General Chat

accept measurements in metric values?


we are (most of us) conditioned to liquids in gallons and pints,yes?
volume in cubic feet?it is said that although we buy petrol in litres our mind works in gallons.....
(mind you, having said THAT american engines go in cubic inches, while we have always used cc's and litres)
then why do we accept "Boot" space in cars fridges/freezers,etc in litres?
a litre dropped on the floor hardly makes a puddle? whereas a box containing a cubic foot is something I can answer to........I was looking at the spec for the new C4 picasso 5 seater......boot space in litres...confusing......to me

I'm an inches and feet person - and a lbs and ounces too - can't be doing with the other

Bob, it very much depends on age these days.

Sometimes if an older person is in the tobacco kiosk, I'll ask for 2oz, if its a younger person I ask for 50g.

My OH refuses to ask for 50g, then gets frustrated when the kid at the counter doesn't know what 2oz is...

I still ask for fruit & veg in lbz and oz. If I'm weighed at the hospital I ask them to translate to stones and pounds (then usually regret it LOL). I have no idea how tall I am in centimetres...but I am 5ft 8.

ditto Ann.....

I always remember when I was 8, and my dear old Scottish Granny coming to Hemel and going up the shops and asking for...... 1/2 a stane o'tatties......lol

If I recall correctly, when I was gliding my weight was about 77 kg's midway between 10 1/2 stone and 11....."""plus""" parachute,..ideal for me because I didnt need to put any extra ballast in the glider........


"""Edit""" that should've said 77 kgs including parachute

We buy everything from the supermarket in metric. 150 grammes of boiled ham, 500 grammes or half a kilo of meat, two and a half kilos of potatoes, etc.

Wife does all her cooking in metric and wouldn't know ho to go back to imperial.

Once you can envisage the quantity in your head then it is a doddle. Lots of things are bought by quantity these days, rather than by weigh. You buy eight sausages, not 650 grammes, because you have 4 people and want to serve 2 each.

Distance measurements we tend to mix and match, what suits best, but if I do woodwork or diy, then it is always in metric, similarly when wife makes something like curtains, again always in metric.

By the way we are retired 50 somethings.

Bob, 10 stone four is 66Kg (been that weight for last 34 years at least), 77 is a bit over the top for 10 1/2.

PS over here petrol is still in Gallons but not sure if US or Imperial, but less than £1 a gallon.

im still a feet and inches stone pounds and ozs person. why change what aint broke

I recall my sister went to France with a touring caravan - she bought some mushrooms at a market - long before we went metric - and ended up with so many they had to store them in the caravan!!!

Less than £1 a gallon??????????????

I dread to think what the price per gallon is here....it's all in litres now and thats £2 a litre....

woow thats steep i thought £1-19 was bad enough

Here in Ireland we are totally metric. We drive in kilometres, road signs are kms and distance is kms, we buy petrol by the litre [expensive however it's measured].
Foodstuff is in grms, liquids are in mls......... funny how Guinness is still sold by the pint.....lol.. Let's face it a 1/2 litre of Guinness please just doesn't have the same ring as asking for a pint

if they changed the road signs over here i'd give up. what would be next???

well where does petrol at €1.39 per litre leave you? Don't know what that is in £'s per gallon........

Over here it is all metric apart from the petrol, 135km to Dubai, about 83 miles.

I havent a clue. I'm glad we still have £'s and p's . i dont want us to switch to euros

Euro's are great. No problem when travelling, especially in Europe, and your not losing money exchanging currency and then losing out again when you get home changing it back. Plus the Euro is very strong at the moment so you get good value

ooops keith.........shouldve said 70kgs tops......plus parachute = about 77

see what I meant, about confoosing?

Oh Lorraine, don't even think about Euros...
I'm still having problems with the change from feet and inches. pounds and ounces!!

Sally, when I first came down to England (1966)... I also went into a shop and asked for 'half a stone of potatoes'.
The woman behind the counter said " we don't do them in half stones, we only do 7lb bags and 14lb bags" ;-0)
I took a 7lb bag and could hardly control myself before I got outside and laughed out loud! ;-0)

Deanna X