bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 05:48, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 9:49 pm, wrote:
On Dec 27, 5:09 pm, wrote:

SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I don't know
why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle that.

Because it's time consuming and a pain in the ass. Dropping change in
is easy and you can use dollar coins - though I suppose the downside to
dollar coins is about the only place I can readily find them is in
transit vending machines.

You answered your own post. Dollar coins are not easy to find.
Further, many independent merchants dislike them because they're too
easily confused with quarters. Chain store clerks gotta take them,
but sometimes they think you gave them a quarter.

Supposedly dollar coins are easy for vision-impaired to tell apart,
but the men who service our vending machines absolutely despise them,
so as a courtesy I don't use them in our machines.

Just read the mint cancelled production of more dollar coins since the
warehouses are jammed.

They're going to still make Presidential Dollars, to complete the set,
but only enough for the collector demand, not the millions of others
that were supposed to be circulating.

Speaking of which, I haven't seen a single National Parks quarter and
they've been coming out for two years now -- whereas the State
quarters showed up in change almost immediately, except for the
Territories of 2009. I finally got a DC but none of the others.

For that matter, I haven't ever seens a City of London or Belfast pound
coin here, I must say.

bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 05:31, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 7:49 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 23:49, Peter T. Daniels wrote:





On Dec 27, 6:21 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 22:57, Neil Williams wrote: On Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:00:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:
SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I don't know
why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle that.

The US could really, really do with $1, $2 and $5 coins for this sort of
purpose. I genuinely do not understand why people are so resistant.

Neil

They do have one-dollar coins and they and TVMs in New York City
regularly dispense them as change.

The interesting thing is that they have minted a few different series to
ease use since the late 1970s, when the Susan B. Anthony dollar replaced
the Eisenhower dollars, which were almost as big as a five-pound coin.

They were the size silver dollars had been for generations.

I didn't quite understand you.-

The Susie B's were made in a much smaller, but thick and many-sided,
size so as to make them more convenient for the pocket. (It didn't
help.)

The many sides were within the frame of the coin itself, and not on the
edges. Perhaps, had they decided to make the SBA several-sided, we might
not be having this conversation.

bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 05:34, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 7:51 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 23:52, Peter T. Daniels wrote:





On Dec 27, 6:21 pm, Miles wrote:
Neil writes:
SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I don't know
why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle that.

The US could really, really do with $1, $2 and $5 coins for this sort
of purpose. I genuinely do not understand why people are so
resistant.

"If dollar bills were good enough for Jesus, they're good enough for me!"

It must mean something that the $1 bill was not redesigned with the
giant portrait when all(? I haven't seen a $2 bill since my 1993 visit
to Monticello -- where the admission fee was $8 so that they could
return Jeffersons in change) the other bills in circulation ($5, $10,
$20, $50, $100) were.

p.s. By random luck, I got a ¥100 paper note in a store a while back:
a customer was trying to use it, and the store wouldn't take it
(though they're technically still legal tender), so I bought off her
for a ¥100 coin... :]

I did that with a $2 bill once in eastern Ohio at a gas station
convenience store.

I think that two-dollar bills would be easy enough to come by as they
are in general circulation. Just go to a bank and ask for a few.-

Have you ever seen one?

Yes. I have a couple of them, as a matter of fact.

Have you ever seen a cash register till with a slot for them?

Nope.

Has the store cashier ever seen one?


Unlikely. I wouldn't be surprised of a couple of them even try to ring
the police on grounds that the customer is trying to pass false currency

I'm going to the bank tomorrow -- I'll try to remember to ask if they
have any on hand.

They should do. Or they might ask you to come back in a couple of days.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 05:39, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 7:57 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 23:40, John Levine wrote:

Paper notes are still far more convenient to carry than coins and the US has far
more vending machines and cash register drawers than most other countries. While
many will accept dollar coins, the ones that do tend to be government owned (ie
Post Office) or located in casinos. The far more ubiqutous soda and candy
vending machines tend to take nickels, dime and quarters, and if you are really
lucky, the have a working receiver for $1 bills.

