Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with england

Alternatives to Fedex and fax?

ms.codex — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:43:30 -0800

Need to send something to England from the US. Right away. Does this sort of document delivery service exist? I need to get a 25-page Word document to someone in England by Monday (I'm in Philadelphia). He doesn't have access to a printer or fax machine. One option is overnight international mail, but that'll cost a fortune and probably will take at least until Tuesday, since today is Saturday and such things tend to take at least two days. Actually, come to think of it, I don't mind paying a fortune, but it HAS to get there on Monday. Ideally I'd like to email it to someone in England and have them use domestic mail or a courier service to get it to him. So: is there a British service that will be able to open my email, print out my document, and then deliver it within England? And will accept international payment? And has a one-day turnaround time (or works on weekends?)? He's in Kenilworth, England, if it matters.

ISO a pub near (but not in) Heathrow Airport for New Year's Eve

laskagirl — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:22:10 -0800

Am looking for a pub near (but not in) Heathrow Airport (Hayes, England), where a couple can celebrate New Year's Eve. My husband I are arriving at Heathrow at night on Dec. 31. We'll be checking into a hotel very near Heathrow. Would like to proceed from the hotel to a nearby, local pub that will be open until midnight. Any ideas?

I've read other questions and answers about how to get into London from Heathrow. I don't want to get into London on the 31st. I want to find a pub close to Heathrow (but not in the airport, as we'll already have checked into our hotel), where my hubby and I can enjoy a pint and ring in the new year on Dec. 31. Heck, if the place had the telly on and we could watch the New Year's celebration in London to boot, well, that'd be all we could ask for. We'd like to get out on the eve, but I don't want to brave the crowds in London.

Our flight lands around 9 p.m., and we'll probably head out of the hotel in search of a place to wait for 2010 around 10. Ideas?

What do I need to do in Oxford, UK?

justalisteningman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:01:36 -0800

What do I need to do in Oxford, UK? I'm a 19 year old student from the Pacific Northwest who is flying to the upcoming Oxford debate tournament this weekend. I've never been to England, and I want to make sure I see everything I should. Oxford seems like a place that has a lot of hidden secrets that the hive mind could inform me of.

We'll be arriving Thursday morning, and adjusting to jet lag that day. So I'll have Thursday during the day, Friday and Saturday after rounds/dinners end, and all of Sunday. We leave Monday morning.

Also, any extra UK/Oxford specific information that might be valuable (like don't order Irish Car bombs in Irish Pubs) would be appreciated.

What makes this lyric particularly "English"?

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:48:54 -0800

Folk-music-filter: Is there something particularly "English" about the 1-2-3-4 construction I'm hearing in the song Roots by the group Show of Hands? The song is a sort of lament over the fact that English music & traditions are not particularly admired or practiced in favor of more exotic musical fare. That the music that people listen to and dance all night to isn't particularly "English".

And it's done not in a horrible, racist BNP sort of way, but as the lyric reads,
what have they got and we've got wrong?

I really dig the song because it's not saying "Other people's music is shit", or even "Our music is better than other people's". It comes across to me as saying "Our music is worth enjoying and it's been neglected".

And as the song is about "Englishness", the line Seed, plant, flower, fruit, never gonna grow without their roots stuck in my ear.

The first thing I thought of was Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman from "Jack and the Beanstalk". Then I thought parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme

That 1-2-3-4 construction brings the thought of England to mind. Seed, plant, flower, and fruit sounds like something one of Prof. Tolkien's hobbits would have said.

Is what I'm noticing something that is particularly "English"? Any other similar examples?

How should I stay warm this winter?

apricot — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:40:53 -0800

Which is more efficient/economical to run: a baseboard heater or an oil-filled radiator-type space heater? I'm a Californian getting ready for my first winter in Massachusetts. My apartment has electric baseboard heaters. I have never had those before, and I'm worried my bill is going to be HUGE once it gets cold. It doesn't help that whenever I tell someone those are the heaters I have they dramatically wince and hiss through their teeth. Also, one of my neighbors said her bill was several hundred dollars a month last winter. I'm thinking an oil-filled radiator might be sufficient and a lot less expensive to run.

Bonus question: I have two cats, and would love to have a safer heating source to leave on if I'm going to be out for several hours or overnight. A different neighbor, who also has cats, says she leaves her heaters on when she's not home, but that seems really unsafe to me. Are baseboard heaters safe, or are the other ones safer?

