What is being British? [Archive] - TMUnderground/TMOA Forums

Roger

08-26-2008, 01:39 PM

I saw a program on TV yesterday. Panorama, and they were asking the question "what is being British?"

My first instinct was "bloody stupid question!"

This was because I have no problem defining what being British is.

British is:

History and heritage.

Monarchy.

Parliament.

Magna Carta.

Umbrellas.

Unarmed Police.

Fish and Chips.

Social awkwardness.

Whingeing.

Moaning about the weather.

Football.

Cricket.

Rugby.

Multi cultured.

Social medicine.

The Welfare State.

Roast dinner.

Yorkshire pudding.

Cream teas.

Going to the seaside.

Going out in the sun when sensible people stay indoors.

A very quirky sense of humour.

Inventiveness.

The Bulldog spirit.

Creativity.

Excellent music.

Eccentricity.

So that's how I see what being British is. I am interested what you guys think, especially those from outside the sceptred isles.

So what is being British?

Ellis07

08-26-2008, 01:57 PM

Oh you missed one Roger, Tradition!
Sunday dinners, washing your car on a sunday and drinking beer while watching football - A brit thing?

wackyal3000

08-26-2008, 02:12 PM

I've noticed we often appear to be ahead of other countries near us and we can only complain. For example shops open on Sunday, what a stupid idea!

Oh and also sadly not being able to hold your drink has become a part of being British.

This is actually quite interesting as in Britain our culture is so varied it isn't really British anymore. American is clearly American, German is clearly German but British is a whole composite of different cultures and we are too PC to do anything about it.

michael_b6

08-26-2008, 02:53 PM

Disgusting warm beer, and adding u to almost every word. :P

Jase180

08-26-2008, 03:09 PM

I will never understand that whole Queen and monarchy thing.

Cool accents aside, I always thought of the Brits as one of the more polished & civilized nations...

Ellis07

08-26-2008, 03:20 PM

[QUOTE=Jase180;2256]I will never understand that whole Queen and monarchy thing.
QUOTE]

You don't need to worry about that Jase. I'm British and I don't understand it really - well most of it :whistling:

Uber

08-26-2008, 03:28 PM

whinging, you forgot that roger.

riott007

08-26-2008, 03:49 PM

tea and biscuits
earl grey
castles
crop circles
snobbery
sausage rolls
pork pie
bad sewage system
weird toilets
little hot water
sheep
fox hunting
rain
pale / patsy

Roger

08-26-2008, 03:49 PM

Oh you missed one Roger, Tradition!
Sunday dinners, washing your car on a Sunday and drinking beer while watching football - A Brit thing?

Yes they are very British things! :punk:

I've noticed we often appear to be ahead of other countries near us and we can only complain. For example shops open on Sunday, what a stupid idea! Very British of you to moan like that, well done! :euro:

Oh and also sadly not being able to hold your drink has become a part of being British. So true! :thumbup1:

This is actually quite interesting as in Britain our culture is so varied it isn't really British anymore. American is clearly American, German is clearly German but British is a whole composite of different cultures and we are too PC to do anything about it. I don't agree.

America is a nation built on immigration and it's real identity is very different from the perceived one.

See my opening post for examples of British culture. I think some times we miss what our own cultures are, because we see it as "normal". :44:

As for being too PC. Oh the shame of it! :thumbdown:

Disgusting warm beer, and adding u to almost every word. :P
Guilty as charged, except most Brits now drink cold larger or cider. :tongue_smilie:

I will never understand that whole Queen and monarchy thing. I do! ;)

In short: We started as a monarchy a very long time ago, 1066 is usually where we start counting from for the whole nation. Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, two King Charles, Queen Victoria ya da ya da ya (I said it was the short version ). Parliament was established to do a lot of the monarchs ruling type stuff. Queen Elizabeth II has ultimate power in Great Britain, but doesn't use it, because she strongly believes in democracy.

If anyone wants to get into a debate on monarchy, I will gladly start a thread on it. :yes:

Cool accents aside, I always thought of the Brits as one of the more polished & civilized nations... We used to be, and can still be at times. Personally I have found Americans to generally be more polite than we are. :cowboy::42:

Uber

08-26-2008, 03:57 PM

mine was whinging with an 'H', like a jet's engines slowing down.

db4321

08-26-2008, 04:12 PM

Queueing

Working longer hours than other countries

Paying over the odds for goods that would be comparitively cheaper elsewhere (rip-off Britain).

