not alot if she can twist him around her little finger - and they will live ever and ever and ever happily

I'm not quite sure I buy this 'English class' thingy. Every country has its class system. It's just that ours is a bit more up front. I'm sure you'd differentiate between someone living in Pacific Heights and the inhabitants of a trailer home in South Carolina.

As an aside I went to a grammar school which is reputed to be the second oldest school in England

One might be able to draw wealth distinction between the people living in the areas you mention, but I wouldn't draw a distinction with regard to their "inalienable rights" or their human potential (or economic potential for that matter). I had an interesting discussion with a respected TV member once by PM. Unfortunately TV didn't save my messages. Here's what he had to say on this topic and it confirmed my own observations:

So what you're saying is that the American class system is predicated around wealth rather than birth. It's still a class system. We don't have 'inalienable rights' in England as we don't have a written constitution but we are all (regardless of our class) equal before the law.

Is Hiram from Missoula ever likely to be able to marry a Boston Brahmin?

What's the difference between a fuc_king peasant and trailer trash?

No, I didn't say that at all. It's not a class system to note if someone is rich or poor, it just is. That that condition should describe your opportunities and potential (and worse, what YOU YOURSELF believe is possible) is what makes a class system. BTW. I would guess that over 90% of Americans wouldn't even know what a Boston Brahmin is.

What's the difference between a fuc_king peasant and trailer trash?

Funny you should ask as I used to own a couple of mobile home parks many years ago. One a park for seniors, another for families. One full of widows mostly. Lovely people, so generous to their landlord I felt guilty collecting rent. Fortunately most was paid by the state. The other full of young families saving to buy homes in the future or wives living near their husbands at the local army base. I think the difference or the sameness in the question you ask is, some people would be comfortable using either of those terms and most people would be more comfortable using neither.

Btw..I was born in Scotland, so feel free to take a shot at me also..!

well, americans may talk funny but at least american kids don't put oatmeal on their acne like they do in scotland...

( )

..mods you can close this if you like. In my naivety i thought that it would be a lighthearted, comical, and tongue in cheek thread. Apologies if my initial OP offended anyone.

oops...

^ silly tutsi! Im not talking about the oatmeal

He asked me about the oatmeal comment, eek, and my response was, oatmeal? really?

As for the rest, well. Most people seem to have difficulty being lighthearted when making fun of others and just as equally being lighthearted when receiving it. I've found that those who like to "take the piss" generally aren't so good at receiving as they are at giving

In defence of my ancestors (who make horrible food), oatmeal is one of the best things for your skin. Unfortunately it sits on your waistline too.

^yeah, gotta admit that there ain't a lot to be said for haggis (oatmeal again). However my former MiL who was irish but lived most of her life in Glasgow really knew her way around the butcher's shop on the Shettleston Rd and would whip up some of the best 'traditional' meals I've had in that part of the world...

I quite like oatmeal products...but i retch at porridge.

I must admit to giving haggis a try while in Scotland. Apparently Mr Boo quite likes it but I found the mushy texture of the filling to be well, a bit off-putting. Taste was ok but texture is important.

Admire you for even trying (great that Mr Boo gave it a try haha!). I think Haggis is pretty horrible to be honest.

One funny(ish) story I have about haggis is one my father told me. My aunt was a young woman working in London and brought her London friend up to visit Scotland. Her friend hadnt been out of London before. My father took them out for a drive along the braes and told my aunts friend to keep a look out for any haggis's. She was wide-eyed and asked what does it look like. My father said it was easy, it looks like a big hairy cow, but its legs on one side are longer than the other, so it can run around mountains faster. Apparently she fell for it!

I quite like oatmeal products...but i retch at porridge.

Porridge and honey! Yum!

Can't say I am a big fan of porridge either (oatmeal to Americans) --reminds me a bit of wallpaper paste

Porridge for breakfast simply rocks, then I did have a Glasweigan Grandfather.

Oatmeal's not bad but pablum would be more cliche I think.

I had to google "pablum". Im constantly learning that i know very little. Rusks..now rusks i know..rusks are delicious!

I must admit one thing tho, I did find the Yorkshire pudding with savory mince beef to be quite delicious. bread! meat! gravy! all in one package. Who could ask for more?

