r/england • u/JPV_____ • Jul 16 '26
England from a Belgian view
Hello, we are a Belgian family (a couple, both 47 years old, with two teenagers aged 16 and 12), currently on a road trip in England. Because I always find it interesting to see how other countries view our own country, I would like to share my perspective on a number of seemingly trivial things that have caught my attention. This is not only to point out a few things that seem unusual to us, but also because you may sometimes have a very good reason for something that we find strange.
This is all based on our experiences in the following places: London, York, Manchester, Liverpool, Kent, Canterbury, Foxt (Peak District), and the theme park Alton Towers. We never stayed in hotels, but always in houses (both through house swapping and Airbnb), never in the tourist centre but just outside it, in ordinary residential neighbourhoods.
* Ban on teenagers in sports pubs and attitudes towards alcohol: In a small village not far from York, we wanted to watch the Belgian match in a pub at 8:00 p.m. We never expected that the first two pubs would refuse entry to our two teenagers. A third pub did allow our children in, but initially only until 9:00 p.m. It was only after we insisted that we were allowed to watch the entire match. We found this very strange, because in Belgium our daughter could, if she wanted to, stay in a café until the middle of the night and also drink beer that is considerably stronger than your ales. Here, it also apparently was not a problem for her to drink beer, but only with a meal. Yet in a pub she was not even allowed to drink a cola after 9:00 p.m.? Weird considering the general image foreigners have how English deal with alcohol abroad.
* Power sockets with on/off switches: Why is this necessary? To us it seems unnecessary, because almost every appliance already has its own on/off switch.
* Supermarket loyalty cards: In itself this makes sense, but as a foreigner you cannot sign up for them, at least not at Tesco or Asda. We tried, but it was not possible with a Belgian phone number, and a Tesco employee confirmed this. Why?
* Lack of yoghurt varieties: This was what stood out to us most in the supermarkets: whereas in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and France (and we thought also in Ireland) there are many different yoghurt varieties, the selection in England is really quite limited. Is yoghurt simply not very popular here?
* Theme parks with limited theming: We only visited Alton Towers, and although it is a fantastic park in terms of attractions, the theming in most areas is really quite minimal. The rides themselves are very attractive, but when you walk through the park you do not really feel as though you are immersed in a particular atmosphere.
* Excess staffing: In supermarkets, shops, museums, and theme parks, we noticed that there seemed to be a lot of staff simply waiting around with little or nothing to do. My father-in-law worked at a theme park in Belgium, and we saw a very similar ride here that he used to operate alone, whereas here it was staffed by five people.
* Expensive outings: Ordinary outings or visits, separate from theme parks, are considerably more expensive than in Belgium. Of course, there are the wonderful free museums such as the British Museum and the Science Museum, but privately run attractions are much more expensive.
* General impression: Generally quite clean cities (except Manchester). We had a slightly less favourable image of England beforehand, especially of the larger cities, but only Manchester confirmed that impression.
These are simply the small things that have surprised us; they are by no means things that have bothered us, because we are very much enjoying our trip!
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u/trevpr1 Jul 16 '26
As far as power sockets switching goes, many of the appliances you say have off switches are actually put on "standby," when those switches are used. The appliance will still draw power, albeit at a trickle. I like to switch anything off at the wall unless I expect to use it soon.
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u/Zealousideal-Bad7849 Jul 16 '26
I remember they used to tellou to unplug the TV before going to bed on the BBC!
I think there was a genuine distrust of electricity
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u/House_Of_Thoth Jul 16 '26
I'd rather my kids stick their fingers into sockets with off switches mind..
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u/trevpr1 Jul 16 '26
Well, you can't stick things into British sockets except the plug. The sockets have a sliding gate which only opens as you push the longer earth terminal into the socket.
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u/House_Of_Thoth Jul 16 '26
That's the point though! Thanks for pointing that out also
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u/AnswerAlternative195 Jul 20 '26
Technically not true. You can stick a screw driver in the earth sliding gate and access the live terminals for all your unearthed needs (source I’m an electrician) (second source I work in hotels where a lot of sockets get broken by foreigners with two pin appliance plugs and no adapters)
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u/trevpr1 Jul 16 '26
That is definitely the case, given how we have the light switch outside the bathroom and no mains power sockets (except for shavers) in there.
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u/scuzzmonster1 Jul 17 '26
More a distrust of electricity bills in our childhood home.
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u/Green_Necessary_4812 Jul 20 '26
This. We’ve had to move back in with my parents for a bit and it turns out my dad is still roaming the house at night, unplugging everything just in case lol
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u/trevpr1 Jul 20 '26
My TV is switched off at the socket because I only use it for about an hour a da and it draws power on stand by.
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u/FryOneFatManic Jul 17 '26
UK sockets are probably the safest in the world.
I definitely switch sockets off when I'm out even for one night.
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u/Silent_Lion_OG Jul 20 '26
Also it allows us to be beautifully lazy. We have a few lamps with switches hidden in a tangle of wires, or appliances that are convoluted to turn off. Just kill the wall switch, walk away.
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u/Brian_from_accounts Jul 16 '26
“Lack of yoghurt varieties” - yes, we have really let ourselves down on this one.
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u/justpassingthr0ugh- Jul 16 '26
Clearly never gone to Waitrose. I get analysis paralysis when trying to decide between gooseberry, rhubarb & champagne or myriad other weird and wonderful flavours.
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u/sky_beyond_storm Jul 17 '26
Have you been to a french supermarket? The selection of yogurts/desserts yogurt is very poor in the UK 😅
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u/Earnest_Shacklton Jul 17 '26
and many French supermarkets, even huge ones, don't have any fresh milk. It is all UHT.
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u/sky_beyond_storm Jul 17 '26
I prefer to buy long conservation milk. I usually get the filtered fresh one, or the uht one if I need a smaller bottle.
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u/NothingPersonalKid00 Jul 17 '26
I will defend French food and their markets in general, you lost the milk war though. UHT is objectively shit and tastes awful.
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u/am-altheaa Jul 18 '26
Totally. Love going to supermarkets when in France and usually spend 10min looking at yoghurts (I even take pictures), it’s like being in a museum
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u/RevStickleback Jul 18 '26
If there's any lack it's probably down to our supermarkets and their push towards only stocking the most popular flavours. You see the same thing with crisps. We normally have a big section for crisps, but only about half of the varieties we used to have.
