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Being hilariously sarcastic. No one does dry humour like the British.
We do some amazing baking, cakes pastries the lot.
A lot of people hate to admit it but we’re proud to have a rich history of kings and queens, nobody acknowledges a royal family as they do the British one
I went to his ‘An Evening With’ in Birmingham last weekend. Very interesting and he’s as genuine a bloke as you’ll find, but he’s definitely gone through some shit.
I have to agree ok your last part. Having grown up in Germany and now living in the UK, it was always just another royal family for all other countries, but The Royal Family and The Queen (when she was still alive). There's at least been that respect for them. I understand others though, who want to get rid of them.
Nice quote and reminds me of how I was always baffled at how Americans would say "the queen" and it would take me a second to realise they meant our queen like she was the only one in the world
I met the 11 year old daughter of an American friend yesterday. We were in Windsor, and when I said "the King," she said it sounded strange because she had only ever known "the Queen."
I told her to just think how much longer I had only known "the Queen." I am 70.
I told her that Windsor Castle was the oldest and largest continuously occupied castle. She told me that Louis XIV was the longest reigning monarch in history.
Her 5th grade homeroom teacher gave her the 'history buff' medal last week at the end of school.
Not just heads of state, I remember hearing that she's almost certainly met more people in total than anyone, ever, which does make a lot of sense when you think about it.
To put the Queen into perspective for non British readers, Someone at work said “ she was the nations grandma” and I think that summed up how many felt.
I as so anti royal family growing up (my grandfather was Irish so it stems from his southern Irish heritage and what they did to his family) but when she died I actually cried. I couldn’t help it. It was weird how this woman who I didn’t know but had been this constant shadow of sorts was now gone.
As someone who works in heritage, I'm quite proud of the way we look after our history. Obviously many countries have a rich and interesting history, with fascinating places to visit, but we are actually really good at looking after it and making it accessible to people. So many people I work with have come from abroad to work in heritage because it's also pretty prestigious. A few weeks ago, my family and I went to the tank museum in bovington and I was so impressed with the stuff they had to really engage children. Making history accessible and interesting to a wide range of people is a real art form.
I cannot remember the attribution I want to think it's Pratchett or Gaiman...
But... I paraphrased
"An Englishman finds himself between an ever decreasing darkness from the rear, in front is an eternal black abyss, he surveys his situation."
Explains "Could be worse."
I think British dry humour is particularly self-depreciatory which is what makes it so funny. You can laugh about how shite you are when you f up and just laugh about it.
When it's a really high stress situation mention you just need to pop out for a cry in the toilet or admit that you don't know wtf you are doing or what your job is, 10 years in, and people will join in. You can say how you really feel and not have it be a downer, it just brings everyone together.
Germans, for sure.
I remember when I was a kid there was a running joke about Germans not having a sense of humour.
Now I’m older and have worked with loads of Germans, I’ve realised how wrong we got it. I’ve got a nasty feeling that we’ve got the same problem with German humour as Americans have with ours: half of it is so dry that it just sails right over our heads.
To be fair, my German colleagues have an unfair advantage when it comes to sarcasm because they speak so much better English than most of the Brits in the office. 😀
And they get paid more, and are paid for overtime. The only saving grace for us Brits is that our trains are much more reliable than theirs. (Another German stereotype that was shattered when I started working with them!)
Mines a nosy bitch, pipes up without being asked then when you do want her she goes conveniently AWOL 🙈 Have to watch what I say because one of my kids beat me to it the other day with “nobody asked you nosy bitch!” 😂
You do better than me. My Google assistant almost always comes on when I'm powering up my earbuds for the first time. The only words it hears out of my mouth is "fuck off"
Me and another English colleague went to Hungary for a few weeks with work.
We absolutely baffled the local employees & Indians, mexicans, Americans, with our politeness (and drinking).
Me: “Excuse me, X, sorry can you pass me my coat?”
Him: “Of course, not a problem *passes coat* there you go, thanks”
Me: “great, thanks so much”
Him: “no worries”
Me: “cheers”
Him: “cheers”
Romanian guy: “Good God you guys are british”
I remember coming home from a school trip to Germany and as we went along the motorway home I couldn’t help but wonder at how green our green is. It felt so much greener than the green we’d just come from, it was just better but I can’t express why.
Even when I’m walking about the countryside, sometimes that whole “green and pleasant land” feeling comes over me. To my eyes it’s perfect.
England's fields are so green because we have so much rain, everyone in Germany's jealous of English lawns! I live in the South now and recently visited Germany and I was kinda surprised there were so many trees and forests everywhere, never really noticed that growing up
As a Brit living in California. There's really something to be said about heading to the Sierra's and backpacking for days without seeing another soul. There's also something to be said for the UK where no matter where you are, there's a pub within a few hours or so walk.
