Having been brought up at school using metric measurements, I still found it difficult to visualise a kilometer whereas a mile was easy, since the mileometers in british cars are set in miles. I also have dificulty with weights - I was taught at school in kilogrammes but always weighed myself in stones, and still do. I have no idea what my weight is in kilos!

It wasn't until I started running that I began to be able to visualise distance in kilometers. Running events are 'bilingual', i.e. you run a 10K, or 10 miles, or a half marathon which normally has mile markers rather than kiometer markers, but have found it doesn't really matter which as I can flip between metric and imperial.

Basically I don't think it matters which are used. I think it is important to still keep our 'mile' - after all the USA work in miles. But sometimes I like walks in kilometers as they seem to go quicker!!

Now don't get me started on keeping the pound and yes - market traders should be able to see in ounces and pounds too.

Who ever weighs a baby in kilos? Pounds still seem to be the generic unit of a babies weight and long may it continue....I hate change!

when did gallons and inches disappear? i still use them except with petrol, daren't see the price in gallons

Whether or not the imperial units are anachronistic depends on whether you're considering them as a scientist or as a linguist. The term 'mile' is still very widely used in the English language, and will, I think, take far longer to disappear than will the terms gallons, inches etc. Our language is dynamic and changes or not according to popular usage. In other words, it's far more democratic than dictats from Europe, and our chance to vote with our mouths.

As i said on the FRA thread on the same topic, after working with both measurements for the last 30 years it makes not a jot of difference to me which is used, after all the same effort is required to cover any distance / height be it Imperial or Metric.

Plus i like to exercise the brain as well as the body and a few mental calculations help to do that.

I am happy just to bide my time and go with the flow eventually i guess imperial will fall by the wayside and folk will happily bimble along multiplying/dividing by ten thinking how nice and simple life is.

Not a 100 miles! Hard to believe, unless of course, as the Yorkshire Thug might suggest it is because they are Yorkshire miles.

On the 100 - am I right in thinking that it's not actually 100 miles this year? I added it up to 95. So if you convert to metric, you could have a nice round number of 150, couldn't you?

Isn't about time we recognised even UK maps have been metric for about 30 years - distances in km, spot heights and contour lines in metres - and dropped imperial measures?

I know the "100" has a ring to it but surely the "160" is equally resounding, if a little less familiar?

I have only just realised that electronic maps allow users to avoid the metric reality of hard copy maps by having a choice of metric or imperial units. It seems an odd use of new technology to prolong the use of old, anachronistic units.

Let us try to struggle a little further into the 21st century and adopt metric units even if it is about 30 years after our maps changed.