Dear Victoria, UK? GreatBritain? Britain?England? Why does such asmall island have so manydifferent names andwhat’s the right one touse? To start with we need to look atsome geography, as amazingly theUK is both one country and fourcountries! ere are different wayswe talk about this country, so strictlyspeaking this is what they mean:• United Kingdom: England,

Wales, Scotland and NorthernIreland

• Great Britain: England, Walesand Scotland

• Britain: England and WalesHowever, in reality and in everydaylife, you will hear people talk aboutthe UK, Great Britain and Britain tomean all the same thing, ie thewhole country. Usually England justrefers to the country excludingWales, Scotland and NorthernIreland. And just to clear up anyconfusion: the Republic of Ireland isa separate independent county.

Dear Victoria, I really don’tunderstand: why do youdrive on the left but standon the right on escalators?Ah, now this is a tricky one, whichfoxes a lot of people. We obstinatelydrive on the left and claim to do thisbecause it was easier in the old days ifyou were travelling by horse to draw asword, when most people are right-handed, and fight your opponent.is custom continued in the UK anda few other places, including Australiaand Japan, whereas the rest of theworld decided driving on the rightwas sensible. So an important piece ofadvice when you arrive: make sureyou look the correct way for crossingthe road, i.e. look right first, then left.

As for escalators, it makes sense ifyou think about it. We are still mov-ing on the left, i.e. you can walk upthe left-hand side of the escalator butstand still on the right. You’ll soon getthe hang of it, even if you have beenhere only a few days. Just don’t com-mit the faux pas of standing on theleft, which will irritate people quitequickly, and you are sure to hear a“sorry” as somebody tries to get past.

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In my work supportinginternational professionalsand expats settle into life inthe UK with Englishlanguage and culturecourses, I am frequentlyasked questions aboutBritish life, the people andtheir customs. Thesequestions are often abouthow to get things done herewhen you first arrive, andhow to get up and runningquickly to feel at home. HereI answer some top questionsand shed some light on theseareas.

Dear Perfect Cuppa,

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Hi Perfect Cuppa, why doLondoners never seem tocarry an umbrella withthem? I often see peoplegetting really wet when itstarts raining but theydon’t seem to have anythingwith them, which is weirdfor a rainy country, isn’t it?Now I’d like to set the record straighthere: lots of people accuse ourweather of being rainy, but the realityis that you’ll find most of that rain isin the North West, Scotland, Walesand South West, which is why theseareas are so lush and green. In fact,the South East is relatively dry andduring many summers we end upwith a hosepipe ban (not being able towater your garden).

We certainly do have our rainydays, but the exciting thing thatBritish people have discovered is thatthe weather changes here a lot and istotally unpredictable, even forweather forecasters. So if it’s rainyright now, the sun might come out intwo minutes. And if you think you’rebeing smart by following the weatherforecast to work out what will happenthen be warned; the BBC's weatherforecast for rain works one hour indelay – so a 60% chance of rain at4pm actually means there is 60%chance that there will be some rainbetween 3 and 4pm! Which is why itmight lead to some wet people.

Also remember weather is an important part of any chat for Britishpeople. We love talking about theweather and it usually kicks off with aquestion: eg “_______ day, isn’t it?”(insert the correct word for the day inquestion: cold, sunny, mild, rainy etc)Apparently almost 40% of Britishpeople have talked about the weatherin the past hour, at any one time,which is truly remarkable! It’s proba-bly why so many newspaper headlinesare about the weather, both celebrat-ing and moaning about it.

So, go on, get in the mood and getyour weather chat ready.

Dear Perfect Cuppa, I find ithard to get to know myBritish neighbours,colleagues, in fact anybodyBritish. They always ask,“how are you?” but don’tseem that interested in thereply. Why?is may surprise you but even infor-mal conversations can have clearstructures and rituals. Especially withpeople we don’t know well, we tend tosteer clear of personal questions. eresponse to “how are you?” is usuallyan automatic “fine, thank you andyou?” without much detail, exceptmaybe saying life and/or work is busyor good at the moment. We veryrarely share what we really are feelingat this stage in the conversation, evenif we feel ill or are having problems,unless we know somebody very well.

