Criticised with class!

You know, to a lot of young people (read under 21 yo) driving around
my neighbourhood, I must be regarded as a "boring old fart"
if I count the amount of derision directed towards me because I
insist on driving within the speed limit.
The derision comes generally in the form of an extended digit finger
or a yelled expletive. (ho hum!)

It is with some refreshment to read some criticism, albeit not to me,
but my country, that comes with flair, panache and intelligence.
Bravo! to my fellow Pom, who penned these delightful slurs.

PS: Please insult us anytime, it's makes enjoyable reading!

http://groups.msn.com/Stamps/shoebox...to&PhotoID=457
http://groups.msn.com/Stamps/shoebox...to&PhotoID=458
http://groups.msn.com/Stamps/shoebox...to&PhotoID=459

An afterthought.........

I must challenge his quote "Responsible Philatelic Authority"
I think there are six persons on the board, represented by input
from one real philatelist.
The rest come as "artists" (loosely coined) managers and other
IMHO "non essentials"

How strange - they were the very stamps that got my (then) 7 year old
daughter into the hobby. She wanted to collect cartoons but was
disappointed that there were nothing but Disneys to be had. (Has any
country ever issued a set of Bill Tidy cartoons?)

I do agree with the sentiments of the writer, though. This metric stuff
will be the death of world commerce. Bring back the firkin, troy ounces,
avoidupoids (how the hell do you pronounce that) and let me continue to
amaze my friends by telling them repeatedly that there are 63,360 inches to
the mile. While we're at it, let's bring back the horse & buggy and public
floggings (always popular on the waterfront in Sydney). Having recently
moved to the USA from New Zealand, I'm actually having a hell of a time with
American measures. The pint is 4 ounces short of the real thing and how you
are supposed to add together distances, I will never fathom. Quick - before
I count to 3 - what is 1'7 3/64" times 7 plus 9'11 7/32"?

--
Cheers - John Mycroft
coryton_at_cobbsmill_dot_com

You had me scrambling for the Google Dictionary
Firkin? (thinks he: You have to be joking)
Hmmm, foiled again, a British unit of capacity equal to 9 imperial gallons


Spoiler
One kg of feathers weights the same as one kg of gold.
But there are two different pound measures the avoidupois and the troy system.
1 pound avoidupois = 16 ounces avoidupois = 7000 Grains
1 pound troy = 12 ounces troy = 5760 Grains

The feathers are 1260 heavier.

Almost as bad as the Quid and Tuppence wouldn't you say?

Ralphael, the OLD one

I finally learned yesterday that a 'bob' was a shilling. :-)

-a

--

Send Replies to:


"Stamps4ra" wrote in message
...
Almost as bad as the Quid and Tuppence wouldn't you say?

Ralphael, the OLD one

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 11:27:17 -0700, "Albumen"
wrote:

I finally learned yesterday that a 'bob' was a shilling. :-)

-a

================================================== ====================
Albumem and All:

I thought (in RCSD at least that a Bob was an Ingraham. 38*)

In any case I thought the following might of interest,

Blair Stannard

================================================== ====================

The British Monetary System before Decimalization


£ (a Latin L) :
pound, symbol for pounds sterling. 1968 was the year of decimalization
of the British currency when a pound became 100 new pennies. Prior to
that a pound was 20 shillings, a shilling twelve pence (pennies) and
the smallest division of a penny was a farthing. It is written £/s/d
and £/s/- for even shillings. From 1776 till WWII £1 fluctuated
between $3-$5 (1864 peak of $12). Since WWII it has fluctuated around
$2 when 1d was 1¢ (low of $1.04 in 1985). Hence, the slang `dollar'
for 5/- and `half a dollar' was accurate until the early 70s.

£sd /el es dee/ n :
`pounds, shillings, and pence', money in general, and the British
monetary system in particular prior to decimalization (4 farthings = 1
penny, 12 pence = 1 shilling, 2 shillings = 1 florin, 5 shillings = 1
crown, 20 shillings = 1 pound (sovereign), 21 shillings = 1 guinea).

¼d /fahdhing/ :
symbol for a farthing, four to a penny, about the size of a copper
cent, went out of circulation in 1956.

