5 Things I MISS from America | Living in UK | UK vs US
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- After living in the UK for well over a year there are some things I miss from the US. I spoke with several American expats and this is our list.
Also a duck and Bass Pro Shop! Watch to find out more... lol.
#UKvsUS
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I don’t usually leave comments but I just love this channel, when I’m having a bad day it’s just nice to sit down, relax and watch one of your videos. There’s a really calming aura around these videos and I can’t express how much I love it! Sending much love to you, and glad you’re enjoying your time in the UK! We’re glad you’re here :)
Thank you... I will try to keep them coming.
I know! I really love watching this channel. It is so relaxing! 💕
Oh me too. Love this family x
Take no notice of negative comments we love your vlogs x
😊 thank you
Older houses and public buildings in the UK have single taps but almost all new houses are built with mixer taps. They are quite easy to replace and all the DIY stores sell mixer taps. Usually when people update their homes they change to mixer taps.
With the separate taps you're meant to put the plug in and full up the sink from both taps to get the best temperature then wash up.
All I can say is how welcome you and your family are in England 🇬🇧
Am I the only one that think Mac have that friendly cosy uncle vibes.
With the sink taps you just have to PUT THE PLUG IN THE SINK and then mix the hot and cold water to the desired temperature; same result as a mixer tap.
On the shopping hours... I'm British and live in Germany, I like that the shops in Germany are open less than in the UK and nothing is open on Sundays or public holidays. People in retail also have families, it's good that they can all have at least one day together per week. The sinks have a plug, fill the sink with hot and cold water to the desired temp and use it, saves water and much better for the environment.
It does appear to me that the U.S. is sending Europe all its best people!
And some to the UK too. 😊
@@ginojaco The UK is in Europe, it's just no longer in the European Union
@@Thomas-nc9fz Not really.
@@ginojaco Europe is a continent, it has nothing to do with politics or economics. Europe is a geographical label.
@@Thomas-nc9fz Outstanding geographical knowledge there, yet a total ignorance of prepositional fact. 👍
I can understand the restaurant thing, as I spent some time in the US and missed being able to go to a decent Indian restaurant, they are everywhere in the UK but hard to find in the US (and when we did find one it wasn't very good), I do wish there were more Mexican restaurants in the UK, I love Mexican.
I live in Manchester area and I pine for a decent Tex- Mexican Restaurant. (disclaimer: expatriate Texan)
I make do with the Taco Bell in the Exchange mall downtown.
Me too, i love the textures and flavours of Mexican food. I've never been to an authentic restaurant, so i attempt recipes i find online. I would miss Indian food; it's my go-to takeaway.
Oddly in Fort Worth there are good Asian restaurants, as well as televised cricket matches by local teams!
As a retail worker, I am very glad that I am not forced to work through the night. People need a work/life balance.
The tap thing is easy. You put the plug in the sink and mix the water to the temperature ou prefer. It saves a lot of water. I have a mixer tap in my kitchen and it is impossible to get properly hot water. I have to boil a kettle to wash the dishes, which is ridiculous. Fortunately, in the bathroom, I have separate taps, so my baths are beautifully hot.
I agree
I don’t know why separate taps are such a big deal either!!!
The right way is to fill the basin with the amount of hot water and then fill to the level and temperature with the cold tap, simples.
Lovely to hear from you again however there is one thing I don't understand. Repeatedly Americans complain about having two taps.
Simply put the plug in and run both taps until you get the temperature you want. It also saves water and most homes are now fitted with a water meter so it is costing you a lot of money to just let the water run away.
never apologise for missing things, i moved 20 miles away from the city and there are tons of things i miss!
I love it that you love the UK - it makes me feel proud. I have moved away myself as sometimes it drives me crazy there.. but it's in my blood so I still love England and the other countries for their beauty.
Put the plug in the sink for a wash and mix the water in the basin, no need to choose between hot and cold 😂😃You notice things about the UK we take for granted. I’ve always enjoyed my visits to America and I’ve always found you to be a friendly nation.
Newer properties and renovations have the mixer taps.
