I've been out of the blogging game for a while and I do apologise for that. Quite frankly, there's been little to write about that our friends at the UK Metric Association haven't already covered in their blog.
In the world of metres and kilograms, there have really only been two things on my mind. None of them has any immediate impact on getting the UK to be rid of miles and yards on road signs. In fact, neither of them is even getting a mention in this post - you'll have to come back for those.
In recent times, my views on the imperial system have softened ever so slightly. For one, I've grown fond of the pint as a unit of measurement for beer. I'm sure this comes as no surprise. In my visits to the US, I often find myself explaining the difference between an imperial pint and a US customary pint. My fondness however, has not extended to other archaic liquid measurements, and I explain both pints in terms of millilitres and not fluid ounces (568 ml in the UK vs 473 ml in the US in case anyone was interested).
I've also found myself using imperial measurements in general speech. Not as measurements in themselves, but in expressions. It's no longer uncommon for me to say 'It's so hot today, I've been drinking water by the gallon.' Previously, I'd have shoehorned litres or cubic metres into that expression just to prove a point.
Similarly, I've been using a lot of old money expressions. Words like 'farthing' and 'tuppence' very often come up in conversations with me.
Why, you may ask?
Old measurements and old money are fundamental elements of British culture. I would go even further and say all of these things are part and parcel of the linguistic heritage of all English speaking people.
However, just like I use the odd reference to the farthing, I still pay for things in pounds and pence. The decimal system of currency is far superior to the old system. A system which I neither understand nor know of anyone who does.
It's the same with measurements. While I do like a lot of the old-school expressions referring to measurements e.g. 'pound of flesh', I have absolutely no intentions of making the imperial system my primary form of measurement. The simplicity, uniformity and interconnected nature of the metric system make it far superior to the imperial system.
As nice as it is to say, 'I can see for miles and miles', I would still rather the distance to the horizon be given in kilometres.
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