I think if you tried it, you'd find that most vending machines also
take dollar coins. At the time the government issued the SBA dollars,
the size was chosen in cooperation with the vending industry to make
modifications to machines easy. Then they found that the coins were
hard to tell from quarters, so now they're a different color and have
a smooth edge, but people still don't like them.

I always thought that the SBA might have survived if they made sides out

The Small Business Administration? Oh, you mean the Susie B.

The _faces_ do have sides, though the edges are circular.

Sorry, I do not know all my coin terminology.

Maybe
vending machines wouldn't accept an 18- or 20-sided coin.

Would have been a one-off change over 30 years ago.

The Sackies
are round but goldish-colored and smooth-edged like a nickel rather
than milled.

I've seen them. Same with the presidential coins.

coins, was bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 03:42, John Levine wrote:
You answered your own post. Dollar coins are not easy to find.
Further, many independent merchants dislike them because they're too
easily confused with quarters. Chain store clerks gotta take them,
but sometimes they think you gave them a quarter.

I realize that chain store clerks are often not too bright, but they
must be totally brain-dead if they can't tell a yellow smooth-edged
dollar from a white notch-edged quarter.

R's,
John


Don't put it past them.

bus partitions
 

Speaking of which, I haven't seen a single National Parks quarter and
they've been coming out for two years now -- whereas the State
quarters showed up in change almost immediately, except for the
Territories of 2009. I finally got a DC but none of the others.

I've seen plenty of them. Perhaps it's because we need a lot of them
for parking meters.

R's,
John

bus partitions
 

On 12/28/2011 12:34 AM, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 7:51 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 23:52, Peter T. Daniels wrote:





On Dec 27, 6:21 pm, Miles wrote:
Neil writes:
SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I
don't know why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle
that.

The US could really, really do with $1, $2 and $5 coins for
this sort of purpose. I genuinely do not understand why
people are so resistant.

"If dollar bills were good enough for Jesus, they're good
enough for me!"

It must mean something that the $1 bill was not redesigned with
the giant portrait when all(? I haven't seen a $2 bill since my
1993 visit to Monticello -- where the admission fee was $8 so
that they could return Jeffersons in change) the other bills in
circulation ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100) were.

p.s. By random luck, I got a ¥100 paper note in a store a while
back: a customer was trying to use it, and the store wouldn't
take it (though they're technically still legal tender), so I
bought off her for a ¥100 coin... :]

I did that with a $2 bill once in eastern Ohio at a gas station
convenience store.

I think that two-dollar bills would be easy enough to come by as
they are in general circulation. Just go to a bank and ask for a
few.-

Have you ever seen one?

Have you ever seen a cash register till with a slot for them?

Has the store cashier ever seen one?

I'm going to the bank tomorrow -- I'll try to remember to ask if
they have any on hand.

(Part of their unpopularity was said to have to do with their
association -- generations ago -- with two-dollar whores and two-
dollar bets at the track, where apparently you were supposed to tear
off a corner for luck, which would have taken them out of
circulation long before what would have been their natural lifespan,
about 18 months, if they were in regular usage.)

My understanding is they're still used in strip joints, actually.
They're sometimes given in change because they're preferred in the sniff
row to singles.

I always think about getting a bunch for the novelty, but never really
feel like going to the bank anymore. And plus it sounds like they're
rare enough that people will argue with you.

bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 16:44, Bolwerk wrote:
On 12/28/2011 12:34 AM, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 27, 7:51 pm,
wrote:
On 27/12/2011 23:52, Peter T. Daniels wrote:





On Dec 27, 6:21 pm, Miles wrote:
Neil writes:
SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I
don't know why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle
that.

The US could really, really do with $1, $2 and $5 coins for
this sort of purpose. I genuinely do not understand why
people are so resistant.

"If dollar bills were good enough for Jesus, they're good
enough for me!"

It must mean something that the $1 bill was not redesigned with
the giant portrait when all(? I haven't seen a $2 bill since my
1993 visit to Monticello -- where the admission fee was $8 so
that they could return Jeffersons in change) the other bills in
circulation ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100) were.

p.s. By random luck, I got a ¥100 paper note in a store a while
back: a customer was trying to use it, and the store wouldn't
take it (though they're technically still legal tender), so I
bought off her for a ¥100 coin... :]

I did that with a $2 bill once in eastern Ohio at a gas station
convenience store.