½d /haypnee/ :
symbol for a halfpenny, about the size of a thin copper quarter.

1d /penee/ n :
symbol for penny.

2d /tuhp@ns/ n :
twopence, (also symbol for half groat).

3d /threp@ns/ /thr@p@ns/ /thruhp@ns/ /thrup@ns/ /fr@p@ns/ :
symbol for threepence, threepenny bit, silver (about size of a dime)
until 1920, then 12-sided brass coin like a fat nickel.

4d n :
symbol for groat.

6d /sicksp@ns/ :
symbol for sixpence, about size of a dime, syn. tanner.

1/-, 1s, 12d :
symbol for shilling (12d), about size of a quarter, still in
circulation, equivalent to 5p, syn. bob, shilling bit.

2/- :
symbol for florin, two shillings, about the size of a half dollar,
still in circulation, equivalent to 10p, syn. two bob.

2/6d /too n siks/ :
symbol for half a crown, two-and-six (pence), larger than a half
dollar.

5/- :
symbol for crown, five shillings, huge, much larger than a silver
dollar.

10/- :
symbol for (brown) ten shilling note, syn. ten bob note.

10/6d :
ten-and-six, also half a guinea (see Mad Hatter's topper).

20/-, £1, 240d, 100p :
alternate for £1 (green), pound, pound sterling, sovereign.

21/- :
symbol for guinea, twenty-one shillings.

£1 :
symbol for one pound note (green), first issued in 1928, new note
issued in 1968, and reverting back to coins in 1983.

£5 :
symbol for five pound note (blue, though, like the tenner's, they used
to be huge white sheets inscribed with gold filigree, large enough to
wrap up plenty of money in).

£10 :
symbol for ten pounds (brown) or ten pound note.

£20 n:
symbol for twenty pounds or the twenty pound note (rainbow colors).

½p :
bronze 1971-1985.

1p :
bronze 1971.

2p n :
bronze coin, about the same size as a Susan B. Anthony dollar.

5p n :
cupro-nickel coin, made exactly the same size, shape and value as the
old shilling.

10p n :
coin introduced in 1982.

20p :
coin introduced in 1982.

50p :
seven sided coin introduced in 1969.

ackers [Egyptian, akka, one piastre] n :
pound notes or money in general.

bent adj :
gay, "bent as a three-pound note", "bent as a nine-bob note".

bit n :
coin when used with its value, as: threepenny bit, sixpenny bit, two
shilling bit, as opposed to note.

bob n :
shilling, "lend me a bob, mate". (See a couple of bob, ten bob)

bun penny n :
a Queen Victoria penny bearing her portrait with her hair done up in a
bun (1860-1874), and found occasionally in one's change even up till
decimalization.

couple of bob n :
some money, "I bet that set you back a couple of bob".

crown n :
five shilling piece, 5/-, dollar.

decimalization n :
the changeover from £sd to decimal currency (100 new pence = £1),
initiated in 1968 with introduction of 5p and 10p coins and completed
by 1971 with the ½p, 1p, 2p, 20p and 50p, where 100p = £1.
The official start of the new currency was February 15th, 1971. The
old currency stopped being used about 6 months later, although the
changeover period was originally scheduled to last a year.

The 5p and 10p coins were the same size as the old 1/- and 2/- coins,
and no attempt was made to withdraw these old coins from circulation,
to the confusion of the visitor. However, in 1990 and 1992 new,
smaller, coins for 5p and 10p were introduced, and the old ones
withdrawn a year or so later. The only pre-decimalisation coins still
being minted are the crowns (5/-) occasionally minted to mark special
occasions.

dollar sl n :
five shilling piece, 5/-, five bob, 25p.

farthing n :
¼d, coin of least value, "haven't got two brass farthings to rub
together".

fiver sl n :
five pound note, £5.

flim [flimsy] n :
five pound note, esp. from before the war (WWII).

florin n :
two shilling bit, 2/-.

groat n :
4d, silver coin 1351-1662, fourpenny bit 1836-1856, small sum, "don't
care a groat".