@@julia2jules I know most do now. We don’t, but I don’t have a preference myself. 😃
I'm in the South of England and most of the homes I visit have mixed taps
FYI Mains water in England is drinkable. However hot water stored in a storage cistern could become unsafe to drink. Bylaws prevented hot and cold water being mixed
Lol....so English ( washing in a sink) most people have a shower these days lol
You’d be er survive in Germany. Half day close on Saturday and all day Sunday. I grew up ( here in the U.K. ) with everything being closed on Sunday and I remember being wonderful. A day when no pressure to do anything. I would bring that if I could. People who work in retail have families and they deserve that time off too.
The reason shops had to close on a Sundays was originally to allow people to go to church..the Sabbath day was holy....This only changed when big business took over, in the '80's...I worked 12 hours in Blockbusters...no lunch break....only time allowed to close was to take the takings, just across the road to the Post Office!...
I’m so happy you and your lovely family are enjoying and making the most of your life here in the U.K. I have never visited the U.S. but I appreciate it would be very different from the U.K. and you made a very brave decision to up sticks from what you know yet from your videos I can tell you are loving your new life here… Happy days to you all x
I really enjoy your channel. I lived in Germany for a couple of years so do understand the culture shock. The shopping hours there are really strict. Nothing is open on Sundays and Saturday is a half day. This is due to a strong retail union that insists that retail workers have a right to a family life. I just got organised and worked with it. I now totally support it. Who, seriously who, need to grocery shop at 23.30, even if you are a shift worker? Days have a cycle, you know that as a farmer. 24 hour convenience is exploiting the lowest paid, with the less rights. You also live in a rural community, how could a shop stay open so someone can buy parmigiana ham on the off chance someone's life will be devastated if they have to substitute a cheese?
I liked your differences, I also liked that none of them are major, and seriously destroy the quality of life - well aside from TexMex - it's a cultural thing, Texas doesn't have many good Indian restaurants
I moved to Germany from Hong Kong. Massive shock that shops were such strict times and there was nothing open at all on Sundays!!!. :O
i agree. people's health and well-being, family life matter more than making money. shops in uk used to close half day. each district had it's early closing day, usually thursday; ours was wednesday. so the staff could go home and do their own tasks. they also worked half day saturday. so 5 whole days. most everything was closed on sunday. it was a better way of life.
Lived in the US for 4 years. The five things I miss:
1) Drive in movie theatres - lots of fun.
2) New England Clam Chowder
3) Big cheap houses
4) “Gee, I love your accent” 🤣
5) Macy’s
But overall definitely prefer living in the UK - the quality of life is so much better.
I've always wanted to go to a drive in theatre! Ever since that scene in Grease xD
Understand why you miss your home country food. Food preferences / standard comparisons between UK and the US will always be somewhat subjective and controversial. We found that on our US holidays (skiing / California tour / Florida) is that whilst we enjoyed the ease and variety (some great fish dishes) we also felt (for us) that there were too many fast food joints and the portions were enormous even in restaurants. generally we were missing veg dishes but in LA we found a great asian style restaurant where you dipped fresh veg into boiling water - delish after weeks of fries / burgers
Love the duck ... I so love the duck. How wonderful to have her in your garden. You are so fortunate (I am a tad jelly !) x
🦆🦆🦆🐣🐣🐣🐥🐥🐥
A great video as always, but I have to say about opening times if shops are open past 8 then people have to work those unsociable hours? Ok for the consumer but what about the work life balance of the workers and their families? I would rather keep that for them rather than at the (small) expense of my own inconvenience. As to taps, you are allowed to run both at the same time and collect the water in the sink to your preferred temperature? Another option of course is get a plumber to change the sink and install a mixer tap? That is also allowed too.
I love seeing a different perspective and I hope that you are respected in the UK
The petrol lever was removed some thirty years ago. This was in part due to the move from attendant service to self service. There were a number of incidents where the public misused the lever causing spillages.
And there's always the slight risk of forgetting the nozzle and driving off while it's still in the fuel filler. You Tube informs us this does occasionally happen in the US.