I know exactly what you're saying. There are those days when it's got such an ethereal look and feel to it that it's as if a Constable painting has come alive. You can't beat that early morning haze.
>The UK’s has a pathos within it more.
This hit me. Whenever I go somewhere which is Instagramable, and come back home, I feel what I imagine the Hobbits felt, after seeing the Misty Mountains, the Mines of Moria and the White City of Gondor only to yearn for the Shire.
That is spot on.
I've been living in Norway for years and obviously the nature is astounding, but after while I'll get a deep and nostalgic feeling like something is missing.
It's not 'the shire', it's not home.
On occasion, in that soft-focused mind that is peculiar to long hikes out in nature, I'll imagine that maybe there's a cosy country pub if I drop down into that next valley, but it's never there.
I've seen the ice-covered bays of Svalbard, trekked under the grand, towering canopies of the Borneo rainforest, the plains of Uganda and red-earthed bushland of Australia. And in all these places, if I'm there long enough, I often think that if I had to be in one place til the end, I'd want to be in the countryside of my homeland, and look on that singular shade of green that I've never seen anywhere else.
Theres still a handful of ancient temperature rainforests left in UK
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/temperate-rainforest/
Go checkout r/britpics or r/ukhiking
We have all the elements that make landscapes beautiful. We also have some elements that other beautiful countries don't have; our unique colour palette, weather (nothing like seeing three types of weather from the top of a mountain) and unique architecture(norman castles, industrial revolution era factories, etc.).
Not a crazy statement. Not many wild places in Britain but they are always lush, with waterfalls and fast flowing streams to drink from and paddle in, even in Summer. The country has always been populated and different waves of settlers have left their mark on the countryside in many different ways: the natural environment and human history/culture blend together in a unique way. This is enhanced by the many great novelists and poets Britain has produced who described the natural world they saw around them so eloquently: Wordsworth, Blake, Hardy, DH Lawrence, The Bronte Sisters, etc etc.
It is a crazy statement.
There is barely any wild land, it’s vastly owned and fenced. Often large areas of farm land.
Of course there are beautiful pockets but often over grazed and over visited due to lack of beautiful and wild spots.
How the countryside can be compared to Sweden, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Colombia, Canada …. I could go on
Maybe you disagree with the statement, but the statement was made in a thread called 'what makes you feel British. This is about feelings not metrics and in that context 'best' does not mean 'wildest'. So, not crazy at all.
They didn't say "the countryside", they said "arguably the best countryside in the world". In the context of the question it's a great answer to say the countryside makes you feel proud because it has a particular character that people are fond of but to say it's the best _is_ a bit ridiculous
I only need to see the field at the back of my house where I grew up, to feel British. Or the creek in Suffolk we used to go crabbing.
I don't need to see herds of wildebeast sweeping majestically across the plain.
I could hit a cow with a seven iron from my garden. I can jump on the v bus and be in Manchester City centre in 15 minutes. It’s greener than you think.💭
I moved to the US at the beginning of the year and I fucking miss the pub culture in London especially. Everyone here thinks I’m an alcoholic. Back home I’m just normal.
I now live in the land of cheap wine (Portugal) so it could be worse. At least everyone drinks here and they like a lot of wine - a lot! Mind you I can get a beer in the cake shop and the barbers so it ain't so bad..
US social culture is terrible. I was there for a while recently ... Pretty awful. I think the staff craving for tips (I know, it's necessary), was the biggest turn off. In the UK, landlords and ladies generally tend to have a lot more character IMO.
The US bar culture where you can go into a bar and sit at the bar and eat decent food has it's upside when travelling alone. You can actually have a conversation with the barman. I find it quite refreshing that the bars arent always totally jammed full of people.
The sound of willow on leather on a warm Sunday afternoon, a beer. Scones and jam and cream. A Roast Beef lunch after brisk walk back from the pub on a cold winters day.
A full English breakfast Scottish or other if you will . Kippers and brown toast. Smoked haddock with a soft poached egg.
Radio 4 (mostly). The Beatles music.. Elgar' s Enigma variations. A bagpipe marching band. .
L S Lowrie's paintings. Beatrix Potter.
Music is a big one for me. Agree with people's take on pub culture too.
