5 Questions

I asked Snav for 5 questions, following her answering 5 that had been set for her. Thank you for giving me the challenge, and there was certainly nothing there to offend me! I feel honoured to be one of the first three to receive questions from you. 1 Why do people in England insist on driving on the wrong side of the road? The short answer is we don’t, you do! Ok, the serious answer now. My understanding is that it arose from the days of horse drawn carriages. The drivers of those would sit on the right hand side, so that their whips would not hit passing pedestrians when they were wielded. This could be totally untrue, but would seem sensible to me. Being creatures of habit when the automobile came along the tradition continued. Having driven abroad I don’t think it makes that much difference, unless after a 10 hour flight you forget to change sides of the road, like I did! 2. Blood Pudding (or Black Pudding as it’s known round these parts) – why would anyone want to eat such a thing? This one seems to have provoked a large response on your blog Snav! I , for one, wouldn’t want to eat such a thing, but there are huge companies that make a lot of money producing and selling the things. It’s a very traditional foodstuff, and it’s popularity seems to be dying out with the older generations. Locally there are plenty of markets with stalls that specialise in the delicacy (I use the word advisedly) My boss is a great fan of the black pudding, and he insists it is delicious. Mrs Zilla had it as a child, then, when she found out what it was, wouldn’t touch it again! For more information visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sausage Or for those who don’t enjoy blood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_pudding And if that’s whetted your appetite then why not try some tripe? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripe All these are available locally and eaten regularly by people of a certain generation and taste bud! 3. How does “a man of numbers” become Godzilla? Man of Numbers seemed a good name for a blog as I am an accountant, therefore work more with numbers than letters, so I twisted Man of Letters. Well I am fairly monstrous, not only in the looks department, but fairly tall and fairly broad too, so on one level it fits me. It’s also a username that I’ve had on a football forum that I use, so when prompted for a name on Blogger it sprang to mind. For once my first choice wasn’t taken! So, I guess a supplementary question would be, “why use it there then?” Well, the supporters of the team I follow, Middlesbrough, are known by their rivals as Smogmonsters or Smoggies, a derogatory term because of the large petro-chemical industry prevalent in the area. To reduce the barb of the slur, the fans actively embrace the term. One of the Godzilla films was Godzilla vs the Smogmonster, so it seemed quite apt to adopt it. Of course on another level it may be because I see myself as having hidden depths and rising to save the day when needed! 4. If they don’t rule, why have a monarchy? Technically the queen does rule. She opens parliament every year, after the summer recess. When the Prime Minister wishes to call a General Election, he must first inform the queen of his intention to do so. Before a law can come into effect it must receive “Royal Assent” – i.e the queen must agree to the law, even though it has been debated and voted upon by the Houses of Commons and Lords. In reality the queen is merely a figure head, and she is compelled to do the above actions. The passage of a law has never been hindered by the monarch. That’s why it’s only a technicality that she does rule – she can’t introduce laws or change the way the country is governed. Apart from that the monarchy is a good money spinning tourist attraction, they are supposed to generate a lot of overseas visitors. They also serve as a figurehead for the Commonwealth; all those countries we previously ruled, but didn’t manage to defeat us in a war of independence! What value they place on the monarchy is open to debate! Lastly the presence of a monarchy reminds us peasants of our place in society, and who we should defer to! 5 It’s tea time, besides tea of course, what are we having? This might well depend on where you live and whether you’re part of the monarchy! Where I was brought up, in the Lake District (in the North of the country) tea time meant the evening meal. As in “Mum what’s for tea?” However, what I think your referring to, is the custom of a late afternoon ritual involving ladies. As well as tea, it would be customary to have sandwiches and cakes, preferably served on a tiered stand. The choice would depend on personal taste, but stereotypically would be cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts cut off) cut diagonally, followed by a cream cake. There are still tea shops in existence, where such rituals can be found. These tend to be in touristy areas, such as York or other traditional English cities who trade on the tourist presence. Large, expensive hotels will still provide a traditional High Tea. I believe the Dorchester in London is one of the favoured amongst the high and mighty. Thanks for the questions Snav, I am more than willing to answer any areas of doubt or bits that I have not answered fully - so ask away.... This seems liek a good thing to keep going, so if anyone wants their own 5 questions let me know, and I'll try to make then as good as Snav's!