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Welcome to the land of the weird and the beautiful—the ancient sceptred isles, where people drink their beer by the pints, celebrate mysterious Bank Holidays that occur several times a year, and toss their trash out the first time they see a bin. Bins are holy there and the chance to do so comes very rarely, if ever.

But according to Jessica Rose, an American who’s been living in great Blighty for the past few decades, the list doesn’t end there.

Recently, Jessica listed all the “weird as hell things” Brits do in a thread that amassed 64.8K likes and went viral with people praising how spot-on it is. Let’s get ready for the quaint and quirky ride in the land of Britons.

Image credits: F7wiki

Image credits: jesslynnrose

Bored Panda reached out to the author of this viral thread, Jessica Rose, a woman in her 30s who works in the technology industry. After 10 years, Jessica still lives in Birmingham, UK and says that she really likes most things about life in the UK.

When asked what British things Jessica really likes, she said that as an American, she finds the National Health Service “mind-bogglingly amazing.”

“I also really love the public transport here. And almost everything about Birmingham. Am I allowed to mention it's the best city in the UK? I don't think there's much I dislike about living here, some things are just still weird after 10 years.”

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cybermerlin2000
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's called courtesy. No harm in being polite, and it brightens the drivers day to know he is appreciated. Happy drivers are less likely to hit the curb

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But that doesn’t mean that Jessica doesn’t miss the American way of living. “It seems like a silly thing to miss, but as my days get really busy, I miss shops being open as late as they are in the states,” she told us.

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Jessica also believes that “a lot of the misconceptions of and stereotypes about the British mistakenly group all of the UK into a homogeneous lump while the UK is really a massively diverse group of people across our 4 countries (N. Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England).”

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Gëë Bëë
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah many beaches in the north are mostly pebbles and yes......you will be mugged by seagulls for your watch, keys, wallet and finally your chips and there is nothing you can do about it and nobody can help.

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This is the case with the famous English breakfast. “For example, people from outside the UK often think of the English breakfast as something singularly British, while overlooking the (far superior) Scottish fryups,” Jessica said.

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Andy Mutch
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please, oh please, cure us of that one! (Not that you're much good at picking rulers,)

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Martha Meyer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The difference is in the smell and sticking to your shoes intensity. Dpg poop is extremely disgusting. Horse poop not so much.

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cybermerlin2000
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We go to the counter and let them know what is wrong. We very rarely have to ask for it to be corrected as the person behind the counter usually offers to fix it and offer options.

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Jessica didn't expect her Twitter thread to go as viral as it did. “I half hoped a few people would see it as I was quite proud of the phrase 'sugared houseplants.' I hope folks liked it!”

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Daniel Marsh
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"After you." "No, after you." "No, dammit, I SAID AFTER YOU." "Look you little f***face, I said after you!!!"

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T Simmons
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hot water supply comes from a tank in the loft, which could be contaminated. It was UK law to keep hot and cold separate to keep drinking water (cold) clean. now its just tradition.

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Dill
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is old. Not an issue with houses built for quite some time now and any being renovated will be updated with mixer taps from choice though that is down to the home owner. My property was built in the 80s and has all mixer taps. The reasons WERE: Cold water came from a mains supply and was fit for drinking. Hot water would be serviced by a local storage cistern often situated in the loft. This caused an imbalance of pressures which meant that if incorrect taps and valves were installed one stream of water could force its way across to the other. Water bylaws prevented hot and cold water being mixed because water that had been sitting in a tank in the loft was not deemed safe to drink. It's no longer the case.

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Martha Meyer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only if you still live in the 1980ies and no one has updated your faucet since.

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Cara Kelly
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can also drink the tap water in the UK without making sure your will and other affairs in order first though

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Robert T
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We don't have faucets. They are called taps. These are a big improvement from having to go to a pump in the centre of the village. :D

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Linus Nilsson
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Back in the good old days, the hot-water tank used to be at the top floor of the house. Great for water pressure, bad since rats had a tendency to drown in them. So the brits separated the cold water and the hot water, so you wouldn't have to drink rat soup.

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Lucas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you can have a mixer why would you not? Two separate taps = boiling water out of one tap and freezing out the other and all you want to do is wash your hands? Mixers are very popular in the UK and with good reason.

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Firefoxy3121
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Australia and that's normal in almost every house I've been in, rural or not

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NinjaWolfy94
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm also in Aus, and usually it's 2 handles(?) (is that what they're called? The thing you actually turn/move to make the tap turn on) Or one like Foxxy showed on another comment. But only one 'tap' where the water actually comes out. At least from what I've seen. (Edit: Reading some other comments, now I'm not even sure what OP meant. If they meant two 'taps' where the water comes out, or 2 handles xD :') though, I think the entire thing is a tap overall, idk)

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RoseTheMad
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Idk, this is kinda true, but we have "mixer taps" now, which is basically two taps but you can turn them both on at the same time and it comes out the same "spout" so to speak, so your hot and cold mix to make optimum temperature. We're modernising! >.>

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Kira Okah
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hot water tank *used to* result in unpotable water so you wanted to keep the potable cold water separate.

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Amelie C
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the hot takes a minute or so to warm up and suddenly goes from cold to boiling, and the cold is icy

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natie marie
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that's because the hot tap came from water stored in a boiler upstairs and could be a bit manky for drinking back in the day

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably an older home with older plumbing. Faucets used to be that way in the US too. In fact, ALL faucets (sink and tub) were like this well into the eighties for unrenovated older homes. I think that the single spigot (but still with separate hot and cold handles to adjust the temperature) design came into style sometime in the sixties, and the combining of the hot and cold controls also into one handle happened well into the eighties (an older plumber would know exactly). Newer homes were built with single faucets, and older homes got them when renovating the bathrooms. I was born in 1960, and remember the separate faucets in the older house we lived in. Even my school, which was in an old building, had separate hot and cold faucets (no air conditioning either, so you know September, May, and June were miserable—-pity the kids who had to go to summer school!). I didn’t see a combined faucet until we moved into a new house in 1968. I have actually seen some newer bathroom sink and tub designs that tried to bring separate faucets back recently, but I kind of think they went over like a lead balloon because I haven’t seen them for a while now.

