Reintroducing Imperial measures…..

I get so mad when I read how important the young are! When I was very young we just got on with life. We lived through a devastating war and all the hardship after that. So we can enjoy imperial measures again which i welcome. All you much younger women can think Metric and I don't mind but for goodness sake stop moaning over trivia. Its anything to criticise the Tory govtamong most of you. Well think again as Labour will be a long time in opposition according to most political commentators.

Urmstongran

“The iconic Crown Stamp proudly adorned British pint glasses for more than 300 years and was a guarantee that the pint or half pint glass you were handed was genuine.

It was introduced in 1699 in the reign of King William III to stop unscrupulous publicans ripping off their punters by serving drinks in smaller glasses.“

Ah that would be after the Dutch were asked to invade by the English then.

Tizliz

It is impossible to go completely metric. Our engineering workshop is stock with imperial tools which will not wear out for many years and tooling imported from USA is imperial. It is getting harder to buy things like screws in imperial and I spent a frustrating time looking for a particular size just this week - but that is how the product was designed (found screws on e-bay, bit expensive though).

And yet we build nuclear submarines under the SI system.

Must admit I'm surprised you are still able to get hold of imperial standard tools - would that include BSW, BSF, BA, or is it in order to deal with the USA in AF sizes?

Yammy

The Americans have never given up Imperial measures fully and can they be said to be backward thinking? All their scientific papers are written in Imperial and having relations there they talk in cups never mind ounces or grams.
We still use miles and drive on the opposite side of the road to most countries, so have we fully embraced metric and what's wrong with a mix?

Yes, Yammy, I do think that in this matter the Americans are backward thinking.

There is nothing wrong with a mix IMO, but one system is historical and one is more logical, and we should be able to use either or both. The idea that one system waves the Union flag and the other is a foreign imposition is just silly.

I guess one of the real problems with the UK not fully committing to the metric system is everyday life.

My generation were taught the intricacies of the "Imperial" system, and the complex calculations needed to determine the weight of water in a cylinder, and the relationship between work and force in foot-lbs and poundals, and BTUs.

Then in secondary school we were introduced to the CGS and MKS systems - the SI system was adopted in many large industries, and especially in science from around the mid 1960s. I worked for over 20 years in laboratories in various industries and from around 1969 onwards never used anything but metric measurements.

I suspect the reason that people still think in terms of pounds, ounces, gallons, yards, rods, poles, perches and stones, amongst many others - has been the lack of education from political circles.

Someone else - more than one - has already commented about the "special relationship" with the USA, and its obsession with Imperial ,measures - they actually still use BTUs in thermodynamic calculations, and have even corrupted the standard imperial pint/gallon and fluid ounce.

The metric, or SI system is simple and very, very effective - the UK still has a long way to go to catch up in public.

But reverting to Imperial concoctions will never happen - it is too costly, and just a jingoistic flag waving exercise - surely??

My overall thoughts on this - it's smoke and mirrors / sleight of hand by the Johnson cabal, so he can continue to get us all exercised over the trivial as we forget about the 1,000s of people who have died due to his Government's incompetence.

No I wouldn't think so. Several generations have grown up learning the metric system and personally I find it much easier. They may just allow some traders to use Imperial measures as was suggested above.

Well, we still mostly buy eggs in dozens, although there are a few in tens.

vegansrock

Wel obviously this is the most important issue facing the country.Forget climate change, food prices, housing, pollution,………….

Relax, it's just a discussion.

I use and think in a mix of metric and imperial.
I measure fabric and wood etc in metric.
But babies weights & lengths, recipes, liquids, weights and distances in imperial. I still ask for a pint in the pub, a pound of sausages, a quarter of sweets etc. I have no idea how far a kilometer is, our car shows distance in miles. I know how tall I am in feet and inches and what I weigh in stones.

I hope we're not being coerced into the American measuring system. I find their stupid (and inaccurate) Cup and Stick measurements in recipes really frustrating, even though I bought two sets of American measuring spoons. They are each different!!

Daffydilly

vegansrock

Wel obviously this is the most important issue facing the country.Forget climate change, food prices, housing, pollution,………….

Relax, it's just a discussion.

How patronising.

And lacking in any comprehension of sarcasm, it seems.

Anniel

I get so mad when I read how important the young are! When I was very young we just got on with life. We lived through a devastating war and all the hardship after that. So we can enjoy imperial measures again which i welcome. All you much younger women can think Metric and I don't mind but for goodness sake stop moaning over trivia. Its anything to criticise the Tory govtamong most of you. Well think again as Labour will be a long time in opposition according to most political commentators.

What the heck has Labour got to do with Imperial measurements?

PS. I must be one of the "much younger women". I didn't live through the war, although I fail to see what that's got to do with Imperial measurements either.

Fashionista1

No I wouldn't think so. Several generations have grown up learning the metric system and personally I find it much easier. They may just allow some traders to use Imperial measures as was suggested above.

Officially allowing traders to use imperial measures is nowhere near as simple as people seem to think it is. It adds a whole new layer of administration/bureaucracy to ensuring that the laws regarding weights and measures are properly observed and it lays consumers open to being ripped off by rogue traders.

