Imperial in 2015

Posted on 2015-02-27 by derekp

It is almost 50 years since the announcement in Parliament that the UK would be ‘going metric’, and 15 years since significant progress last occurred. Although most Imperial units have passed into history, a few have survived in common use. Here, we offer a Guide to those surviving units for readers familiar only with metric. And for Americans, who may feel at home with Imperial measures, we provide some warnings.

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Inside the Commons

Posted on 2015-02-13 by derekp

Have you been watching this series on BBC2 on Tuesdays at 9.00 pm? Three programmes have already been broadcast, with the final on due on 24 February. They show the workings of the House of Commons and there are a few surprises, or perhaps not.

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Decimal currency, metric measures and the vanished link

Posted on 2015-02-06 by derekp

For over a century, the introduction of metric measures in the UK was linked to that of decimal currency. But then, while we were saying farewell to £sd, the situation changed. We follow the story and draw an unsurprising conclusion.

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Has SI delivered?

Posted on 2015-01-30 by derekp

The fuss about measurement units at the start of this century has overshadowed progress thirty years earlier in education, science and engineering. We look at the benefits that were predicted at the start of the transition to SI and ask if they have been delivered.

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Measurement muddle – a customary feature of Britain

Posted on 2015-01-23 by ronniec

Ronnie Cohen looks at the measurement muddle in the British Isles during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As our nearest neighbours on the Continent might say, ‘Plus ca change, toujours la meme chose’.

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Measurement units – a daily dilemma for the media

Posted on 2015-01-16 by derekp

We take a look at a uniquely British problem faced by our media and in particular the BBC, namely which system of measurement units to use.

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Vietnam and Cambodia – metric measures taken for granted

Posted on 2015-01-09 by derekp

John Frewen-Lord follows his article reflecting on his visit to Hong-Kong with another about two of the countries that once formed French Indo-China.

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Three notable anniversaries in 2015

Posted on 2015-01-01 by derekp

Metric Views will be celebrating several anniversaries in 2015. In this, our first post of the New Year, we provide some pointers.

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Hong Kong – Imperial no more

Posted on 2014-12-21 by derekp

Followers of Metric Views may have noticed that one of our regular contributors, John Frewen-Lord, has just returned from a visit to the far east. In this post, he passes on some observations relating one of the countries he visited.

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Government to clarify law on metric units in advertising

Posted on 2014-11-30 by Erithacus

A Government Minister has promised to advise industry bodies that the law requires the use of metric units in all product description and advertising.

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