What do other nationalities think of the British

[Baggingarea]

For non UK MNers, what are your general impressions of the British?

I was watching a documentary recently and a Spanish man said our houses are all dirty. I'd never heard that before but can see why someone might think that with muddy weather etc etc.

What do you think about us? Promise I won't be offended (no racism/sexism/general bigotry though please). Can't vouch for others though.

There is an obesity problem on the UK but I'm not sure it's exclusive to Britain. I don't think the rest of the world is exclusively slim and fit.
The fish is a funny one. I eat lots of fresh fish but I must admit I don't like to see it cooked with the head still attached. Seems a bit uncivilised to me, to eat food which still looks like the animal it came from. See also hog roasts.

Oh yeh, I was shocked at how fat the germans were in Fuerteventura. Possibly they were poorer germans, going on a relatively cheap holiday but they were all pretty big.

I had let myself get quite big in the lock down, was nearly 11 stone. Have started fasting, every second day to get down to nine and now twice a week. It's working so far.

Every nationality likes eating!

Some Americans are not slim

'Some Americans are not slim'
Exactly this and some of largest people I've seen were in America not in Britain. It was common place in one area to use motorised scooters to get around because of their size. I've also seen fat Russians, germans etc so Britain isn't alone with a weight issue.

':31woodhill
I think it is the cut of the jeans particularly when they were not high waisted'

Ah I see, the fashion is high waisted now and has been for awhile hasnt it.

Britain may have ended the slave trade in 1807 but they were still sending "unfortunate" children (Home Children) to work in Virginia Colony, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa and this has continued up till 1970s if I am not mistaken. The children once there faced hard labour, servitude and abuse.
I remember a long time ago I read a memoir by one lady in Australia who came there as a child. The priest in the UK promised the children they would have lots of fun in Australia and play with kangaroos. Once in Australia,.she and other children were made to wake up before 6am and work till late night. The children were literally slaves. I think originally Home Children project was created with good intentions but it didn't work.

I've also seen fat Russians, germans etc so Britain isn't alone with a weight issue.

Absolutely.

I must admit I don't like to see it cooked with the head still attached. Seems a bit uncivilised to me, to eat food which still looks like the animal it came from. See also hog roasts.

They do it on the continent as well with fish and hogs, baby pigs.

I personally discard fish head as fish starts rotting from head. Maybe if cooked fish straight from the river or sea then I could use the head. Fresh heads and tails are good for making fish soup.

@StickTheKettleOnAlice

'Some Americans are not slim' Exactly this and some of largest people I've seen were in America not in Britain. It was common place in one area to use motorised scooters to get around because of their size. I've also seen fat Russians, germans etc so Britain isn't alone with a weight issue.

Especially in Disneyland

@StickTheKettleOnAlice

':31woodhill I think it is the cut of the jeans particularly when they were not high waisted'

Ah I see, the fashion is high waisted now and has been for awhile hasnt it.

Think the term muffin top came about when the waists were lower

A cup of tea is a cultural complexity that is not understood by people who aren't British IMHO. It isnotsimply a drink. It is way, way more than that. Only after years of dedicated study in the topic does one begin to understand the nuances of the tea-drinking ritual that is uniquely British. I love it.

Apart from the countries that actually grow the tea, you know -China, India, Sri Lanka etc. Pretty sure they started the tea drinking tradition which is still going strong in those places 😬. Also having grown up on masala chai, I'm actually really glad I don't drink tea anymore (had to give it up for health reasons)! DH on the other hand drinks around 8 mugs of it a day....

The way parents serve their children a meal of processed crap and then cook a lovely meal for themselves later. Why don't families eat together?
And why put a baby/toddler in a stuffy bed for their nap? In Scandinavia all napping happens outside - it's deemed healthy.

@WeWantTheFinestWines

The way parents serve their children a meal of processed crap and then cook a lovely meal for themselves later. Why don't families eat together? And why put a baby/toddler in a stuffy bed for their nap? In Scandinavia all napping happens outside - it's deemed healthy.