Someone earlier said, in effect, why should we care about the younger generations? Well, why should we care about a few selfish oldies who can't accept that things have changed and have moved on?

And considering that the 1950s/60s generation is the most pampered generation in the history of the British Isles, and that they have pulled the rug out from under the feet of subsequent generations by voting to make them pay for what we got free of charge, and Brexit, I think that the belief that we shouldn't consider the young is appalling.

Just to point out to those who think I am suffering from paranoia simply for mentioning the term United States of Europe, a United States Of Europe by 2025 was proposed by Martin Shultz when head of the SDP in Germany in 2017.

www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/07/martin-schulz-united-states-of-europe-germany-sdp

The concept was thought of sufficient interest for You Gov to organise a poll which showed 30% of Germans and 28% of French agreed with less than 15% agreeing in other countries.

Like it or not, the proposal has been raised. I suppose 'ever closer union', is a more acceptable term which may or may not amount to the same thing. The EU is even now examining its navel and working out a framework for the future by 2022. Allegedly, even it doesn't know what path it will take.

Normally, when faced with a view opposed to one's own, I would expect critics to point out factual errors or logical flaws rather than question the author's mental health. Sadly, not on GN.

sigh

Others, however, were sharply critical of Schulz’s vision. Alexander Dobrindt, a top lawmaker for the Christian Social Union, called the SPD leader a “Europe radical.”

“Someone who wants to create the United States of Europe by 2025, who wants to dissolve nation states in the next seven years, and who wants to throw anyone who doesn’t submit to this dictate out of the EU, must be called a Europe radical,” Dobrindt said.

I believe Shultz said this just after the SDP's worst defeat since the war. So hardly resounding backing from anyone at all, really.

All sorts of party leaders can make all sorts of suggestions. Doesn't mean they are anybody's policies.

As for the EU working out a framework for 2022 - well I hope they would, that's planning, isn't it?

I grew up using imperial units - I still work things out in miles, feet, inches, pounds, ounces; it’s just the way I was taught. There’s no denying, however, that the 10x table is a lot simpler than 12x, 14x, 16x, etc!

I am at 73 nearly all metric. The only bit Istruggle with is cm, mm and knitting needles!! The young have been brought up to think metric so why change it, after all we are a dying breed

I still can't believe we caved so easily! Imagine USA going metric because Canada says so?! Yeah right...... We should have said thanks but no thanks ? now we have no option and that's ok too.younger gens use metric so it stays!

I always convert metric measurements back to imperial measurements so I’ll be more than happy if we formally revert.
I had to do my very first online grocery shop 12 yrs ago following surgery and didn’t give it a though about the use of metric rather than imperial measurements. Needless to say the amount of fruit and vegetables delivered was far exceeded what we were able to eat and ended up in the bin. Lesson learned for my next order.

It would be cruel for the young to have to learn the 12, 14, and 16 times tables, like we had to.. How far back do you want to go, 240 pence in one £1. Not forgetting sixpences, florins, half crowns etc.and the there is temperature and liquid measurements. No thank you.
The US measurements are not similar to those in the UK.

Maybe we should go back to each regional railway deciding on their own gauge. Then they can all decide on their own exact times too. We can set it by the local church bells.

Ah, the good old days.

The whole Government is a joke

MaizieD You said:

"And considering that the 1950s/60s generation is the most pampered generation in the history of the British Isles, and that they have pulled the rug out from under the feet of subsequent generations by voting to make them pay for what we got free of charge, and Brexit, I think that the belief that we shouldn't consider the young is appalling."

As one of that generation I am the exact opposite of what you said there - we started with rationing, slum clearance, no inside lavatories, and in some cases no running water. In the country some of our neighbours had to rely on wells, along with septic tanks and dry toilets - even my school!

I believe the metric / SI system is a great advance for the less civilised UK, and took us away from the post colonial/imperialist/empire era. Brexit is doing the greatest harm to the country, the divisive nature of the Tories Referendum on EU membership was only there to placate the right wing of the party and even that was hijacked by the lunatic fringe.

No, of course I didn't vote for Brexit, and yes, I would vote for Corbyn's policies, and that includes raising taxes to ensure that those who have the means support their communities and society at large - just as those of us who started work in the 1950s and 60s did. I want my children and grandchildren to be part of the wider European/EU community, and I want them to have the freedoms we have all had taken away by the Johnson Gang and the Brexiteers.

I think I understand what you are saying - but please don't lump us all together as what you describe as the "pampered generation".

Hill910 you commented:- "I always convert metric measurements back to imperial measurements so I’ll be more than happy if we formally revert."

I assume you will be educating your children and grandchildren on the benefits of imperial measurements?

Different times on the railways was because that was the actual time where they were. Bristol time was behind London time and Exeter time behind that again for example. To avoid confusion it was decided the whole country should be on the same time which is how Greenwich Mean Time was applied everywhere.

The gauge on railway tracks also related to the size of Engine so you ended up with abrunel’s broad gauge, which was actually more stable, being unable to run on standard gauge, so at Gloucester all the freight had to be transferred from one train to another. It was therefore decided to have one uniform gauge which was the smaller standard gauge as one could not be transposed on the other. Unlike metric and imperial so not a very good analogy.