[HPforGrownups] Britishisms / thanks / currency (was Knight Bus)

[Alexandra Y. Kwan]

No: HPFGUIDX 18599

Hello,

> I suspect JKR shares my dislike of decimalisation, which has swept away
> almost all of our wealth of words for coins - no more tanners, bobs,
> threepenny (pronounced "thrupney") bits, no more half-crowns
> or florins.  All gone with our twelve pence to the shilling and twenty
> shillings to the pound,

As much as I appreciate the wealth of vocabulary over coins, I pity the
foreigners who visited your country before the decimalisation.  Gods, it's
difficult enough for me to remember the conversion from inches to feet to
yards and then to miles.  And that's after a ten year stay in the USA, I
can't imagine doing that with money, too.  Actually, I'm still trying to
figure out the conversion rates in the fresh produce markets in Hong Kong,
since the market stall owners, for some weird reason, retains the old
Chinese system.  Thank the gods that my dad does all the shopping when I'm
over there.

> unmistakeably resemble.  Getting back on topic, I feel there was a trace
of
> satire in Ron's reaction to our ugly, pocket-tearing, 7-sided 50p piece:
>
> "'*Weird!' he said.  'What a shape!  This is *money*?'" (PS 147)

It's...seven sided?  Huh.  So, wizard money is the same all over the world?
That's good.  Actually, I'm wondering, how did the Weasleys got to Egypt on
their vacation?  Flew?  Apparate?  Floo Powder?  Was it mentioned?

little Alex