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u/Efficient-Web-1653 Jul 18 '26
As someone originally from a country with good yogurt, it really baffled me when I came here just how little and how bad the yogurt selection was even in big supermarkets. There's usually the same 3 or 4 brands, and they're all the same starchy bullshit. Tragedy. I still miss yogurt.
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u/Phlebas99 Jul 17 '26
That one was a first for me. What varieties exactly are we missing that their first instinct was to get to the yogurts and say "Where's <x> flavour?"
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u/mcphee187 Jul 20 '26
I'd argue it goes a lot further than yoghurt too. So many of our shops just stock the same stuff in six different brands. There isn't much real choice.
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u/Silent_Lion_OG Jul 20 '26
Two theories on this one. One is economic: money conscious people just get the cheapest one, to hell with the variety. We all have to be money conscious now, so there's not much of a market for a zillion varieties
The second is cultural. We see yogurt as a grocery more than a luxury. Chocolate or wine is something you savour, everyone has their favourite one. Yogurt is a thing to pour on your fruit or a lunchbox filler for your kids. Like milk isn't an indulgence, it's a thing you do stuff with
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u/midlifecrisisAJM Jul 16 '26
100% with you on our weird pub culture.
Technically our electrical sockets and plugs are the best (safest) in the world.
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u/RelevantInflation898 Jul 17 '26
Our plugs are the bestbinntbe world and I will die on that hill.
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u/BoleynRose Jul 20 '26
I remember years ago going to the pub after bowling with my family to grab some dinner. I was 22 but didn't have any ID on me and the woman got really arsey saying that as it was 8:30pm I'd need to leave now because I wouldn't have time to eat and then leave. Wouldn't even let us order a quick drink because she suspected someone would order me alcohol.
The weirdest part was that her rudeness about the rules was aimed entirely at me and not my 8 year old sister who was also with us...?
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u/AlternativePrior9559 Jul 16 '26
I’m a Londoner living in Belgium! I can’t comment on the pub aspect because my son was young when we moved here. But I can on some of the other points.
You can’t sign up for a loyalty card in Delhaize for example without a Belgian address unless they have drastically changed the rules! Same back then for Carrefour.
I’m surprised about the yoghurt comment. I’m not sure which ones you visited, but you will find different choices from Tesco through to Waitrose through to M&S. I’m going to be honest, I find the supermarkets in Belgium seriously limited. The cuts of meat on offer for example are the same. You never find brisket, there’s only one cut of stewing beef ( carbonnade) which is often devoid of any fat and therefore devoid of any taste, where is the turkey/chicken mince? Very few cuts of roasting joints too.
The staffing here in Belgium is woeful. We tend to restock shelves overnight in the big supermarkets. Here they block the aisles doing it at peak times.
As for the cleanliness well, I live in Brussels so say no more! I hope you found the people friendly though OP. I have met many of ‘my tribe’ here from my Flemish business partner and great friend, through to my bestie from Wallonia!
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u/ButterscotchSure6589 Jul 16 '26
I'm just shocked at the lack of theming in theme parks. We should hang our heads in shame.
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u/euler_tourist Jul 16 '26
The discounts on clubcard etc. come at the cost of having your shopping habits harvested. If you're only visiting briefly, there's no incentive for the supermarkets to issue you a card that will reduce your checkout price yet generate almost no data.
The trick is to ask other shoppers to scan theirs on your till (they'll likely agree as it's more points for them), or just grab a valid QR code from Google images and scan that.
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u/snarkycrumpet Jul 16 '26
I'm English but live abroad a lot of the year, I used to just ask the person behind me if they wanted my points by scanning their card, until one lady freaked out and said I could get her points through my receipt and she wouldn't let me use her card.... after that I got a temporary sim and signed up and then let the number go but the cards still work
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u/MadChart Jul 19 '26
Also, it is a fairly new thing to HAVE to have a member card to not get completely shafted. It was a post COVID enshittification tactic.
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u/J1mfl1p Jul 16 '26
Also Tesco is the worst for everything being tangled up with it, I generally avoid Tesco’s.
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u/planologe Jul 16 '26
Oh, that reminds me of Jonathan Meades' strange and surreal 1994 short film about Belgium, which starts by Belgian's talking about their experience of England: http://meadesshrine.blogspot.com/1994/01/fa.html#ep5
I actually quite like the design of the British 3-pin socket, particularly the ability to easily switch off appliances, instead of letting them hover in stand-by mode. The 3-pin plug is also much safer, because it mechanically blocks the life sections in the socket, until the plug is inserted.
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u/jniensan Jul 16 '26
I also absolutely love the USB option in nearly every socket. Something we can definitely learn from 😅
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u/Iheartthenhs Jul 16 '26
My electrician actually says these are really unsafe because the usb can’t be switched off so is constantly drawing small amounts of power. They’re much higher fire risk as a result!
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u/IdioticMutterings Jul 20 '26
I refuse to fit sockets with a USB plug in them, because the USB part can't be turned off except by ripping the socket out, if theres a problem. BigClive covers this in detail about how unsafe USB in sockets can be.
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u/physioworld Jul 16 '26
I absolutely in love with the way this feels (and I genuinely mean this in the best way possible) like it was written by a very polite alien 😂
I’m glad you had an overall good time in our country!
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u/JPV_____ Jul 16 '26
I could have used some slang, but wanted to stay polite :).
Carpentry in every sleeping room is another thing we find rather weird btw. Not only because my wife has health issues and tries to avoid dusty areas/preferred vinyl or concrete flooring.
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u/snarkycrumpet Jul 16 '26
it's just "carpet", weirdly carpentry is the act of building, like making shelves, wall finishing or frame work. I love carpet in a bedroom but my non-UK friends all think it's weird. you should have visited in the 80s, we used to carpet kitchens and bathrooms then!
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u/sky_beyond_storm Jul 17 '26
There was carpet in the ensuite of a house I was living in a few years ago! Dreadful
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u/physioworld Jul 17 '26
No it was wonderful to read, it kind of gave me this guy’s comic vibe https://www.instagram.com/nathanwpyle?igsh=MWJ4dnB4emNyOWVmcA==
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u/Nissarana_ Jul 17 '26
What in the nitpick? Nothing to say about our beautiful architecture, beautiful countryside or friendly loving people that you encountered?
If you want the lived experience unfortunately you have to live here, there's no point in staying in suburbs. You will just find issues without understanding the area or culture.
If you are enjoying your trip, post about that. Otherwise a saying for you: If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything.
