worldly_refuse

Chlorinated chicken - we were promised we'd get it after Brexit but I still can't get hold of any.

No

Do US crossing guards carry firearms?

I was 13 and it made the school holidays fantastic as we could do a lot of outdoor stuff - I was lucky living in a rural area - we had a little teenager's campsite for a while, I didn't have a tent so just slept outside.

So will I. I now understand how it was that old people used curious expressions like "an hotel" (with a silent h) and "five and twenty past" - even half past and quarter to are dying now - replaced by 30 and 45. I am the dinosaur now, because there are some things I just won't adopt or dumb down into.

It's not just words, it's sentence construction, expressions, pronunciation and severely limited vocabulary. I reckon we are losing hundreds of words and sayings every year. I saw a UK court drama in which a barrister shouted "objection" - that doesn't happen here, but the writers were either unfamiliar because they have watched so many US dramas - or they knew but were trying to appeal to a US audience. In the film, sorry movie, Soul Boy, set in Stoke on Trent (England as we are now expected to suffix places), there's a scene in the pub in 70s England in which the main character says "Can I get a ...". There is no chance that would have happened at that time - but it is pretty common now. 99% of younger UK contributors on the various social media platforms I frequent call a car windscreen a windshield and the bonnet the hood. The word yield has replaced give way. Growing up, the "the" before the EU, the RAF etc would have had the e sound lengthened to sound "Thee" (I think this is related to some of our roots in Norman French)- but now there is no distinction. I hate it but there's nothing to be done - it's happening and can't be stopped. \> that the line got rather blurry lately.  I can imagine this being expressed as "the line has become" in British English - and to me your version looks much more in the US mould.

It really did - especially as the table I was at had a view of a large tank.

Never heard of it. The Fish and Chips at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium in CA were nice though.

In my experience people from London and SE England expect you to know about their tiny part of London/Se and keep referring to places as if I should know where they are, despite having zero awareness of anywhere outside. There are certainly some who consider anywhere outside London as pointless, too. It's not everyone, but it might be why people are reluctant to be drawn into it. I am not one of those people who thinks London is some crime-ridden hellhole, but it's not somewhere I'd choose to live (even I could afford it which I can't) because it is simply too crowded for my liking. That doesn't make Londoners bad or wrong, but nor does it make me bad or wrong.

Bumped into Joanna Lumley - (a long time ago - must be 20 years) as she was coming into a shop I was leaving on Tottenham Court road - she must've seen the look of recognition on my face as she gave me a paddington hard stare which I think meant "don't you dare say a thing" so I didn't.

Never heard of it

In the context of this thread I think the OP meant manual transmission, which yours obviously isn't.

And it's Kerb in the UK

Excessively complex and we don't use cups as a measurement here.

I may be a bit biased as I live 10 mins from Stonehenge and see it from the road most weeks - but I'd miss it out altogether if I were you. In fact, you can get a free view of the stones just driving past - likely a good one too as you'll be stuck in a traffic jam - but only if you're heading to Bath anyway.

I wear hats for protection - from sun in summer and cold in winter - mostly not needed.

\>Football was a posh boys game in private schools back in the day. Is this true?

Terrifying

Pretty much everything

Yes

I am old enough to have both a/f and metric spanners/sockets. When I started working on my own cars (a long time ago) most were Imperial. Fun fact - arch Europeans like Airbus still use Imperial fasteners in some cases because US customers demand it

As is my 1968

Torch - it's all about context. We can even understand the difference between a buoy and a boy without having to pronounce them differently. Although anyone under 30 probably says flashlight anyway.

Not only is it widely understood and used here; a lot of ignorant Brits seem to think it applies here, along with a plethora of other stuff they have seen on TV/movies (films), like license plates, windshields, probably cause, felonies Vs misdemeanors etc etc etc

I was very much alive during her reign and I despised her at the time, still do. Remember even at the height of her victories, most people who voted voted for someone else.

I am definitely too stupid - been learning and speaking French off and on for 40 years but I am still not fluent

True

She was initially elected as a change candidate after years of post-war consensus on a range of issues. She quickly became the least popular leader in history but then the Falklands happened and she swept to victory (albeit on only 42% of the total vote). By the final time, she'd bribed a lot of people by selling them get rich quick shares in things they had already paid for, like council houses and nationalised industries and shifted the tax burden decisively onto poorer people, all of which made her oddly popular.

I promised myself I wouldn't bother to reply to this year's survey as it's pointless, but I couldn't help myself.

\^This when I responded to our annual employee survey saying I'd been ghosted on a couple of internal jobs I applied for, my manager's manager posted a highly defensive response claiming that wouldn't happen and there must have been some misunderstanding leading to me "feeling ghosted". No, I applied, for an internal vacancy and was utterly ignored, that's what ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

Every time I've tried they just gaslight me and act like I am a weirdo for daring to say owt.

Age not relevant - I am 62 and don't/wouldn't do this.

Normal for me when I was planning on buying a used Jag from a Jag dealer and my wife wanted to spend her inhertance on a brand new Mercedes. Everywhere treated us like dirt. I didn't buy the Jag but my wife was so desparate to buy the Merc she let them treat her like shit. That's why they don't improve I imagine.

Some bloke posted a still picture of some dog wee on his car bumper threatening to post the whole thing if the "culprit" didn't make some unspecified restitution. Hilarity ensued (I know a dog shouldn't ideally pee on your car but his reaction was way over the top as if posting the video was going to get the owner a life sentence).

After being made redundant at age 30. Since then all work can fuck off.

It would be costly in the UK - look at all of our government projects and services.

How much will this "not missing out" cost me?

Not everywhere - and in case, that's their choice, not proof it's needed here.

I don't see the point - what are they for? And I am opposed because sorting anything out that goes wrong (mistakes, problems) with ANY government body (DVLA, HMRC etc) can be absolute hell. As the Horizon scandal proved, lots of people believe government agencies are never wrong, even when they are. As my information is already widely available, why do I need another costly form of ID? Anyone saying it wouldn't be costly hasn't spent any time in the UK.

Miss out London altogether, job done.

100% - company is concentrating on AI as something we can sell to customers but we could get real gains using it internally.

Passion is a ridiculous word for anything connected with having to work for a living.

Same

Stobo Castle, Scotland.

Ha ha I gave it up after Clarkson ruined it by turning it into a show for (aging) lads mucking about and removed all the car content except driving the latest BMW sideways round a track shout whoooaaaa.

Xenix !