The Hitchhiker's Guide to UK Citizenship

Life in the UK is a brilliantly subjective concept which is also the official name of the "citizenship test" -- that much maligned Gordon Brown initiative (inspired, like so many bad ideas, by the US).

Before passing the test last week, I had the opportunity to cram for it over several days, with the aid of the official study guide published by the Home Office.

To those of you still mourning the death of Douglas Adams, and upset that there can be no more books in the Hitchhiker's Guide series, may I just suggest ordering yourself a copy of this as a perfectly suitable alternative.

To wit, a few cultural chestnuts:

• Young people have different identities, interests and fashions to older people.
• Many parents worry that their children misuse drugs and addictive substances.
• Christmas is a special time for children. Very young children believe that an old man, Father Christmas (or Santa Claus), brings them presents during the night. He is always shown in pictures with a long white beard, dressed in red.
• Most people get information about political issues from newspapers (often called the press), television and radio.
• It is sometimes difficult to distinguish fact from opinion in newspaper coverage.
• [Re: hairdressing and shoe repairs] To avoid problems it is a good idea to agree the price before the work starts.
• The fire service can often help with fire safety and fire prevention. This includes giving advice about what to do if there is a fire.
• To get information from the internet you need to know the address of a specific website (this usually begins with 'www').