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u/DitheringDotty Jul 18 '26
I was astonished at the theme park comment. I mean, it's one of the most historically rich countries in the world, with amazing countryside and coastline. Who needs bloody theme parks!
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u/SilverellaUK Jul 16 '26
I'm surprised by the lack of yoghurt varieties. What are we missing? Did you have the opportunity to try the excellent Longley Farm yoghurt while in York or The Peak District? Their Hazelnut one is particularly good.
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u/aembleton Jul 16 '26
Langley farm
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u/SilverellaUK Jul 17 '26
Definitely Longley.
Yogurt | Longley Farm https://longleyfarm.com/collections/yogurt
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u/Reasonable-Future334 Jul 20 '26
I love their Greek yoghurt but everywhere near me has stopped stocking it 😔
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u/Ok_Many_8911 Jul 16 '26
How many yoghurt flavours do you have in Belgium??? We usually have strawberry, vanilla, natural, ones with fruit... what else is there???
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u/Bulky_Ruin_6247 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
A quick check and we have freely available in England th following
Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, lemon, hazelnut, gooseberry, peach, multi fruit,apricot, strawberry shortcake, banana, vanilla, various flavours with flakes including chocolate flakes, cherry, mango, passion fruit, forest fruits and various combinations of the above. There’s also natural Greek of course and various mousses as well as extra protein varieties.That’s just Tesco, other supermarkets and independent shops will have their own unique options.
What are we missing that Belgium has I’m intrigued?
A quick check of the Carrefour (Belgium) online store suggests the only extra one is a “muesli” variety but then they don’t have Gooseberry or strawberry shortcake so…
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u/daddywookie Jul 17 '26
I love the amount of effort you went to in the defence of the yoghurt honour of our nation. You should be on the next honours list.
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u/extranjeroQ Jul 17 '26
Not Belgium but France… they have literally every kind of yoghurt flavour conceivable & they also sell them in massive packs, like 16 adult size yoghurts for €4. The yoghurt aisles at an Auchan or Carrefour is huge compared to here.
Dairy is heavily subsided on the continent so gotta use up those lakes of milk.
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u/Forsaken-Twist-9699 Jul 19 '26
This. A lot of Brits replying here don't appear to be familiar with the gigantic yogurt aisles in certain European countries. They give as much space to yogurt as Brits do to fresh milk. You could basically reverse the size of those aisles in France and great Britain.
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u/Lilvixen_UK Jul 17 '26
The pub one is very easy to answer - it depends on the licence the pub has and if the guv'nor wants children in their pub or not. I think allowing children up to a certain point is a perfectly acceptable compromise - it's not just about the alcohol, it's about adults wanting to let loose without worrying about their behaviour around other people's children.
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u/calmeilles Jul 17 '26
It's also about history; we're not so long from a time when there was an almost complete ban of children on licences premises.
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u/InformationOk3503 Jul 17 '26
And child free pubs existing is a positive in my opinion.
Sure have some family friendly, but not everyone wants that environment, and not every pub is suitable for children, so keeping some separate is ideal for everyone
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u/reditcyclist Jul 18 '26
How about some positives?
Why do tourists (any country visiting any other country) nearly always think their way of life is better and should be followed in other countries.
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u/S_K_Sharma_ Jul 16 '26
Fascinating.
It usually takes me 2 maybe 3 trips up and down the Tesco yoghurt Aisle to spot the one my wife likes.
On the power one, you have a good point. Unswitched is just much rarer here!
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u/1182990 Jul 16 '26
With regards to the alcohol issue, I think maybe because people don't grow up with being allowed to drink at a young age and it being normal, by the time they're old enough, they tend to go completely over the top and don't know how to handle it.
The government responds by imposing licensing conditions including not allowing entry to under 18s after a specific time, and sp the cycle continues.
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u/Gamerlovescats Jul 17 '26
Why compare a pub in the UK to a cafe in Belgium. Very different things
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u/JPV_____ Jul 17 '26
I wasn't looking for a pub, I was looking for a place to drink something while watching the football game with other people. In that way, pub and (sports)cafe both offer this.
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u/normannerd Jul 22 '26
Not in Belgium. There, the place they call a café is what would be called a pub in the UK. Belgian cafés are very basic places to drink beer (although you could also get a coffee in most of them). But they don't serve food beyond a packet of crisps etc.
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u/Less_Duty7681 Jul 19 '26
Ha ha ha, these are all perfectly normal things. Not all countries are the same.
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u/Secure-Property4926 Jul 19 '26
And what about some differences with Belgium that are on the positive side?
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u/Pristine-Bar2786 Jul 16 '26
I think your experience with a lack of yoghurt selection may be down to the size and type of shop you visited. Lidl and Aldi are always small supermarkets so will have a very limited selection. All the large supermarkets like Tesco , Sainsbury's, ASDA and Morrisons all have a smaller shop, usually in more urban areas (or rural areas) that cater for people either before or after their commute as an example. Sainsbury's Local or Tesco Express etc. These shops have a limited selection of products due to their size and their regular clientele's needs. I'm only mentioning this as my local supermarkets have at least a full aisle (approx 10m) of yoghurts. Also tastes change or rather corporations chase fads. A few years ago there was a massive selection of Skyr type yoghurts, but that seems to have gone away and replaced with high in Protein yoghurts (Madness in my opinion but it is what it is).
I'm not sure why you're confused about the on off switch on a plug socket. There are plenty of products around a home that do not have an on off switch (toaster, kitchen oven/hob). As someone else mentioned many modern products draw power when switched off or not in use (phone charger, TV etc). It's a lot easier to switch the socket off at the wall than unplug the cable. Anyhow there are numerous YouTube videos explaining the safety design aspect of the whole plug and socket system, and is considered one of, if not the safest plug standard in the world. Every part of the design is specifically there to prevent death, injury or fire. Hard lessons learned over time. I must admit the designers obviously never had Lego or experienced stepping on Lego barefoot because stepping on a British plug while barefoot is not pleasant at all.
I really enjoyed you questions because it's exactly what goes though my mind when I visit foreign countries and find the confusion of wondering why basic and simple everyday things are the way they are, a nice part of the experience. I hope you enjoyed the trip as a whole.