I think that two-dollar bills would be easy enough to come by as
they are in general circulation. Just go to a bank and ask for a
few.-

Have you ever seen one?

Have you ever seen a cash register till with a slot for them?

Has the store cashier ever seen one?

I'm going to the bank tomorrow -- I'll try to remember to ask if
they have any on hand.

(Part of their unpopularity was said to have to do with their
association -- generations ago -- with two-dollar whores and two-
dollar bets at the track, where apparently you were supposed to tear
off a corner for luck, which would have taken them out of
circulation long before what would have been their natural lifespan,
about 18 months, if they were in regular usage.)

My understanding is they're still used in strip joints, actually.
They're sometimes given in change because they're preferred in the sniff
row to singles.

I always think about getting a bunch for the novelty, but never really
feel like going to the bank anymore. And plus it sounds like they're
rare enough that people will argue with you.


Oh, I can almost guarantee that they would argue with you.

bus partitions
 

On Dec 27, 5:09*pm, Bolwerk wrote:
On 12/27/2011 1:00 PM, wrote:









On Dec 27, 12:38 pm,
wrote:

I don't know about NYC, but in Phila, initially the driver could punch
a refund slip if a passenger overpaid. *The slip could be cashed in at
the local bus garages. *Obviously punching up a slip took time and
passengers arguing with the driver over change took time.

Could they not have also used it as partial fare payment?

No, they could only be redeemed.

At some point after the cutover, the fare refund slips were
discontinued. *Apparently people accepted exact fare by that point and
were used to it. *Also, SEPTA resumed selling token-packets at a
discount; and started selling passcards, so for regular riders, exact
fare wasn't an issue.

SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. *I don't know
why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle that.

Because it's time consuming and a pain in the ass. *Dropping change in
is easy and you can use dollar coins - though I suppose the downside to
dollar coins is about the only place I can readily find them is in
transit vending machines.

There, and ummmm...any bank in the country.

Chris








But unfortunately, in NYC and in Phila, bus drivers have been
assaulted, even killed, by nutcases for oddball reasons, such as a
dispute of a transfer or just because someone was agitated and wanted
to stab another person.

bus partitions
 

In message , at
22:57:41 on Tue, 27 Dec 2011, Neil Williams
remarked:
SEPTA, unlike NYC, accepts dollar bills on its buses. I don't know
why NYC's fareboxes aren't set up to handle that.

The US could really, really do with $1, $2 and $5 coins for this sort
of purpose. I genuinely do not understand why people are so resistant.

I haven't been there for a while, but the casinos in Las Vegas had
"private" $1 tokens (about the size of an old half-crown) to use in the
machines (and elsewhere). They were stamped with individual casino
names, but were accepted everywhere. Perhaps they had a private clearing
house too?
--
Roland Perry

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

Phil Kane - Beaverton, OR
PNW Beburg MP 28.0 - OE District

coinage, was bus partitions
 

" writes:


Nice one.

The British penny is about the size of a 1-cent coin in the United States.

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.
The old shilling and and two shilling coins were the same size as their
decimal replacement 5p and 10p coins. They were certainly common well
into the 80s when they were replaced by the current smaller 5p and 10p
coins.

Phil

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article , (Phil) wrote:

" writes:

Nice one.

The British penny is about the size of a 1-cent coin in the United
States.

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.
The old shilling and and two shilling coins were the same size as their
decimal replacement 5p and 10p coins. They were certainly common well
into the 80s when they were replaced by the current smaller 5p and 10p
coins.

The smaller 5p and 10p coins were introduced in 1990 and 1992. They will
shortly be replaces again by thicker base metal versions.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article ,
(Phil Kane) wrote:

On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?

Not mine (born 1986 and 1992), that's for sure.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article , hounslow3
@yahoo.co.uk says...