Here are the details:
My living room is basically one big room with a doorway to the kitchen on one end. The living room and kitchen each have drafty old windows (both of which I have covered with that lovely plastic sheeting stuff, which has already helped a lot). There is a front door and a back door that both open up to unheated stairwells. I bought weatherstripping for the doors but haven't installed it yet. My apartment is on the top/second floor, with apartments below and on either side. The building was built in the 70s. The windows and heaters seem to date from then too.

There is one long baseboard heater underneath the window. It's controlled by a dial thermostat on the opposite wall near the kitchen and front door. I spend most of my time at my desk or on the couch, which are near one end of the heater, in the opposite corner from the thermostat. It seems like I could get a space heater to warm the corner where the cats and I spend the most time, and avoid having the baseboard heater running and heating the whole room. I'm an impoverished grad student, and am worried about having to pay huge chunks of my stipend to WMECO. Would it be less expensive to run the space heater, and would that be enough to keep me and the cats warm?

I used to live in a drafty old house in Portland, where the wind ripped the plastic sheets right off the windows and we kept the thermostat at 60, so I know the drill about bundling up indoors and am generally a hot person anyway, but I have never been through a New England winter and I don't know if my plan is realistic or not. Can anyone with experience chime in?

Vegetarian seeks tasty food in Western Europe

embrangled — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:57:04 -0800

What tasty foods should an adventurous vegetarian eat in the UK and Western Europe? I eat eggs and dairy, but not meat and only rarely fish. I'm not overly uptight about trace animal products or stock. I'll be travelling through England, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. These countries aren't generally known as hotbeds of vegetarianism, but I'd still like to try as many interesting local foods as I can.

A meat-eating friend has been joking that I'll starve - I'm more optimistic, so help me prove him wrong. I'm not worried about what I'll eat, but I'd like to expand my culinary horizons beyond "That one vegan cafe in the hippy district". Which quintessential European meals and snacks just happen to be meat-free?

Phase 1: Use Internet; Phase 2: ?; Phase 3: Hook-up.

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:06:46 -0800

Recommendations and advice sought for hooking up online in the UK. I've been single for a little too long now and being uncomfortable with the bar/club environment I've been trying to organise a hook-up online. Trying and failing, utterly. I could use some advice and recommendations for UK-centric casual encounter websites. I'm male, straight, late twenties, not prohibitively unattractive, but not all that hot either.

One problem is that I'm not comfortable with uploading a facepic to my profiles/ads. Sending one by email, or after exchanging a few messages is fine, but being discovered by a colleague or family-friend on an internet sex site could have serious consequences for me so I do need to exercise a little discretion. I've been using body pics (head obscured or out-of-frame) so far. If this were a dating thing the picture wouldn't be such an issue, but this is a sex thing.

I'm beginning to wonder if the whole idea is a waste of time and I'd love to hear from anyone in the UK who this has actually worked for. I should stress, I'm not looking for a serious relationship. A casual-girlfriend thing could work, but sex is what this is all about. I'd assumed that there must be some reasonably attractive, compatible woman nearby who's looking for the same thing, and that it wouldn't be all that tough to at least meet for a coffee and see how it goes, but maybe my assumed parity of supply and demand is wildly unrealistic. Interested to know your thoughts on this.

Anyway, here's where I'm at:

Tried Plenty of Fish but they only allow photos if you include your face, and their user-base skews moronic.

Tried Craigslist. No bites.

Tried Gumtree (UK's craigslist equivalent). Nothing.

Tried okcupid. Sent a load of messages. Zip.

Tried eharmony. Doesn't seem suited to hook-ups.

Tried (paid for!) Adult Friend Finder. Sent a load of messages. Nothing. This one really surprised me.

I'm interested in specific recommendations, anecdotes, or critiques of my entire position. Go nuts. And thanks, really.

How to be an au pair abroad

grobstein — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:58:49 -0800

I'm thinking about working as a nanny in England for a year or so. I'm a twenty-one-year-old American woman with a few years of experience with kids as a teacher's assistance and tutor. Anybody know a good way I could start looking for a position from the U.S.? (Asking for a friend.)

What is a good book to read about late 60s early 70s England?

AbsoluteDestiny — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:59:19 -0800

What is a good book to read about late 60s early 70s England? Non-fiction preferred but well-researched fiction is fine too. Extra points for anything that also includes:

- growing up in the working class
- the music scene
- the north

I imagine it's the music that all the people from "Are You Being Served" got down to in their off hours

rileyray3000 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:14:48 -0800

When I was in England I was in a bar where I heard a whole night's worth of music that sounded like "Atomic" by Blondie. Is this a genre of some kind? If so, what's it called and where do I get more? When I was in England I was in this bar in Soho where basically every song sounded like Atomic by Blondie. Basically like disco meets cruise ship music with some edge of euro/anglophile vibe throughout.