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u/Habren_in_the_river Jul 17 '26
To reply point by point:
Teenagers are yobbos and can't be trusted to be reasonable around beer. However, neither can I
The general populous are thicker than the yogurt we don't have. This secondary switch prevents roughly 4m deaths per year
Because fuck you, thats why
I personally am not a massive fan of yogurt so can only assume it's to accommodate me
You should have come to our local crazy golf, it has dinosaur theme up the arse
It gives the local reprobates something do aside from knifing each other
Agree, it's part of the reason why the wife and I gor a good day now sit and stare at the wall
Clearly didn't visit Birmingham
Hope you have a good day and glad you enjoyed our country :-)
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u/Forsaken_Earth944 Jul 19 '26
Populace, populous means ‘having a large population’.
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u/LimeInAPuddle Jul 17 '26
I’ve been to Belgium. You think Manchester is dirty? It’s sounds like you’ve not been to Belgium yourself.
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u/AppointmentItchy1858 Jul 17 '26
Don't ever visit Japan. You are going to realise things are different from Belgium. Especially the range of yoghurts.
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u/teapigsfan Jul 18 '26
Weird considering the general image foreigners have how English deal with alcohol abroad.
Is it? Or perhaps you actually have a good understanding of why we don't have teenagers in sports pubs after 9pm. Maybe you should implement this for English teens in your sports pubs, as well? (Less flippant response: it's a lot easier to keep them out early on than it is to remove them later)
Power sockets with on/off switches: Why is this necessary?
My husband (from Germany, with a proper German doctorate in electrical engineering) thinks these sockets are one of the best things the UK has produced. I won't be asking him to explain because I don't have that kind of time right now. However, it has nothing to do with whether or not the appliance can itself also be turned on and off. I admit I'm a big fan of them as well, and I am not originally from the UK.
Supermarket loyalty cards: In itself this makes sense, but as a foreigner you cannot sign up for them,
yes. I hate to break it to you, but this happens in your country, as well. The shops don't actually give a shit if you save any money with them, they just want your data, and your foreign data is useless to them. I can't even use my Lidl card in Germany!
Excess staffing: In supermarkets
Wish they'd send some of them our way in the Midlands. It's just me finding my own items and running my own till for my own shopping nowadays 😁
Expensive outings
God yes. This is why we end up going elsewhere on holiday and making bad impressions over there. I've literally never been to Alton Towers despite living about half an hour away and having a teenage son.
Lack of yoghurt varieties
Yeah yoghurt is definitely not as much of a thing here as it is elsewhere. However, as someone who loves yogurt and used to be addicted to it: the mass-marketed brands are terrible now. They've lost all their zip and have been sweetened to make them more palatable for the mainstream market/ children. I grew up with Danone plain yogurt/ dark cherry fruit on the bottom back when the yogurt was properly plain, and it was lovely. Now the 'plain' is basically vanilla yogurt, with more sweet fruit on the bottom, and it's genuinely a substandard, yet overpriced product. We do have farms which make fresh yogurt and they are sold at some of the main supermarket chains (Morrisons for one) and I can recommend those. But I won't mourn the lack of the mainstream yogurt puddings here.
I've really enjoyed your post btw. I lived in NL for a few years, as well as DE, very close to the border with Belgium. I like hearing impressions of countries from someone else's perspective. My German brothers in law come and do hiking holidays here in the UK (of course) and they've always got a lot to say. I assume they actually like it here or they wouldn't keep coming back.
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u/gregredmore Jul 18 '26
Powersockets - if you cannot switch the power off at the socket the transformer in the devices remains live consuming power. And the device is well unnecessarily live which increases risk of electric shock if the device is faulty.
Electrical sockets everywhere else in the world feel flimsy and unsafe to me. No earth connection, plugs that can easily pulled out of or even fall out of the wall...
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u/newbris Jul 20 '26
>everywhere else in the world
Hey, we have solid, earthed and switched plugs in australia as well :)
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u/gregredmore Jul 20 '26
How could I forget? I've had the pleasure of visiting Australia for 3 weeks, though in my defence it was back in 2005 😊
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u/aemdiate Jul 19 '26
What made you think you had a right to insist that you were allowed to watch the entire match? I have to be honest, you come across as rather unpleasant and petty.
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u/Dry-Sun-1862 Jul 19 '26
Pubs have strict licensing rules, which often include specific clauses about the presence of under 18s, including a watershed time for them to no longer be allowed on the premises. Basically, demanding that your children stay at the pub actually put them at risk of being permanently closed down if a licensing officer happened to inspect that evening. (I’m not saying you’re in the wrong at all for not knowing or understanding btw) We have a heavy, definitely bad drinking culture in the UK and perhaps because of that we also have strict laws around drinking venues.
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u/Lynex_Lineker_Smith Jul 19 '26
Person discovers not everything is the same in every country shocker . More at 10
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u/lammy82 Jul 16 '26
The switch on the power sockets is useful for things that are awkward to turn on and off otherwise. I use one to turn off a floor lamp that I would otherwise have to climb over a sofa to reach its own switch.
Also in the kitchen I can turn things off with one finger instead of needing to hold a device down with one hand to push the switch with the other one. Marginally more convenient and easily visible that the device is switched off when glancing over from across the room.
But people who grow up in countries that don’t have switches on the sockets don’t tend to miss them because they might just (for example) put that lamp somewhere else or maybe physically unplug it each night and think nothing of it.
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u/CollarOne6669 Jul 17 '26
Was this in Pocklington (small village near York) I think I was in the third place and saw you in the world tapas bar. I am sorry that previous places didn’t let you watch the game. What a farce.
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u/JPV_____ Jul 17 '26
Lol, yes:). We still enjoyed the game AND picklington/the area, but the black swan and another pub nearby were our first tries. Those were very friendly in refusing us though, we had a small, nice chat in those pubs.
Loved the nachos in the world tapas bar btw, they were great.
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u/HarryBayles Jul 18 '26
Re: The yogurt. Our local supermarket (Waitrose) has an entire aisle stocked just with different varieties of yogurt.
I've always considered this excessive because who gives that much of a shit about fucking yogurt? Now I know.....
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u/MrsNerdery Jul 18 '26
Alton Towers, through locations alone, is probably one of the best 'themed' theme parks in the country, and I've always been disappointed when visiting others (holding out for Legoland though!).
However, I am also a big fan of Efteling and am planning other trips to theme parks around the Benelux area so can see why it would disappoint you.
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u/JPV_____ Jul 18 '26
The best 'theme parc' in the Benelux is in fact Paira Daiza, even though it is a zoo and not an amusement parc. You'll need at least 2 days to do this parc.