I hope Mrs Duck is successful and you get to see her chicks as she takes them down to your pond! My parents have fed a succession of duck and pheasant families over the years, and have often been rewarded with a visit by the chicks later in the year.
So far everything is still going great... I look in on her everyday (from a distance).
It is always interesting to listen to Macs cultural differences, especially as I have extended family in Chicago and St Louis. I must say I was pleasantly surprised on how minor the things he and his family missed. As Mac will find most new houses post 2000 have mixer taps installed and it is a simple DIY job. On the restaurants, yes convenient but in certain states like Florida and across a lot of the south/mid west you drive into every town and it looks exactly the same chain restaurants, and this is not just a visiting Brit observation of the lack character if you read one of Ohio’s famous sons Bill Bryson books he says the same. Petrol pumps well we don’t have that kind of freezing weather where you would really need that and the canopy protects you from the rain. All of the retail things well I am not A big shopper, but I have always felt that the downside to that is those people have to work those unsociable hours away from their families on minimum wage (less in the states) just so you can stroll around a mall until midnight. The things are bigger is definitely true but we are a country of 67M versus 330M so it is not really surprising! I love GB as a proud Brit and I hope everyone including Mac and the family enjoys celebrating the unique occasion of Her Majesty the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the extended Bank Holiday next weekend.
Understand you missing things from home. Have lived in France for 30 years and still miss England. Mainly the pubs, countryside and the people . Glad you're still enjoying yourselves x Happy Easter weekend 🐣🐤🐥
Petrol pumps used to have locking latches virtually everywhere in the UK but it became apparent that they are dangerous so most local authorities insist they be disabled. The result is the UK has hardly any static electricity spark fires per year at petrol stations (less than 5) and the US has thousands. It is just a safety thing.
WOW yes can see the reason as you have to be so careful of fumes....
@1:12 I think that has to be the same thing for anyone living somewhere different to where they’re used to. We all grew up on the food that we know and love and food let’s face it, is a huge part of our lives!
Lovely to hear your enthusiasm for your home country and well said about the negative comments!👍
There are always pros and cons, but if fairness yours seem small....nice to see you adapting so well....your kids will grow up well rounded and open minded to other cultures, especially when you also take them to trips to other countries too.....go to Berlin and find a little bit of the Berlin wall and try to explain to them what happened to have such a barrier between two sides of the same country that became so different.
Shops used to shut at 6pm, and had a half day during the week and never opened on a Sunday. The changes have only happened after a weakening of the workers unions thus forcing them to work longer hours.
love watching your experiences you don't have to miss out with your taps, as a plumber, I can tell you its very common to have a mixer tap instead of 2 single taps, either get a plumber in or do it yourself no need to change any of the pipes just change the tap to a single spout lever tap, stop by at any plumbing merchants and they will help you out.
Put the plug in the basin - run both hot and cold taps and get a basin full of perfectly warm water to wash with. Simples!
Hi love your Vlogs I have had Tex Mex here in the UK, having lived abroad myself it's ok to list the things about your own country you miss. your positively and enthusiasm for this little island of ours shines through.
Such a calm dispostion. Love these videos. x
Love your balance - glad you’re happy here.
I chose your video this morning to watch while I take my blood pressure lol, out of many, because I always know it'll bring a happy smile to my face unlike some other content which might just raise the old BP!
Joking aside of course you will miss some home things, they're part of who you are!
In Australia we have the single taps, but we don't have the self-measuring pumps, I wish we had!
I can understand your enthusiasm for Bass Pro Shop, you can make a day out of it. It's a good advertisement for UK people to visit the US!
Your kids are lucky having all that beautiful green space! And trees are so patient, Lol!
Thank you for the great video!
Trees are patient...
Top fueling up tip
Use your petrol cap to hold the leaver in when filling your car
I totally get it, when I travel to your home country I am often bug eyed at how much bigger things are in the US. Can I just dispel one thing. We do have mixer taps here in many homes so you could make that change in your home in one afternoon if you hit your limit in winter.
Why does everyone have to have boiling water, why not just set the boiler to heat up to a temperature the human body can handle ?
