Haven’t we learned anything from 1920s prohibition? When stupid politicians voted to ban alcohol consumption across the United States, and in so doing, created the model for organised crime, which still exists today, and lives on In the drug cartels of South America. So shouldn’t we be de-criminalising instead of criminalising otherwise lawful social activity? But here we go again, with Starmer’s plan to ban tobacco smoking in pub gardens and parks, where it does not affect anyone except the smoker.
Sunak started all of this nonsense with his talk about raising the smoking age every year, so that generations going forward will never be able to legally smoke. He did it to take away attention from the housing and cost of living crisis which his government had created.So are we going to see police officers frisking down young people, just in case they are hiding cigarettes? That’s going to be great for community relations! Now Starmer has picked up the reins.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a smoker. But I don’t like to see anyone being put out of work just because someone wants to make a political point. Nor do I wish to see the creation of a new criminal underground. Haven’t we got enough criminals already? Or police chasing round after kids and pub- smokers, when they should be catching burglars and shoplifters. If Starmer wants to ban something, he should ban online gambling.That causes much more psychological damage and addiction. As well as family breakups.But no one seems bothered about that. In fact, I’d guess that if you’ve got the wit and the know-how, anyone could start up a gambling platform from their own back bedroom.You wouldn’t need to employ anyone. And you wouldn’t need to rent any premises.You just pay for the software and the marketing.Then sit back and watch the cash roll in. It almost seems too easy.
One of the things I’ve noticed in the past couple of years is the appearance of cans of Carlsberg; Guinness and some other beers and lagers, which have been repackaged in larger pint-sized containers. So when you pour it out, it will reach the top of your glass. Just as if you were buying it draught.
What makes it legal in the UK to sell beer in pint-size cans is the fact that the 568ml equivalent is also displayed on the can. Just as a McDonalds quarter pounder doesn’t define its weight but is a trademark. A McDonalds quarter pounder’s actual legal weight in the UK is a minimum of 113.4 grammes uncooked. But for me, it will always be quarter pounder.
So why is it that when I buy a 454 gramme jar of strawberry jam, I am not allowed to call it a pound of jam? It is never labelled as such, even though for all practical purposes, 454 grammes is a pound of jam The welcome exception is MacKay’s 12-ounce (340 gramme) jars of jam and marmalade, which are labelled in this way. So why can’t other manufacturers label in the same way? Selling items in imperial units is not illegal provided that you label the stuff correctly.
The fact Is, that pint cans have never been part of the British tradition because, before metrication, off-sales of beer were in brown pint or quart bottles. The only notable canned beer which existed before metrication was the Watney’s Party 7 (and the smaller Party 4), which was sold in large cans which you could never open. And when you did manage to pierce the heavy-duty aluminium, the gaseous contents sprayed everywhere. From the 1970s onwards, most canned beers were sold in the horrible 440ml size, which doesn’t appear to convert to anything and which continues to be the standard size for most canned beers sold in the UK. Why 440 ml?
Currently, it is only the British Weights and Measures Association (which appears closely aligned to Brexit and Farage’s Reform Party) which is fighting to preserve use of imperial units and which is fighting a rearguard action against mandated metrication. But you don’t have to be an ardent Brexiteer or Faragist to regret the erasure of 1000 years of history. And there is nothing anti-Europe about wanting to preserve our industrial heritage. And the problem with rearguard actions is that they always fail, unless they buy time for something else to intervene.
Where imperial measurements still reign supreme, are in those parts of the world economy which have been traditionally dominated by the United States. And no mandated-metrication is ever going to change that. Which is why we buy 15-inch pizzas and eat 15-ounce steaks. Why we buy our McDonalds Quarter Pounders. Why we fly at 30,000 feet. Why heavyweight boxers still weigh themselves in pounds. And why you might buy a 56-inch TV for your living room.
One of the most successful campaigns of the 1970s was the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).