Moaning or whingeing about things but not properly complaining. There is a difference.

Roger

08-26-2008, 04:38 PM

mine was whinging with an 'H', like a jet's engines slowing down.Altered my spelling to be correct! :)

kuroken

08-26-2008, 05:03 PM

Disgusting baked beans (that look like no baked beans I've ever seen) at every meal.

Disgusting "black pudding" that is apparently made from clotted blood or something.

I could come up with more, but I think I'm going to be ill....(but hey, the beer is first-rate):w00t:

Ken

EthanRunt

08-26-2008, 05:07 PM

Queueing, patient and calm queueing.

Jase180

08-26-2008, 05:16 PM

"Heaven is where the Police are British, the Chefs are French, the Mechanics are German, the Lovers Italian and it's all organised by the Swiss.
Hell is where the Chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, the Police are German and it's all organised by the Italians."

riott007

08-26-2008, 06:18 PM

oh yum...beans on toast
and some bangers and mash

Killian

08-26-2008, 06:24 PM

Sticking with the food motif, I saw an article not so very long ago which stated that, due to the amount consumed, the national dish of Britain should actually be Curry...

Well, if it's owt like our 'ouse it would be...

:)

Roger

08-26-2008, 06:41 PM

Curry was a British invention. Created by Fanny Parks in 1824 in India. So it certainly does have reason to be the nations favourite dish.

The reason why people who eat curry always do so on a regular basis, is because it is addictive.

6hm

08-27-2008, 03:35 AM

pasty skinned drunken football hooliogans with unbrushed teeth

Del

08-27-2008, 03:56 AM

crop circles

I'm curious, what do crop circles have to do with being British? :tt2:

Disgusting warm beer, and adding u to almost every word. :P

Well, in my experience our beer isn't technically warm...That comes from a misconception surrounding how we define room temperature. That refers to the cellar it is kept in, which is around 55F. So it's cool, definitely not warm... :tt2:

These Aussie's I'm staying with seem to like their beer ice cold. I mean, way to freeze your taste buds and get no taste at all! :D

And yeah, Chicken Tikka Massala was actually invented in Glasgow if memory serves, so it's truly a British dish.

I think a lot of the youth in Britain are loosing their British identity though, Roger. It seems they would prefer to emulate American culture.

Roger

08-27-2008, 05:53 AM

I'm curious, what do crop circles have to do with being British? :tt2:

Well, in my experience our beer isn't technically warm...That comes from a misconception surrounding how we define room temperature. That refers to the cellar it is kept in, which is around 55F. So it's cool, definitely not warm... :tt2:

These Aussie's I'm staying with seem to like their beer ice cold. I mean, way to freeze your taste buds and get no taste at all! :D

And yeah, Chicken Tikka Massala was actually invented in Glasgow if memory serves, so it's truly a British dish.

I think a lot of the youth in Britain are loosing their British identity though, Roger. It seems they would prefer to emulate American culture.
That is happening Worldwide.

In the case of British youth they are getting it totally wrong. They are copying a manufactured American culture, not the real thing. They really are very different. But even in this it is a British thing.

What's all this about brushing teeth. I mean brush your teeth with what?

A paint brush?

I worry this might remove the healthy green coating we all have on our teeth! :4:

Dr_House

08-27-2008, 05:55 AM

Typically British is loosing football penalty shootouts against Germany. :wink:

Roger

08-27-2008, 06:33 AM

Typically British is loosing football penalty shootouts against Germany. :wink:
That was a bit below the belt, and true! :p

Norrie

08-27-2008, 06:42 AM

Typically British is loosing football penalty shootouts against Germany. :wink:

That was a bit below the belt, and true! :p

*sigh*
If someone could tell me when Britain lost to Germany at football?

Sparky

08-27-2008, 08:12 AM

Curry was a British invention. Created by Fanny Parks in 1824 in India. So it certainly does have reason to be the nations favourite dish.

And i think the balti was invented in Birmingham in the 1970s!