@@chrisbodum3621 in the days of hot water in tanks, you need it hot enough to kill the bacteria
@@chrisbodum3621 majority of boilers are set to around 60C mainly for washing up in the kitchen, there are thermostatic valves for taps to set the temperature to normally max of45c but these are not common in a standard home. Mixer taps with 1 hole sinks/basins are getting more popular these days, the main reason 2hole sinks and taps have hung around was they were the cheaper option for builders/property developers to use, looking on screw fix, the cheapest pair of taps is £16.99 the cheapest mixer is £37.99.
@@chrisbodum3621 exactly. i never had that problem. just a comfortable hot water.
@@johnleonard9090 there were also sanitary reasons for not mixing the mains supply with anything else in case of contamination from backflow.
Great videos! Love it! Sooo good and informative! ☺️
Oh, now come on! Re: the separate taps, just put the plug in! It is anyway only older houses in the UK that have this (there's a specific, good reason to do with old plumbing and water supply, no doubt someone in comments will have explained it). My house is only 35 years old and has mixer taps.
I very much hope no-one will do the 'well, if you don't like it etc..' thing, if they do, just ignore/delete. You are very welcome and I love hearing your 'compare and contrast' musings. You've never been anything other than thoughtful and respectful.
Keep the vids coming!
Interesting list. Have lived in both countries, one thing I miss from USA is the true wilderness and space.
try scotland
@@TheOwlsarewatching606 Scotland has the most wilderness in the UK its still not on the same scale as USA.
@@1commentking I made a pleasant comment. I have no idea where you are from though you have lived in either the USA or Britain. Obviously Scotland is small compared to a vast continent. That does not take away from its wild beauty. Clearly size matters more to you than it does me.
@@TheOwlsarewatching606 Why are you getting so passive aggressive? Calm down.
@@TheOwlsarewatching606 Fwiw though obviously wilderness is more pronounced the larger it is. Being 100 mlies fron the nearest town is a just a more profound experience than being 10 miles away.
This is so interesting, especially the water tap difference. The little things… enjoyed this video. Take care
Thanks for watching
Loving the duck nesting in your garden. I had a mallard do the same. You’re doing the right thing keeping your distance. They desert if disturbed too much.
Thanks 👍
Loads of wildlife and loads of space for the children to run around in. You have got it all. Maybe get a camera to keep an eye on the mother duck.
You can put the plug in the sink and fill it to the required temperature. Like we do. 😁
Thanks for your insight, i really appreciate it.
British bathroom sinks come equipped with a Plug. P L U G ! This plugs the drain hole preventing water from escaping. You then add hot and cold water until you arrive at the temperature you prefer. No need to either scold or freeze your face. It's quite simple really.
I found your channel yesterday and I’m loving your videos!
Glad you’re loving it over here 😁
This video is so lovely and calming… the auto petrol pumps sound great lol (though I’ve got a tiny little car so it would probably be done by the time I’d got back in the car! 🤣)
Your place in the countryside is gorgeous.
Nice one Mac! There will always be things that you miss, that remind you of time past, where you grew up.
The freedom of choice is always prominent for US citizens, and is a habit difficult to break.
Another good and well balanced comparison of different cultures!
Also, I love going to the Mall or Supermarket in the US. The selections are off the chain!!! Its like, I fancy a Mountain Dew. And there's around 10 different choices! It's crazy
Always great to view one of your posts.
Thanks Red 3 👍🏾
As a Brit that loves to visit the US (and even worked there a short while) I miss barbecue too. Nobody does barbecue like the Americans. However, there's one place that you will LOVE. Check out Red's True Barbecue in Manchester. It's the nearest thing you will get to US BBQ and honestly, it's seriously good.
Thanks for the recommendation. 👍
Hey Mac, you and your family and just wonderful and I love that you are here in Britain. I live a long way from you but part of me wants to just come to your farm and shake your hand x
Years ago we used to have the little clips that allowed you to lock the petrol pump in the on position and let go of the handle but these disappeared for some reason, probably due to some obscure health and safety concern. All modern houses and many older ones do have mixer taps.
"if you hear that in the background that's Matthew attacking a tree" Matthew is my spirit animal 😂😂 it's what I'd be doing except I'm 36 and have to be grown up.