I agree with you about children's meals. IMO places should just serve smaller portions of adult meals.

I never fed DS processed or any other type of crap and it’s hard to have a nap outside when you live in a flat.

I think originally Home Children project was created with good intentions but it didn't work.

The Home Children Project was created with the aim of boosting the white population of the Commonwealth.

The Home Children Project was created with the aim of boosting the white population of the Commonwealth.

Correct. And the treatment of those poor children was absolutely shameful. A stain upon our countries.

I know we have a shameful history, but I also know that many other nations also have a shameful history - the Romans, The Mongols, the Vikings, Spanish Conquistadors, the Nazis, the Red Army. I could go on.

I would like to think that we can try and right the wrongs of our past though.

I think, 'well yes, we've been pretty shit, but look at everybody else, they weren't very nice either', isn't really taking responsibility and seeking to try and right the wrongs of the past.

If my daughter says, 'well, sure Mum, I broke the vase, but other sister broke a glass' I don't really take that as taking responsibility, (particularly if I find the vase in the wrong rubbish bin and wasn't told up front). I take that as deflection and minimisation.

@Pokerfaced - YY to that.
The West Indies slaves were only freed gradually after slavery was officially banned, and the wealth generated by slaves continued to line British coffers, fund British infrastructure and investment for more than a hundred years afterwards.

Even after slavery in the British West Indies was abolished, Britain continued to import 80% of its raw cotton from the American South. A sixth of the British population depended on cotton and cotton related industry for its livelihood, and the wealth generated from trade in the produce of enslaved labour in America more than made up for the loss of income from the products of the West Indies.

The Civil War brought all of this to a shuddering halt, not concerns for the morality of being able to buy low and sell high thanks to slave labour. In addition, British merchants sold armaments and warships to the Confederacy, and imported cotton from the South, shipped it to Liverpool and then re-exported it in order to avoid blockades by both the Confederacy and the Union.

You’re first paragraph is incorrect. British law is the basis of most modern day legal systems

That's not true. There is no such thing as 'British law'. Even Scottish law is a hybrid of common law and civil law. So is Jersey's legal system.

Western European law is based on Roman law, aka a civil law system.
Middle Eastern legal systems are based on Islamic precepts with other sources intermingled.
Current Russian law is an amalgam of Communist and Imperial systems, both based on civil law.
Chinese law is also a loosely civil law based system.

Only those legal systems which developed under the British Empire in countries which are now predominantly English-speaking are related to the Common Law. That is, Ireland, USA (with the exception of Louisiana, which has a hybrid system), Canada (with the exception of Quebec), Australia, British West Indies, New Zealand.

Other countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Singapore, Malta, Cyprus, and former African Imperial possessions follow common law precepts to varying extents. Most have hybrid systems that incorporate customary precepts, common law, and ideas and practices from other sources.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_legal_systems#Civil_law_and_common_law

I know a non Brit who recently said to me the work ethic (or lack of it) from about 50% of his colleagues (in all his jobs) annoys him. 50% work super hard and 50% seem to do the minimum whilst complaining about everything, on an almost daily basis.

@mbosnz

I think, 'well yes, we've been pretty shit, but look at everybody else, they weren't very nice either', isn't really taking responsibility and seeking to try and right the wrongs of the past.

If my daughter says, 'well, sure Mum, I broke the vase, but other sister broke a glass' I don't really take that as taking responsibility, (particularly if I find the vase in the wrong rubbish bin and wasn't told up front). I take that as deflection and minimisation.

I think I wrote that quite badly. What I am trying to say is that other nations have no right to point the finger at us - stones and glass houses.

What do you think about the other nations and cultures that have not enjoyed the benefits of Empire, but have suffered the disadvantages of Empire? Do you think they have the right to point the finger? Or do you think they should just shut up and be grateful that they were colonised by the English (Clearly superior in practically every way) rather than the French or the Spanish?

Yes they do have the right to point the finger.