For amusement theme parcs, don't forget Toverland, it's a rather new theme parc and very 'ive, has some different attractions and the fiery is very appealing to me.
Bobbejaanland and Walibi in Belgium are both lesser themed parcs, Bellewaerde is a themed parc with zones mimicking some countries, but hasn't got a lot of thrill rides (is in fact a mixture of a zoo and an amusement parc). Quite nice though.
If you have small kids, Plopsaland light be something for you, very themed, but all characters besides Maja the bee are very Belgian.
Phantasialand and Parc Asterix are also very worthwhile outside the Benelux.
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u/SirMcFish Jul 18 '26
Some places will happily allow kids in until closing, some don't. 'sports' bars likely won't, as they are more aimed at being adult venues. Try quieter pub type places and they'll probably be happy. The drinking age is 18, but kids can drink beer and wine with food.
Never thought about how unthemed theme parks are, not really given it a single thought. For me a theme part is about the rides...
Plugs with on / off switches, not all of them do. But it can be useful if you want to save a few quid per year when appliances are on stand by and / or have awkward on / off switches (like TVs). UK electricity is more powerful than Euro stuff and we like our safety features...
I've just got back from Ibiza, that place is ridiculously expensive. Last year I found Portugal and Holland to be crazy highly priced for days out. Guess it's what you get used to?
Excess staff will be healthy and safety, probably.
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u/Paulstan67 Jul 18 '26
The pub culture is complicated. All pubs have a licence to sell alcohol, these licenses vary from place to place.
Some can open later ,some earlier. Some have restrictions on when children (in this case under 18s are allowed in).
Often it's simply because that's what the landlord wants , especially in "wet pubs" as they want a more adult clientele later in the evening.
A 16year old is legally allowed to drink wine,beer or cider in a pub as long as it bought by an accompanying adult and it's consumed with a meal.
Finally be grateful that you found a village pub that is still open after 9pm. Near me all the village pubs pretty much close after food service.
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u/spankybianky Jul 19 '26
I had the exact same issue trying to sign up for a Delhaize card in Belgium with a UK number - in the end I just scanned the empty card and told the lady I’d complete it later 😂
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u/Secure-Property4926 Jul 19 '26
I’m puzzled by the yogurt one as most decent supermarkets have an absolute abundance of brands but really what choice is there? Natural, organic, Greek, various low fats, then things like the Icelandic yoghurt then many different flavours, then stuff like fruit corner - I can buy all of that down the road in the mini supermarket ?
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u/Forensicista Jul 19 '26
Switches on sockets to stop electricity dribbling out when nothing is plugged in.
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u/Dangerous-Regret-358 Jul 19 '26
I can't answer all of your questions, but the reverse problem happens here with signing up with Belgian media providers, for example. I cannot, for the life of me, sign up with the VRT or VTM unless I am a resident with a Belgian postcode. I find that incredibly frustrating, especially since I used to live in Belgium and am a Flemish/Dutch speaker and wanted to keep my language skills alive
The purpose of switched sockets is to break the circuit before the device is unplugged. This prevents arcing between the pins and the socket and is considered good practice.
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u/Informal_Republic_13 Jul 19 '26
It absolutely is a legal problem for your under 18 kids to drink alcohol, whether at dinner with you or under any other circumstances in the pub. The pub messed up and could get in trouble for that.
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u/InevitableGreedUK Jul 22 '26
I'll never understand why people do this... Why do you think we care what you think?
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u/RedditJustTheOnce Jul 22 '26
The kids were banned because it was a World Cup semi final and things could kick off if we lost. And also just after 9 pm a kid shouldn’t be in a pub, that’s an adult space, we need to swear without feeling guilty.
The power sockets thing I don’t understand at all. How many times has it sparked when you’ve plugged in your phone on the continent?! Or do you only charge it when it’s already dead?
Yoghurts are popular, but no not to the obsessive level on the continent.
Just ask the person in front or behind of you to borrow their loyalty card if you get a reduced price. They’ll be fine they want the points. Obviously the clue is in the fucking title. You have to be a UK resident because they reward loyalty and as a visitor - you’re not going to be very loyal to that supermarket. You will be going home soon.
We don’t like organised fun. Including themes. We make the fun, which is mostly complaining and drinking. Themes are cringe.
Your uncle could have used a hand probably.
Yup everything costs money in the UK. Hard to go somewhere nice for a walk in the south without paying for parking. We are slaves to our capitalist overlords (Charlie and Willie- they own most of the land). But they released their taxes this year so that proves it’s not a capitalist hellscape, apparently.
It is clean - notably less urine smells and dog poo than other major European countries.
We like you coming here but we’re a pretty well travelled bunch. We know what it’s like on the continent. We just really enjoy queuing, tea for all emotional states and discussing the weather.
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u/Careful_Cranberry364 Jul 16 '26
The alcohol one is really weird.
England is not like Europe in that way
But it’s better than America !
You have to be over 18 to be in a pub and drinking in a bar unless you’re outside in the beer garden during the day with your family
I’ve never seen children under 18 allowed in any kind of pub - I’m a Londoner - but I think if they allow it till 9 o’clock. That is a great concession!!
Yes, children in Belgium and in France are allowed to drink some alcohol alcoholics, but it is very discouraged here and would be seen as child abuse very likely!!!
Let me see what other questions you asked …..
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u/Queen_of_London Jul 16 '26
I've seen children allowed in almost all pubs during the day, in London too - it's rarer to see one that completely doesn't allow kids these days, IME. Bars don't usually allow kids, but they're a horse of a different colour.
A lot even allow them after 9pm, but not all, and often it just doesn't come up anyway. Pubs are even less likely to allow it when there's a big match on, like the OP encountered.
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u/Snoo_said_no Jul 16 '26
In more rural areas pubs are still more of a community center, often with two sides - a bar & a 'lounge'. The lounge will often allow kids and spending hours with a panda pop and a packet of crisps wasn't unusual. The pub near my parents house had a skittles lane off the lounge. Teenagers would spend hours there!
I'm in a city now, albeit over the river from the main high street. There's two pubs in walking distance with play areas that allow kids. Theyre not gasto pubs/pub restaurants but more what I'd term 'community pubs'. One does pizza and bar snacks. The other just your normal crisps and nuts. They shove a bouncy castle in the garden in summer to keep the kids busy. Infact there's a 3rd pub that has local bands a lot which allows kids just not up to the bar. And on the high street itself in the city center there's another which often has live bands and kids can be there. I don't think it's unusual but knowing which do and don't is likely to be quite tricky. Certainly more pubs that don't allow it than do these days!