At the end of meeting somebody wealso have our ritualised chat ending.You might hear a British person say,“we must catch up again soon forlunch/ coffee”, this is a fairly standardway to end the conversation andsometimes can be an empty invita-tion. It means, “sure, let’s see eachother again sometime in the future,but I’m not going to fix a date now”.So don’t expect to start looking atyour diaries together at that moment.

As a result international residentssometimes tell me they find it hard toget to know the British, which can betrue until you get them down the pubor out for a social event, when youwill see that the drinking culture allows many inhibitions to bedropped. Heading to the pub withfriends or colleagues after work or atlunchtime on a Friday is a great wayto get to know people, and it’s hereyou will find out more about theirpersonal lives in a relaxed way. Youdon’t have to drink alcohol; it’s moreof a bonding social experience.

Hi Perfect Cuppa, Londonseems to be a relativelyfamily friendly city, so anytop tips of where to go andwhat to do?Now that is a big question and Icould write a book on that topic! Yes,there is a lot going on for kids inLondon and children are pretty muchwelcome everywhere, including inmost restaurants or pubs during theday (except at very smart ones), until6pm. My favourite thing about chil-dren’s London is that most museumsare free to visit and, of course, wehave access to a huge number of parksand outdoor spaces, usually with ex-cellent play facilities for kids. If yourkids are old enough for walkingaround, then London is an excellentcity to discover by foot, and whenthey get tired, just simply hop on abus and travel on the top deck for agreat view. Top tip: if you’ve just ar-rived the Number 15 bus will takeyou past the best landmarks andplaces to visit, so you can just hop onand off the route. If you want to keepup to date with the latest on what’shappening in London for kids, then Irecommend you check out Time OutLondon for Kids, plus the Hoop app,which sends a helpful weekly newslet-ter with the latest events going on.

Another way to know about family-friendly places, activities and recom-mendations for nannies, tutors,cleaners etc in your part of London isto contact FOCUS.

How are you...?

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Hi Victoria, I’m reallyinterested in the RoyalFamily but I don’tunderstand why it’s PrincePhilip and not King?Great question! In fact our law saysthat the Queen’s husband is known asthe prince consort and does not auto-matically become king. So for thisreason, Prince Philip, who is alsoknown as the Duke of Edinburgh, isnot a king. However, it works differ-ently the other way around, soCatherine, the Duchess ofCambridge, is not a princess but asand when William becomes King,then she will become QueenCatherine – the original reason forthis was to protect the British RoyalFamily from ‘outsider influence’.

And while we’re at it, whydoes the Queen have twobirthdays?Whether a British person is a royalist,a republican or just ambivalent, mostpeople can’t help but admire theQueen for her achievement of a 67-years reign, during which time she hasseen 14 prime ministers, 13 US presi-dents and had more than 30 corgidogs! Plus, as a British monarch,Queen Elizabeth is also lucky enoughto celebrate her birthday twice.

Her real birthday on April 21st andis celebrated privately with her family– she turned 93 this year. It has been atradition for over two centuries to alsocelebrate the monarch’s official birth-day in June with the ceremony called“Trooping the Colour”. On this dayyou will see almost 1,500 soldiers,200 horses and 400 musicians march-ing along e Mall, a Royal Air Forcedisplay and a gun salute in GreenPark. Pretty impressive, I wish I hadthe same for my birthday.

Hi Victoria, I am totallyconfused by your schoolsystem here. Why arepublic schools actuallyprivate, and what aregovernment-funded schoolscalled? Our school system is quite complexand hard to navigate, and this topiccreates the greatest number of ques-tions for people when they relocate,especially if they are organisingschools for their family. So to clear upthis matter, our government-fundedfree education is offered in what wecall ‘state schools’.

ere are different types of privateschool, including public schools,which in other countries around theworld have the meaning of a free edu-cation. In fact here public schools aresome of the best schools in the coun-try, usually the oldest established,most expensive schools with excellentreputations, for example EtonCollege, Harrow and Rugby. eseschools were originally called publicbecause previous to their establish-ment, the only education option wasto attend a local grammar school.When these new types of schoolsopened they were made ‘public’ topoor scholars who would travel fromfurther away to attend them and werenot restricted by religion or family situation.