😀
I love your videos!! As a fellow American living in the UK in the past year and half...I agree with you on most things....our family really enjoying our time in the UK here....and wow......8 foot pizzas....!!! US does everything big!!!
I'm a truck driver in the UK most of our truck fuel pumps stay open with that little lever as we take a lot of fuel if not we use a tennis ball to hold it open 🙂
Thank you so much for not destroying the water trough! They are all over England, used to be used by cows but also horses when travelling the country. We like keeping stuff over here lol Sorry you miss your homelands but we are really glad you are here with us ❤.... Yeah, our taps are rubbish. I think we keep the hot and cold just to annoy the rest of the world 😂
😁🤣
That mum duck is great. Love the updates as you are so positive. Did not know you was minted to buy a farm. lol
Glad we have you in the uk 🇬🇧
You can change the taps buy sets of mixer taps - we did, from B&Q. Or use the plug and fill the sink with mixed hot & cold water simple!
a suggestion for the tap inconveniences, go and buy a few1L to 2L plastic bowls from a pound shop, useful for wet shave, prefill to correct temp for washing hands, useful when prepping food or that messy job to reduce messy taps
Thank you for your insights. Totally understand why you miss the food/restaurants you particularly loved.
About the taps I hear quite a lot of Americans comment about the UK not having mixer taps in bathroom sinks. In point of fact they do exist. We have one attached to our bathroom sink. So do a lot of my friends. You probably know this already by now. You can buy mixer bathroom sinks/taps in UK. So a trip to a bathroom showroom can fix any issues people have with sinks that have two taps.
However, just pointing this out, if you have two separate taps and you want to wash your hands and face safely, well you can just do what millions of Brits do and put the plug in the plughole and run the water into the basin (both the hot and the cold) and when it's deep enough and the right temperature then you can wash your hands/face.
I live in the UK and am from the US and been here for 16 years. I used to miss Taco Bell, Wendy's and other American restaurants but they're all here now. I also missed Frank's Red Hot sauce but they have it here. You can change your taps to single taps for cold and hot. My kitchen has the single tap.
Having lived in Florida for 20 years there are a few things I also miss Mac, #1 I miss the afternoon thunderstorms, #2 the wide roads and parking lots, #3 the attitude on the people imo is better (not so stuck up) I think Americans are more friendly. #3 The entrepreneur (can do) attitude, #4 The size of the houses and yards are bigger, #5 better talk show radio shows. Now I was born in the UK, my father is British. But these are the things I have noticed since being back in the Uk for the last 10 years. I will say that the Goods things about the U.S. dont outweigh the bad things about the U.S. I still perfer to live in the UK overall.
Sorry you think we're all stuck up!
@@roswilkinson4335 You want to meet my wife,she is stuck up LOL !!
We're not stuck up! I'd say most of us are very comfortable admitting to be rough and ready. The thing is, we don't want to encroach on people's privacy, so we keep back, until invited in. We'll say hello or smile, but any more than that feels a bit "too familiar" when met with a complete stranger. Get us talking....and we'll be so friendly you'll wonder how you got chatting at a bus stop at 3pm, and are now staggering out the pub at midnight! 🥴🥃 I can't speak for every single Brit, obviously, and there are those who like to live their lives as though they're some type of celebrity,...but even they're not stuck up! The correct term is arsehole! 🤣 Lavish lifestyle according to their Instagram...when in truth it's someone who was bullied in school, now snaps themselves near naked and thinks they are a model, who are up to the eyeballs in debt because their possessions are still technically 99% owned by Visa! Sad! Don't judge the rest of us through those types! We're reserved, but rarely mean or unfriendly. It's a politeness thing, that's all. 😁
@@blackvulcan100 you have my deepest sympathy. Must be hard on you constantly meeting her demands. I never understand why men put up with it personally. She's no better than anyone else and I guarantee she'd be a thousand per cent happier if she just let go and embraced her real self. It must be exhausting constantly trying to project a certain image to others. Sod that! IDGAF what anyone thinks, that's their issue not mine. Life's too short to worry about how people view us. 😘
@@tamielizabethallaway2413 Ahaha yes but I have never known any thing else. I met her when I was 16 and she was 15. She was and still is even at 74 years old a beautiful woman, totally loyal and we have had many good times. Off to Spain and France for two months in our caravan ( trailer ) I have learnt over time to say yes dear of course and then do more or less what I wanted. Being posh is no bad thing, better that than some of the common tats I see and hear around. Planning to visit the US later in the year.