guinea n :
gold coin last coined in 1813, but still used to refer to 21/- values.

half a crown n :
a value of 2/6d, or the half crown coin, about the size of a silver
dollar.

half a dollar sl n :
half a crown, 2/6d, (12½p).

half-crown n :
another way of saying and writing half a crown.

halfpenny /haypnee/ /hayp@ns/ n :
½d.

ha'p'orth /hayp@th/ n :
halfpenny's worth, but used in reference to any trifling amount, "he's
not worth a ha'p'orth".

p /pee/ n :
symbol for new pence.

new pence n :
the new decimal currency (see decimalization) where 100 new pence
equal a pound (100p = £1), as opposed to the old £sd currency. `New'
money has 1p /wun pee/, /nyoo penee/ or /penee/; 2p /too pee/
sometimes /tuhp@ns/: about the size of a large copper quarter; 5p:
exactly the same size shape and value as the old shilling, about the
size of a quarter; 10p: exactly the same size shape and value as the
old two shilling piece, about the size of a half dollar; 20p: a small
five sided brass coin about the size of a thin nickel; 50p: seven
sided coin about the size of a silver dollar; and finally the sov=100p

nicker sl n :
pound (£), "it cost 'im twenty nicker".

note n :
bill when used with value, as: ten shilling note, one pound note, five
pound note; see bit.

old penny n :
the penny before decimalization.

quid n :
£1, one pound sterling, same as buck for dollar.

shilling n :
see 1/-.

sov col abbr :
sovereign.

sovereign n :
gold coin worth £1, now used to refer, with a hint of irony, to the
new brass pound coin about the size of a squat fat quarter, there are
five kinds differing by the inscription on the side and the design
representing the four countries comprising the UK and the UK as a
whole; pound notes were done away with in 1986.

sterling n :
British currency, syn pound, see £.

tanner sl n :
sixpenny bit, sixpence, "spare us a tanner, mate".
ten bob n :

ten shillings or half a pound, but usually referring to the ten
shilling note (until they went of circulation in 1971).

tenner sl n :
ten pound note.

topper n :
top hat.

twopence halfpenny /tupneeyaypnee/ csl n :
a trifling or worthless amount.

twopence /tuhp@ns/ n :
2d, two pennies, half groat.

Pour participer à nos (d)ébats, "Rodney"
sussurait le Fri, 3 Sep 2004 19:46:07 +0800 :

You had me scrambling for the Google Dictionary
Firkin? (thinks he: You have to be joking)
Hmmm, foiled again, a British unit of capacity equal to 9 imperial gallons


Spoiler
One kg of feathers weights the same as one kg of gold.
But there are two different pound measures the avoidupois and the troy system.
1 pound avoidupois = 16 ounces avoidupois = 7000 Grains
1 pound troy = 12 ounces troy = 5760 Grains

The feathers are 1260 heavier.


Hello all,
I do not understand why metric measures are such a problem for you )
'Sacré anglais!' as we told here, always different (or maybe we are
different? ) )

--
ThibauT
Best regards from Vergèze, city of Perrier, France )

Welcome to the USA John. ( Just in case no one has offered the greetings.)
Whats another Kiwi or two, or Oz for that matter. However some others I do not
send the welcome message.
Just a point of interest: Where can one enter a tunnel and possibly meet a
train comming from the other direction? Not enough room for both so guess who
has the privelege to back up!
Another tunnel one has to wait a few minutes so traffic from the other
direction can pass.
And you left all tghe good things....:-)

Ralphael, the OLD master

Gday!
Ah yes, I do miss New Zealand's tunnels, especially the Homer which is cut
through solid rock and has never had a proper road bed put in it. Try that
in your low-slung Ferrari!

Don't mock the English coinage of my youth - I still have trouble with the
nickel being bigger than the dime and with the dime saying cryptically that
it is worth "one dime". If you want truly stupid coins, go to Australia
(What, them again!!) where the 1 dollar coin is half the size of the 2
dollar coin.

I will not be drawn on the subject of the USA's paper money. Nothing that
ugly has any right to be valuable.

--
Cheers - John Mycroft
coryton_at_cobbsmill_dot_com