It’s cheaper to obese

Every 3-4 weeks there an alarming article about obesity in Scotland. Allegedly 6 out 10 women in Scotland are either obese or over weighed. Many research is being made to examine the cause of this plague, many financial resource are used to tackle the problem. Many politicians discuss the program and millions are spend on government programmes to fight obesity.

The most frightening thing about this topic is that nobody seems to have a clue about what is happening and why! Despite millions of pounds spend on researches nobody knows why is the obesity level is so high and what to with it.

My pieces of advice for researchers – go to a shop and have a look at prices.

Quite recently I went to a shop to buy some veg. I paid 75 pence for 1 pepper. On the other shelf there was a massive multi pack of crisps. The bag consisted of 28 smaller bags of crisps cost 98 p!
Shocking?

Yes, multi packs... the other day I fancied an ice cream. I hardly ever eat sweets and when I buy them I always buy the smallest possible pack. So I went to a shop to buy one ice cream and I ended up with box of my favourite ice cream because I could not buy one. I had to buy one box. I ate one ice cream, the remaining ones are still in my freezer. At least I have a supply of ice cream for next year or so. If they don't run of date...

So maybe the are two reason of obesity – first prices of junk food which is cheap as chips and lack of choice in terms of quantities.

I don’t blame companies for their will to earn money, nor Britons for saving money when they buy multi packs. I just ask – why I cannot have a choice whether I want to buy one ice cream. Oh yeah I have choice – it’s either nothing or yearly supply of ice cream.

St Andrew speaks Scottish….

It’s a common knowledge that the last Day of November is St. Andrew’s day. St Andrew is a patron of Scotland and his cross is pictured on Scottish flag. So today something about Scotland...

I’ve been happily living in Scotland for last 16 months or so and I must admit I like this nation. They are very porud people and I respect their pride. Although it’s sometimes funny how often Scotsmen show their independence form the rest of the United Kingdom or just how much they love their heritage.

Some examples...

The other day I spoke to a taxi driver who had a friend. That friend spoke four languages...a bit of German, a bit of Dutch, English and Scottish. Yes, Scottish not Gaelic. Because – as taxi driver explained me- Scottish and English are different languages.

There is a pinch of truth in that statement- pronunciation of some words in English and Scottish differs so much that it’s really hard guess what word has just been used although a word is spelled in the same way. Scotsmen have some words hardly ever used in England (wee problem so far) or have they own words – aw’right instead of hi! or aw’right as I’m fine or cheers as thanks,)

A contest with a prize : what does it mean:

Shudnae? Cudnae? Wudnae? Gonnae? Post your answers in the comment field :)
And for more advanced in Scottish – Gonnae no dae that?
What is a prize ? Read at the end of this post.

Ok, coming back to the main topic...can somebody explain me why there is a Scottish flag on food products? When in Scotland you can buy eggs, beef, milk, apples, fish with a Scottish flag on packing. Seriously!! And if you try harder you can buy anything with a Scottish flag on it.

And when you are on bus you will see Scottish tartan on seats!

I went a to Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh (please note: most Scottish cultural institutions offers free entry) and i watched a short film about Scottish nation through ages. I swear – every important person, every scientist, every single artist: was Scottish, or had Scottish origin, or visited Scotland or had a Scottish friend/ neighbour or had something to do with Scotland. Seriously I had that impression after watching that clip.

All in all I admire this national pride and like the fact that Scottish people are focused on what’s good about them and their nation.

And the watch clip, it an ad but tells you something about Scotland.





Prize - if get all the answers right you can post something on these boards :)

Monies…..

British people are weird in the way they deal with money. Honestly, I find it amazing how often they do two mutually contradicting things in the same time.

They often say that every penny is a hostage....and then they just throw away bronze or even 5 pence coins.
They buy bundles paying more for a pack, bur less per item. Fair enough if it something that can last for a long time (let’s say canned food, light bulbs and stuff). But if it’s something perishable or something with short “use by” date? What’s the point in “saving” money in that way? Is it just a pain killer for economic conscious?

When I was opening my bank account I asked to block the overdraft thing. The bank manager was so surprised as if i told him that in some countries they don’t have electricity.

British newspapers / websites are full of money saving tips. My colleague runs a blog devoted to that topic (http://money-saving-uk.blogspot.com/). But again what's the point of doing so if money saved on electricity bills (by using eco light bulbs) is used to buy a sandwich in a shop. One can pay 2 quid for a simple sandwich, the cost of making exact same sandwich in home is just a fraction of its shop price.

Very often i see people who pay 1,10 for a bus ticket just to travel between 2-3 bus stops. Their journey lasts for 90-120 seconds. They pay approximately 1 pence per every second on their being on the bus!! A cinema ticket or football game offers you a better value for money and more entertainment.

Crazy Britons I must say...

My name is Bond. James Bond.

Hi people! In today’s episode of our tour around Weird I mean Great Britain we shall focus on something that is not weird nor strange but on something that is normal. What I mean by normal is that things are as they should be.