Always enjoy your videos. In the days before self service petrol stations. The pumps always had a switch for the attendant to lock on the fuel so he could clean your windscreen whilst waiting for the filling to finish. This changed with self service so rightly or wrongly. It seems to be a safety issue
There’s a couple of reasons why the petrol stations in the U.K. don’t have the feature to pump fuel without you holding the handle.
1) the cost of fuel in U.S is considerably cheaper and most Americans fill the car up till the pump shuts off ..this is not the case in the U.K. because fuel is so expensive and most people do not fill up ..we put in a desired amount we can afford eg: £20’s worth.
2) in America the majority of fuel station explosions are caused not by using your phone at the pump but caused by static electricity from the driver who sets the pump to fill up and walks away from the pump, then they get into the car or reach into the car which can cause static electricity to generate by rubbing your hand or clothing against a bare metal part or the cloth seats then as they return to the pump the static electricity jumps from the hand to the petrol vapours which are still present around the filler cap. Then it’s BOOM. That’s the reason we don’t have that option at our pumps.
I watched this with interest as their are things that I miss from the USA (as a frequent visitor), but to go through the 5 items that you miss:-
Restaurants- I agree completely. We don't often go to fast food outlets, but restaurants like Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, etc could give you a good meal. Speciality restaurants were superb, but we have had some lovely food in Mom and Pop places too. I also miss Tex-Mex since our local restaurant closed a few years ago.
Gas pumps- The UK pumps are simpler than the US pumps with their 6 or more grades of gas and UK pumps do not need a Zip Code to use a credit card.
I don't find UK shopping hours too bad, but it has been useful in the States to get something later in the evening. I like the 7 Eleven stores for convenience.
Mixer taps (faucets)- We have them in our home, but I installed them myself. A plumber could change the bathroom sink for one with a mixer if you wanted.
Shop size- I personally prefer smaller stores. I've had to use Target in Kissimmee several times and I find it too large as is our local Sainsbury's supermarket and that is only about a quarter of the size of Target but it is a matter of choice.
One other thing that I miss- the roads with their better signage and turn on a red!
Just changing the subject, have you thought about drilling a hole in the bottom of your water trough and fitting a water but tap? Nice place you have. Regards.
Interesting that one of the things Mac commented on in another video was how much he enjoyed NOT turning on red. If it's red - you stop. Some UK stop lights have a filter with a green arrow showing you can turn on red but generally if it's red you wait.
@@kumasenlac5504 With the turn on red, you still have to come to a stand and check that the road is clear before proceeding. There are so many junctions with unnecessary delays turning when there is no safety involved.
You can buy a mixer tap from any DIY STORE in the UK (or use the plug!!)
Gas: We do have them but they're only on diesel pumps to fill trucks. buses and farm tractors. The nozzle is also extra wide so no good for filling cars. Another thing is, I think fuel tanks on American cars/trucks are a lot bigger. Probably to cover the, exceptional to us Brits, exceptional mileages between American towns and Cities.
Speaking of gas spillages only had one bad one. I was a bus driver and we had to fill our buses after our shift on the way back to our depot/garage. The bus/coach I had this day was fairly new and had a nylon type tank. Just as it reached capacity the auto switched off I noticed a river of fuel running down the forecourt and into the road. The tank had split!!! Police and Fire Brigade had to be called aswell as council environment officers. over £200 of fuel gone and a massive cleanup bill. Plus the gas station was shut for hours. It was a design fault luckily for me. So the bus builders had to pay.
If you don't want to move between hot/cold taps just stick the plug in and mix the water in the bowl/sink. Saves more water than just letting a warm tap run too.
We used to have petrol pumps like that but they seem to have been removed.