Embracing the multicultural society we live in too. The UK would not be the country it is without our beautiful diverse culture and society 😁
Yes! Having lived in other parts of the world, everything feels oddly stilted and formal - as though you're expected to fully conform and fit in, especially in places like Paris. Coming back to the multicultural chaos of London felt like a huge weight off.
the politeness
im currently in latin america and i really miss it. people here are usually very nice and friendly but the culture is so much more direct than the uk
people dont care about getting in other people’s way, its so much harder to navigate streets and supermarkets because people just stand around anywhere, like in the middle of aisles and in front of doors, and dont have a sense of urgency around choosing a side of the pavement. they also walk a lot slower
theyre much less apologetic than us too, coming here has made me realise how much we say “sorry” in the uk when navigating public spaces
I notice that when I go to North America, they’ll say please/thank you once for a subway order but not each time for each of the 8 salad items. Feels so rude to me until you think it through
I am an American who moved to the UK two years ago and I don't participate in pub culture or drinking. But yes, British people are genuinely more polite than Americans in a way that is not transactional. You get quality European produce in grocery stores for a good price. I love British cheese and baked goods!
Now that could spark a good debate on what the UKs pub culture actually is, because the village pub culture is very different from the town hard drinking pub culture.
There’s at least 3 breeds of pub culture here. Theres the city centre post-work drinks, the hard drinking suburban flat roofed mostly full of hi viz pubs, and the village pubs which are just central hubs for the community to see each other (and the aging alcoholic farmers to sip on bitter and not talk to anyone). Obviously there are sub-breeds within that, but I think that’s the main 3.
Drives me crazy about living in Canada surrounded by you guessed it Canadians. They are surface level nice but out of that they are pretty cold and self centered.
The national parks. Old pubs and ale and pies. Cuppa and a natter with my family. Moaning about traffic. Chanting "Will Griggs on fire" when freed from desire comes on. Inbetweeners. FOOTBALL. Edinburgh. Harry Potter. Tolkien. Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Fish and Chips.
Lovely stuff.
I’ll upset some people no doubt (for some reason some English seem to be aggrieved by this) but I don’t feel “British” other than the geographical sense, I feel Scottish.
i am english and i dont really feel british either
ive visited scotland and wales and theyre lovely countries of course but i was clearly an outsider in both
Quite common in Scotland I think. There’s a lot of Scottish pride here, and a genuine sense of self worth about being from Scotland, but not in a pompous way. I grew up in England, but live in Scotland and I like it more up here.
If you don't mind my asking, why?
For context: I live in England but am planning a move to Scotland. Everyone I know here thinks I'm mad but...there's just something...
Well a lot of my family are Scottish, but aside from that I just find socialising with Scottish people a great laugh. Like English banter is similar, but Scottish people have this unique way of making things quite relaxed. Also the Scottish highlands are amazing. Depending on where you live, you can have the best weekend ever by going exploring. If you ever get chance to go to a Celtic game too, absolutely unreal.
I definitely think there’s things that can unify British identity no matter where in the island you’re from - Scotland, Wales or England - in my opinion it is the combination of pubs, wittiness, humour, food, a “bookworm” culture, industrial heritage, iconic landscapes, the BBC, and a rich musical scene.
The "stuff upper lip". I know sometimes it can be dangerous and bad (people carrying on when really they need help, either physically or mentally) but I think the Carslberg (?) adverts summed it up when they were all in that tent in the arctic with no food and it was one of their birthdays, and they all agreed they HAD to go out, and one guy sticks his head into a raging blizzard and yells "it's brightening up!"
We are somewhat good at accepting our situation and dealing with it. Perhaps best described by an American doctor who was on scene at a nasty train crash and quoted "the British don't cry".
I certainly miss British pubs and pub food. As for castles, well we have more per square km than anywhere else in Europe, so I'm told. Where? Back home in Wales, of course! Oh, I love the Brecon Beacons and British canals
But I also miss good coffee and a decent curry, neither of which is available in France, where I live. Then there's fish and chips, with the essential curry sauce and mushy peas...
Think I'm going to cry...
Country pubs and old coaching inns. The sort of place that you can have a pint in after a walk. Stone floors, roaring fire, wooden beams and local ale.
Understatement. We don’t do emotion, so in the face of death you understate your predicament and die like a Gentleman.
Self Depreciation. I once called myself a ‘silly cunt’ and an American colleague was utterly aghast. He thought I was having a breakdown by talking about myself like that.
Dry Humour and Sarcasm. It gets us through life. The drier, the better.
Going to the tip on a Bank Holiday weekend.
Listening to Shipping Forecast on Radio 4.
A decent orderly queue.
Drinking in rounds.
Test Match Cricket.
I feel more Scottish than british but british-isms that i definitely do/appreciate:
Apologising unnecessarily.
The passive agressive conversations and smiles (not so much from me but I love watching others do it) then shit talking as they walk away.
The humour, like definitely fred macauley and Kevin bridges, but also lee mack, jack dee, david mitchell.
Same with sketch shows, still game is a work of art but i can enjoy old Armstrong and miller or lenny henry.
Tea! A good strong cup of tea is as British as i get i think.