Maybe this was just one talented DJ but everyone seemed to act like this was a kind of music that's played in bad English clubs. Especially the ones by the seashore in Blackpool and such. But no one elaborated.

Frankly I probably didn't do the best questioning because I was really pretty hammered. I only remembered Atomic this week. And the night in question was three years ago now.

IS this a genre or subgenre? What's it called? Who are the major artists?

Jack the Ripper: A Starting Point?

snap_dragon — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:20:43 -0800

Can anybody recommend a good nonfiction book to read about Jack the Ripper? I am not sure what book is considered to have better scholarship of so many books out there and am not remotely a "Ripperologist" (yet). Like the Zodiac killer, many folks have their own pet theories and the Ripper books are plentiful on Amazon. Any info on where to start to read about ol' Saucy Jack would be appreciated. (Feel free to name more than one title if you want.)_

When is 9 released?

lukeo05 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:26:25 -0800

When is the Tim Burton film 9 released in the UK? I've been looking forward to this film for months and months and months, and as the tag line had always said 9.9.09 I assumed it would be released this coming Wednesday! But I have been looking on the internet and cannot find any information about showings in England. Does anyone know if/when/where it is being released here?

I love listening to people from Northern England

reenum — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:39:30 -0800

Looking for podcasts or radio shows with women talking in Mancunian accents or similar Northern English accents. I love Manchester accents and want to listen to more of them. I used to watch 'Frasier' only to hear Jane Leeves speak, and also loved the accent used by the character Betty Slocombe in 'Are You Being Served'.

Podcasts, audiobooks, or any other aural media I can take with me and listen to are wanted. Thanks a bunch.

Not exactly escargots

lucia__is__dada — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:05:33 -0800

Where can I find live snails in London or not very far away? I'd like to make some snail dishes but it seems practically impossible to buy a nice little bag of live snails around here.

Do you know of any place that sells them? Maybe some local shop in a more ethnic neighborhood that I am overlooking.

Alternatively, where can I get to work and just collect my own from the bushes without getting into trouble for trespassing or with park guards? More importantly, are snails abundant anywhere around London (no more than 1 hr train ride and hopefully with something more to do than snail picking) ?

I found that people in Somerset used to eat them...but that's a bit too far away.

Suggestions for hiking routes in the south of England

mairuzu — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:34:57 -0800

I want to go away for a good day's walking and 1 or 2 night's camping in the south of England next Monday / Tuesday and would like suggestions for any good routes people know. Ideally the route should be circular and have a camp-site and pub at the start / finish and should be within 2 hours drive of London. However any other suggestions also gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance

Miles

Looking for resources on UK/European fútbol.

bamassippi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:58:07 -0800

Looking for resources on UK/European fútbol. Recently began to appreciate the sport of soccer. Looking to learn more about the English Premiere League and Champions league, and UK & European soccer in general.

Looking for resources which cover everything from the basics ("everything you need to know about ___") to daily sources (fan blogs, websites) to more unique and historical (how different clubs/fan are perceived/reputations).

Suggestions for short trip to SW England by train

heh3d — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:29:29 -0800

The wife and I are going to be in England for a week and a half for a wedding, and she's never been to Devon or Cornwall. I'd really like to take her out that way, but we'll probably only end up with three or so free days, and no car. We're going in late Aug to early Sep. Somewhere in there, we're hoping to sneak in a 3ish day long trip over to the South West. We have no firm plans at the moment. We'll be starting our trip from Portsmouth and need somewhere accessible by train - ideally somewhere where the journey doesn't eat half the trip.
We're big fans of the country side, would love a good hike, country pubs, coastal views and so on. We don't need much by way of museums or shopping etc.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Youth hostel in London?

malapropist — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:39:21 -0800

I'm going to London for a week in August. Can you recommend a good hostel for a young traveler type who wants to meet other travelers and have a good time? Just wondering if anyone had a sweet hostel in London for a young traveler that they could recommend unequivocally.

My only hostel experience before was staying at the Green Tortoise in San Francisco, and it was pretty ideal: cheap rooms, a common dining/party area where you could bring beer or liquor in and hang out, talk to other people staying there, even smoke pot as long as you were somewhat discreet. The hostel organized pub crawls down the street on Wednesdays, and even had internet connected computers for everyone to use. I thought it was an ideal place to stay, and I'm looking for something like this in London.