Other very British foods are

Bread and Dripping
Bangers and Mash
Toad in the Hole
Spotted Dick
Bakewell pudding
Pontefract Cakes
Rock (hard candy from the seaside)
Game Pie
Suet / dumplings
Apple Crumble
Jam Roly-poly

I'm hungry now.........

Roger

08-27-2008, 08:29 AM

*sigh*
If someone could tell me when Britain lost to Germany at football?
That should really be English and not British, my bad!

There is a bit of a hoo hah about a Great British football team right now. Apparently some factions of FIFA think that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be abolished as teams, and that there should just be a Great Britain team instead. Personally I don't think it needs to change. It would be bad for the sport (overrated as it is in my opinion.)

It would also give the Scottish supporters a real problem with who to support. Right now they support Scotland and whoever plays against England. If this changed, who would they support? ;)

On the other side of things there are few things that are English. In most official things you can be British, Scottish, Welsh or Irish, but very rarely can you put English. In the national 10 year census if you live in Scotland you can say whether you consider yourself to be British or Scottish, but there is no choice to say that you're English.

Also Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have there own Parliaments or Assemblies, England has none of it's own. We only have the British Parliament. Personally I think the Welsh Assembly is does a good job, and I am envious of the Scottish Parliament. They do a lot of really good stuff for the people of Scotland. I think the UK Parliament could learn a lot from them.

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 08:36 AM

The Brits moan on about history a lot, which I'm about to do purely for the purposes of keeping a stiff upper lip (with my good buddy, the ever-factual wikipedia!)...

In short: We started as a monarchy a very long time ago, 1066 is usually where we start counting from for the whole nation. Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, two King Charles, Queen Victoria ya da ya da ya (I said it was the short version ).

By "the whole nation" you, of course, mean England, sir. (Heehee.) William The Conqueror invaded Scotland in 1072 but there was much debate thereafter on whether the Scottish Crown owed allegiance to the English King. True - the Scotsman Charles I was king of England (including Wales), Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until Oliver and his boys lobbed his noggin off. But he was the king of three nations, not one. Great Britain wasn't created till 1707. Just ask wikipedia!

And, anyway, the real Britons are the Welsh (and probably the Cornish). (Tangent: "Welsh" was a word the Germanic invaders brought meaning "foreigner".)

Of course my facts may well be skew-whiff and easily disputed by true historians (who'll probably point out that even before the Union the landmass was known as Britain, or some such), but I'm British, damn it! I have the right to ramble on about history without checking my facts first! Yeeehaaargh! :euro:
:tt2:

Norrie

08-27-2008, 08:41 AM

Of course my facts may well be skew-whiff and easily disputed by true historians (who'll probably point out that even before the Union the landmass was known as Britain, or some such), but I'm British, damn it! I have the right to ramble on about history without checking my facts first! Yeeehaaargh! :euro:
:tt2:

Or, if they are REALLY pedantic, they'll point out that the landmass is, and has always been, referred to as The British Isles, not Britain (and includes The Republic of Ireland) :sleep1:

Roger

08-27-2008, 08:43 AM

The Brits moan on about history a lot, which I'm about to do purely for the purposes of keeping a stiff upper lip (with my good buddy, the ever-factual wikipedia!)...

By "the whole nation" you, of course, mean England, sir. (Heehee.) William The Conqueror invaded Scotland in 1072 but there was much debate thereafter on whether the Scottish Crown owed allegiance to the English King. True - the Scotsman Charles I was king of England (including Wales), Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until Oliver and his boys lobbed his noggin off. But he was the king of three nations, not one. Great Britain wasn't created till 1707. Just ask wikipedia!

And, anyway, the real Britons are the Welsh (and probably the Cornish). (Tangent: "Welsh" was a word the Germanic invaders brought meaning "foreigner".)

Of course my facts may well be skew-whiff and easily disputed by true historians (who'll probably point out that even before the Union the landmass was known as Britain, or some such), but I'm British, damn it! I have the right to ramble on about history without checking my facts first! Yeeehaaargh! :euro:
:tt2:
Yeah it all started with those pesky English indeed! ;)

I agree that the true Brits are the Welsh and the Cornish.

As for myself I am of Norman descent. So bow before your mighty conquerors! :tt2:

Dr_House

08-27-2008, 08:48 AM

*sigh*
If someone could tell me when Britain lost to Germany at football?