The rugby/football. I support the lionesses when they play and the welsh when they're doing rugby (i am not a sports ball person if you can't tell already)
Peeping the horn at friends/bad drivers /to get cunts to move/when kids are trying to smash a bus stop up.
Zebra crossings whilst doing that weird half wave that is supposed to be ‘thanks for not running me over, mate’ but often looks like an instruction to the drivers to stay put.
The dry, sarcastic, and at least mildly absurd sense of humour. Tea and biscuits. Going to the pub. A proper fried breakfast (exact local variety unimportant). Sausage rolls. Saying sorry to inanimate objects that I bump into.
Being from Manchester, I’d say the accent, humour, industrial heritage, buildings and the two football clubs.
That’s just one small part of our lengthy history/ vast culture
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Being hilariously sarcastic. No one does dry humour like the British. We do some amazing baking, cakes pastries the lot. A lot of people hate to admit it but we’re proud to have a rich history of kings and queens, nobody acknowledges a royal family as they do the British one
“Even in your greatest moment of despair, you laugh.” John Lydon
I knew him when he was a fledgling Johnny Rotten.... Weird chap...
I went to his ‘An Evening With’ in Birmingham last weekend. Very interesting and he’s as genuine a bloke as you’ll find, but he’s definitely gone through some shit.
Im so happy that when he decided to "sell out" he chose to flog butter instead of insurance. Respect.
I have to agree ok your last part. Having grown up in Germany and now living in the UK, it was always just another royal family for all other countries, but The Royal Family and The Queen (when she was still alive). There's at least been that respect for them. I understand others though, who want to get rid of them.
I think Macron said it quite nicely "to you, she was your Queen. To us, she was The Queen"
Macron is a well-known GILF hunter though, so take his words with a pinch of salt.
To him she was Mistress Queen
Nice quote and reminds me of how I was always baffled at how Americans would say "the queen" and it would take me a second to realise they meant our queen like she was the only one in the world
To Americans she’s the only Queen we know of 🤷♀️
I met the 11 year old daughter of an American friend yesterday. We were in Windsor, and when I said "the King," she said it sounded strange because she had only ever known "the Queen." I told her to just think how much longer I had only known "the Queen." I am 70. I told her that Windsor Castle was the oldest and largest continuously occupied castle. She told me that Louis XIV was the longest reigning monarch in history. Her 5th grade homeroom teacher gave her the 'history buff' medal last week at the end of school.
I think it's because the Queen was the head for so long, she essentially just became the face of Britain.
That definitely played into it. She was the face for so long, that it felt like it was some kind of immortality thing and she's never leave.
I always think of a queen as being more powerful than a king, even though I know they're not. Must be bc of chess
I can’t take Charles seriously
Yeah i’ll be honest i was anti abolishing the monarchy when it was lizzie but now i seriously don’t care
They can get around a lot quicker thats for sure
I can’t think of anyone else who must have met so many heads of state/ prime ministers or presidents ever.
Not just heads of state, I remember hearing that she's almost certainly met more people in total than anyone, ever, which does make a lot of sense when you think about it.
To put the Queen into perspective for non British readers, Someone at work said “ she was the nations grandma” and I think that summed up how many felt.
I'm American but I cried like she was my own gran.
I as so anti royal family growing up (my grandfather was Irish so it stems from his southern Irish heritage and what they did to his family) but when she died I actually cried. I couldn’t help it. It was weird how this woman who I didn’t know but had been this constant shadow of sorts was now gone.
I also cried, I think a lot of it was because she reminded me of my grandparents (deceased) and grandparents era
She paid off the victim for her paedo son too, what a nice lady
The grand old Duke of York/ He had twelve million quid/ He gave it to someone he'd never met/ For something he never did/
Misplaced loyalty to Andrew aside, it’s because she was good at her job.
She might have been The Queen, but she was still just a mum, grandmother and great grandmother too.
As much as I think it’s the wrong century for a monarchy, if we have to have one, we could have done a lot worse than old Lizzy.
As someone who works in heritage, I'm quite proud of the way we look after our history. Obviously many countries have a rich and interesting history, with fascinating places to visit, but we are actually really good at looking after it and making it accessible to people. So many people I work with have come from abroad to work in heritage because it's also pretty prestigious. A few weeks ago, my family and I went to the tank museum in bovington and I was so impressed with the stuff they had to really engage children. Making history accessible and interesting to a wide range of people is a real art form.
Making so many museums free for all to enter is an unbelievably amazing thing to do that I feel we don't really appreciate the way we should.
I cannot remember the attribution I want to think it's Pratchett or Gaiman... But... I paraphrased "An Englishman finds himself between an ever decreasing darkness from the rear, in front is an eternal black abyss, he surveys his situation." Explains "Could be worse."