It seems there are a lot of hostels in London, but looking through listings it's hard to tell what kind of a place a certain hostel is, whether it's a straight-laced hotelish type place, or if it's more of a traveler's hostel, and some reviews of places I've seen have depicted certain places as crapholes.

I'm looking to just rent a bed in a dorm room, I've never done that before and want to see what it's like. I was curious, what can I do with my backpack (that'll be my only luggage) if I want to say, go to a pub or something. Any chance a hostel would have lockers or something? Or should I get one at say, a train station? Is there really a secure way to store my backpack for a few hours or maybe a day at the most at a time? I mean, when I'm out seeing the sights and taking pictures and whatnot, I won't mind carrying the backpack, but sometimes I'll want to just leave it behind somewhere. Previously, I'd just leave it in the room I'm staying in, but if I'm just staying on a bed in a communal room, what should I do with it?

Does anyone know of a specific hostel in London that sounds like what I described above, or is just generally a fun place for a 23 year old guy in London by himself for a week? Thanks!

A Country House (Moving to England)

bibliophibianj — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:18:07 -0800

After I graduated from university last year, I moved to England to work as an au pair for a year. My time's up (I go back in a month to start pursuing my Masters), but I feel like I fit in really well over here & would seriously consider moving here after I get my degree. Actually, I'd rather just stay. Unfortunately that's not an option right now. I'd need a job to move here, though! Do you think I could find one? (Relevant details inside.) I'm an American & German citizen (no work permit issues) in my early 20s, and have received my education in the States. I've done pretty well so far, and I'll be starting at a university that's well-recognized in my field (library science-I'd love to work with rare books/special collections, but really just want to work at a university library). With lots of hard work, I'm hoping to do well there, too. It has a practical experience requirement, so I think I'll be able to add some good things to my C.V. by the time I graduate. I already have several years of library experience, though they were part-time posts.

I fully intend to apply for UK jobs after I get my degree. I'm just concerned that my American degree will be looked down on, or that I'll be overlooked because of my nationality. Does anyone know if there is a prejudice against Americans in this field? Will it be absolutely necessary for me to move to the UK without a job lined up so I can have a UK address before I start looking? Is there any chance I could find practical experience in the UK during the summer?

so much for any nightclubbing (that's actually a relief, truth be told)

the bricabrac man — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:40:11 -0800

Traveling to London / Oxford on July 2nd. Tore some ankle ligaments 6 days ago. Looking for advice on the next few days of recovery, and traveling with crutches. Starting July 2nd, we'll be spending 5 days in London & 5 days in Oxford (for a conference my sweetheart is attending).

Unfortunately, 6 days ago I tore some ligaments in my ankle 6 days ago -- the e.r. judged it to be a 3rd degree sprain, which seems to mean "the worst it can be and still not be fractured / broken". The E.R. put a temporary cast on it, which we were told to remove after 2 days (which we did). I'm now using a kind of plastic splint (I think it's called a stirrup). And Motrin.

At this point, the pain is still annoying enough that even getting around with crutches is a bit much, and I'm starting to worry it might still be an issue when it's time to get on that plane. Just standing up -- with my foot completely off the ground -- still causes pain (presumably from the blood flowing to my foot?).

So, I'm looking for two things: what I might expect in the next few days of recovery (anecdotal evidence welcome) -- am I fooling myself that the pain will be much less significant in five days? and, two, any advice anyone might have on traveling around London with crutches, assuming I'll be able to do that much. We are definitely on a budget, the thought of paying for a cab everywhere we go makes me wince almost as much as hobbling to the bathroom.

Some possibly relevant info: traveling from USA, never been to England before, never had to use crutches before (but otherwise in decent shape and completely willing to crutch about as much as possible without doing more damage to myself). No insurance.

Is the London Pass worth getting?

jayder — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:38:51 -0800

Is the London Pass worth the price, for tourists who will be in London for six days? Two of my family members are going to London, and they tell me it's approximately $212 per person for a six-day pass. In addition to full access to the Tube, it covers the access fee to a list of ~50 attractions (and you get to bypass the lines at those attractions). The main attractions they are interested in are St Paul's, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Globe Theater, and Kew Gardens. They don't know whether they will visit enough attractions, or use the Tube enough to make it worthwhile --- the Tube is £4.00 for a single fare.

Do any of you have any advice, from your own experience, for whether the London Pass is worth getting? Any thoughts?

Scared of going to prison due to tax payments. Need advice...