If you’re finding the school systemhard to navigate, then it’s worthwhilegetting some orientation through aUK-based education consultant whocan guide you through the options tosuccessfully find a school place.Members can contact FOCUS forrecommendations of consultants.

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Perfect Cuppa, when does“no” mean no for a Britishperson? And why don’tthey just say no?e British have a bit of a reputationfor being indirect and some peoplemight find it awkward to give nega-tive feedback, and so they don’t wantto say “no”. It’s often in situationswhere they don’t know the other per-son very well or the stakes are higheg, a negotiation or pitch.

As a result they start the sentenceby sounding positive, then comes a“but”, and finally end with the realnegative message, eg. “I see, that’s in-teresting but maybe I can think aboutthat”. ey also might modify theirlanguage with words like: “a bit”,“quite”, “fairly” or “rather”, both forpositive and negative feedback as theydon’t want to sound too extreme, eg.“that’s quite an interesting idea”.

It’s really important to listen totheir voice to understand the realmeaning. A positive and strong tonesuggests that it is positive feedback, ahesitant and questioning tone sug-gests it is negative. Also watch out forthe use of a double negative, eg “it’snot bad” = it’s good, or “it’s not verygood” = it’s terrible.

You might also find people asking aquestion or asking your permission togive feedback but they definitely wantyou to listen to their opinion andtake an action, eg “could I make asuggestion here?”, or “what about ifwe offered a discount?”.

Finally the most important part ofthe feedback will be flagged with in-troductory phrases to prepare you fortheir negative view, eg “to be honest, Ineed more time to think about it”, or“actually, it’s a question of budget”.

Although these examples maysound indirect, it comes from an in-tention to be polite and diplomatic toavoid conflict, to soften personal,negative feedback and from a feelingof awkwardness. Also, bear in mindthese communication styles are truefor some British people in certain sit-uations, but the point is to make sureyou are always clear on what is beingsaid, and if you are uncertain aboutthe true intended feeling or meaningthen clarify by reflecting back whatyou think have heard.

Hello Perfect Cuppa, I haveprivate healthcare throughmy family’s work so I amthinking I don’t need tobother with the NHS, is that right?e National Health Service (NHS) isour free healthcare system, and a bitof a national institution at 71 yearsold. It’s not perfect but it’s a prettymarvellous service available to all.

Many people believe that just be-cause you have private healthcare in-surance you don’t need to registerwith the NHS or use its services.Actually, it’s highly recommended toregister with the NHS, via your localGP (local doctor’s surgery), ideally assoon as you arrive. ere are a coupleof very good reasons to do this. First,if you have an accident and need touse the A&E (accident and emergencydepartment, which is present in mostNHS hospitals), then it will mucheasier to be treated if they know whoyou are because you have registered al-ready. Second, if you end up stayingin the UK for some time then this canbe an important public record of yourproof of address, which can be signifi-cant if you do not work in the UKand/or you don’t have your name offi-cially on utility bills or council tax foryour home.

As for the service itself, generally itis good but can have long waitingtimes, depending on the specialist areaand where you live. Some people optto get a diagnosis and referral for amedical problem via the NHS andthen get a faster appointment via theirprivate healthcare insurance.

However, in an emergency, the NHS is usually very good fortreatment.

Hello Victoria, we’removing over with our pets.Is London a good place to bewith pets? Where can I takemy dogs walking? Good news for pet owners: London isan exceptionally pet-friendly city andthat’s true also for the all of the UK.e British love their pets, andwhether you’re more of a dog or catperson, you know the pet will be verymuch treated as a core part of thefamily. If you’re bringing your ownpet over, you will find yourself meet-ing people easily as the city goes dogwalking every morning and eveningin our lovely Royal Parks and othergreen spaces. ere is also a whole in-dustry built around pet services andwhether you are looking for meet-ups,grooming, sitters or pet artists,London is definitely the place to findthem.