On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

Scottish banknotes have been at par for well over 40 years [originally
they were discounted at sixpence in the pound] but even now many smaller
shops don't accept them, probably because of unfamiliarity.

In the past I have offered to exchange them when Green Line drivers on
Heathrow were refusing them from passengers.

On a trip earlier this year on the East Coast Main Line I was asked by a
trolley attendant if I would accept some change in Scottish notes.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 28/12/2011 23:39, Jim wrote:
In , hounslow3
@yahoo.co.uk says...

On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

Scottish banknotes have been at par for well over 40 years [originally
they were discounted at sixpence in the pound] but even now many smaller
shops don't accept them, probably because of unfamiliarity.

That comes as no surprise where certain establishments are involved.

In the past I have offered to exchange them when Green Line drivers on
Heathrow were refusing them from passengers.

On a trip earlier this year on the East Coast Main Line I was asked by a
trolley attendant if I would accept some change in Scottish notes.

I have received change in Northern Irish notes and in Scottish notes
here in London, though it is very rare for that to happen on a regular
basis. If I sometimes see a Scottish note in a till, then I will ask for
it as part of my change.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

Jim [wake wrote:
Scottish banknotes have been at par for well over 40 years
[originally
they were discounted at sixpence in the pound] but even now many
smaller
shops don't accept them, probably because of unfamiliarity.


The more likely reason is that some of the banks in England will not
accept them. I believe that some banks won't accept them at all
because they are not considered legal tender.

Most won't take them unless they are bundled separately from notes
issued by the Bank of England, and some banks charge their business
customers for handling them. They need to be kept separate in order
to ensure that they don't get mixed up with BoE notes that are issued
to businesses and used to replenish ATM cash machines and self-serve
supermarket tills.

Personal (as distinct from business) customers may find that their
bank will accept Scottish notes out of goodwill, but the best way to
get rid of them is to take them to a Post Office. You may get a less
than enthusiastic reception, because accounting for Scottish notes
has to be done separately and is something of a chore, but all Post
Offices are expected to take them.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 29/12/2011 00:19, Bruce wrote:
Jim [wake wrote:
Scottish banknotes have been at par for well over 40 years
[originally
they were discounted at sixpence in the pound] but even now many
smaller
shops don't accept them, probably because of unfamiliarity.


The more likely reason is that some of the banks in England will not
accept them. I believe that some banks won't accept them at all because
they are not considered legal tender.

Really? My bank accepts them at least for deposit.

My bank will also accept notes from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man
and the Channel Islands. It won't accept any notes from Gibraltar, St.
Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Falkland Islands, however.

Most won't take them unless they are bundled separately from notes
issued by the Bank of England

That makes sense, though my bank does not charge retail customers.

Personal (as distinct from business) customers may find that their bank
will accept Scottish notes out of goodwill, but the best way to get rid
of them is to take them to a Post Office. You may get a less than
enthusiastic reception, because accounting for Scottish notes has to be
done separately and is something of a chore, but all Post Offices are
expected to take them.

Interesting to know.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Dec 28, 7:03*pm, "
wrote:
On 28/12/2011 23:39, Jim wrote:





In , hounslow3
@yahoo.co.uk says...

On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
* wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. *Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

Scottish banknotes have been at par for well over 40 years [originally
they were discounted at sixpence in the pound] but even now many smaller
shops don't accept them, probably because of unfamiliarity.

That comes as no surprise where certain establishments are involved.

In the past I have offered to exchange them when Green Line drivers on
Heathrow were refusing them from passengers.

On a trip earlier this year on the East Coast Main Line I was asked by a
trolley attendant if I would accept some change in Scottish notes.

I have received change in Northern Irish notes and in Scottish notes
here in London, though it is very rare for that to happen on a regular
basis. If I sometimes see a Scottish note in a till, then I will ask for
it as part of my change.-

In 1992 I bought some pound notes in Northern Ireland, because I would
be staying a few days in London after my speaking engagement in
Dublin. I was surprised to read on them that they were specifically
Northern Ireland currency, even though the were issued by the Bank of
England and legal tender throughout the United Kingdom (they said.)
The clerk ("shop assistant") in the British Museum bookstore had to
call the manager before she would believe it was real money. I managed
to find a bank branch and exchange them for "real money" later that
day, so that I could spend far too much at Blackwell's in Oxford on
Saturday. (I went up to Cambridge on Sunday; I think the stores
("shops") were closed, except for a touristy establishment where the
clerk thought it odd that I wanted to buy a postcard with the arms of
all the colleges, like the one I had gotten in ("at"?) Oxford. Perhaps
the Cambridge colleges don't get along as well as the Oxford colleges?