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:11:31 -0800

Scared of going to prison due to tax payments. Need advice... Please note:
*I was based in the UK.

*I know my spelling and grammar is terrible, I have learning difficulties.

* I now live in a EU country

I recently ran a company for 2 years, 1st year went very well and paid all the taxe for the company, myself and the staff contributions. 2nd year I was hit hard due to rates rising and customers going bankrupt. Which left me in no position to lay-off all the staff and leave the company premises. I tried to keep the company running but was failing to keep up with loan repayments and tax. I barely had enough to survive to pay the bills. I notified companies house that I will no longer be trading in the UK. They asked to write them a letter and I managed to get my accountant to sort out. However taxes was owed to the tax man in which I cannot close the company. There is no chance of getting out of it without declaring myself bankrupt. Which in my proffession means I cannot become a professional in that field anymore. I cannot risk this.

So I decided to move abroad to a country in Europe to start fresh. I left all my personal debt behind for personal loans which started up the company in the first place. My old company will becoming struck-off soon as lack of communication. I have been living abroad for about 8 months, starting up from scratch. Same again, finding it hard to pay bills but without owing anyone where I live. (I will no longer loan money). However I recieved a letter from one of the banks that I owe £800 too, I had not left any information of my wareabouts. They have thretened to take my belongings (Which I don't have any, apart from clothes and work computer). I'm baffled on how they found my address.

I owe approx: £30,000 spread out between banks, loans and credit cards. I leave no bad debt for my company apart from the 2nd year tax in which I lost everything.

I owe approx £3,000 in tax. I had to pay my old staff by selling equipment in the office. Nothing left on the old company is left.

My question is:

* Can the money I owe in the UK get shifted to my countries debt handlers? and risk bailiffs at my door?

* My debt: I have been told if I leave the UK for more than 5 years. The money owed will be cleared. However I have to stay annonoymous in my new address. Is this true?

* I know my company is being struck off in the UK, but the tax I owe. Can I risk getting jailtime for this?

* If I visit family in the UK could I be arrested?

* If I become a registered resident of the new EU country. Could I be tracked by other owed banks in the UK?

Bankrupsy isnt an option :(

I'm having sleepless nights over this and feel like its the end of the road.

I really appriciate any serious response, I know I'm bad for owing money to the banks. But that money was personal to setting up the company in the 1st place.

Where does Sally sell sea shells by the sea shore?

cooker girl — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:46:14 -0800

Send us on a mid-week seaside break in England! "Us" being me and my two kids, ages 12 and 9 (boy and girl respectively). We're in London for the summer (until August 16) but my husband had to go back to the States this week, leaving us all alone. He is, literally, allergic to the sun so I thought I'd use this week for a short (two or three days, tops) seaside trip for the kids. Where would you send us that's family-friendly, not run-down, and has stuff to do besides splashing about in the ocean? We don't have a car but I do know how to book a train journey.

p.s. My daughter thinks she'll be able to actually swim in the ocean. She's crazy, isn't she? It's quite cold, right? We'll still go, I'd just like to get an idea of how likely it is that they'll be in the ocean.

She put on her jumper, drove to my flat, and is now happily wrapped

raztaj — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:18:54 -0800

Wrapped up in British English filter, with Earlier today, a lovely British lady and her daughter picked up a piece of furniture that I listed on Craigslist. She just sent me a follow-up thank you e-mail (never had that before, which was nice!) and said:

"Thank you very much for the CD holder, am wrapped!"

What does "wrapped" in this context mean? I assume it is positive, since it is preceded by a "thank you" and followed by a ":o)" but am wholly perplexed on what is meant by "wrapped."

Can any MeFi Brits or British English experts provide any thoughts on this?

Welcome to the Land of Opportunity! ...Or, at least, the Land of Hotdogs.

Ms. Saint — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:56:12 -0800

My British step-father has just become a US citizen. Given this, what would be a good way for us to celebrate the 4th of July? I usually live about a 1000 miles away, but I'm already planning to come home for the 4th of July. And given that it is the holiday about US/British relations, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate his coming over to the rebel's side of things. I want an all-out American extravaganza.

Now, of course, we'll have to celebrate with a feast of hotdogs and apple pie.... But, beyond that, we're all kind of blanking about what quintessentially American stuff we can add into a day's activities. Fireworks are illegal where he lives, so nothing too explosive can be involved.

Have any suggestions? I'm willing to consider anything from the painfully sincere to outright kitschy. Anything that specifically plays on the differences between British culture and American culture is especially appreciated.