At the beginning of the 1970s, the traditional hand pump and pint of traditionally brewed bitter had all but disappeared from Britain’s pubs. In its place, drinkers were directed to Watney’s Red Barrel or the new lager alternatives. At that time, the only national pub chain still serving in that way in its older establishments was Bass Charrington. There were also some smaller local breweries still serving beer ‘from the wood’ such as Young’s brewery in Wandsworth. In fact, it would have taken only one more legislative step to abolish the traditional pint in its entirety. Bottled and canned beers had already been repackaged in alternative metric sizes, commonly now in sizes of 500 millilitres.
No one is forced to drink real ale. You might not even like it. But the important thing is that CAMRA has given you a choice. If you buy it draught, you can still buy it in traditional imperial units but sadly not if you buy it bottled or canned.
Maybe, like me, you dislike having anything forced upon you as part of anyone’s agenda. Whether it’s lockdowns. Or if it is someone is telling you in what units you can market goods and services. Speaking for myself, I don’t eat magic mushrooms. But if you want to get high on magic mushrooms, that’s fine with me. It’s not for me to tell you what you can or can’t do with your own body. So if I love our traditional system of weights and measures, why should someone else tell me that I can’t use them? I can buy a 454 gramme jar of honey from my local supermarket but I am not allowed to call it a pound of honey. What nonsense is that?
In modern Britain, we value diversity. We value the many different cultures, languages, accents and dialects which we encounter everyday of our lives. We would not dream of asking someone who is born and bred in Yorkshire to change the way they speak. So why do we ‘tut tut’ when someone chooses to talk in terms of feet and inches, pounds and ounces, Fahrenheit instead of centigrade (sorry Celsius)? No-one in history has ever legislated to force the use of traditional British measurements? It is something which grew out of trade and custom. And over many centuries.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not calling for any legislative change. I just object to the fact that 1000 years of history has been airbrushed out of the information which is fed to us daily through our televisions or other media outlets. As though it has been removed as part of a corporate policy. As though our traditional measurements had never existed.
Several years ago, one of the mainstream TV channels provided a series of documentaries in which they recreated life within a 1950’s primary school. It was all authentic except for one thing. When the teacher was measuring the height of the schoolchildren, she spoke to them in terms of centimetres instead of feet and inches. Kilograms instead of stones and pounds. Yes-I know that children today would not know how to use imperial measurements. But if you are trying to re-create a 1950s environment, at least please try to make it authentic. Otherwise, what’s the point?
A couple of years ago, the Johnson government announced proposals to relax the rules on mandated Metrication. But it never came to anything. It was too half-hearted. A nod to the Brexiteers. Even though there is nothing anti-Europe in wanting to preserve something more than 1000 years old and which helps to make us what we are. If we are going to abolish traditional measurements, why don’t we go the whole hog and abolish folk music, morris dancing and piano accordions? Yes-the government has legislated to restore crown markings on pint glasses. Big deal! Did you even notice that they had gone?
Whether you like it or not, there are three reasons why imperial measurements, and their American equivalents, will never disappear completely during our lifetimes:
The United States of America, the biggest economy in the world, hasn’t even begun to go metric. In fact, it even used customary units in relation to a recent space mission. What’s the betting that the next American space mission will also go with customary units? And if you watch any Hollywood blockbuster, you’re going to see references to feet and inches; pounds and ounces. They’re not going to convert it for your benefit. Remember also that American Tech still leads the world. The plastic may be made in China. but the technology behind it is 100 percent Silicon Valley. It’s why you will still be buying your 22-inch computer monitors for many years to come.
Even when legislative Metrication is 100% complete, we will still drive a mile down the road; or grow an inch in height; or put on a couple of pounds.
Some things just don’t lend themselves to Metrication. Like the fact that it takes the Moon 28 days to circumvent the Earth; or the Earth takes 365 ¼ days to go round the sun. It’s why we still measure time and angle the Babylonian way.
If like me, you want to celebrate this part of our history, here is something you can do to shout it out.
Do you love sunshine? Then get into your car and adjust the dashboard display so that the temperature is expressed in Fahrenheit instead of centigrade (sorry Celsius). Somehow 38°Celsius doesn’t feel quite as hot as 100° F. Phew!
BRUCE AND HOLLY 