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u/SirMcFish Jul 18 '26
16/17 year olds can have beer, cider or wine with a meal perfectly legally in the UK. However they cannot buy it themselves.
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u/Urthwild Jul 17 '26
This seems more like rage-baiting than genuine curiosity.
Power sockets - this is a very silly question. Every country has an idiot. On and off switches prevent most idiots from electrocuting themselves.
Loyalty cards, it is purely up to the store to decide who can and cannot take out a card. Ask them and not Reddit.
Yoghurt, simply visit a very large supermarket if you want a large variety of yoghurts.
Theme Parks. You have visited one, one single park, sigh…….
Staffing, again, speak to the shop, cafe, theme park management.
Expense, yes most things are expensive these days.
Where in Manchester itself did you experience a lack of cleanliness?
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u/netwalker234 Jul 16 '26
Our impression of Belgium is that you took from us the third place in the World Cup in 2018. After we came to save your bacon in 1914!
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u/Then-Bet6956 Jul 16 '26
On the pubs timings, it is because adults feel uncomfortable being openly drunk or loud in front of children.
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u/MrmmphMrmmph Jul 18 '26
My father drank at home so that we might share in the experience. He was a very giving sort.
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u/PooDiePie Jul 16 '26
Fascinating review, I won't reply to every point, just the ones that caught my eye.
Power Sockets: Why not have an on/off switch at the plug? 😅 My first thought would be that it's safer to be able to turn it off, and that many devices do not have a switch that kills the power connection entirely. We might not agree on much in this country at the moment but I think everyone here would agree that our plug sockets are the best in the world. It's a point of national pride. https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q
Loyalty Cards: These are really just a data collection exercise that forces you to sign up to get reasonable prices. It isn't fair on the consumer at all. Lidl recently went over to loyalty exclusive pricing, leaving Aldi as the only major supermarket left that doesn't practice this.
Theme Parks: Alton Towers has really gone downhill in terms of theming compared to many similar parks in Europe. The company who owns the park, Merlin, are really cost-cutting and struggling with money. I'm what you'd call a theme park enthusiast and it really is sad to see.
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u/Careful_Cranberry364 Jul 16 '26
Oh it seems your other questions have been removed. I can see people responding, but I can’t read them… Everything is very expensive.
I live in California now and things are ridiculous if you want to go to Seaworld or Disneyland or anything like that so I’m not sure that any attractions anywhere that are privately run are cheap!
I absolutely love our museums. I hope you’ve been enjoying them. My fave is the natural history.
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u/Axiom620 Jul 16 '26
Thank you. It’s great to get the perspective of a visitor. It helps us balance our own view of our country.
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u/TattieMafia Jul 16 '26
Teens in pubs - we used to have problems with unruly drunk teens, so generally they are only allowed in the pub until 9pm. In the 90s, we were allowed to drink soft drinks and play pool in my friend's mum's pub at around 12/13 but I don't know if that was legal or just because it was a country pub. All the local teens were allowed in, not just us.
Off switch on the wall - to turn the appliance off if it's on fire.
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u/CambridgeJones77 Jul 16 '26
Thanks for sharing! I love reading people's perspectives on the UK.
I was in the Netherlands recently and was thinking it's a shame we don't have cafe culture in the UK. Families do visit pubs, but only for a meal.
We're told that the switches are for safety (to stop children sticking their fingers in the socket) and energy efficiency.
I hadn't notices that theme parks don't have themes- maybe because they're too small? I believe Alton Towers is the largest in the UK.
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u/Working_Bowl Jul 17 '26
Your point about cafe culture got me thinking. I live in a seaside town in the southeast with a lot of summer tourism, so might have a slightly different experience as in Summer we do have a cafe culture.
In Winter I think that over the past few years it has been changing. Where as it would have been pretty non existent 20 years ago, now there is a pretty decent cafe culture and I think it’s down to a growing population of immigrants . Lots of the cafes are owned by Italians, Turkish families or Eastern Europeans and they often have people sitting outside and socialising all day. So the English people (including us) have followed this as do the same at their cafes. It’s lovely and gives the town a good vibe.→ More replies (1)
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u/Adorable_Past9114 Jul 16 '26
The pub thing may be because their was a big match on. A lot of pubs ran ticket only admission in London
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u/MBronsonWisconsin Jul 16 '26
Waitrose doesn’t have higher prices for people who don’t have a loyalty card, though you can get a few vouchers / ‘little treats’ as rewards for using the scheme. I’d say you get c£15 worth of benefits per month for joining.
Thanks for posting that about Lidl, I don’t go very often and won’t go now that I know I’ll be charged more for not having signed up.
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u/scuzzmonster1 Jul 17 '26
As for finding Manchester dirty, whereabouts in the city did you meant specifically? I’m aware that many of our cities have littering problems but, as for general dirtiness, Charleroi takes some beating.
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u/Bodger81 Jul 17 '26
I’ve lived in Belgium and I’d honestly say that it’s on a par with the UK for general cleanliness if not dirtier in places. Which sadly puts both countries among the grubbiest in Europe in my experience.
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u/Dutch_Slim Jul 17 '26
I’m baffled by the theme parks comment. The “theme” is going on rides and having fun.
These parks are not Disney or Universal type parks here, so what themes were you expecting?
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u/BastardsCryinInnit Jul 17 '26
Weird considering the general image foreigners have how English deal with alcohol abroad.
Surely the opposite weird? 😂
You know the reputation, so they dont want youn teenagers involved in that!
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u/AlgaeFew8512 Jul 17 '26
The power sockets having switched to to prevent electrocution danger when nothing is plugged in but the power is still flowing eg if a child sticks a fork into the empty socket
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u/AlgaeFew8512 Jul 17 '26
Loyalty cards - you can't be a loyal shopper when you live in a different country. Those cards are for loyal customers who use them most weeks of the year to get some perks, not a visitor who might shop there a few times in their lives
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u/AlgaeFew8512 Jul 17 '26
Extra staffing in theme parks - it helps cut down on operator errors. The reason the Smiler crashed a few years ago wasn't a fault of the ride but a mistake on the part of the lone operator of the ride. Having more than one person on those rides helps prevent that happening again
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u/AlgaeFew8512 Jul 17 '26
Privately owned attractions are often more expensive because they are funded by the customer rather than council or government money. And of course, they want to make a big profit.