I know you explained me the differences between England, Britain and the rest some time ago but I guess I'm already confused again. :confused1::shifty:

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 09:00 AM

I know you explained me the differences between England, Britain and the rest some time ago but I guess I'm already confused again. :confused1::shifty:

Well, basically, it's just that England doesn't mean the whole of Britain (they say it kind of used to but not in living memory). The Scots, The Welsh and the Northern Irish aren't English, they're British: part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Weirdly, Britain is kind of a country but with 4 countries within it.

As far as football: England and Scotland have different teams. The Scots often take a perverse pride in just how crap our national Football team are. My Dad sometimes goes out wearing his Argentina 1978 World Cup t-shirt as a kind of sick joke. Heehee.

Roger

08-27-2008, 09:26 AM

Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland.

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 09:59 AM

Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland.

Yeah, how did it all get so confusing? I guess that's history for you - haha.

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 10:15 AM

Or, if they are REALLY pedantic, they'll point out that the landmass is, and has always been, referred to as The British Isles :sleep1:

And if they're really REALLY pedantic they'll say: *cough cough* "Albion" *cough cough* (although that didn't include Ireland).

Roger

08-27-2008, 10:21 AM

I see myself as an English, British, European, Earthling! :biggrin:

wackyal3000

08-27-2008, 10:37 AM

What I don't get is the amount of 'acceptable' racism we get these days. There is so much said about immigrants, I mean we all are! The only original Britons were wiped out by the celts. Even the Welsh and Cornish are originally immigrants.

Oh and forget football, we'll just stick to Rugby which all of Britain is good at. We should have an equivalent of the Lions team for football.

Norrie

08-27-2008, 11:33 AM

And if they're really REALLY pedantic they'll say: *cough cough* "Albion" *cough cough* (although that didn't include Ireland).

And if they're really argumentative, they'll respond:

Albion
noun
a poetic or literary term for Britain or England (often used in referring to ancient or historical times).
ORIGIN Old English , from Latin, probably of Celtic origin and related to Latin albus ‘white’ (in allusion to the white cliffs of Dover).

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 11:55 AM

And if they're really argumentative, they'll respond:

Albion
noun
a poetic or literary term for Britain or England (often used in referring to ancient or historical times).
ORIGIN Old English , from Latin, probably of Celtic origin and related to Latin albus ‘white’ (in allusion to the white cliffs of Dover).

Well, ok, but I bet the dinosaurs had another name for it.

:euro:

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 12:06 PM

I see myself as an English, British, European, Earthling! :biggrin:

I think I see myself as: Earthling, European, Scottish, British, in that order, but they're all a big part of who I am. :biggrin:

Roger

08-27-2008, 12:37 PM

Well, ok, but I bet the dinosaurs had another name for it.

:euro:I believe it was "Rawr!" :3:

I think I see myself as: Earthling, European, Scottish, British, in that order, but they're all a big part of who I am. :biggrin:
Me too!

Except the Scottish bit of course! :p

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 12:43 PM

I believe it was "Rawr!" :3:

Haha, yes, and their ruling monarch was Tyranosaurus.

Killian

08-27-2008, 12:48 PM

...that's "Her Majesty", to you... only her close friends are allowed to call her "Tyranosaurus" :)

Norrie

08-27-2008, 12:49 PM

...Except the Scottish bit of course! :p...

Which of course means Irish. From the Scoti who came to Scotland from Ulster and took over from the Picts.

Oh, and English is from the Angles: who were German.

Everyone clear now?

Killian

08-27-2008, 12:51 PM

...so let me get this straight....

We're all either Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Germany or Scandanavian (if you live up the North-East coast), or French....?

...And we still think the best way to converse with people who don't speak English is to just say it in English, only louder and slower...?

:)

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 01:05 PM

Which of course means Irish. From the Scoti who came to Scotland from Ulster and took over from the Picts.

Oh, and English is from the Angles: who were German.

Everyone clear now?

If it helps, the non-Gaelic speaking Scots were known as the Inglis, and the American Amish call anyone who isn't Amish the Englische.*

*This article needs additional citations for verification.

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 01:10 PM

...that's "Her Majesty", to you... only her close friends are allowed to call her "Tyranosaurus" :)

Haha.