(I also liked the fusty old Ashmolean better than the newly modernized
Fitzwilliam, but the Ashmolean has now been renovated as well so it
probably resembles every other museum in the world.)

Organ scholars practicing ("practising") in every Oxford college
chapel, vs. Evensong at King's College ... hmm ... (I missed the
"opening hours" of the Bodleian on Saturday, because I took a bus that
got caught in traffic, so on Sunday I took the train to Cambridge --
but that meant I had to sit in the narthex of St. John's College
Chapel for _their_ evensong because I'd have to leave in the middle to
catch the last(?) train down(?) to London.

Took the Underground from and to Heathrow, and also for a short trip
once within London. Not much memorable about it.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article
,
(Peter T. Daniels) wrote:

In 1992 I bought some pound notes in Northern Ireland, because I would
be staying a few days in London after my speaking engagement in
Dublin. I was surprised to read on them that they were specifically
Northern Ireland currency, even though the were issued by the Bank of
England and legal tender throughout the United Kingdom (they said.)
The clerk ("shop assistant") in the British Museum bookstore had to
call the manager before she would believe it was real money. I managed
to find a bank branch and exchange them for "real money" later that
day, so that I could spend far too much at Blackwell's in Oxford on
Saturday. (I went up to Cambridge on Sunday; I think the stores
("shops") were closed, except for a touristy establishment where the
clerk thought it odd that I wanted to buy a postcard with the arms of
all the colleges, like the one I had gotten in ("at"?) Oxford. Perhaps
the Cambridge colleges don't get along as well as the Oxford colleges?

Northern Ireland notes, like Scottish ones, are issued by local banks, not
by the Bank of England so they are not legal tender. Only Bank of England
notes have that status anywhere in the UK. You'd find Sunday very different
here these days. it's the second busiest shopping day of the week now,
despite the shorter opening hours, mainly 11-5 here.

(I also liked the fusty old Ashmolean better than the newly modernized
Fitzwilliam, but the Ashmolean has now been renovated as well so it
probably resembles every other museum in the world.)

There is still plenty of traditional museum at the Fitzwilliam!

Organ scholars practicing ("practising") in every Oxford college
chapel, vs. Evensong at King's College ... hmm ... (I missed the
"opening hours" of the Bodleian on Saturday, because I took a bus that
got caught in traffic, so on Sunday I took the train to Cambridge --
but that meant I had to sit in the narthex of St. John's College
Chapel for _their_ evensong because I'd have to leave in the middle to
catch the last(?) train down(?) to London.

The last train would have been _up_ to London. Trains normally run up to
London and down from London in this country, though there are exceptions.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

coinage, was bus partitions
 

"Phil Kane" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?

If you are familiar with these generational categories, a rough guide is
that baby boomers (born between WWII and around 1960-1964) who grew up in
the UK will have learned pe-decimal currency at primary school, while
members of generation X (born from 1960-1964 until around 1980) won't.

Martin

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In message , at 04:05:21 on Thu, 29 Dec
2011, remarked:
so on Sunday I took the train to Cambridge --
but that meant I had to sit in the narthex of St. John's College
Chapel for _their_ evensong because I'd have to leave in the middle to
catch the last(?) train down(?) to London.

The last train would have been _up_ to London. Trains normally run up to
London and down from London in this country, though there are exceptions.

Yerse... but students "go up" to Cambridge, and are "sent down" to London (etc).

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dict...ritish/go-up_5

As a Cambridge resident, I think I might talk about "going down to London", simply
because it's to the south.
--
Roland Perry

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 28/12/11 23:24, wrote:
On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

They might just understand "Bob" I suppose.

