How very English!

I thought that I'd expand a little on some of the points I've previously highlighted in earlier blogs....particularly things that to me are very.....'English'!

Firstly, our obsession with sandwiches....it's a buffet food for all occasions...really!

- Christenings

- Weddings

- Funerals

- Birthday parties

- Working lunch

- Business meeting lunch

- School lunch

- Picnics

And never, ever forget to accompany them with crisps. A sandwich without a side order of crisps is like bread without butter!!!

Secondly, words and expressions like...

- 'Alright love'. ....Said as a question, meaning 'Are you having a good day'?

- 'Cheers'.......to say thanks...no alcohol required

- 'Love'.......just added sometimes after 'thanks'. You don't have to know the person

- 'I reckon'.........I think

- 'Lovely'.........everything and anything can be this

-'Mate'..........added after 'cheers',........when a man says thanks to another man. A 'mate' is normally friend, although in this context it could also be a stranger?!

And lastly, units of measurement.

In England it's a crazy mess of metric and imperial systems. By law, goods should be sold in kilos and grams, but we still use 'stones', 'pounds' and 'ounces'. 16 ounces to 1 pound, 14 pounds to 1 stone. 1 stone equals 6.35kg. We still weigh ourselves in pounds/stones. A newborn baby is weighed in pounds. We still measure our height in feet and inches. 12 inches to 1 foot. 1 metre is 3.2 feet. CONFUSED??!! I honestly didn't know my height in cm until I moved to Poland!!

So there you have it.......Another little insight into British culture! Until next time.......

#nativespeaker, #englishwords, #culture