:euro:

Roger

08-27-2008, 02:45 PM

This seems like a good time to explain cricket to foreigners:

You have 2 sides; a team that's in and a team that's out.. two men in the team that's in go out and when one of the men who's in is out; the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out; the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get man still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in; the men who are out are trying to get him out; and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out; and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

I hope that has cleared up all the confusion about cricket now! :001_tt2:

BTW, that actually makes sense to anyone who understands cricket.

Killian

08-27-2008, 02:48 PM

... I'd be interested to see how you explain the fielding positions now, Roger... :)

rogerSIMIAN

08-27-2008, 02:55 PM

Hold up, old boy - that's just not cricket! :laugh:

Norrie

08-27-2008, 03:08 PM

... I'd be interested to see how you explain the fielding positions now, Roger... :)

Particularly "Short Leg", "Deep Square Leg", and "Silly Mid On".

Coming soon: The art of the googly :)

Roger

08-27-2008, 03:08 PM

... I'd be interested to see how you explain the fielding positions now, Roger... :)
Let's see now:

We have a short leg and a long leg, we even have a square leg.

There a third man, but he is not usually the third person on the team.

There's a bowler who is, even when he isn't.

There's the gully, and long off. Oh and don't forget the slips, which there can even be as many as 6 of them.

There's even silly point, silly mid on and silly mid off. Why are they called silly you may ask?

It's because the fielding position is so close to the batsman that it's a silly place to field.

So what about bowling?

There is the leg break, off spin, googly, flipper, the wrong 'un, yorker, beamer and reverse seam.

We even have finger spinners and wrist spinners.

We have other terms such as the crease, bowling a maiden over, leg bye, late cut, hook, reverse sweep, baggy green (that's one for the Aussie's :)), run up, and yes we do stop for lunch and for tea. :44:

Now with all these detailed explanations I expect you all to understand the game now.

It's just dawned on me that I could have started making things up and hardly anyone would have realised. :001_rolleyes:

Norrie

08-27-2008, 03:11 PM

And, of course, a chinaman is a left handed googly.

BTW: you forgot to say that if, after five days, not everyone has gone out, got in, and been given out again twice, it's a draw.

Roger

08-27-2008, 03:19 PM

And, of course, a Chinaman is a left handed googly.

BTW: you forgot to say that if, after five days, not everyone has gone out, got in, and been given out again twice, it's a draw.I had forgotten to mention those things. Thanks for that Norrie! :)

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/52797615.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19390335F8FA9CA92A61A6A65B656938B3F 474FC6B9CADF7309

Catching at silly point!

Bear in mind that a cricket ball is much harder than a baseball. People have been killed by being hit in the head by one. The was one occasion when the ball hit the bat, bounced up and hit the batsman on the temple. Unfortunately he died instantly.

Anyway, the ball was then caught by the wicket keeper, who called "howzat!" Which incidentally is what you shout when someone is out. If no one appeals, then then they are not out.

An argument ensued while they were awaiting a doctor as to whether the batsman was out or not. After all the ball was caught after hitting his bat. It was eventually decided that due to the fact that he had died before the ball was caught, then he could not be out. End the end it was noted on the score card that he was "Retired dead".

That is a true story! :)

Killian

08-27-2008, 04:00 PM

It's just dawned on me that I could have started making things up and hardly anyone would have realised. :001_rolleyes:

...not a chance, bub :)

Still, it is less of a man's game nowadays, ever since they started using crash helmets... anyone would think the game was dangerous, or something....

Bear in mind that a cricket ball is much harder than a baseball. People have been killed by being hit in the head by one. The was one occasion when the ball hit the bat, bounced up and hit the batsman on the temple. Unfortunately he die instantly.

...oh wait....

Uber

08-27-2008, 04:07 PM

Losing the Ashes all the time to us Colonials....wat?

Roger

08-27-2008, 04:37 PM

Losing the Ashes all the time to us Colonials....wat?
"The win-loss ratio in Ashes Tests (up to and including the 2006/07 series) stands at 121 wins for Australia to 95 wins for England, with 84 draws."

