Welcome to these septic Isles!
Britain, an island built on coal, surrounded by strong tidal currents rich in fish stocks, and with both natural gas and oil, has managed to become a major importer of these commodities, dependant on other countries for our supply. Every commodity is highly taxed (usually more than once) in order to make sure this country rightly deserves the title, 'Rip-Off Britain'. Where Robin Hood robbed the rich and gave to the poor, the government shows no favouritism and takes from everyone. With two budgets per year, coupled with PAYE, National Insurance, VAT, Council Tax, Road Fund Tax, Fuel Tax, Export and Import Tax, Stamp Duty Tax, Death Tax, plus a whole plethora of sneaky stealth taxes, they still expect and indeed demand that we accept a pay increase of around the rate of inflation or preferably less, whilst awarding themselves 40%, a three-day working week and improved pension payments. MPs worked just 87 DAYS in 2003...more

Law and order is a joke!
Motoring offences, even seemingly minor ones, are deemed more serious than murder, mugging and assault and more man-hours are devoted to apprehending motorists than any other section of the community. Victims of crime are seen as "asking for it" and as such, are, by and large, ignored by the legal system in regard to compensation. All laws passed by the government only apply to members of the community who can easily be traced and therefore anyone not on the council register or not a motorist, is fairly sure to be left alone. No matter how much money and man-power is spent in catching criminals, the courts are guaranteed to return them back into society with a caution, no matter how many previous convictions they have. If, on the other hand, you're attacked and while defending yourself you inflict an injury on the other person, you will, without question, feel the full force of the law. For proof click here

Transport
Road-works are a major tourist attraction designed to slow traffic to a crawl and cause maximum congestion which together with the timing of traffic lights, works extremely well. Buses are not run for the convenience of passengers, (stopping to pick up people would disrupt the time-table), so they leap-frog each other during the day then, when the majority of people wish to return home from work in the early evening, the frequency of the service is reduced. Similar to a restaurant closing for lunch. In order to avoid running late, parts of the route are often missed out. Using a taxi to get to your destination is only an option if you know the way. Only London cabbies are required to know the area in which they operate - if you don't know where you're going, why should they? Trains rarely run on time and therefore, used in conjunction with buses, are not really an option. See also: Transport Policy

The infamous British weather
Britain doesn't have a climate or seasons - just weather. Basically, it's either raining, blowing a gale or both, although the rain is warmer in the summer which usually occurs on a Tuesday in July. British weather forecasters are among the best in the world, able to differentiate between drizzle and showers and frequently advise of "a 50% chance" of rain. In other words, "it might rain, it might not", much more scientific than guess-work. More than two hours of rain results in floods while two weeks without, ensures drought conditions. Although it rains almost every day we are told to conserve water because the rain we get falls in the wrong place! Road surfaces melt in the sun and crack due to frost in winter, while rail services are all but suspended if snow is forecast. The temperature is no guide to how cold it is either, due to the 'Wind-Chill Factor' - take away the biting wind and it's really quite warm. For an 'official' explanation click here

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