Bits & Pieces

One of the most common items in a kitchen in both England & Australia, and I suspect one of the most used, is the kettle. It is used to boil water for tea, to make (instant) coffee and a host of other things. It is just a natural part of the furniture as it were. Not over here. I have yet to see a kettle anywhere. I think a very common item is the coffee maker as it would appear there is little or no demand for instant coffee (always hated it anyway). If you want boiling water, use a saucepan!

I am used to switching lights off by pushing the switch down, and pushing it up to turn them off. Totally reversed here, up is on and down is off. Only a little thing except every now and again you find yourself looking in puzzlement wondering which way it should go.

In Europe we were used to VAT, in Australia it was GST. However, the price you saw was the price you paid, i.e. it was inclusive of the tax. Here they have Sales Tax, and the price you see is NOT the price you pay, as it does not include Sales Tax. You see something you want to buy, get the money ready and wham, the bill at the checkout is different, more of course because they add on the sales tax.

The reason it is not inclusive I gather is that the rate varies from state to state and some do not have sales tax. I still can’t see why they can’t make it inclusive with the amount shown on the bill, like they do with VAT in Europe and GST in Oz.