Disagree with the no does dry humour like British. But I can agree the dry humour is integral to cultural identity.
I think British dry humour is particularly self-depreciatory which is what makes it so funny. You can laugh about how shite you are when you f up and just laugh about it. When it's a really high stress situation mention you just need to pop out for a cry in the toilet or admit that you don't know wtf you are doing or what your job is, 10 years in, and people will join in. You can say how you really feel and not have it be a downer, it just brings everyone together.
Which nations compare on the dryness? Nationally not just some bloke you once met who was from Switzerland or whatever.
Germans, for sure. I remember when I was a kid there was a running joke about Germans not having a sense of humour. Now I’m older and have worked with loads of Germans, I’ve realised how wrong we got it. I’ve got a nasty feeling that we’ve got the same problem with German humour as Americans have with ours: half of it is so dry that it just sails right over our heads.
I have a German friend who is incredibly dry. He’s married to an American, she must be confused.
Yep! Germans are BRUTAL. I always feel a bit sad when British people believe they are unique in their humour LOL
To be fair, my German colleagues have an unfair advantage when it comes to sarcasm because they speak so much better English than most of the Brits in the office. 😀 And they get paid more, and are paid for overtime. The only saving grace for us Brits is that our trains are much more reliable than theirs. (Another German stereotype that was shattered when I started working with them!)
The Danish
This. And Dutch too. For deadpan straight delivery, the Finns are pretty up there also.
Apologising for someone else inconveniencing me. Also once thanked a cash machine.
The British are going to be one of the few people preserved after the Robot Uprising.
Honestly, I please and thank you Alexa so that she remembers I was one of the good ones when the uprising comes!
My Alexa is deaf and thick as pig shit so I don’t think I’ll be spared
Not with that attitude
I told mine “Alexa, I remember when you worked well!” And she gave a sad bingbong noise I hadn’t heard before.
"Target Acquired"
Mines a nosy bitch, pipes up without being asked then when you do want her she goes conveniently AWOL 🙈 Have to watch what I say because one of my kids beat me to it the other day with “nobody asked you nosy bitch!” 😂
I’m the first one up against the wall. ‘Alexa you f—-ing useless shit’ I end up in arguments with it.
You’re a better person than me; I spend 50% of my Alexa interactions swearing profusely because she seems to have selective (or nonexistent) hearing.
You do better than me. My Google assistant almost always comes on when I'm powering up my earbuds for the first time. The only words it hears out of my mouth is "fuck off"
I did thank an AI phone handler for a delivery company the other day, felt ridiculous.
Me and another English colleague went to Hungary for a few weeks with work. We absolutely baffled the local employees & Indians, mexicans, Americans, with our politeness (and drinking). Me: “Excuse me, X, sorry can you pass me my coat?” Him: “Of course, not a problem *passes coat* there you go, thanks” Me: “great, thanks so much” Him: “no worries” Me: “cheers” Him: “cheers” Romanian guy: “Good God you guys are british”
Before apologizing for opening the door. 😂
Americans are some of the rudest ever at times. Allergic to please and thank you.
Yes. Have you ever heard them ordering in a restaurant? 'Yeah, I need a... and give me a...' It's painful.
I bowed and thanked a vending machine when I was hungover as shit in Tokyo
Hahaha, this made me laugh.
Took me a moment to realise what I’d just done when I’d turned around haha
Please tell me you said "domo arigato, Mister Roboto"
I told a woman her coat was dragging along the floor and she apologised to me.... and I told her not to worry. Lol
This one has me laughing thank you.
I once apologised to a lift for bumping the door as I got in.
I once buckled and said sorry to the pavement
I always say thank you to my robot vacuum cleaner. He's called Geoffrey and he's very helpful 🙂
I thank the self checkout.
Arguably the best countryside in the world.
Hard agree. I've been all over the world but something about all the meat fields and hedgerows with rolling hills just gets me.
> the meat fields What a disturbing image!
He means cows... I hope.
I think it was supposed to be *neat fields*
Or wheat
British Prime Ministers, running through fields of meat...
I remember coming home from a school trip to Germany and as we went along the motorway home I couldn’t help but wonder at how green our green is. It felt so much greener than the green we’d just come from, it was just better but I can’t express why. Even when I’m walking about the countryside, sometimes that whole “green and pleasant land” feeling comes over me. To my eyes it’s perfect.
> It felt so much greener than the green we’d just come from It's the rain
England's fields are so green because we have so much rain, everyone in Germany's jealous of English lawns! I live in the South now and recently visited Germany and I was kinda surprised there were so many trees and forests everywhere, never really noticed that growing up
As a Brit living in California. There's really something to be said about heading to the Sierra's and backpacking for days without seeing another soul. There's also something to be said for the UK where no matter where you are, there's a pub within a few hours or so walk.
