The Queue-Loving Brits

To be or not to be!

The EU Referendum campaign is going down to the wire. It looks like pollsters are equally confused with different polls making different predictions. While the Leave vote has gained momentum of late, it remains impossible to be sure. There is still a huge chunk of undecided voters. Large number of people had not even registered to vote. But after the government-run website crashed with half a million people trying to register in the last 24 hours before the deadline, the registration period was extended till Tuesday.

Leaders on both sides, be it Leave or Remain, on the other hand, have been taking every opportunity to tear into each other’s arguments. Now even Julian Assange, the Wikileaks head, who is troubled by the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and is in hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy, has hit it out at Prime Minister David Cameron and joined the Brexit bandwagon. Given the backdrop of the EAW against him, its no surprise, that he said, “We think here in the United Kingdom that you have a right to a fair trial that includes evidence, judges and charges, but in my case we don’t have any of that, and it’s not just me. Many people in the UK have been affected by that.”

It will be an interesting week ahead, with politicians going into overdrive, until late night of June 23 when we know where the country stands.

Please queue, we are Brits

Brits are known for their propensity for queueing whenever necessary, without complaining. Even in rush hour traffic they systematically enter the tube. Tourists are often surprised by the display of discipline. And we definitely don’t always enjoy it.

But now, for those who are unaware of this very British norm, there are two fundamental rules to queueing. A new study has found that the first rule is to not make small talk with anyone standing alongside you in the queue, and the second is never complain or make a scene, even if someone is queue-jumping and trying to push in, although you can show displeasure at the impudence by only tutting loudly or making knowing glances to others waiting.

The research found that 97 per cent of Brits would never break the first rule of starting a conversation, while eight in ten said they passed time criticizing other queue members. But listen to this, three quarters confessed to eves-dropping on shoppers’ conversations with staff to figure how friendly they are, while two thirds said they judged others by their clothes or contents of their shopping. Nine out ten were irritated by people taking too long to make a payment and the same amount of people were annoyed by those who hold a place in the queue for a friend.

Another strictly followed rule is to never stand too close to the person next to you, and three quarters of those polled said that touching distance was still ‘too close’.

Tensater Group, the queue management specialists that conducted the research found Brits were willing to stand in a queue at the supermarket for a maximum of six minutes.

Raunchy Versailles

BBC2’s 17th Century period drama Versailles has sent viewers into a frenzy. The drama which is about the sexual exploits of King Louis XIV, is becoming the raunchiest drama ever on British television. There is believed to be a scene of sex or violence every 15 minutes, with the pragramme’s historical researcher Matheiu da Vinha claiming the producers wanted it.

Such is the nature of the show’s content that scenes from the show’s opening episode have appeared on adult site Pornhub. Until now only two episodes have been aired, and the first one had six sexual scenes.

Over the course of the 10 episode-series, viewers can expect 36 x-rated scenes and a staggering 23 scenes of sex, giving HBO’s Game of Thrones a run for its money.

One of the show’s writers David Wolstencroft told a British daily: "Sex is a fact of life. We’re all here because of sex. If you look at the honesty of what the show is doing, the depiction of it as a function of power, the context of it, rather than avoiding the subject entirely, which would be laughable. It’s actually a very carefully organised, much thought about, calculated way by Simon and I of exploring power."

The series explores the debauched heart of the court of Versailles, of skullduggery, political machinations and declarations of war and sex. It is the most expensive French TV series ever made costing an estimated £24 million to produce.

Despite the furore the series is causing this side the Channel, Versailles is said to have been a hit with French audiences after it aired in November last year.

BBC has maintained that the show ‘is shown after 9pm on BBC2 and its content is nothing beyond the expectation of a post-watershed UK television audience’.

On a Bunyadi note!

As they say, anything is possible in London. And now we have the city’s first naked restaurant which already has a waiting list of 46,000 people, and it just opened this weekend. Started by Sebastian Lyall in south east London, Bunyadi has become the talk of the town. And guess where the name is taken from? Indians would not need to as its from the Hindi word and means ‘natural’ and it applies to diners and the food served.

The restaurant will only be open for three months, and the head chef hopes that being nude will help diners concentrate on their food.

All diners are given a white robe to wear in the bar area and when they go to the restaurant, they can choose to take it off or not. The waiters and waitresses look naked despite skin-colored underwear and leaves covering their private parts. Located in a dingy, disused pub, the restaurant has private dining booths, encircled by bamboo. The lights are so dim that you can only see silouhettes.

Several journalists who have attended the opening and reviewed the restaurant found it to be a very spa-like experience. The menu is light, there are rounds of raw food, lots of vegetables, flowers and pickled and smoked meat and fish. All the food is served in clay and there is no cutlery expect edible spoons. Organic wine is served in clay goblets.

The rules are pretty strict too, and a ‘rules of engagement’ document is handed out to every diner on arrival. One rule is of course: 'No indecency or nuisance or any sexual activity of any kind is allowed. Guests who don't follow this rule will be escorted out immediately'.

No photography or phones are allowed in the dining area. Diners can take their gowns home after they change into their own clothes.

One may ask why would anyone want a naked restaurant – well, given the waiting list, one can see the indomitable power of fad in London.

And now, after Melbourne and London, Tokyo is set to open its first naked restaurant Amrita, next month. This one will have age and weight limits and diners will be provided with paper underpants.