No ID cards yet for ages Catty, so if you win the lotto sooner then later you'll be quids in and have no problems at all!

all things british eh ??

well being british or living in britain is all about paying for things i:e tax on petrol tax on clothing,booze,cigs,everything really.parking fees,parking fines,having to pay to get into a public park to watch a public display on bonfire night.having to pay to get into your local pub on new years eve.having to pay to go to the toilet.if you dont receive your weekly local free paper,you can go to the news agents and buy one !!

Sounds like Australia... we pay tax on everything... cig tax is through the roof! (And as all smokers maintain, if we end up disease ridden, we have well and truly paid for our healthcare needs from years of paying something like $6 a packet in tax for years...)

Good to hear, Angela, that I can enter the country and start on a crime spree without worrying about fingerprint evidence... look out, I think a house in Mayfair might be burgled... but I wouldn't do anything mean with his toothbrush before I left...lol.

Britain today...

There has been some discussion about whether this particular hand-signal has international appeal or whether it is peculiar to just us Brits.
It appears its origins start as far back as 1066 and the Battle of Hastings when we were trying in vain to keep the French Invaders out.
It seems us Brits were in a strong position to begin with because we had these fancy new longbows which meant we were able to fire arrows at the baddies with such force that they were able to pierce the French armour…and so wound or kill the opposition. To use these bows the big bit was held in the left hand and the string (forgive the terminology, my memory is a little vague as it was a long time ago) was pulled back with the index and middle finger of the right hand.
If any of the Brits were captured by the opposition they would have these 2 fingers chopped off so that they could no longer use these offensive weapons. So, in battle the Brits would stand and raise these 2 fingers at the French to taunt them and show they were still in action and ready to fight.
…so I heard, anyway.

So, it seems it is just a Brit thing and not really all that offensive at all!

Vale is using his left hand above but as he is left handed he may have had his bow specially modified

But, Uccio has it right here using his right hand :

Thank you for this explanation...i was worried the boys were doing rude things.....i can not cope with rude thing....

Well, I am glad you are reassured, Wendy but I have to say that they are not being terribly polite either!

Well for me I tend to use both hands in symmetry when flaunting said gesture....& usually only if I'm far enough from whoever I'm gesturing, to be able to make a run for it without any chance of getting caught!

& as it happens (now, anyway Jr...if your above account is correct) my ancestors must have been one of those very people you speak about, seeing as my family name "O'Hare" was in fact listed in the Dooms Day Book of 1066.....so do you think I could say it's a family trait, me waving my 2 fingers?

the v sign is a correct description.not many peeps know of this and do take offence.
i my self use it on a daily basis when confronted with arso drivers lol
i did ask a police person once ?
if i was to give u the v sign in front of your face or passing in a patrol car what would you do ?
after i explained the meaning he decided that it would not be a reasonable answer to drag me off to the cells ,strip search me photo me take my prints etc.as two days in custody would only clog up the cells for rapists- murderers, people murdering rapists,shop lifters,muggers,piss head drivers,etc.he decided it was a valid claim.

driving off i waved in a friendly way


v up

Go on, admit it you were disappointed at the policeman's response as you were quite looking forward to all that!. Never mind I am sure you will think of something.

If you look at my ancestry I think your lot would have been waving your fingers at my ancestors, standing there in badly peirced armour. I think my lot won in the end though didn't we?

I think I tend to use both hands as well, although not when driving and, like you Angela, usually from a distance great enough to ensure safety - either because the other person will never be able to see what I am doing or so I am definitely going to be able to out-run them.

My neighbour is Irish and uses this signal (the 2 handed version) an awful lot...I wonder what it means to the Irish? I always take it to mean she is having one of her turns again.