The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

Richard.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at 04:05:21 on
Thu, 29 Dec 2011, remarked:
so on Sunday I took the train to Cambridge --
but that meant I had to sit in the narthex of St. John's College
Chapel for _their_ evensong because I'd have to leave in the middle to
catch the last(?) train down(?) to London.

The last train would have been _up_ to London. Trains normally run up to
London and down from London in this country, though there are exceptions.

Yerse... but students "go up" to Cambridge, and are "sent down" to
London (etc).

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dict...ritish/go-up_5

As a Cambridge resident, I think I might talk about "going down to
London", simply because it's to the south.

It's just you being contrary as usual, though. Happy New Year!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

bus partitions
 

Roland Perry wrote

It's quite unusual to get a £2 coin in manual change, but London
Underground ticket machines churn them out.

Happens all the time in Lidl, Aldi, 99p stores - they seem to give
change on a "minimum number of coins" basis so the same for 20p and 10p

Since my launderette only takes £1 coins I occasionally have to ask for
4 x £1 rather than 2 x £2


--
Mike D

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article ,
(Richard Roberts) wrote:

On 28/12/11 23:24, wrote:
On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

They might just understand "Bob" I suppose.

The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old
units of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too
well. Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30
years, and people of all ages are still familiar with them.

The UK government has been (half-heartedly) trying to remove old units of
measurement for over a century. In some fields Imperial units haven't been
used for decades. When did you last see a car engine capacity in this
country expressed in cubic inches, for example? In other areas progress
stopped years ago.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

coinage, was bus partitions
 

Richard Roberts wrote:

The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

And then there are things that are priced by weight and sold by unit... I was in
a Devon Tesco this past summer at the deli counter and wanted to purchase a
small amount of sliced ham. In the US I'd ask for a 1/4 pound. The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Dec 29, 10:51*am, Robert Neville wrote:
Richard Roberts wrote:
The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

And then there are things that are priced by weight and sold by unit... I was in
a Devon Tesco this past summer at the deli counter and wanted to purchase a
small amount of sliced ham. In the US I'd ask for a 1/4 pound. The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

But maybe their slices are very different in thickness than ours! 4
oz. might be two sandwiches, which could be 8 slices of the very thin
kind favored these days.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

"Peter T. Daniels" wrote:

But maybe their slices are very different in thickness than ours! 4
oz. might be two sandwiches, which could be 8 slices of the very thin
kind favored these days.

The final price was based on weight. I just thought it was amusing that the
clerk asked for the number of slices. They were indeed quite thick.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 29/12/2011 10:53, Martin Rich wrote:

"Phil Kane" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?

If you are familiar with these generational categories, a rough guide is
that baby boomers (born between WWII and around 1960-1964) who grew up
in the UK will have learned pe-decimal currency at primary school, while
members of generation X (born from 1960-1964 until around 1980) won't.

Martin
I know people who were born as late as 1962 who remember pre-decimal
with all clarity. I even showed that individual a half-crown, to which
he remarked that it would have been a decent amount of money for him at
a younger age.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 29/12/2011 12:19, Richard Roberts wrote:
On 28/12/11 23:24, wrote:
On 28/12/2011 19:07, Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:03:35 +0000, "
wrote:

They haven't used pre-decimal coins here since the early '70s.

In the 10 days that I spent in London in 1967 I had almost figured out
the British monetary system including the localisms, now mostly
forgotten. Do the kids growing up there recognize that at all?
--

A system that hasn't been in use in over 40 years? No.

They might just understand "Bob" I suppose.

The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

Richard.

Speed limits continue to be posted in miles in the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as on the Isle of Man.

It is not uncommon to see fruit hawkers at markets sell fruit on the
premise: "A pound of weight for a pound sterling."