And what if you don’t already havea pet but would love one while you’rehere? I highly recommend BatterseaDogs and Cats Home, which is a pop-ular shelter to adopt pets that havebeen abandoned by previous owners.If that’s just too much commitment,then you can even ‘borrow’ a pet foran afternoon from Borrow My Doggy(www.borrowmydoggy.com).

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Victoria Rennoldson, founder of Perfect Cuppa English, regularly gives talks and writes about British language, lifeand culture. Perfect Cuppa English offers private, bespoke English language and British culture courses in everyday and businessEnglish, for greater communication confidence. You can get in touch with her at: victoria@perfectcuppaenglish.co.uk & www.perfectcup-paenglish.co.uk.

I hope this has answered some of your most popular questions about living in Britain (or the UnitedKingdom to be exact) as well as given you an insight into what the country has to offer, what the people are like and the meaning behind our customs. I’m always happy to help if you want to know any-thing else about settling here, life in London, British culture or the English language. Whetheryou’re here for six months or more than 20 years, enjoy your time!

Hi Perfect Cuppa, I’ve heardthe British social seasonincludes lots of eventsduring the summer butsomebody told me you haveto get tickets way inadvance? When do I need tostart thinking about it?Yes, that’s right, you need to be cluedup to get tickets for events such as theChelsea Flower Show and RoyalAscot. But the one you should reallythink about almost a year in advanceis Wimbledon, as this is the eventwhich is hardest to get tickets for. eopening date for the UK Public Ballotis usually September 1st and it runstill mid-December. If you are success-ful in gaining a ticket, you will findout by mid-February and tickets areallocated randomly so you won’t beable to choose which game you go to. If you miss out on the public ballotthen there are a limited number oftickets available online 48 hours inadvance via Ticketmaster, but thenthe other way is to do what the Britishlove best, which is queue on the day!You can queue up early in the morn-ing to get tickets for the same day orfrom mid-afternoon for ticket returns.

Dear Victoria, I heard aboutFireworks Night but what’sthe story? It sounded verybizarre…I have to say this is one of the strangercelebrations that we have in the UK.Guy Fawkes Night (also known asBonfire or Fireworks Night) is onNovember 5th every year and this is acelebration of a historical event in1605 when Guy Fawkes was arrestedfor trying to blow up parliament andkill the king. e festivities weremeant to celebrate the survival ofKing James I but most British peopleassociate it with Guy Fawkes himself.We even have a little rhyme whichkids learn in school:“Remember, remember the 5th ofNovember;Gunpowder treason and plot.We see no reason Why gunpowder treasonShould ever be forgot.”

ere are some big displays of fire-works in London, usually on theweekend closest to 5th, including atAlexandra Palace in north Londonand Battersea Park in south London,but getting anywhere high up andopen will mean you will see some ofthe great displays going off acrossLondon. You may also see other fire-works around the end of October andstart of November as Hindus celebrateDiwali, the festival of light.

So come on Perfect Cuppa,spill the beans, youobviously love a cuppa,where are your favouriteperfect places for afternoontea around the capital?Well, everybody has their favouriteplaces and that’s often connected tothe experience and who you are with.ere are some obvious contenders butnew afternoon tea experiences arelaunching all the time in London, es-pecially themed to match festivals andkey events. So, here are my personalfavourites and I’m sure you’ll discoveryour own as well!

e Wallace Collection is a smallmuseum just near Selfridges and is amansion house with a great collectionof Victorian paintings and furnishings,but also happens to house a beautifulconservatory restaurant, where theyserve delicious afternoon tea amongthe palm trees. For a slightly differentand creative twist on the afternoon tea,why not try Biscuiteers in NottingHill, which specialises in beautifullycrafted, artistic biscuits for afternoontea, as well as the traditional sconesand cakes. Fortnum & Mason has soldtea for more than 300 years and theirDiamond Jubilee Tea Salon is a famouslocation for a very English afternoontea. I also love wandering around thestore afterwards, looking at their lovelyfood gifts and hampers, which makeperfect gifts.