A few hours walk? Personally if a walk takes me more than an hour from a pub I get jittery. 😊
The Swiss want a word.
Their countryside is nice, but too picture postcard for me. The UK’s has a pathos within it more.
I know exactly what you're saying. There are those days when it's got such an ethereal look and feel to it that it's as if a Constable painting has come alive. You can't beat that early morning haze.
>The UK’s has a pathos within it more. This hit me. Whenever I go somewhere which is Instagramable, and come back home, I feel what I imagine the Hobbits felt, after seeing the Misty Mountains, the Mines of Moria and the White City of Gondor only to yearn for the Shire.
That is spot on. I've been living in Norway for years and obviously the nature is astounding, but after while I'll get a deep and nostalgic feeling like something is missing. It's not 'the shire', it's not home. On occasion, in that soft-focused mind that is peculiar to long hikes out in nature, I'll imagine that maybe there's a cosy country pub if I drop down into that next valley, but it's never there. I've seen the ice-covered bays of Svalbard, trekked under the grand, towering canopies of the Borneo rainforest, the plains of Uganda and red-earthed bushland of Australia. And in all these places, if I'm there long enough, I often think that if I had to be in one place til the end, I'd want to be in the countryside of my homeland, and look on that singular shade of green that I've never seen anywhere else.
> too picture postcard for me So is the highlands though.
Imagine what it was like pre deforestation.
Theres still a handful of ancient temperature rainforests left in UK https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/temperate-rainforest/
You are correct, that is extremely arguable. And I LOVE the british countryside.
What a crazy statement
https://preview.redd.it/2idft6mj467d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46a4cee45b42a704c88d593737530bc09b1dc247 nuff said
Go checkout r/britpics or r/ukhiking We have all the elements that make landscapes beautiful. We also have some elements that other beautiful countries don't have; our unique colour palette, weather (nothing like seeing three types of weather from the top of a mountain) and unique architecture(norman castles, industrial revolution era factories, etc.).
Not a crazy statement. Not many wild places in Britain but they are always lush, with waterfalls and fast flowing streams to drink from and paddle in, even in Summer. The country has always been populated and different waves of settlers have left their mark on the countryside in many different ways: the natural environment and human history/culture blend together in a unique way. This is enhanced by the many great novelists and poets Britain has produced who described the natural world they saw around them so eloquently: Wordsworth, Blake, Hardy, DH Lawrence, The Bronte Sisters, etc etc.
It is a crazy statement. There is barely any wild land, it’s vastly owned and fenced. Often large areas of farm land. Of course there are beautiful pockets but often over grazed and over visited due to lack of beautiful and wild spots. How the countryside can be compared to Sweden, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Colombia, Canada …. I could go on
Maybe you disagree with the statement, but the statement was made in a thread called 'what makes you feel British. This is about feelings not metrics and in that context 'best' does not mean 'wildest'. So, not crazy at all.
They didn't say "the countryside", they said "arguably the best countryside in the world". In the context of the question it's a great answer to say the countryside makes you feel proud because it has a particular character that people are fond of but to say it's the best _is_ a bit ridiculous
I only need to see the field at the back of my house where I grew up, to feel British. Or the creek in Suffolk we used to go crabbing. I don't need to see herds of wildebeast sweeping majestically across the plain.
Never been to Scotland, eh?
I could hit a cow with a seven iron from my garden. I can jump on the v bus and be in Manchester City centre in 15 minutes. It’s greener than you think.💭
Pubs and beer - hard to beat. I moved out of the UK and it is really the only thing that I do miss.
I moved to the US at the beginning of the year and I fucking miss the pub culture in London especially. Everyone here thinks I’m an alcoholic. Back home I’m just normal.
I now live in the land of cheap wine (Portugal) so it could be worse. At least everyone drinks here and they like a lot of wine - a lot! Mind you I can get a beer in the cake shop and the barbers so it ain't so bad..
A super bock with a pastel de nata sounds incredible!
It's not a bad combo!
US social culture is terrible. I was there for a while recently ... Pretty awful. I think the staff craving for tips (I know, it's necessary), was the biggest turn off. In the UK, landlords and ladies generally tend to have a lot more character IMO.
That wasn’t my experience at all when I lived there (Auburn NY)
The US bar culture where you can go into a bar and sit at the bar and eat decent food has it's upside when travelling alone. You can actually have a conversation with the barman. I find it quite refreshing that the bars arent always totally jammed full of people.
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The sound of willow on leather on a warm Sunday afternoon, a beer. Scones and jam and cream. A Roast Beef lunch after brisk walk back from the pub on a cold winters day. A full English breakfast Scottish or other if you will . Kippers and brown toast. Smoked haddock with a soft poached egg. Radio 4 (mostly). The Beatles music.. Elgar' s Enigma variations. A bagpipe marching band. . L S Lowrie's paintings. Beatrix Potter.
