beef with the EU? So far you've offered absolutely no arguments, just statements that you hate it.
 
In the South - the good bit. I guess the 'heatwave' last week must've been quite a revelation for you Northerners ;)

As someone who spends most of his time up North, I can say it was a shock. The 4PM barefoot storm-walking was a good cure.

Incidentally, I know the Rzr has a SIM card on the UK version. Mind if I take a look and see if it can be fitted?
 
.

Economic sense. Not coincidence, but certainly not collaboration.

What is your beef with the EU? So far you've offered absolutely no arguments, just statements that you hate it.

I just don't like the fact that we have to pay copius amounts of money just so that we can be part of a silly little club that makes up all of our laws for us. Why can't we just run our own country? It's not as if we're even part of mainland europe, we still need a passport to travel over there.
 
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