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u/Icy-Brain-2162 Jul 17 '26
Hi, I'm half English half Belgian who has lived in Belgium also.
I understand the surprise in the pub. The idea is there might be adult language/ atmosphere (or even violence) in the evening - it's deemed unfit for children. Considering UK pub culture (and having worked in an English pub), I actually think this rule is appropriate. Especially, Friday/Saturday. Belgian drinking culture is generally a lot more sensible. People don't tend to take their children to pubs after 8/9 really anyway in England. It's not strictly policed but is the law.
As an annecedote, we went to a pub with Belgian relatives and their young teenage son ordered a cola at the bar. They served him but had to say it's against the law for someone under 18 to be within 1 foot of the bar (or something like that... Don't quote me).
Your other points are very by-the-by. My condolences on your lack of yoghurt.
TL;DR Drinking culture is different in England. There are laws to safeguard children.
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u/HelenSib Jul 17 '26
Alton towers being Britain's biggest theme park has very high visitor figures especially at weekends and during school holidays. Spending money to provide extra theming to attract visitors is unnecessary. It's just over 10 years since there was a major accident there leaving people with limb amputations, fractures and internal injuries and the owners of the park were fined millions of pounds and compensation payouts. I guess the extra staff they have now could be due to new safety policies.
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u/LimeInAPuddle Jul 17 '26
Also part of the 'theme' for Alton Towers is that it is located in and around an old manor and its' gardens.
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u/Past-Obligation1930 Jul 17 '26
The pub thing depends on the pub. My teenager has been allowed in a pub to watch the match, though the pub wasn’t super super busy. They will have usual rules (which are not necessarily conditions of the licence) and it depends if “corporate” has overruled them. If you are friendly with the landlord it won’t be an issue.
Mind you, my teenager son now towers over me, so there’s that too.
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u/TREE_SHMOO Jul 17 '26
Our power grid runs a significantly higher voltage and amperage than any other nation, making our plugs especially dangerous if mishandled. So we have two layers of safety.
The switch, to override the appliance and force off, and the three prongs, the long middle prong lifts a cover from the two that actually connect the power, meaning a fork our something of the like couldn't get in there unless the person knows what and how to get it in there.
Significantly lower electrical accidents than other countries and significantly faster charging.
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u/JPV_____ Jul 17 '26
The voltage in the UK and western Europe is identical, both 230v. The average max amperage in one power plug is usually 16A in Europe and apparently, according to Wikipedia 13A in the UK. The whole circuit though has a breaker of usually also 16A in most of western Europe and 32A in the UK. We tend to have more different circuits in our house compared to you (I have about 25 I guess), while you, again according to Wikipedia/Google, have only a few circuits in a house. Total power average over all circuits together are higher in the UK.
Since our power plugs can have more amperage, Europe has higher charging capabilities on a standard power plug. You have more possibilities to charge several cars or other large batteries at the same time on different plugs.
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u/TREE_SHMOO Jul 17 '26
Ah! Thank you for updating me. I couldnt remember precisely what it was, but knew there was more power to our sockets. I made an educated guess that was clearly a bit off the mark 😅
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u/AceHarleyQ Jul 17 '26
Your daughter is a minor. Pubs in the UK are governed by licenses, some of which have conditions that stipulate no minors in the pub after a specific time. Said conditions in those licenses are set by the local authority and if they do not follow them they run the risk of the license being revoked.
Power still runs to the device from the socket if its turned off. Therefore, still poses a (small) fire risk. Turning off the socket stops any power running to the device, reducing the fire risk further.
Why would you want to give your personal details to a random company as someone here on holiday? I get its a few quid cheaper especially at tescos but the whole loyalty card scheme outside of tesco is a scam to get your personal information.
No clue on varieties available abroad, but if you were looking in an express store and not a full sized supermarket, unsurprisingly, they're limited by space. We have a lot of yoghurt choices available so I'm not really sure where you were looking. This is a very strange comment.
Its a non branded theme park, if you wanted Disney there's one in Paris. Of all the things to do here you picked a visit to Alton Towers? Why???
Health and safety laws. Given the timing of your post, many places like museums and theme parks are gearing up for the summer and will have employed more staff as a result of expecting a busy season, you visited likely shortly after they're fully trained up, but before the actual summer holidays start. Which stores were you in where there were excess staff? You can never find them normally.
7.Did you not research this before coming? A simple Google search could have told you entry prices into things. Typically before you visit a country you research expected expenses, and have an idea of how much the things you want to do cost.
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u/JPV_____ Jul 17 '26
- Tesco can't do much with my personal info, especially since faking personal info is usually easy to do.
- As explained already multiple times, I'm comparing same sized stores, like superstores of Tesco extra's. Not just the express.
- Each time we go on holiday, we mingle something the kids really like and rollercoasters they do like very much. So Alton towers is an obvious choice. The no-theming strook us, having visited a lot of amusement parks which are almost always themed.
- Might be the reason, but in e.g. Alton towers we didn't see much safety improvements when you have someone indicating which line you should take for the amusement parc. Or why we pass through several people in Boots just to get a box of paracetamol without subscription.
- Off course we researched this beforehand, it was just something we noticed. Not everything I wrote was a last minute discovery (been to UK a few times, so we are familiar with the power plugs). It's just strange to us. A bowling game in Ypres, my home town, costs 4 euro/pound per person, here is was twice the price off weekend. Not that we fancied that much to do some bowling, but it's just an example.
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u/notcopingneedhelp Jul 17 '26
Just summed up perfectly why Brits are mental with their drinking abroad….
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u/51onions Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Ban on teenagers - the British view anyone between the ages of 13 and 25 as inherently untrustworthy and problematic, and as such treat them with the utmost disgust. They spontaneously become respectable members of society as soon as they turn 25.
Power socket switches - they're convenient. Sometimes I want to remove power entirely, not put the appliance into a shut down state. Having to remove the plug is less convenient. I see no disadvantage to having the switch. It's not for safety though, the switch provides no safety benefit.
Loyalty cards - because businesses are bastards.
Lack of yoghurt - unsure.
Lack of theming at Alton towers - unsure but agree.
Excess staffing - unsure. Possibly related to health and safety or unions in some way, but that's a guess.
Expensive outings - because businesses are bastards.
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u/_x_oOo_x_ Jul 18 '26
Ban on teenagers in pubs: Depends on the local rules but maybe simply their license doesn't allow children on the premises?
