Prices & cost of living

The unit of English currency is pounds sterling (pound or quid to the rest of us) and is written with the £ symbol. Each pound coin is worth 100 pennies (pence). When we speak, £5 sometimes abbreviated to a fiver, and likewise £10 is shortened to a tenner. Beer Considerably more than £2.30 per pint in London & the South but a more reasonable £1.80 - £2.00 in the North. Unlike France, alcohol costs pretty much the same here, whether purchased from a supermarket or off-licence as from a pub. In many parts of Europe, beer and wine is cheap as chips in the supermarket, but costs an arm and a leg if you enter a bar. We can drink in pubs here from the age of 18 (not 21 USA style), and thankfully most pubs remain child free zones. I've got kids myself, and it's good to be able to take them out occasionally for a pub meal early evening, but later on, I agree that pubs should remain adult only. Bottle of wine - £2.50 to £10.00 plus Petrol Not cheap. 95p to 99p a litre (£4.50 per gallon).  Nearly $9 USD per gallon - and you lot in the States think you've got it tough. It's outrageous - as far as I know it's the most expensive in the world? Certainly in the places I've been to, I've never found it costing more than here. That's why I charge for airport pick-ups! Luckily most motorbikes, my old VTR 1000 excepted, are quite economical, so it's less of a problem for us bikers, than those planet destroying & road-hogging SUV drivers. Pub meal £5 to £10 (North). Restaurant meal £8 to £25 upwards (only a fiver for a curry though). Camera film £4 a roll. A decent bike jacket £100-£250. A helmet £60-£400. Boots £100 upwards. Hotel accomodation £30-£100 per night (London more expensive than the North). Bed and breakfast £18-£25 per person per night. Camping Variable - sometimes almost free, but say £5 or £6 per head per night as a safe bet.

Went Live : Thu 22nd June 2006

Author : Bill