I've heard the habit of ending a sentence as though it's a question described as "Declarative statement made with rising intonation" or "upspeak" or "uptalking". <BR> <BR>It's particularly endemic in meetings I attend - where no one will actually take a position - such that people actually say "I think we should do this" as though it's a question! Arrgghhh! <BR> <BR>

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Now I feel bad. I have often said things like, don't they have these museum headphones in American, or something else silly to make those stern-faced curators smile (it seems to work). Were y'all taking me seriously?

here we go again, different nationalities.... <BR>i am (yeah an aussie)tour guide and have worked with international tourists for over 10 years. <BR> <BR>every country has its differences. i know that you can't or shouldn't classify nationalities by a couple of people, but when you have them every day, they have nearly always similar traits. <BR> <BR>the yanks, the poms .. are very different people with very different attitudes and outlooks. not to mention us aussies. yeah we are different again. <BR> <BR>without beeing there, i agree with the post who said that she was pulling your leg!!! i also have many situations where we intentially "take the piss" out of both americans and poms alike. naturally due to the different sense of humour of the nationalities, the type of joke needs to be different, but it works. <BR> <BR>our jobs were never boring ! <BR> <BR>nudge

<BR>"The British keep nothing to themselves. <BR> Except their love." <BR> <BR> Dame Agatha Christie <BR>

<BR>Hate to disagree with the Dame, but RUBBISH! <BR> <BR>I've been married to an Englishwoman who's put up with me for 21 years, and I have lived in England for over 14 years now. The southern English keep _everything_ to themselves, and the northern British are _too_ outspoken for their own good, but niether of them withholds their love. <BR> <BR>They don't always show it in the same way we "Yanks" do, but they are some of the most polite, courteous, kind, thoughtful and generous people on the planet. They may not be outwardly affectionate, but you wouldn't believe how much they donate to overseas disasters and other charities! <BR> <BR>The worst thing about the Brits is -- they don't know what they've got! They decry and whine about their great country far too much, and see far too few of it's unique good points. <BR> <BR>(Maybe it's a _good_ thing -- keeps them from getting a swelled head!) <BR> <BR>Off the top of my head I could list a dozen ways in which the UK is a better place to live than any "New World" country, including my own beloved U.S., but I bet most Brits couldn't list three! <BR> <BR>

Okay, Ray, now you've got me curious...will you list the dozen or so ways that you think make the U.K. a better place to live? <BR> <BR>I love that country and I have a few ideas of my own, but would love to hear from an American who has been living there for so long...........

1. No guns. They still have the only unarmed police force in the world. You can still walk around most of London at any hour and not feel threatened. <BR> <BR>2. Unrivaled variety of landscapes, geology, regional architecture, accents and local cuisines within a small space. <BR> <BR>3. The National Health Service - which is still very good, in spite of the current bad press it's getting. (I had surgery here in April, so I know. I hate to _think_ what it would have cost back home!) <BR> <BR>4. You're never more than a couple hours' drive from the coast. <BR> <BR>5. The price of food. We were back in the midwest last Sring. My wife did some comparison pricing and found that groceries here cost half what the same stuff costs in the midwest -- which I'm sure is cheaper than on the two coasts. nd there is more choice here -- quite a bit more. You should see what we get from Europe and the Middle East! And the bread!! Don't get me started. <BR> <BR>6. Curry houses. They're all over the place here. And they're good! <BR> <BR>7. British beer, ale, and bitter. <BR> <BR>8. If you ever get bored with Britain, you're just a short drive/flight from Contitnental Europe or Scandinavia, and not far from Eastern Europe or the Med, either. <BR> <BR>9. No blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes or hurricanes. And no mosquitoes. <BR> <BR>10. Putting our kids through college costs 10% of what we'd pay in the States. (And at the end of it they'll actually be able to read and write!) <BR> <BR>11. History. It's all around you. In this country, if something is 100 years old, it's just getting broken in! You can visit something 6,000 years old in the morning (e.g. Stonehenge), something 2,000 years old in the afternoon (e.g. Old Sarum), and still do a gothic Cathedral (e.g. Salisbury's) - before supper. <BR> <BR>12. Hundreds of beautiful manor houses to view, cheap or free, with gardens to throw a frisbee around in and have picnics in. <BR> <BR>I wonder how many of these I could come up with. I'm sure I could do another dozen pretty effortlessly. I haven't even started on the London stuff yet! <BR>

Thanks, Ray, you are so right with your list, I think it would be just wonderful to live there. But I have friends who have always lived there, and the only thing I think they would take exception to is the health system. She says you can't see a doctor and have a procedure done when you want, you have to get in line. She specifically mentions breast biopsies. She feels that if you get a lump, you will probably die before your turn to have an operation comes up. They live just north of London..in Sawbridgeworth. <BR>Would love to hear more about what is so wonderful about living in the U.K. from you. By the way, which area do you live in? I bet you are a wonderful guide when your American friends and family visit!