Tony Soprano over there with your ducks :)
Great video.
Mixer taps are the norm on modern washbasins - old ones had hot and cold, but put the plug in!
Cholera was the causation for two faucets (taps) Victorian engineers put a system together that ensured no contaminated water could feed back into the main cold supply of purified water.The hot water and cold water only ever mixed in the sink. Hot water was isolated by air gaps from feed from the mains via a feed tank and a float valve. Any disease was isolated.
Tesco & Asda larger stores are open 24 hours in the UK. There are some smaller convenience shops that also open 24 hours. 🇬🇧🇺🇸
The UK used to have those clips to allow the pump to run on its own while filling up, but no more for some reason and yes they made things easier. They maybe still on the diesel pumps for lorries however.
I was told - by my Dad I think, that the auto lock on UK (and most of Europe) removed the auto locks when they went over to self service because at that time the auto shutoff sensors were not that reliable and so in insurance companies required them to be disabled. Re the taps, yeah you can have a mixer tap fitted, I have them, but the thing is, my new, supper efficient boiler takes more than 20seconds - recommended hand washing time - to actually deliver hot water, so unless you want to stand and wait, you are still washing with cold water.
yes i remember using the click open fuel pumps. they were banned for safety reasons, as the public cannot be trusted to always behave responsibly. the risk is far greater than the benefit.
Great channel and content. We are pleased you have made a life here.
I truly love this video, Hi Matthew he is so cute!
Depending on where you live there are a few independent 24/7 stores and a lot of supermarkets stay open until 11pm Mon-Fri and some are 24/7 Mon-Sat. My local Tesco for example is open 8am-11pm Mon- Sat and 11-5 on Sunday.
Have been to several Bass Pro shops in the US and yep they are something else, you can quite easily spend a whole day in one just looking round. What I liked especially were the roads, just put your radio on and drive for hundreds of miles in one day.
I love this video. Especially life just carrying on behind you.
For taps I recommend sticking your hand in the cold first then under the hot haha
There’s a restaurant called Hickories in the North West that does American style smokehouse food. I’d love to know if you thought it was authentic
Thanks for the recommendations. I will look up Hickory's.
Bathroom taps: you can put a plug in the basin and mix the hot and cold water.
Our local Sainsbury’s used to be open 24/7. But nobody used it much after dark. So, they reduced the opening hours - now open from 7 til 11 during the week and much longer in Saturdays. If you’re in a rural area, even the big chains are franchised.
We have big shops - they don’t last, especially since covid. Huge department stores that have lasted for centuries have closed down lately. And we don’t have the room or the population quite often for large stores or ones that sell one type of product. We’ve started having Walmart’s. And I think there’s a chick-fil-A opened somewhere recently too.
The taps - our hot water comes via tanks and it’s not suitable as drinking water. Hence, the separate taps. It’s health and safety. Even now, if you have mixer taps, that only happens at the last minute. In the meantime, run both hit and cold water in the basin. The taps used to have to be earthed - you’d see yellow and green wires everywhere. Think that stopped now … maybe. Not seen so many …
Thanks to the EU cut-off switches on fuel pumps were removed for safety reasons about 20 years ago. Apparently folk in Germany were driving off without removing them. Holding the pump is a pain in the backside if you are a lorry driver !
It wasn't the EU that stopped them being used in the UK. They started being disabled in the UK as most local fire certification authorities began refusing certificates for petrol stations unless they were disabled. The huge drop in fires at UK petrol stations that resulted led to similar rules being adopted in other European countries. Most fires weren't caused by drive offs or overspill but by vapour expansion and release from filling a near empty tank being ignited by static electricity sparks arising from opening car doors while pumps were engaged. The US has thousands of such fires per year and the UK averages less than 5.
@@peterd788 Thank you for your very detailed, expert opinion. I was just going on what someone told me years ago. You wouldn't happen to have the "before and after" figures for Germany would you, just for comparison purposes ?
