International reporting
In inches and ounces… The United Kingdom wants to restore the imperial measure
Audio 02:26
Before his departure, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to restore the imperial measure in the United Kingdom.
(Illustrative Image) AP - Jon Super
By: Marie Boeda
2 mins
Before his resignation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had launched a consultation to bring the imperial measure up to date.
A policy made possible by Brexit and a more instinctive measure according to its defenders.
But not sure that everyone likes it.
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From our correspondent in London
Imperial measure or metric system?
In the UK, this question still arises.
In this hairdressing salon in London, this client in his forties uses both units of measurement and it suits him very well, he says, settling himself in front of the mirror on a leather seat.
“
It's the best method for me.
I don't understand why anyone would want to go back and measure food in pounds.
For height, I'd say I'm 6 feet and one inch, but I don't know what that is in centimeters.
I only drive miles.
But I buy food in grams and I couldn't tell what a pound is.
»
But sometimes it's a bit confusing.
So Tom, the hairdresser, has his own method with his clients.
"
I pull the person's hair up, so they decide how much hair I take out, because what I call an inch or a centimeter isn't necessarily what people call an inch or a centimeter .
»
“
The only measure that matters is the pint!
»
A 5-minute walk from the living room, Carrie thinks the metric system is best.
The 18-year-old is a waitress in a pub.
According to her, the imperial measure no longer makes sense.
She talks about grams, kilograms, meters.
Except for the pints she serves to her customers.
"
A pint, I don't know what that is in millilitres, but we just say a pint or half a pint.
»
“
It's a living connection to the world of Shakespeare
,” a cultural tradition that must not go away, says Warwick Cairns of the British Association of Weights and Measures.
Except that the younger ones hardly use it anymore, like Carrie.
At school, European standards are favored today.
He therefore asks that we relearn the two measures and that everyone uses them as they wish.
“
Let me give you an example: for many years the popular size for a bottle of champagne was the pint.
But due to European legislation, only one size could be sold.
Since Brexit, the Pol Roger house has been working with British wine producers to produce pint bottles of champagne again.
»
Useless for this fishmonger who sells his products by the kilo, it facilitates communication with suppliers, he explains.
“
When the older ones ask for a pound, we know it's 450 grams.
Waste of time, waste of money, we know that Boris Johnson does this to keep his job
, adds the fishmonger.
The only measure that matters in the old system is the pint!
»
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