We're British, Innit

Rowan · Post by **Rowan** » Mon January 26th, 2009, 2:50 pm

Well, spb, a lot of the things mentioned so far are in this book. Except for the bbq in the rain bit. LOL

My favourite, so far, is the apology. Of course I'm only up to letter D so far.

Leo62 · Post by **Leo62** » Mon January 26th, 2009, 4:33 pm

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]So funny to read some of the things that are viewed as quintessentially British, but that bear very relation to modern-day Britain...

Yes, see some of our current comedians, or watch a soap such as Coronation Street to see what British people look like and spend their lives doing...[/quote]
LOL so true. Soaps are the key! Though they give just as distorted idea of British life as the afternoon-tea-and-country-houses blah

My personal brit-list:
* The Today programme on Radio 4
* Moaning about public transport (in fact, moaning in general)
* Boris Johnson

* Getting the Olympics and then being too cheap to pay for it properly.
* The BBC (gotta love it despite this year's crop of clangers - the Ross/Brand debacle and the current nonsense over the Gaza appeal)
* Football (no it's NOT called soccer

)
* Cricket (could any other country have invented such an insane game?)
* The League of Gentlemen (the ultimate expose of the British Id

)

Libby · Post by **Libby** » Mon January 26th, 2009, 9:03 pm

[quote=""Leo62""]LOL so true. Soaps are the key! Though they give just as distorted idea of British life as the afternoon-tea-and-country-houses blah

[/quote]

I don't watch soaps. I hate them and they bear no resemblance to my life at all. I think they show a certain section of society but don't reflect the whole of English society so don't make the mistake of thinking that all English people live or behave like that.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 11:35 am

I'm with Libby - Heaven forbid anyone should think that England is really like the way it's portrayed in the soaps, most of them are pretty much fantasies!

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:03 pm

There are so many different aspects of what it means to be British.
My husband plays for an inner city darts team in Nottingham - a city christened by the press the 'gun capital of England'. Many of his fellow dart players do indeed live lives that equate to what you see in British soap operas. If you're not from that walk of society, your experience of what it means to be a Brit is going to be totally different.
In general terms, from inside the culture, I would say:

We talk a lot about the weather about as often as we moan about the shortcomings of the NHS
We still have strong vestiges of that stiff upper lip and we have a quirky sense of humour that goes from the unsubtle slapstick (pantomime and Mr Bean) to the dry and understated. Not everyone gets it.
It is still vulgar to be pushy. We watch celebs do it and shake our heads and tut, but we still encourage them to do it.
Despite the invasion of soft drinks and more ways of making coffee than you can shake a stick at, we are still a nation of tea drinkers - these days out of mugs is the more likely scenario.

I'd be interested to know what others on this list think are the quintessential characteristics of their nation based on inside views rather than outsiders looking in.

pat · Post by **pat** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:09 pm

The thing about the soaps is so right! Someone asked hubby what had been his perception of Australia before we got here. He said it was Neighbors! Then he asked what was their perception of England, and they said Corrie!

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 1:01 pm

Apologising when someone walks into you.

Voting for John Sergeant on Strictly Come Dancing (or Todd Carty on Dancing on Ice).

That's very British.

alice · Post by **alice** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 5:14 pm

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]Apologising when someone walks into you.

Voting for John Sergeant on Strictly Come Dancing (or Todd Carty on Dancing on Ice).

That's very British.[/quote]

That's so true! We don't hold with those celebs who can do things with a modicum of talent. It smacks of showing off. We'll go for the plucky underdog every time, (until it gets to the final, and then we'll play ball....)

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 6:11 pm

Fish 'n' chips, especially delicious when they're eaten out of newspaper (not allowed now, though, due to hygiene reasons I think!).

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 9:33 pm

[quote=""pat""]The thing about the soaps is so right! Someone asked hubby what had been his perception of Australia before we got here. He said it was Neighbors! Then he asked what was their perception of England, and they said Corrie![/quote]

I remember having a conversation with a girl that I worked with who was convinced that everyone in Australia lived in houses just like those shown in Neighbours (pool etc). My response was does everyone live in a house like those shown in Coronation Street or Eastenders?