What I’m on about? People in the Great Britain don’t have to carry an id with them. They don’t have to have anything to prove that they name is James Bond, Gordon Brown, Alex Salmond, David Beckham or John Smith etc.

This is how Polish driver’s license looks like.

There is your photo in it, your name, DOB etc. What does this document say: a person in the picture, whose name is .... can drive a vehicle of a certain type. This document, however, does not say that a perosn in the picture is you. Surpirsed? Yes, in Poland driver’s license is not a proof of identity. It doesn’t make sense you say, oh yes it does....

The sole purpose of this solution is to justify existence of personal id. Let me put it frankly- matic card issued by your university confirms that you’re a student, it does not confirm your identiy, driver’s licence – issued by state- does not confirm your identity either. Only Passport and id card do.

One could argue that it’s a matter of public safety...but wait a minute. Tell me how an id card can prevent a terrorist attack form happening? Because police will id potential assassin? In the old type of id documents there used to be a column with your occupation. But come on do you expect anybody to put “ terrorist” in there? So the police can identify him or her?

What are other "advantages" of that id card? According to Polish law you have to carry it al the time with you. No matter where you go (Sunday service in your church, dinner with your partner, jogging, night drive, clubbing) you have to have it with you. This document also expires every 10 years (does your name, gender, DOB change every 10 years?) and if you move flats you need to get a new id card. Why? Because id card contains also your address. What else is there- your parents’ names, place of birth, your individual number (yes, for some reason in Poland every citizen has an unique number).

It’s a vast amount of information about an individual, isn’t it? So who can have access to your id? Polish law allows nearly everybody to have a look at your id. Police, post office staff, employers, municipal clerks, people you do business with, when you take a loan, when you set up an account, when you buy a mobile etc etc.

There are many more stupid things related to id cards in Poland but this blog is about “weird” I mean normal Britain. It’s just shocking for me that you guys don’t have id cards. More over a reasonable person at post office will not question a matric card, bus pass, not to mention driver’s licence should it be necessary to prove your identiy. I just find it amazing that if a policeman asks what my name is he will take my words for granted and if I say that my name is Przemek he will trust that this is the case!

I know there is ongoing campaign to introduce Id card in the UK. Trust me you don’t need that and no matter what politicians say id cards will make no good for you. Stay away from it I say.

This what Americans think about id cards.

To maintain some balance today something that Great Britain should be proud of. Much has been said about educational system in the UK but today I want to put emphasis on who a student is at a university.
Stupid question- tell me who a student is?...a student is a student. What does it mean? Hmm a student is client who has something to do but also can expect something in return. We can expect books in a library, well equipped labs, professional lecturers. In addition we can expect that a university will help us should we need that. My university offers help in many fields: there is a jobshop, there is a hardship found available, members of staff who can teach how to write and cite, nurse will provide with free condoms, there is a contemplation room as well, there are career advisers. What’s more important university staff understand that a student may need some help, may have problems that affect his life in many different ways. To some extend I know I can rely on my University .
Why the university does it? Because the understand that they are a company, which offers certain product and I and other students are clients with different needs.

I studied at the best university in Poland and standards there were much lower. I used to say that at university there is a certain social ladder. At the very top of that ladder there is a principal. A person a normal student hardly ever sees and is not worth to speak to great principal. Then we have lectures with reputation – those people do speak to students but most often they limit their dialogue to simple “You are wrong”. Then there is an admin staff, without their will to help you, to sort your things out you will not progress. Then they are young lecturer- real passionate who can spend lots of time talking to you and they are really cool. Who’s next... a yes a security guy, principal’s dog and finally there are students.

I might be over exaggerating but to some extent a student in Poland is the least important person at a university. A student is a problem provider, someone inferior to everything and everybody at university. A bit harsh? Maybe but this is how things work in Poland.

So yes, studying in Scotland has been a great experience and I would recommend everybody doing so.

oh, btw- it's a pic of my uni, Queen Margaret University.

How are you today?.....(with a must see video)

Last time I wrote about something that I really liked. Yeah- crossing the road whenever it suits you (to some extend ;-) ) is something I would really like take back to Poland. Frankly speaking whenever go I to my home country I find it hard to adjust myself and follow certain rules. My friends look at me as if I am suicidal because I try to cross the read when the red light is on.


Never mind, today I want write about something which is not so good and was a great shock when I discovered it. Usually I am a happy, relaxed and quite chatty person. So whenever anybody asks me one of those immortal questions “how are you”, “how is it going”, “how is yourself” I tend answer that I’m good or something similar. And for a very long time I thought that you do care when you ask these questions! I was pretty sure that if I had said something like “I’m bad” somebody would have asked why it is so and can they help me. Imagine how surprised I was when it happened for the first time. A woman I used work with asked me how I was. So I told “Well, bad actually. I have a terrible headache and I’m not in the mood, you no”. And what she said- I swear to God I’m not making this up- “oh, that’s good”. I didn’t know what to say.