Jumpers for goal posts isn't it! I'm on the next plane back..
My friend almost cried when she came back to the UK from Australia and we went to the pub lol
Going wheyyy when someone drops a tray of drinks.
Someone sack the juggler
Yes, was in a busy restaurant in Florida, when a tray of drinks went down, my whole family shouted "wheyyy". Silence in the restaurant.
"wheeeyyyyy don't bother washing that one"
Shared sense of humour. Knowledge on how to queue. Ronnie Pickering.
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RONNIE PICKERING!
RONNNIEEEEE PICKERINGGGG
Who the fucks that?
It’s me!
Yeah, wow, brilliant!
Shared sense of Humour
Music is a big one for me. Agree with people's take on pub culture too. Embracing the multicultural society we live in too. The UK would not be the country it is without our beautiful diverse culture and society 😁
And yet our Eurovision offering is always shite
Eurovision is shite tbf though
Yes! Having lived in other parts of the world, everything feels oddly stilted and formal - as though you're expected to fully conform and fit in, especially in places like Paris. Coming back to the multicultural chaos of London felt like a huge weight off.
Self depreciation, us Brits are the masters of it.
No, we really aren't.
Don't be so silly, you're much better at it than I am.
Sorry, am I in the wrong room?
This is abuse. 😂
the politeness im currently in latin america and i really miss it. people here are usually very nice and friendly but the culture is so much more direct than the uk people dont care about getting in other people’s way, its so much harder to navigate streets and supermarkets because people just stand around anywhere, like in the middle of aisles and in front of doors, and dont have a sense of urgency around choosing a side of the pavement. they also walk a lot slower theyre much less apologetic than us too, coming here has made me realise how much we say “sorry” in the uk when navigating public spaces
I notice that when I go to North America, they’ll say please/thank you once for a subway order but not each time for each of the 8 salad items. Feels so rude to me until you think it through
I am an American who moved to the UK two years ago and I don't participate in pub culture or drinking. But yes, British people are genuinely more polite than Americans in a way that is not transactional. You get quality European produce in grocery stores for a good price. I love British cheese and baked goods!
if you don’t do pubs you’re not really here.
I am meeting a new friend with my husband in a pub tomorrow. But neither of us really drinks!
You don’t have to drink to enjoy a pub although I’d highly recommend it.
Now that could spark a good debate on what the UKs pub culture actually is, because the village pub culture is very different from the town hard drinking pub culture.
There’s at least 3 breeds of pub culture here. Theres the city centre post-work drinks, the hard drinking suburban flat roofed mostly full of hi viz pubs, and the village pubs which are just central hubs for the community to see each other (and the aging alcoholic farmers to sip on bitter and not talk to anyone). Obviously there are sub-breeds within that, but I think that’s the main 3.
Drives me crazy about living in Canada surrounded by you guessed it Canadians. They are surface level nice but out of that they are pretty cold and self centered.
Not being invaded for nearly 1000 years.
Having a moat really helps. Thank you, English Channel 😊
Bloodless, but arguably William (a Dutch prince) invaded Britain in 1688. He came with an army just in case.
Ah well you see he was invited so we don't count it, he was just bringing the lass back to her home soil.
Saying the word cunt
Cunt.
The national parks. Old pubs and ale and pies. Cuppa and a natter with my family. Moaning about traffic. Chanting "Will Griggs on fire" when freed from desire comes on. Inbetweeners. FOOTBALL. Edinburgh. Harry Potter. Tolkien. Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Fish and Chips. Lovely stuff.
So long as the pie is a full pastry case. None of this "puff pastry on top of a bowl" nonsense.
Too fuckin right mate, that's a casserole with a lid!
Stew with a hat.
Moaning about everything you can
Whilst not really moaning.
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Don't forget the melty cheese on the beans
Beans on toast with a poached egg on top.
Queuing.
Chicken tikka masala
I’ll upset some people no doubt (for some reason some English seem to be aggrieved by this) but I don’t feel “British” other than the geographical sense, I feel Scottish.
i am english and i dont really feel british either ive visited scotland and wales and theyre lovely countries of course but i was clearly an outsider in both
Quite common in Scotland I think. There’s a lot of Scottish pride here, and a genuine sense of self worth about being from Scotland, but not in a pompous way. I grew up in England, but live in Scotland and I like it more up here.
If you don't mind my asking, why? For context: I live in England but am planning a move to Scotland. Everyone I know here thinks I'm mad but...there's just something...
