Beware the European brick

Mad Andy has a good old laugh at The Guardian for writing that

Sez Mr Lostinspacesky:

What he is forgetting is the special nature of the great British brick, and in particular of the Flettons which made the London Brick Company famous and which you find all over the country. Unlike the clay used to make most European bricks, lower Oxford clay contains some 10% carbon, which makes it virtually self-firing, which enabled good solid bricks to be produced at a relatively low cost; European bricks, on the other hand, have traditionally been hollow affairs.

The bad news in this for England fans is that although the total weight of masonry units being dropped on them may be lower than during a typical British police action, the number of bricks (and, I believe, of injuries) will be higher. This may be ironed out during European brick harmonisation, but for now, as the UK Independence Party will no doubt continue to remind you, Europeans may seem lightweight but there’s a hell of a lot of them out there.

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