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Cip IESAN
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Since I was born, in 1967, I met only mixers here, in Romania (our word for tap / faucet is "robinet"). And it was communism until '89! Of course, we had only one hour of hot water per day (or even less), but it was mixed.

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Sandra Givens
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My grandparents who lived in New Jersey had a bathroom sink like that. Vintage 1930s. Most people alive in the U.S. now have never seen that arrangement but it used to be common.

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Sam (He/They)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My house has that too, but it's very irritating if you want warm water

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Martin Ibert
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is actually a reason, and it even kind of makes a little sense, but the added inconvenience is clearly not worth the tiny added bit of food safety.

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Michael Capriola Jr.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Originally, all sinks had separate taps for hot and cold. This derived from the pre-faucet days when one filled a basin from a pitcher of water. When indoor plumbing was invented the basin became a sink and one would fill it with water of the selected temperature and then TURN THE WATER OFF ! Astonishing! Nowadays we don't put the stopper into the sink, and instead of using it as a basin we just let the water run. There's always plenty of water falling from the sky and into our reservoirs and -- Hold on. Why is this water from the tap orangey brown ?

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Tarryn Louise
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same in Australia. A lot of homes will hat hot / cold come out of the kitchen sink tap, but bathroom and laundry is 98% always separate taps. Only more modern homes have the combined. Not really a stretch.

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Angi Belsly
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm from the States. The house I grew up in has these, as have other apartments I've lived in.

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SAF saf
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand...how do you moderate the temperature of the water coming out? This seems insane to me.

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Lily Mae Kitty
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this was very annoying to me at first, now I think it's quaint.

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Jonathan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it's about time Jessica Rose is banned from the UK.

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Jo Firth
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen this noted a few times - what's wrong with that. I'll bet if you go into really old houses in the US you won't find mixer taps.

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InfectedVoice
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3 years ago

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Henry Shane
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is normal pretty much everywhere, wtf. 1 tap for hot, 1 for cold is the norm everywhere, rarely see one tap on fancy or public sinks. Everywhere is 1 hot, 1 cold. Not just the "britishes"

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Leo Domitrix
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen this in the US. Also in a few places in Canada. In those instances, it was typically the retrofit for plumbing of an indoor variety.

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Eileen Nicholson
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you have mixer taps (I do and hat eit!) and you want a cold glass of water, you will have to run the tap for some time to ge tit cold enough if there has been hot in the pipe beforehand. Wastes water! Same applies the other way - yopu want hot water, the cold has to be run out of the tap and pipe first. You can get 'warm' water from your hot tap too -just don't turn it on so hard. The further you turmn it - the hotter it gets. Unless you have a combi-boiler inwhich case all of this goes out of the window and it doesn't matter whether they're mixer or not! I like the separate taps.

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Andrew Jenkins
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3 years ago

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Sue Knerl
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My bathroom sink has two faucets, so Wyoming must be in England. What a stupid thing to make a big deal out of.

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Anandra Danubis
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It also turns out that it saves water; we don't have to run the tap to get cold when the last person used hot etc.

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Chris Lee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a britsheserish married to an American, we didn't get rid of our two taps for years. My wife missed the sounds of good 'ol' American bad language in her native accent so whenever we had American friends or relatives visiting she always loved hearing the screams and swearing when they went to wash their hands!

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Chris Lee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are two taps - one provides scalding hot water, the other freezing cold. You choose a tap and wash your hands. If you become frostbitten, switch to the hot tap. If you get burned, cool your hands under the cold tap. Simple!

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Lisa Jones
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The house I grew up in (US) had separate taps, too. Built in 1929. All about where the water comes from.

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Kathryn Bain
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Clearly Jessica has never been warned about dead pigeon water.

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Marcellus the Third
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, historically the pressures are different so separate systems (otherwise backflow). The last 20y only old people will keep those separate if redoing their bathroom (and if not still with a hot water tank), as the newfangled ways confuse them.

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Aisling Allan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone with two taps, what happens if your hot water breaks with only one tap? Can you still get the cold water out?

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Tiari
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hot and cold water get „pre mixed“ in the plumbing and with the position of the lever you can adjust the amount of hot water added to the cold and thus the temperature of the water coming out. Compeletely on one side means „only cold“ or „only hot“ water and shuts off the other one.

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Wouter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mixer taps are not allowed because of the fact that your warm water may be of a higher pressure then the cold water. That would allow your (possibly unsafe and definitively not controlled) warm water to get into the cold water system, affecting the safety of other water network users. This is also the reason of the stupid electric water heaters for showers.

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Carrie de Luka
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is no longer the case. Mixer taps are most definitely allowed. I have had them in every house I have ever lived in - bar one very old farmhouse that I lived in as a child.

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Sarcastic Panda
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the old-fashioned SWEET shops have some of the best sweets out there, tbh

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Periwinkle
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, This is an irish thing, Also a British thing but we will slam dunk you if you don't complete your round in ireland.

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Samantha Comerford
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Classical music played by classically trained musicians. Outdoor , elegance at its finest

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Gëë Bëë
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was actually introduced during the war when water could be cut off or there were many shortages. Filling up a bowl uses half the amount of your sink. People just carried on using them as saving water is always a good idea. Remember our tap water is our drinking water too.

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James016
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are two types of people, those who put the milk in tea last and those who are wrong ;)

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