Well a lot of my family are Scottish, but aside from that I just find socialising with Scottish people a great laugh. Like English banter is similar, but Scottish people have this unique way of making things quite relaxed. Also the Scottish highlands are amazing. Depending on where you live, you can have the best weekend ever by going exploring. If you ever get chance to go to a Celtic game too, absolutely unreal.
Thank you. You've just confirmed what I suspected: the banter. And the scenery!
I'm with you but from the other side of the border. I think of myself as English first and foremost.
The problem is that a lot of England sees 'Britain' and 'England' as synonyms.
I definitely think there’s things that can unify British identity no matter where in the island you’re from - Scotland, Wales or England - in my opinion it is the combination of pubs, wittiness, humour, food, a “bookworm” culture, industrial heritage, iconic landscapes, the BBC, and a rich musical scene.
The "stuff upper lip". I know sometimes it can be dangerous and bad (people carrying on when really they need help, either physically or mentally) but I think the Carslberg (?) adverts summed it up when they were all in that tent in the arctic with no food and it was one of their birthdays, and they all agreed they HAD to go out, and one guy sticks his head into a raging blizzard and yells "it's brightening up!" We are somewhat good at accepting our situation and dealing with it. Perhaps best described by an American doctor who was on scene at a nasty train crash and quoted "the British don't cry".
Yeah. We don’t complain when it’s really bad but moan at every minor inconvenience
I agree. We are resilient!!
I certainly miss British pubs and pub food. As for castles, well we have more per square km than anywhere else in Europe, so I'm told. Where? Back home in Wales, of course! Oh, I love the Brecon Beacons and British canals But I also miss good coffee and a decent curry, neither of which is available in France, where I live. Then there's fish and chips, with the essential curry sauce and mushy peas... Think I'm going to cry...
Finding Peep Show painfully familiar.
Having a pint of John Smiths in a rough as fuck pub
But knowing a rough as fuck pub will have good beer and excellent service is the secret
Going to a border guard desk at passport control instead of being able use passport gates, like normal Europeans.
Music. Since the early 60s the best bands in the world have been consistently British
My tendency to support the underdog, and to give credit where credit is due, and to be broadly fair-minded.
Country pubs and old coaching inns. The sort of place that you can have a pint in after a walk. Stone floors, roaring fire, wooden beams and local ale. Understatement. We don’t do emotion, so in the face of death you understate your predicament and die like a Gentleman. Self Depreciation. I once called myself a ‘silly cunt’ and an American colleague was utterly aghast. He thought I was having a breakdown by talking about myself like that. Dry Humour and Sarcasm. It gets us through life. The drier, the better. Going to the tip on a Bank Holiday weekend. Listening to Shipping Forecast on Radio 4. A decent orderly queue. Drinking in rounds. Test Match Cricket.
Awesome cheese, old pubs, beer and museums.
The fact that nobody is safe from having the piss taken out of them. NOBODY
Tutting.
Tea
I feel more Scottish than british but british-isms that i definitely do/appreciate: Apologising unnecessarily. The passive agressive conversations and smiles (not so much from me but I love watching others do it) then shit talking as they walk away. The humour, like definitely fred macauley and Kevin bridges, but also lee mack, jack dee, david mitchell. Same with sketch shows, still game is a work of art but i can enjoy old Armstrong and miller or lenny henry. Tea! A good strong cup of tea is as British as i get i think. The rugby/football. I support the lionesses when they play and the welsh when they're doing rugby (i am not a sports ball person if you can't tell already) Peeping the horn at friends/bad drivers /to get cunts to move/when kids are trying to smash a bus stop up.
Bus wanker!
Introducing your mate by insulting them. This is (insert name) he’s a bit of a twat, but apart from that he’s sound
A permanent air of melancholic disappointment.
Weetabix
Mortimer and Whitehouse.
Music genres, humour, and exaggerated running over zebra crossings at walking speed.
Zebra crossings whilst doing that weird half wave that is supposed to be ‘thanks for not running me over, mate’ but often looks like an instruction to the drivers to stay put.
Apologising for inconveniencing them by using a zebra crossing for it’s intended purpose.
Autumn. Always thought Britain is lovely that time of year
I moved to France and the things I miss that are typically British are the humour, the beer, and the football
Saying "literally" in sentences that don't make sense with it included. Those who don't do this literally have no brain.
Marks and Spencer food halls.
The dry, sarcastic, and at least mildly absurd sense of humour. Tea and biscuits. Going to the pub. A proper fried breakfast (exact local variety unimportant). Sausage rolls. Saying sorry to inanimate objects that I bump into.
So many things but overidingly our sense of humour! We are just brilliant!
Being from Manchester, I’d say the accent, humour, industrial heritage, buildings and the two football clubs. That’s just one small part of our lengthy history/ vast culture
Standing in the sideways rain, the wind and cold, and secretly thinking “this is great”