It appears that you are right good Sir! :44:

I better go and brush my teeth now! :tooth:

Killian

08-27-2008, 04:55 PM

Usually it's not "see how well the Aussies played and beat us at cricket"... it's "our team were a pile of :001_9898:; not surprised we got beat, etc, etc..."

....we wouldn't be British without something to whinge about :D

:euro:

kuroken

08-27-2008, 07:25 PM

I'm appalled that all of you cricket-playing Brits, UKes, Albionites, or whatever have passed right on by Sparky's list of other British foods as if this is just....well, natural....

Other very British foods are

Bread and Dripping - Dripping what?
Bangers and Mash - Okay, this is one I like.
Toad in the Hole - Stay in the hole, froggy.
Spotted Dick - See a doctor, quickly, before something falls off.
Bakewell pudding - You call a lump of clotted blood stuff pudding, so I don't want to know.
Pontefract Cakes - Does this have something to do with that pope bust AND was talking about and the Ace of Cakes?
Rock (hard candy from the seaside) - We call them pebbles here.
Game Pie - Any particular game or just what happens to step in the pie plate before it goes in the oven?
Suet / dumplings - Two words that should never be used together.
Apple Crumble - They don't crumble when they're fresh.
Jam Roly-poly - Is this jam that perhaps spreads itself?

I'm hungry now.........

No amount of meat and beer will wash away these memories....

Killian

08-27-2008, 07:32 PM

Bread and Dripping - Dripping what?

Enter Wiki with the answer...

Dripping, also known as beef or pork dripping, is an animal fat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_fat) produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow) or pig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig) carcasses....

....hmmmmm; betcha that makes you feel like a nice spreading of lard on toast? (Yes; my mother used to eat it like it was going out of fashion... I could never see the attraction myself, strangely enough...)

Norrie

08-27-2008, 07:36 PM

It is natural Ken, that's why it was passed by.

There's also

Clootie dumpling
Potted hoch
Lardy cakes
Rabbit stew
Lancashire hot pot
Cullen skink
Fish pie
Ox cheeks
Cock a leekie
Mushy peas

to name a few more delights. Every single one of them tastier and healthier than a burger that weighs more than your head. :chef:

Killian

08-27-2008, 07:39 PM

...and contains all your basic food groups in one meal... can't sniff at that... and trust me, standing over some of that when it cooks will mean you never sniff anything again....

By the way, I think we missed Brawn (or Souse in some places) off the list, didn't we?

goofparade

08-28-2008, 12:50 AM

Norrie

08-28-2008, 02:37 AM

Married a Brit, love the place(s) the people are unique, tough and interesting. Not a big fan of the average diet. No, you're not supposed to put tomato sauce on MY f@ckin# salad.. or on my alfredo sauce with 3.. no 4! cheeses..

I also predict that scotch eggs will become the new diet craze.

chuffed!

Damn right go. You should put salad cream on your fecking salad :4: and brown sauce on Alfredo :yes:

Mmmmmmmm, Scotch Egg (with English mustard) :chef:

Uber

08-28-2008, 03:55 AM

Roger

08-28-2008, 04:00 AM

I married a northern pommie. From a wee li'l village ootside York. While the my mother's side are scotts (Forbes) and my father's side is from south-west england (Cornwall), i feel the need to beat myself up on occasion. weird huh?
I wouldn't worry unless you keep forgetting to clean your teeth! :001_tt2:

Norrie

08-28-2008, 04:40 AM

I married a northern pommie. From a wee li'l village ootside York. While the my mother's side are scotts (Forbes) and my father's side is from south-west england (Cornwall), i feel the need to beat myself up on occasion. weird huh?

That's just the Scottish blood Uber. If we have no English to fight, we'll fight another Scot. If alone, we'll beat ourselves up.

Hence the Scottish expression: "He could start a fight in an empty barn"

sisch

08-28-2008, 05:14 AM

Hmm... surely gardening is another very british thing? I don't think I have seen it mentioned here yet...

Every time I was in Britain, I admired the gardens - even the smallest piece of earth was always filled with flowers and bushes. And the great thing is - the gardens look artfully umkempt, not like the german gardens, where the flowerbeds basically look like little soldiers marching in a row!

Another thing that always brings great memories - salt n'vinegar crisps. Love them! They're finally available in germany, too... but it's not the same.

