ThierryMercury

Why isn't UK wine more popular?

Posted by pb00010@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 234 comments

I'm going to England for the first time ever, what are some things to avoid or don't do?

Posted by Ok_Muscle7510@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 473 comments

What's the best wrong number phone call have you received?

Posted by cherrycoke3000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 363 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

In 2000 me and three friends drove across the Sahara Desert in 2 4x4s. We were sponsored by BT who gave us a satellite phone we could use in emergencies. The calls were very expensive and we didn't plan to use it unless we really needed to. Two weeks into the trip the phone is in the back of one of the cars underneath piles of other stuff. We're driving along and it starts to ring. So I stop driving and tear at all the stuff it's buried under trying to find it before the caller hangs up. I get there eventually, pick up and say "Hello?" "Hi, is Andy there?" None of us are called Andy. "Er no, this is this is ThierryMercury, you're talking to me on a satellite phone in the middle of a desert." "Oh, sorry, wrong number." No idea how that's even possible since satellite phones have numbers that don't follow the normal format.

How was a proposal of marriage made for you?

Posted by hornet-prodder-214@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 191 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

My wife proposed to me. We were in the Maldives, 25m below the sea level on a night dive. She pulled a piece of paper out of her BCD pocket in a plastic bag on which she had written in waterproof lipstick "Living with you makes me very happy. Will you marry me?" Back on the dive boat she a bottle of champagne on ice. We got married a year later, also in the Maldives. We've been together 18 years and have two boys.

Please settle an office argument - do you know the Birds Eye Potato Waffle song?

Posted by Diligent_Sun_5423@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 262 comments

Men, how often (if ever) are you approached?

Posted by vaynehelsing@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 838 comments

Does mixing up “your” and “you’re” give you the ick?

Posted by MmeFelixFelicis@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1485 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

It's often people with English as a second language that are better than native speakers. Learning a second language requires education, picking up your mother tongue (verbally) does not. My second language is French and you'd be surprised how many native French speakers write "Je ne c'est pas".

What's a small thing you were wrongly told off for as a kid that still annoys you all these years later?

Posted by ThrowRAkitty13@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 575 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

Parents told me I had to have a bath before I could watch my favourite TV programme. (Early 80s Britain, might have been Blake's 7.) So I ran a bath. Did not get in the bath. Emptied the bath knowing they would hear the bath being emptied. Went downstairs saying OK I've had a bath, can I turn on the TV now? "We know you haven't had a bath because we would have heard the water draining." WHAT Still baffles me to this day.

Took a sick day for a heavy period, is that a valid reason?

Posted by Country-girl3@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 458 comments

B737-200 Combi landing with a cockpit view

Posted by Lublan@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 595 comments

What's something about your life that is out of the ordinary?

Posted by PaddedValls@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 601 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

I travelled to Berlin from Canterbury with some friends in a camper van with no heating when we saw the news. All I can remember about it was that it was unbeleivably cold.

What's something about your life that is out of the ordinary?

Posted by PaddedValls@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 601 comments

How much do we need credit cards?

Posted by Comprehensive-Fuel70@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 467 comments

Why british people are so overly polite?

Posted by DzukiskaNamine@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 1262 comments

Do you allow young kids fizzy drinks?

Posted by Flapparachi@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 814 comments

How much does your company charge for coffee from the machine?

Posted by Equivalent-Rich8018@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 589 comments

Was this the most well-designed combat aircraft of its era?

Posted by Finbarr-Galedeep@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 451 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

The spitfire was a much more capable aircraft. Faster, better climb, better turn rate, much better energy retention. The Hurricane had on its side ease of production, and ability to take damage. However it was reduced almost entirely to ground support/bomber roles by the end of 1941, whereas the Spitfire kept being developed. It was still in service in the Egyptian Air Force until well into the 1050s.

What's the most uniquely British way to describe a slightly annoying situation?

Posted by Liplyn_IG@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 332 comments

What's the most petty but hilarious thing you or someone you know has done?

Posted by Gregoryr94@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 291 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

This wasn't petty revenge but a guy I worked with got his car decorated on his birthday - shaving foam all over the outside, and talc inside. He wasn't very happy about it and his co-workers cleared it all up. On the way home he turned on the heater and the inside of the car instantly filled with talc. He was on the North Circular Road and had to pull over and stop (which you can't really do). A police car pulled up behind him just as he got out amid a cloud of white powder. Took some explaining.

What are you your thoughts on Lee Evans?

Posted by Train-Wreck-70@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 103 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

I saw him live once before he got super famous, he was a surprise act at a comedy club. He was doing preview shows for a tour. He was the funniest stand up I've ever seen. I hurt muscles laughing. And he's incredibly likeable. I've seen him on TV many times since and either he got a lot less funny or being in the room with him is part of the deal.

Can you recite any phone number other than your own?

Posted by ManlykN@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1027 comments

footage of Russian military aircraft An-22 that crashed 5 days ago

Posted by blueinagreenworld@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 894 comments

Which lie or conspiracy are you ashamed to admit you fell for?

Posted by JS-Labs@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 724 comments

Which lie or conspiracy are you ashamed to admit you fell for?

Posted by JS-Labs@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 724 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

What got me about this was that Blair said he was absolutely certain they had them. He left himself absolutely no wriggle room, and thought this guy is not politically naïve, and he has access to intel I don't so he must really know. And we still elected him again after it all came out.

What’s the pettiest or most unexpected reason you’ve ever had an encounter with the police?

Posted by Nexolightu@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 451 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

This wasn't me but two friends of mine spent ages sourcing full star wars body armour. When it finally arrived they put it on and walked around Finchley Central for a bit amusing the locals. Storm trooper blasters are based on a WW2 era rifle. Somebody called the police. They were back in their flat watching football when armed police arrived.

