Unless you are Scottish. I get asked with suspicion ‘English?’ when I say ‘Scottish!’ I’m greeted like an old friend this is exactly the experience I had!
I agree the quality of food now is appalling (and about to get much worse!) I'm old enough to remember when markets were just markets and sold good quality fresh produce! Not the "farmers markets" we have now where it's £6 for a small punnet of disappointing organic strawberries!
Most Foreign people I know (inc my partner) speak English as a second language because they had the learn it to get by in life and around the world not because they so much more cultured.
Learning another language generally means you learn another culture too though as language is very much formed and informed by the culture of its native speakers. So by default if you speak more than one language you are more cultured.
I have to say associating football hooliganism with Brits or even English is out of order! Several other countries have also had appalling incidents of football hooliganism. I lived in one part of Europe that was definitely notorious for it yet this was little reported outside of that country! Would love to know how they managed that!
We also always say Brits dont have sex. Suffice to say I was slightly taken aback on my first night out in Britain!
I bet!
The heating thing is down to price! We're totally ripped off there - usually by European owned companies (even if their name makes them sound British owned)
And they have been very friendly and talkative, perhaps I've just been lucky? I'd agree we (Scots) can be stubborn, but also agree friendly and chatty. My ex (half English half welsh) really couldn't get his head around me talking to pretty much anyone! When we first met if we were out shopping or waiting at a train station or in a queue and I chatted away to someone he'd ask afterwards how I knew them! After a few times of asking he in total bewilderment went "so you'll just talk to anyone then? No matter who or where you are?" It was totally alien to him - and he wasn't a Londoner either who can be quite reserved on this, he's from up north in terms of where he grew up mostly (he's also an army brat).
The first time we visited Scotland together he ended up overwhelmed and exhausted by the sheer number of people who would talk to him starting on the train up
We went and visited his parents on the way home and he was like "I'm knackered! I've spent most of the week talking to complete strangers I could barely understand!" This started a conversation with his parents whereupon it became clear his welsh parent totally understood from my/Scots side of things and the English parent was just as bewildered.
But the roundabouts, and the inability to indicate at them, even the insane ones with 4 lanes and 2 mini roundabouts coming out of it...wow!
Don't ever go to Swindon, Milton Keynes or Birmingham! You'll never get out sane!
The Scottish have now got excellent PR in the West of France from my aunt
Well this is what happens isn't it, people stereotype based on limited experience - for good or bad!
Have to agree you cannot get decent rye bread in the Uk believe me I've tried!
@Coldwinds Yes there was a particular show made in Uk but shown in Portugal I think in the aftermath of Madeline McCanns disappearance that made a number of utterly ridiculous and unproven claims re ss and I think made by some sort of cult?
The British education system has an unfounded good reputation point of fact there's no such thing as a "British" education system as the education systems even before devolution were very different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Personally having experienced 3 of those I think the English one was pretty shit even in the 70's/80's And is even worse now and that's partly based on assessment by friends who teach in England. It's a mess!
English is the best language
Based on what?! I love English I've studied it to degree level but it's a bastard/cuckoo language with hardly any true Anglo words still in common usage, even grammar rules are borrowed and mauled from other languages! It may be the language spoken in the most countries, but that's mainly due to English colonialism! Closely followed by French (same reason) and then I think either Spanish (same reason again) or Arabic (again colonialism)
Having made colonised subjects adopt your language does not mean that language is "the best" that's an incredibly arrogant and presumptuous statement!
yet most people want to come and live here. again where's your evidence for this? Many of those who migrate or even flee unsafe countries don't only want to come to the Uk, they also want to AND DO go to America, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain...
Such an arrogant unfounded statement
It does amaze me how little British people are taught about their history with Ireland again I suspect you mean ENGLISH! Certainly in Scotland we are well aware of the history and it's taught fairly well in our schools.
As a Scot of irish descent being taught in ENGLISH schools about Ireland and Northern Ireland during the period of the troubles the education was appallingly biased against the Irish, largely inaccurate and VERY little of the history was even covered! The Tudors and William of orange portrayed as "heroic saviours" and the Irish portrayed as "backwards natives" - a stereotype that persists!
I happened to have a Catholic Irish history teacher at one point and he would say "this is the answer you have to give in the exam but the truth is..." plus my own parents/family corrected much of what I was being taught on this. Much of it was plain lies!
From what I hear not much has changed in English education