(sorry for the blurry pic, i took it with my phone)

Derby

RIP

While Watford Boys goes on for ever.

When I did my BIG OE in the UK, I enjoyed a drink called......

Instant Postum.

Is it still around?

No sign of it in UK food supply shops in NZ

I know it is a yankee coffee substitute, but not seen it elsewhere.

Good drink too.

I quite like oatmeal products...but i retch at porridge.

Being English, my childhood was spent eating porridge smothered in milk.

Then I went into my National Service and spent a year at RAF Leuchars (we had St Andrews Golf Course within walking distance) on a helicopter ASR unit.

There we were served porridge with salt.

I hated the former, loved the latter. But maybe that was because we had a dawn-to-dusk standby routine - in summer from 1.00 a.m. to midnight for instance. So food was essential.

And in the winter going out and pulling shorts-wearing idiot walkers off snow-covered Grampian hills where they had been caught by a sudden blizzard was no fun. But feeding villages cut off from all communication by the same blizzards was a worthwhile job.

I was demobbed a week before the squadron flew to Cyprus for the Suez crisis.

Porridge for breakfast simply rocks, then I did have a Glasweigan Grandfather.

What were you in for?

Derby

RIP

While Watford Boys goes on for ever.

hey...my ex-wife got a job as an admin. person at St Helens House in Derby (see the wiki article) when we lived there. I knew her boss who was a local educationalist and we both thought that he was an OK sort until he tried to seduce her. It was a shame as he knew the Pennines well and once took us walking out near Yeovil; a bizarre landscape that has to be seen to be believed...looked like something out of the Lord of the Rings.

he soon thereafter divorced his wife and left Derby in disgrace with his adolescent children and former associates...I sorta felt sorry for him and I was just passin' thru...

When I did my BIG OE in the UK, I enjoyed a drink called......

Instant Postum.

Is it still around?

No sign of it in UK food supply shops in NZ

I know it is a yankee coffee substitute, but not seen it elsewhere.

Good drink too.

I loved Postum too z! Not seen it here though, must still be available, I must google it...

Derby

RIP

While Watford Boys goes on for ever.

The problem was that it (together with Derby's other grammar school, Bemrose) was absorbed into the comprehensive system. We now have a 'Derby Grammar School' which pretends to be its natural successor. I wrote quite a shirty letter to the local evening rag ("disgusted of Derby" ) pointing out that ability got you into the original whereas cash gets you into the new.

Derby

RIP

While Watford Boys goes on for ever.

hey...my ex-wife got a job as an admin. person at St Helens House in Derby (see the wiki article) when we lived there.

If it's not revealing any State secrets what did you do in Derby, Tuts?

When I did my BIG OE in the UK, I enjoyed a drink called......

Instant Postum.

Is it still around?

No sign of it in UK food supply shops in NZ

I know it is a yankee coffee substitute, but not seen it elsewhere.

Good drink too.

I loved Postum too z! Not seen it here though, must still be available, I must google it...

According to this it's been discontinued.

Porridge for breakfast simply rocks, then I did have a Glasweigan Grandfather.

What were you in for?

Or somefink like that.

When I did my BIG OE in the UK, I enjoyed a drink called......

Instant Postum.

Is it still around?

No sign of it in UK food supply shops in NZ

I know it is a yankee coffee substitute, but not seen it elsewhere.

Good drink too.

I loved Postum too z! Not seen it here though, must still be available, I must google it...

According to this it's been discontinued.

Your statement is a little mis-leading.

The thread you attached notes that Kraft Foods USA (the infamour creators of "Vegeshyte") have discontinued production, but that Kraft Canada still have stock - whether they produce it still is open to debate.

Nothing is stated about UK, where ZPete tasted the delectable beverage.

I would suggest that it may still be available in the lesser reaches of the UK, such as Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, even if London has blindly followed the American fashion of discarding anything that cannot be sold at a profit in MacDonalds.

Derby

RIP

While Watford Boys goes on for ever.

hey...my ex-wife got a job as an admin. person at St Helens House in Derby (see the wiki article) when we lived there.

If it's not revealing any State secrets what did you do in Derby, Tuts?

nothin' special; designin' boilers for power generation down Sinfin Lane for International Combustion...we lived in Peet Street. They went belly up, I got made redundant then moved on to the next job down in Brighton...