@@clivedunning4317 Thank you. I don't but I could probably find out as I speak German. The drop in fires from disabling nozzle locking is so substantial that it's miraculous anyone allows lock-open nozzles at all. The only reason there is resistance to it in the US in the face of overwhelming evidence is the historically larger size of fuel tanks and the attendant boredom of having to supervise the filling of the tank which is actually a distraction exercise to avoid the customer engaging in spark creating activity.
@@peterd788 That would be interesting , if you could find the details on the German figures. I'm a long retired HGV driver and knew many guys who carried with them a long, 4" , thin nail to hold the fuel lever down when refuelling, others would use a half-litre plastic pop bottle !
It's a basin in the bathroom or WC, on architects drawings it's marked basin or WHB (wash hand basin). Sinks are in kitchens and utility areas etc.
There are a few reasons for the separate taps. In the past houses were built with storage tanks in the loft, this was to prevent high demand periods like the mornings where everyone is getting ready for work or school putting too much demand on the water network. Everything bar drinking water taps was fed from the tank, which was fed by a single all or float valve from the mains, limiting the water demand off the mains supply. That's why in the past we were told not to drink or take water for cooking from the hot tap, as the loft tank could be contaminated with bird droppings or even a dead bird. I did find a dead mouse in a tank once. To prevent cross contamination of the water supply, the taps were kept separate so the two flows from the tank and mains couldn't mix. Also, if on side is mains fed, and the hot gravity fed from the tank in the loft, on a mixer, if both hot and cold were in use and the cold mains tap was opened too much, the pressure could actually for cold water backwards along the hot pipework. I came across that a few times in London where shower mixer taps had been fitted and the cold was off the mains, but the hot was fed from the storage tank in the loft via a cylinder with an electric immersion heater in it. It's changed now, we have higher water pressure, better mains flow rates. A lot of the old spun cast iron and lead has been replaced by HDPE or MDPE pipework. Incoming mains have double check valves on them etc.
Just a thought Mac. You can buy a mixer tap from B&Q or any hardware store but you’ll need to buy a new sink too.
I think separate Taps is historic. Originally there would have only been cold water pumped in and you boiled the hot separately. Mixer taps are readily available it's just what we've got used to. A bit like the corded light switch in bathrooms. In the days of fuses which would take a second to blow if someone with wet hands touched the switch causing possible serious shock, a cord solved the problem. Now we have breaker switched so cord not really needed but people still use pull cords in the bathroom also we are 240 volt
The petrol pump thing is so true, I made a big roadtrip in the USA a few years back and when I got back to Britain I realised how convenient it is, wish they did it here
Been driving a long time and in the past we used to have petrol pump guns that did that to, dont know when they changed!
safety is more important than convenience.
I still remember my trip to Washington DC years ago I have never forgotten the amazing restaurants. Outback, Planet Hollywood, Ruby Tuesdays....etc...you guys eat so much glorious food! Snicker Crunch Pie anyone?.
Thanks for the Great Content 🥰
as far as i knew you can let the petrol pump, pump petrol itself, usually some mechanism within the lever itself will click when you squeeze it all the way and it will lock in place
Put the plug in the sink, you can mix whatever temperature water you want and save water at the same time
1000% agree about the tap issue. I use a water pick instead of floss and it works best with tepid water, but because of the taps I either have to fill it up with ice-cold water or boiling hot. Frustrating, that being said, it is possible to change the taps to a mixer. One day I will do this (have said this for four years now) 😂
why don't you use your kettle to get the desired temperature, then transfer the water to the pick.
The tap thing is easy , put the plug in and then just turn both taps on , it's not good to have taps running with the plug out anyway, avoiding waste.
Most modern homes have mixers all you have to do is change your sink and taps 👍
To solve the tap problem, put the plug in the hole ;)
I think separate hot and cold tap handles (e.g., a kitchen tap with one spout and two handles) are better than a mixer handle when the hot water comes from a hot water tank, otherwise there is a chance of mixing some water from the tank into your drinking water, which is not healthy due to contamination from micro-organisms and dissolved metal salts (especially from copper hot water tanks). It's not a problem when the hot water is flash-heated straight from the cold water supply.
exactly. safety above convenience anyday.
I've been to the Bass Pro shop in Memphis. Incredible place.