Comments on: 60 km Jubilee Greenway to be signed in imperial

By: Seares

Seares — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:16:13 +0000

Maybe every 8 km there could be a 5 mile marker alongside for those who insist on imperial measures.This would leave an odd half km at the end, which could be laid out as 1,640.42 feet or 99.42 rods or 1,093.61 cubits, for the diehards who really like awkward numbers.

By: Pat Naughtin

Pat Naughtin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:41:33 +0000

Does the Queen know that the metric system was invented in England? See http://www.metricationmatters.com/who-invented-the-metric-system.html

And does she also know that the English metric system will celebrate its 350 year anniversary in 2018 as it was first published by Bishop John Wilkins in 1668 (on the commission of the Royal Society of London).

By: Michael Glass

Michael Glass — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 07:23:40 +0000

Perhaps this is the time to lobby the relevant authorities to mark off the years (which, of course, would be in kilometres) but also to put plaques on the way of some of the dramatic happenings during the Queen’s long reign. For example, the climbing of Mt Everest on 29 May 1953, the four minute mile on 6 May 1954, the births of Prince Andrew and Edward, joining the Common Market, 11 September 2001, the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother and so on until the Olympic Games in her diamond jubilee year.

Marking these spots on the 60km walk, in proportion, would make a 60km walk like a walk through the last 60 years. If the idea caught on it would be enormously popular. Indeed, you could even have every fourth year a couple of metres longer, just to mark the leap year.

It would then turn the 60km walk into something even greater. Think about it!

By: Ezra Steinberg

Ezra Steinberg — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:25:48 +0000

Here’s a bit of irony: the official website of the British Monarchy uses metric units.

For example, the dimensions of Buckingham Palace are given as:

“Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 metres long across the front, 120 metres deep (including the central quadrangle) and 24 metres high.”

Taken from http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/BuckinghamPalace/BuckinghamPalace.aspx

Even dimensions that were originally in Imperial have been converted to metric only, as in:

“The oldest car in the [royal] fleet is the Phantom IV, built in 1950, 5.76 litre with a straight eight engine and a Mulliner body. ”

Searching the rest of the site did turn up a few mentions of “miles” (including once in parentheses after the metric value), though I don’t count the nautical miles listed for the royal yacht.

So, a bit of a mixed bag … which I guess shouldn’t really surprise anyone.

Still, if Her Majesty can describe her official residence in metric only, shouldn’t that imply that metric should be good enough for her loyal subjects?

By: Royalist

Royalist — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:11:43 +0000

I hope the Queen would prefer the distances to be shown in metric not imperial units. Has she been asked?

By: Ezra Steinberg

Ezra Steinberg — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:25:58 +0000

Is the route to be signed in Imperial (as the heading states, which I presume would refer to “miles” or “yards”) or with hours and minutes? I’m a bit confused here …