<BR>…and such a legacy from generations of gifted colonial administrators… <BR> <BR>India and Pakistan, Nigeria and Biafra, Palestine, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Fiji, Egypt and the Sudan, Burma, South Africa… <BR>

Hi Laura, <BR> <BR>I live in SW suburban ("Greater") London. <BR> <BR>The health service varies a lot from region to region and is far from perfect, but it's better than none, and you can go to private MDs fairly reasonably and you can get good health insurance here without having to remortgage your house. <BR> <BR>Raj - It could have been worse. Those countries could have been colonized by the _French!_ Just think what you were _saved_ from! <BR> <BR>And the British imperial legacy did include cricket, remember! <BR> <BR>

Ray...#6 on your list is a rave about curry in England and it brings back memories to me of the first time my husband ever had curry. It was in England in some coastal town in a very nice hotel's restaurant. He had no idea what it would be like, but he was willing to take the waiter's recommendation. When the food came, it looked so delicious to him and he was so hungry that he ate it way too fast. Man, you'd think he was on fire the way he acted. No amount of cold drinks could cool him off! But you know what? He loved it...said it was one of the best meals he had ever had. So I am still looking for a good curry recipe to match that one. lol

Laura, <BR>do a search for Kavey's mother's recipes on this site. They all look terrific. someone may have the web site address, please help! <BR>Next week when I don't have to work I'm geting ready to do a few.

Many years ago, 4 of us drove up from Germany to The Netherlands for the tulip festival. While there we visited Amsterdam as our friends had never been there. We took a canal tour and were standing in the open rear of the boat two English couples. The seemed to be upper or upper middle class from their dress and demeanor. As our tour guide pointed out the Anne Frank house on of the English women asked the other in her best British "I say, who was Anne Frank". the Other woman answered "I'm not quite sure but I think she wrote a best seller or something".

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Ray, <BR> <BR>OK, that does it. I am moving to the UK. <BR> <BR>wait, I said that about Paris last week. <BR> <BR>maybe I'll try to live in both places? <BR> <BR>Beth, bored at work. (when the cat is away...)

<BR> <BR>&gt;you'd think he was on fire the way he acted. <BR>&gt;No amount of cold drinks could cool him off! <BR> <BR>No, cold drinks don't work. Bread does, though. If you order a hot curry (e.g. anything with "jalfrezi" or "vindaloo" in the name), be sure you order some naan bread, too. The _plain_ naan, rather than the "keema" nann, works best. Rice helps, too. But not water or lager. <BR> <BR>If you want to try some curry with lots of flavor but not much heat, go for something with "tikka massala," "korma," or "pasanda" in the name. <BR> <BR>Yum, yum! <BR>

Actually, bext thing to cool off your mouth after eating chilli, such as curry, is milk or yoghurt. <BR> <BR>This is why so many foods which are traditionally spicy are often served with a yoghurt accompaniment. <BR> <BR>In India it is called Raita, and is basically cucumber diced or julienned or whatever, in cold yoghurt. The same dish is called Tzatziki in Greece, and is also available in most middle eastern countries... <BR> <BR>Cold dairy products close off your taste buds a little, water just opens them right up, making the burning worse as soon as you stop drinking... <BR> <BR>Jody, thanks so much for mentioning my mum's site so positively... we have been very touched by the response, which has pretty much been from Fodors readers/ word of mouth so far (as it isnt yet registered with search engines). <BR> <BR>I would be so pleased if you would sign into our Visitors Book next time you visit the site, which we want to use to get a feel for our visitors... and just as a nice thing for us to read... <BR> <BR>It's www.mamtaskitchen.com <BR> <BR>It really is funny how these days, so many Brits will actually quote curry as the national dish when asked.... <BR> <BR>Its a shame that a small minority can have that same opinion and yet still be so racist towards the "curry makers" but generally I take it as a positive sign that the country is slowly moving forward in its multicultural aspect, and in societies acceptance and even embracing of that...

<BR> <BR>&gt;Actually, bext thing to cool off your mouth after eating chilli, such as &gt;curry, is milk or yoghurt. <BR> <BR>That may work for many people, but bread works best for me. <BR> <BR>Besides, I _hate_ yogurt (British spelling). Yech! <BR>

Found these quotes and thought you might appreciate them: <BR> <BR>A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity. <BR>--Robert Frost <BR> <BR>An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one. <BR>--George Mikes <BR> <BR>Coffee in England is just toasted milk. <BR>--Christopher Fry <BR> <BR>Kavey