Roger

08-28-2008, 07:11 AM

Elbow

08-30-2008, 11:39 PM

A popular British TV show from the late 70s was "Good Neighbors" or "The Good Life" in Britain I believe.

About the Good's leaving behind the corporate life for the independence of self-sufficiency. A veggie garden, pigs, a goat and a neighbor named Margo made it a very funny British sitcom.

Do you have a neighbor named Margo Roger? :001_smile:

wackyal3000

08-31-2008, 05:12 AM

Another thing about being British is our sense of humour. We are able to laugh at ourselves. However we prefer to laugh at the French ('Allo, allo' is a classic).

sisch

08-31-2008, 05:28 AM

Oh I loved 'Allo, 'allo! :biggrin:

Stoke Studios

08-31-2008, 07:36 AM

Oh I loved 'Allo, 'allo! :biggrin:

Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once - 'So did I' :9:

Roger

08-31-2008, 07:46 AM

Norrie

08-31-2008, 07:49 AM

It was indeed called The Good Life over here.

I have never had a neighbour called Margo, but I do have a neighbour called Mags! :flowers:

Aaaah, The Good Life :)

Felicity Kendall in her dungarees was a hell of a sight for a 14 year old lad :devil2:

Roger

08-31-2008, 08:21 AM

Aaaah, The Good Life :)

Felicity Kendall in her dungarees was a hell of a sight for a 14 year old lad :devil2:
She one "Rear of theYear" around about that time. :drool:

FredTheDuck

08-31-2008, 02:09 PM

I reckon being British is about being allowed to complain about the weather, and secretly loving it ;)
That and complaining about everyone else complaining about the stereotyped bad teeth :biggrin:

Dulci

08-31-2008, 02:12 PM

Did anyone say Mary Poppins yet?

Norrie

08-31-2008, 02:14 PM

Did anyone say Mary Poppins yet?

No. We're talking about Britain. :)

Dulci

08-31-2008, 02:17 PM

No. We're talking about Britain. :)

well, right or wrong, that's what I associated with Britain!

Excuse me while I blush my way right back out of this thread....

Norrie

08-31-2008, 02:18 PM

well, right or wrong, that's what I associated with Britain!

Excuse me while I blush my way right back out of this thread....

Aw, I did put a smiley to show I was kidding :)

Look, another one, but bigger :D

Killian

08-31-2008, 02:27 PM

... we don't mention the "M" word... it brings back bad memories of cod-cockney accents... I tend to find that if you mention the "M" word to most Brits with a sense of humour, they immediately break into a bad impression of Dick Van Dyke...

Norrie

08-31-2008, 02:55 PM

Oh I dunno.
I, for one, have fond memories of bonding with my bank manager father, kite flying; while my nanny sang rooftop songs with our linguistically challenged chimney sweep.

Good times, good times. :lol:

rogerSIMIAN

08-31-2008, 03:07 PM

Really? Oh, we had a flying car. Kuh, some of the wacky adventures we had in that old thing!

:euro:

Killian

08-31-2008, 03:10 PM

...I'm sorry, but no matter how many years of "Diagnosis Murder" he does, everytime I see his face, I can hear the haunting ghost of "Mairwee Poppins!" floating through my mind...

wackyal3000

08-31-2008, 06:35 PM

I just assume he wasn't playing that role straight. It was my favourite show when I was small.

Killian

09-07-2008, 10:56 AM

Slight necro but am hoping none of you are suffering from any serious issues with the bleedin weather at the moment (I'm British; if I can't gripe about the "inclement weather" in a thread about Britain, I'll queue up somewhere to complain :001_tt2:).

Our "over the water" cousins are having some nasty times with Ike at the moment, and we've had some serious rain here over the last 24 hours (as I speak I'm trying to plug a leak in my Cave; so much water has come down in the last month and the ground is so wet it's just rejecting it... unfortunately, I now have an indoor waterfall in my cellar.. shame it's not a picturesque as the one's you see on telly....), so I thought I would put out a "have a good moan" about it post.

Seriously, though, if you are having serious problems (either in the UK or the US) due to the current situation, I can sympathise. My little leak is nowhere as bad as some of the stuff recently in regards to the climate (Ike, the nasty flooding here in the North-East, etc), so my thoughts are with you.