Is it me!

I know that I am a stick in the mud at the best of times. Metric is the official system for most regulated trading by weight or measure purposes, the pint is a permitted unit for milk in returnable bottles and for draught beer and cider in British pubs. Also miles, yards and feet remain the official units for road signs, but not road design. For years after decimalisation, I would on a point-of-principal convert the new money into old money just to understand the notional value. After enough time had gone by and as the worth of the pound plummeted to just above a packet of spangles. I grudgingly and gradually converted over. Now enough time has gone by that I have to stop and think about the old currency, The farthing, ha'penny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, two bob, florin, half a crown, crown, ten bob note, and the pound note. Not forgetting the Sovereign and the white fiver that I once got for Christmas!

Why do the powers that be - not leave things alone. I was quite happy going along with the old coinage. It was specific and distinct and you had to be British to understand it. In fact, you have to be British to understand why we need that uniqueness and to be different.

The system of weights and measures in use in England had been developed over a period of more than a thousand years and was another different, unique and defining part of British culture. One that was notable for uniting the English-speaking nations. Then is was another sacrilegious and scurrilous change. Having to give up pounds and ounces and start thinking about kilos and grammes. Imperial weights and measures or English weights and measures are what I was comfortable with. For years I knew what a pound of apples looked and felt like. But we had tons, for the big stuff which was 20 hundredweight which in turn was 112 pounds. Not only that but a half hundredweight was 56 pounds. Then there were stones just to confuse things a bit more. The avoirdupois pound as its name implies, it was intended to be used for weighing heavy goods is split into 16 ounces. Each ounce is divided into 16 drams all this is much more fun than metric-kery is ever going to be!

Why do the powers that be - not leave things alone. I was quite happy going along with the old system of weights and measures  It was specific and distinct and you had to be British to understand it. In fact, you have to be British to understand why we need that uniqueness and to be different.

Then there was the change away from the comfortable gallons and pints. Did you know that there were four gills in a pint That two pints was equal to a quart. That four quarts was equal to one gallon. Beer came in pints and half's which was quite good as the glasses it was served in by lucky coincidence just happened to be the same size. Now we have litres. "I'll have a litre of you finest landlord" does not have the same ring to it. Litre is fine when talking about engine capacity, but even a bottle of wine is 75cl, what sort of size is that!

Why do the powers that be - not leave things alone. I was quite happy going along with the old system of pints and gallons.  It was specific and distinct and you had to be British to understand it. In fact, you have to be British to understand why we need that uniqueness and to be different.

Then they started on measurements, distances were for donkeys years, measured in inches feet, yards and miles. Measurements which were mixed in with perch, chains, furlongs and even leagues. A cricket pitch is twenty two yards which is the same as a chain. A foot is about the size of your foot. Three feet are a yard about the length of a stride.  Six feet is a fathom and we race horses over furlongs which is the same as ten chains. There were eight furlongs in a statute mile and 6080 feet are the equivalent of a nautical mile. Which we use for boats and aircraft. I remember asking a modern engineering apprentice "how many 'thou' there were in an inch" - he answered "Dunno, mate - must be millions of them."

Why do the powers that be - not leave things alone. I was quite happy going along with the old system of feet and inches.  It was specific and distinct and you had to be British to understand it. In fact, you have to be British to understand why we need that uniqueness and to be different.

I don't know about you but, I was happier setting my car tyres in pounds per square inch. But now its measured in bars. Bars as far as I am concerned are for purveying pints and gills. But I will tell you one thing,  I am against retaining the second as the basic unit of time. If we changed the way we measure time we could have a three day week. and an eight day weekend. How about,  a fourteen month year. 

Why do the powers that be leave things like, measuring time alone. I would be quite happy going along with the a three day week. And an eight day weekend.  You have to be British to understand it. In fact, you have to be British to understand why we need that uniqueness and to be different.

Later...