Being British XII

[Apollonious]

Hi everyone!

I was just wondering what the legal age is for buying/consuming cigarettes and other tobacco products is in the UK. I read an article on BBC's website from about three years ago saying that the government was planning to raise the age from 16 to 18. Did this happen?

Thanks so much!

[Equinox Chick]

Olivia,

You can smoke from 16 in this country, and buy from 18. This changed in October 2007. Prior to that you could buy from age 16.

No one actually gets prosecuted for smoking or buying underage, although the shopkeeper can be prosecuted and fined if he serves underage buyers.

~Carole~

[Apollonious]

I have another question for you all.

Was it normal in the 1970s for a woman to work? That is, would the mother of a family in good financial standing work at an office job or something? I'm thinking of the Evanses.


Thanks so much!

[Equinox Chick]

Hmm, she might work. It would depend on what she did, really. A lot of women were still expected to give up work (especially if their husbands earned a decent amount) when they had kids and it would have been harder to arrange childcare and things.

If she was a doctor, teacher or something she trained for, then yes, I can see her working, but doing a job for the sake of it is less likely. The feminist movement was getting really big in the UK in the sixties and seventies, so she might be attuned to that.

~Carole~

[Viv]

I have a little geographical question for you my dear British friends!

We know that Diagon Alley is located in London, but JKR never said where exactly we can find it in London, right? So... If I'm searching for a public park that would be near Diagon Alley, where could it be do you think? In which district? And do you have any real names I could use in a story?

Thank you!

[psijupiter]

Parks in London are St James's Park, Green Park, Regent's Park and Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. All of these would be (just) within walking distance of a main shopping area. Given that the Leaky Cauldron is beside a large music store, I think? It sounds like Oxford Street or Regent Street maybe, which is probably closest to Green Park. All of that would be located in the West End.

I would have a look on googlemaps to get an idea of the layout.

[Equinox Chick]

Hmmm,

Iwas thinking this over and thought of three parks (there's loads, but these were my three favourites)

Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Regent's Park.

I discounted Kensington gardens because although it's beautiful, it is in a very affluent area of London and it seems odd to me that somewhere like The Leaky cauldron would remain unnoticed and not developed. Hyde Park is similar.

I would go for Regent's Park, because it's big, has a boating lake, is a fun park, but is also pretty near train stations (Euston) and roads (Tottenham Court Road). It also has an open-air theatre which is a lot of fun.

It is North West London (classed as NW1) and near the areas of Primrose Hill and Camden Town. Both these areas are stuffed full of artistic type people.

~Carole~

[wishbones and witches]

Isn't Diagon Alley near Charing Cross station? I think they mention it in one of the earlier books or something and it sounds a lot like the area around there. I don't think any of the big parks are within walking distance of there - St James Park is closeish but it's still a pretty long walk. I think the only park closer to Charing Cross than St James is one whose name I forgot, but it's right near Holborn station. It's pretty but not as big as St James Park.

If you don't need a proper big park, just a green place with a few trees, then there are plenty of places. Just squares and little parky places in the middle of roundabouts, so that's an option. I think there's a few of those in that area.

[h_vic]

I'm sure that something at some point says that the Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross Road (although I can't remember where I got that from), and apparently Diagon Alley is based on Cecil Court which is a quirky little alley of old-fashioned second-hand book shops.

Anyway, if I am right about Charing Cross Road, I think the nearest park would be Green Park.

[sas__x]

Olivia,

You can smoke from 16 in this country, and buy from 18. This changed in October 2007. Prior to that you could buy from age 16.

No one actually gets prosecuted for smoking or buying underage, although the shopkeeper can be prosecuted and fined if he serves underage buyers.

~Carole~

Sorry, can I just add something? Perhaps it's different in England but in Scotland there is actual no legal age to smoke. Technically you can smoke from any age, but you just can't buy cigarrettes until you are 18. Although I agree it's only really shopkeepers who are fined, not the people who buy underagers cigarettes. The governement left this loophole as a way to make more money but still promote anti-smoking, health risks etc.

-Sarah