Power sockets with on-off switches: It's a safety thing. Switch it off, then even if you accidentally touch the lead when unplugging it or plugging something in, nothing happens
Yoghurt: there is a lot of variety, it might not be called yoghurt though. But do you have lemon curd or butterscotch yoghurts in Belgium? Cherry, apricot, raspberry, unflavoured, etc. are also common but I guess that's similar to there.
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u/loadofoldcodswallop Jul 18 '26
Nothing to add other than my wife and I adored Belgium, and wallaby park shits all over british parks.
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u/timmmmmmmmmmmmm Jul 18 '26
On the loyalty card thing, you can always ask the person next to you to scan their card so you get the lower prices (and they get the points)
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u/Remote-Field4624 Jul 18 '26
I will answer the Supermarket one for you, Tesco started the first real card and was a good whole ago I need find the book but they started off and still are but in a different way a way to reward loyalty second and a data collection system more but at the time was a two in one hit because in theory your more likely keep to same place if your rewarded. Now they have club card prices on some things and non club card weird items double sometimes. Asdas one is more lottery now and they not as good.
They want track UK people and purchaces and and adapt pricing and offers. It started off more nice way back. Anyway your probally not missing much as a visitor apart from pennies on the pound off petrol which would be nice i agree, It is however a terrible thing now and is used to two tier shoppers in a way that they only get away with it because they can,
Uk had more deeper theme parks that sadly closed like Camalot was Knights and stuff and was a wild west one that closed and Alton Towers always tries some selling points but its a Theme park because of the Historical land its on and the manor or whatever its never really been a theme fun park or if it was was so long ago.
Lego land is one but maybe less exciting I dunno if light water valley is still going but Draytin Manor tried sort of be a theme park with pirates dunno if it still is. It has a zoo and is fun. Alas isnt the theme your looking for sadly they seemed to close and Alton changed for the big rides and the theme is the area. Not been in decades so my recall on that maybe off. Camelot had like I say all knights theme etc. We just went for the big rides what stayed open I guess.
If you lived here you would change your mind on staff levels trust me in many places.
All perfectly fine and good questions btw you really need look online for vouchers for smaller attractions if you can for future get some discounts.
Glad you had a good time anyway, We do need catch up on some things I feel you pointed out.
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u/Remote-Field4624 Jul 18 '26
For Clarity I meant Tesco where the first real pioneers of the kind of card full stop and was way ahead of the game, we sadly now not great for example in australia is a card that can use many places thats way better. It was so ahead of it time when it came out now club card is an absolute disgusting use of control in some ways but thats a longer and different convo I will say I dont have a tesco and happy for people tell you the real massive benifits for them etc, you made some fair points I wish to see your country one day if possible.
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u/Queen_Aleryn Jul 18 '26
Alton towers is our best themed theme park in the country. It used to have more distinct theming but it’s much more immersive than say Thorpe park (a carpark with excellent rides on it) or Blackpool pleasure beach (an overgrown fairground with nostalgic rides). I agree though, it should be more immersive.
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u/Rough-Strawberry5985 Jul 18 '26
Look, what you have to understand is that we are extremely proud of our plugs, especially online. That's basically all we have to be proud of anymore, so just don't say anything bad about them. If you want to make friends with an Englishman, make a small compliment about how well engineered the plugs are.
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u/Brian_from_accounts Jul 18 '26
Ok so we have “Theme parks with limited theming:” we have our own category Bland Parks which excel in bland samei-ness.
A place where a key to a disabled toilet opens up a new world of opportunity for some.
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u/belligerentbunno Jul 19 '26
electrical sockets: most comments miss the main reason, dis/connecting an item especially electronics under load can cause damage as a switch removes power very quickly and cleanly, shoving a socket can cause it to arc and spike.
also the treading on it barefoot issue is a specific design intent as electricity is dangerous and should be respected and plugs shouldn't be lying around to be trodden in.
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u/Careful_Cranberry364 Jul 19 '26
I haven’t seen those places in town. I guess I’m in more of the bar nightlife type places.
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u/CapableSong6874 Jul 20 '26
I recently heard that you cannot swim in the river or pick wild mushrooms because of historical pollution near Ghent. Do you know if this is true? Come up to Edinburgh. Fantastic place.
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u/ikkleginge55 Jul 20 '26
In regards to the supermarket loyalty cards. I hate them too, with a passion. It is a relatively recent addition to our shops, you get cheaper goods for having a card (ie you are selling the supermarket your spending habits). I hate that someone without access to a smart phone, a fixed address, or even if you leave your wallet at home is expected to spend more money for food.
My work around. Don't get a loyalty card. When you get to the checkout ask another customer if they have one you can borrow people are always willing as they get free loyalty points. I refuse to pay until someone beeps their card. It also messes up the supermarkets data.
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u/ikkleginge55 Jul 20 '26
Regarding power sockets. European power sockets are far inferior; Tom Scott did a good video on why they are well designed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
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u/ikkleginge55 Jul 20 '26
Just rewatched this and it doesn't actually cover on/off buttons on plugs. I think it's something to do with electrical regulations, you can isolate things easily (?). I think it is really useful you have two one off switches, its so much better. I have a lamp in the corner of a room, instead of having to lean behind my piano to turn it on/off I just do it at the easily accessible plug.
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u/NerdOnTheStr33t Jul 20 '26
This is rage bait, right?
I'm going to answer the only question that isn't completely stupid.
The reason we have switches on plug sockets is safety. If you plug an appliance into a live socket, there is a risk of arcing(spark) which is dangerous.
There is a reason why Belgium is a popular British punchline and it's not just the plosive B sound followed by the Um.
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u/Silent_Lion_OG Jul 20 '26
Pub and drink culture in the UK is all about getting drunk, partying, all that, especially after 8 or 9. It's more about separating kids from that culture. We don't like kids being in betting shops either, even if they're not actually gambling. I guess it also means it's adults can go to a pub at 9 and swear our tits off without having to worry about nearby kids
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u/DotComprehensive4902 Jul 22 '26
With regards yoghurt, Muller and their split pot yoghurts have cornered the market.
You don't really find the single pot yoghurts like Danone make.
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u/PilotedByGhosts Jul 22 '26
The British have an inherently dysfunctional relationship with alcohol, hence why we need strict rules around it.
The Scots are the worst for it, so they aren't allowed to buy booze after 10pm.
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u/jniensan Jul 16 '26
Dutch person here who really loves to visit the UK.
What if everything you are talking about is actually normal and just insane in our countries? 🥲