People are still weighed in stone, with 1 stone equalling 14 pounds.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 29/12/2011 15:51, Robert Neville wrote:
Richard wrote:

The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

And then there are things that are priced by weight and sold by unit... I was in
a Devon Tesco this past summer at the deli counter and wanted to purchase a
small amount of sliced ham. In the US I'd ask for a 1/4 pound. The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

I much prefer metric when weighing things, I have to say.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On 29/12/2011 17:01, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
On Dec 29, 10:51 am, Robert wrote:
Richard wrote:
The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

And then there are things that are priced by weight and sold by unit... I was in
a Devon Tesco this past summer at the deli counter and wanted to purchase a
small amount of sliced ham. In the US I'd ask for a 1/4 pound. The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

But maybe their slices are very different in thickness than ours! 4
oz. might be two sandwiches, which could be 8 slices of the very thin
kind favored these days.

Hardly! Ask them to thinly slice it, if you want.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:51:13 -0700, Robert Neville
wrote:

The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

A customer enters a pizza shop asks the clerk "How many slices do you
cut a large pizza into?". "Eight" is the reply. The customer asks
"can you slice a large pizza into six slices?". "Certainly, but why
do you want that done?" The customer replied "I can't eat eight
pieces of pizza..."
--

"Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please"

Phil Kane - Beaverton, OR
PNW Beburg MP 28.0 - OE District

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In article , ()
wrote:

People are still weighed in stone, with 1 stone equalling 14 pounds.

It depends where you're looking. The NHS has been into kilos since at least
when my elder daughter was born in 1986.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

coinage, was bus partitions
 

In message , at 15:11:30
on Thu, 29 Dec 2011, remarked:
People are still weighed in stone, with 1 stone equalling 14 pounds.

It depends where you're looking. The NHS has been into kilos since at least
when my elder daughter was born in 1986.

I don't recall ever having domestic scales in stone (always pounds), but
perhaps those huge coin-in-the-slot ones in public places were stones
and pounds. The growth charts my children had in the early 90's (they
were weighed regularly and the results put in a little red folder) from
the NHS were bi-lingual, in both Kg and Lbs.
--
Roland Perry

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Dec 29, 1:53*pm, "
wrote:
On 29/12/2011 17:01, Peter T. Daniels wrote:





On Dec 29, 10:51 am, Robert *wrote:
Richard *wrote:
The UK government have (half-heartedly) been trying to remove old units
of measurement for about as long, and that's not going too well.
Arguably, non-metric units haven't been in full use for 30 years, and
people of all ages are still familiar with them.

And then there are things that are priced by weight and sold by unit.... I was in
a Devon Tesco this past summer at the deli counter and wanted to purchase a
small amount of sliced ham. In the US I'd ask for a 1/4 pound. The price tag on
the ham listed the price in metric units and then helpfully listed the
equivilent price in imperial weight. I asked for about 100 grams. The clerk
responded, "so you want 3 or 4 slices then?"

But maybe their slices are very different in thickness than ours! 4
oz. might be two sandwiches, which could be 8 slices of the very thin
kind favored these days.

Hardly! Ask them to thinly slice it, if you want.-

Which makes the server's question utterly impractical and
incomprehensible.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

"Peter T. Daniels" wrote:

Which makes the server's question utterly impractical and
incomprehensible.

Sorry - I should have made it clear - the ham was presliced, with pricing in
metric and imperial units by weight. I assumed as it was priced by weight that
it would be sold by weight and that my stating "approximately" 100g would have
been sufficient for the server to work out how many slices that would equate to.
Later I noticed that other customers were asking for sliced lunchmeats by the
slice count as well - so it must be a local custom.

coinage, was bus partitions
 

On Dec 29, 6:03*pm, Robert Neville wrote:
"Peter T. Daniels" wrote:

Which makes the server's question utterly impractical and
incomprehensible.

Sorry - I should have made it clear - the ham was presliced, with pricing in
metric and imperial units by weight. I assumed as it was priced by weight that
it would be sold by weight and that my stating "approximately" 100g would have
been sufficient for the server to work out how many slices that would equate to.
Later I noticed that other customers were asking for sliced lunchmeats by the
slice count as well - so it must be a local custom.

That seems rather unsanitary -- every pass of the knife or the slicing
machine exposes futher surfaces to possible contamination, and the
longer it sits, the staler it becomes! Not sliced to order -- or not
sealed in an airtight package -- isn't the way to go.