I thought it could have been like one-off thing, but no my foreign friends had similar experiences.

I don’t know why it so, but I’ve learnt that these question asked by your colleagues, lecturers, employers mean very little and in fact whatever you say will be just fine for them.

Why do I find this strange? Because in Poland we hardly ever ask these question to non-friends or non-members of our families. But when we do, we are really interested in the answer. We really want to know yourself is.
Good thing is that if a friend of mine asks me how am doing I know s/he means it :)

Red light is on....so what :)

Picture this: it’s 3 o’clock in the morning. You want to cross a road. You’re standing before the zebra. The red light is on. Hmmm well you look left, right, left again. It’s a straight road flooded with light from street lamps. You’re assessing the risk…since there are no cars whatsoever you can cross the road safely. Chances of you getting hit by a car are close to an absolute null. Frankly it’s more likely that a meteor will hit Earth than taking part in accident.

It happens that a CCTV captured your trespass. A policeman approaches you ten minutes later. He explains what kind of great danger of road catastrophe you might have caused. He fines you and tell you not to think about committing that sin again.

Compare this to that scene: a busy street, a middle of a day. You are gambling your life by crossing the road. A red light is on and you’re making runs between cars…arm in arm with a policeman who is not even bother to notice you doing that.

What’s the difference: the first scenario is very likely to take place in Polnad, the latter one is a common sight in the UK.

Why is it so that the state/society/ system in the UK believes that you have a mental capacity to choose the best moment for crossing a road? In Poland a simple machine is more trusted than a reasonable human being.

Why am I writing about it? Because I’m loving the fact in the Great Britain I’m trusted I can make my one decisions about how and when I want to cross a road. It’s not that hard, is it? For some reason I can be a master of my own fate only in the UK. In Poland I need a machine to think for me…

So ... I just envy Britons :)

Welcome! So you found yourself reading a blog about all weird things in the United Kingdom. There might be many reasons for your doing so but you also might be wondering why I am spending my time on writing about these thing s filing “me with fantastic terrors never felt before” ;-)

So first thing. A simple task: spot the difference:



( http://www.goodexperience.com/tib/archives/2006/10/two_taps.html )



( http://zdjecia.swistak.pl/03/093/3093854_1_b.jpg )

Yes, the top sink has two taps. It’s quite obvious where it comes form :)

Why do Britons need two taps with every sink?

I did a small research on that and this is what I found on the BBC website:

British bathrooms usually have two taps instead of one because, historically, British plumbing provides hot and cold water at different pressures, meaning mixer taps are more difficult to fit.

( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5186642.stm )

Apparently Great Britain was the first country in the world to introduce running water. And the system is therefore not compatible with present mixing taps. However, I presume that the technological development that has taken place since “dark ages of plumbing” allows to install so-called mixers in modern bathrooms. For some reason single taps are not that common. Is it just because Britons like two taps? Is it because Britons like doing things in they own way differently form the rest of the world? Is it just tradition?

Further research shows that:

“It is not only different pressure problem. Apparently two taps are in use to
avoid contamination. Germs spread quickly in warm temperature and regulation was
that cold water had to be of a drinkable quality. Therefore there was one tap
for cold/ drinkable water and one tap for heated up water.”

( http://forum.gazeta.pl/forum/72,2.html?f=1032&w=76310868&v=2&s=0 )

What is the truth then? It’s hard to say – as people in the UK drink tap water even if it comes from a single tap and still the only place where hot and cold water mix is the tap itself. So the contamination argument is doubtful .

One thing is sure – using two taps is not the most convenient thing in world. Why? Most often hot water is boiling hot , whereas in Europe is just warm and there is no way of iritaitng skin because of temperature. So in Europ we just open hot water and wash hands, in the UK to in ordere to do it properly one should open two taps, let it run to a blocked sink and mix there (to achieve acceptable temp) and then wash hands. What a waste of time if you ask me.

Sticking to two taps might have others reasons. I could have something to with the with the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" attitude, which is deep-rooted in the British psyche.

Money could also play its part. Just imagine how expensive it would be to install new plumbing installation in the Victorian era house. Probably- unless pipes and stuff are in a really bad condition- nobody will ever think about changing them. That’s why I’m sure my children will have a chance to see that marvel.

What about modern flats- well I believe that’s really a matter of tradition, it’s just the way Britons are and how they do things. Part of their national identity.

P.S. For those who live in the UK and are fed up with two taps market offers various solutions to fix the two-taps problem. “Only this and nothing more” will help you ;-)



( http://www.k-s-caravans.co.uk/product-main.php?code=KS3&ID=74 )

P.S. Or just use this tip

“My method for hands while in the UK is: Dampen my hands with cold water (which hopefully starts off not TOO cold) - soap up (with no water running) - then rinse under the hot tap, hopefully before the water reaches scalding.”