What’s the pettiest or most unexpected reason you’ve ever had an encounter with the police?

Posted by Nexolightu@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 451 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

The enormous saving grace is that it barely affected children. Covid that killed children would have been so, so much worse. I would have isolated the entire family in our house, have food deliveries left at the front garden gate. I often think this was nature's way of saying "Sort yourselves out. Next time I'm coming for the kids."

What’s the pettiest or most unexpected reason you’ve ever had an encounter with the police?

Posted by Nexolightu@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 451 comments

Are you 'prepping' at all?

Posted by harrietrosie@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 74 comments

What is the most basic IT or computing skill you have ever had to show someone ?

Posted by Additional-Nobody352@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 658 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

I was working in support for an Internet Service Provider in 1995. I got a call from one of the owners whose office was on the floor below mine saying their (Windows 95) PC wouldn't boot. I went down and had a look. On the screen there was a message that said "Windows can't find a mouse. Check if it's plugged in?" Plugged the mouse back in, all good. The person in question was Eva Pascoe (google her) and we were in the floors above Cyberia, widely held to be the first commercial Internet cafe. She was heralded as some sort of computing visionary.

Are seatbelts worn commonly?

Posted by moonchildkityprinces@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 873 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

Anyone not wearing a seatbelt in my car is walking. It's so ingrained in me that when I started riding a motorcyle I would occasionally panic when I realised I didn't have one on.

How do Brits make a quick tea?

Posted by Muted_Reflection_449@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 777 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

The problem with that is that it's possible to make a particular shade of tea various different ways. The amount of milk offsets the strength of the brew.

What are British things loved around the world that many actual Britons have a low opinion of?

Posted by wheninrome5000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 938 comments

What are British things loved around the world that many actual Britons have a low opinion of?

Posted by wheninrome5000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 938 comments

What are your unhinged life hacks?

Posted by PsychologicalRow8034@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 831 comments

Did anyone at primary school ever have to do a weird water temperature experiment?

Posted by thehatesponge@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 68 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

I remember an experiment where you put on hand in cold water and the other hand in "hot" water (not painful) and then you put both hands into warm water and you can feel your hands responding differently to the warm water even though they're in the same bowl.

Is anyone actually friends with their work colleagues?

Posted by sunflowersalwaysgrow@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 211 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

Yes. A bunch of us worked at he same company from 2007 to 2018 when it was sold. We were friends then and we're friends now. We met up for dinner in Covent Garden just over a week ago, 7 years since we last worked together. We have a discord channel we use daily. They're some of the best friends I've got.

Do British people consider themselves "lucky" to be born in the UK?

Posted by Queasy-Ice-2575@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 140 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

Speaking personally I think I'm unbelievably lucky to have been born here. "To have been born an Englishman is to have won first prize in the lottery of life." That's not to say we are better than anyone else. Just that we got very lucky being born into an affluent democracy.

What unhealthy / awful food do you remember having as a kid?

Posted by Dangerous-Land-1773@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 989 comments

What is the most "off" place you've been to?

Posted by Capable-Pick-4835@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 838 comments

What is the most shocking thing you've seen in public?

Posted by Equivalent_Ask_1416@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 268 comments

Who here knows a Hyacinth Bucket in real life?

Posted by SmegB@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 397 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

My Grandmother had a special reason for being a hyacinth. She was lower middle class English and married an upper-middle class Frenchman in the 1930s. She moved to France. She lived in fear of her new family realising she wasn't "one of them". She said she got away with a lot of stuff, like not knowing the order of cutlery, or which side the bread dish goes, by explaining that's how the English did it. Her husband was killed in the war and she moved back to the UK with my mother and her sister but was still paranoid about keeping up appearances. My mum caught it. She once scolded me to putting a milk bottle on the table (this is a fold-up table in the kitchen for family lunch, not a black tie do) because it's "common". We lived in a relatively affluent suburb but right next to the school there was a council estate (back when it actually was council). About half the kids were from the burbs and the other from the estate. I used to hang out with kids from the estate more than with the more middle class kids and my Mum despaired at my changing accent. To this day I have a more lahndan accent than anyone else in the family.

Is it normal to help strangers with carrying heavy bags in public?

Posted by Username638012@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 311 comments

Is it normal to help strangers with carrying heavy bags in public?

Posted by Username638012@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 311 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

It is 100% normal *if you're a woman.* I regularly help women who are obviously struggling but I don't think I've ever offered to help a bloke. That's not to suggest the people offering help are all men - loads of women will help another woman.

Do you wear a poppy?

Posted by SeniorMoonlight21@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1811 comments

Does anyone know the origin of this recording and how it came to be recorded?

Posted by Turbulent-Weevil-910@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 798 comments

What obscure quotes do you use?

Posted by sgbea_13@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 704 comments

Which big company deserves their success, in your opinion?

Posted by kittyvixxmwah@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 606 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

No. They sent my debt to a debt recovery company 3 days after the invoice was raised and long before it was overdue. Took them to the ombudsmen and was awarded £100 - but it took months of arguing. They have terrific PR and marketing but they are not a good company.

Which big company deserves their success, in your opinion?

Posted by kittyvixxmwah@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 606 comments

Got called the n word in my own garden. What should I do ?

Posted by Sanix_0000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 468 comments

Did you change the locks when you moved house?

Posted by fixitmonkey@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 342 comments

ThierryMercury@reddit

Yes. Because the day after we moved in I found a neighbour in our porch going through our mail. The previous owner had given her a key so she could forward on any post that arrived for him. She was about 60 I scared the fucking life out of her and I never saw her again despite living there for 9 years.