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Working at the public library, a friend of mine has found this handwritten note enclosured in a book about IRA:

Little suprises

It is very likely that you have an idea about left side traffic, separate taps and specific plug sockets in UK. But I suppose you aren't awared of local light bulbs and phones fittings.

Now you are.

Religion

In a walking distance from our house (literally, no longer than in 5 minutes) there are four various Protestant, one Catholic and one Judaic religious organizations. Actually, there can be more but yet I noticed only six of them. Newcomers to UK are often asked in their countries about mosques, if they are dailymailing British society for real. See, those mosques being widely discussed are, uhm, not the only ones.

Hello from TfL

Today, power supply went off in our home. After futile messing with fuses and switches I went outdoors to check if some works were in progress and indeed discovered the cause:





That bendy bus smashed into the house right next to ours.

Cash is the king

UK coins are hard to get known with for a novice. While visiting UK for the first time as a tourist I had permanent problems with counting out needed amount, annoyingly slowing down the line and finally shamefully paying with a note (which resulted in extra coins received as change).

The problem is that coin value in Britain is not simply a function of its diameter. So when you're holding 10p and searching for 20p in your wallet you can't just grasp a coin that is bigger than one you're holding. Also there are often text values on coins instead of easy recognized digits, and that captions are hard to read.

In other words, you can't just rely on your instinct and are forced to analyze.

Well, actually, diameter rule remains, but is has effect not through all the coins available but in particular groups only. Here they are:

Colour: coin that isn't all white can be of either smallest (1 or 2 pence) or greatest (1 and 2 pounds) value.

a) If the color is more red than yellow then it's 1 or 2 pence. 2 pence have bigger diameter.

b) If the coin is more yellow than red then it's 1 or 2 pounds. Additionaly, pounds coins have unique properties: one pound is thick (obviously much thicker than others) and two pounds are bimetallic (white centre, yellow borders). And again 2 pound are bigger than 1 pound.

If the coin is all white, proceed with shape: if it is polygonal rather that round then the value is either 20 or 50 pence (again, bigger coin size for 50p). Otherwise, it is 5 or 10 pence (yep, bigger diameter for 10).

P.S. Of course banks card can be a bliss but in many cases it needs to be chipped, i.e. chipped cards are required by automatic services (selling and tickets machines, etc). And many Russian banks issue only magnetic cards without a chip integrated.

Age matters

Another local detail to catch - when quoting somebody named, often age is given in UK press. "Bloody hell," says John Bull, 34.

This custom doesn't just seem unusual but has also a touch of contradiction to me because in other cases it is not polite to state your or somebody's age where it is not necessary. For example, some companies warn canditates not to state age (or sex, or marriage status) in their CVs for it may be a discrimination of those younger or older.

Snatch

If you somehow managed not to hear about the greatest London heist in August, you surely must pay attention.

The thing with it is that the event was perfectly cinematographic. I mean, from the huge booty taken in two minutes to the every detail. Just look through the newspapers websites and put a mark when you face some criminal movie cliché: two of robbers, black and white, sharply dressed, disguised with Mission Impossible latex masks, grabbing precious jewels without any casualties, leaving the place changing cars etc.

And the final detail - get ready - Britain's previous largest robbery took place at 2003 at the same store! So, it was a sequel.

Also, why 'cinematographic' instead of 'cinema' for CCTV shots and bypasser's mobile video are available to the public. Gosh, it's better than a movie!

See, conclusion honest person must come to: Guy Ritchie is a bloody realist.