Can we have a nice thread about British culture?

[Gobbeldegook]

Without goady fuckers spoiling all the niceness.
I vote seaside fish and chips.

Just how green it is
Tea and crumpets
Walks along seaside promenades
99 ice creams
Polite queues
Double decker buses
Cream teas
Old churches and graveyards
Ancient woodland

Ok if we are going to name folk:
Billy Connolly (I love that man. I want him and Pamela to adopt me)
Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Joanna Lumley classy, talented ladies who have not botoxed themselves to oblivion
Diana Rigg in the Avengers God rest her soul
Babs Windsor, I shall miss her so much

There are others of course but those sprung straight to mind

Someone said upthread about the British over excitement about snow- I was watching a TikTok earlier (don't judge me, I'm bored) and it was about snow.
How other countries look out the window and say "oh, snow. Ok then."
And how a British person sees snow, loses their mind, and starts regressing to an average primary kid with massive excitement, including telling people they live with to come see as it might not last long, and phoning mates asking "have you see the snow? Yeah, it's brilliant isn't it!" With no attempt to hide their glee.

I'm not sure it's been mentioned yet but Oxfords Vaccine team- legends.

Ditto Agatha Christie.
Ridiculous (and lovely 🐾♥️) obsession with dogs.
English country gardens

Oh and changing seasons. Much as I sometimes moan about (lack of) summer weather, I would hate to live anywhere where the weather never changed.

Sarcasm, cheese and public footpaths.

I love that we treasure our history and see a castle as a day out with tea and cake, not an educational trip. Yet we also embrace new people, things and food and adopt them into our culture. Think a curry being as popular as fish and chips. Coffee shops as popular as afternoon tea. I love the changing seasons and the delight of the first spring bulbs or the excitement of a sprinkling of snow. We have landscapes which range from bejewelled sea in the south west right up to the rugged cairns in Scotland. Our pubs; either with a roaring fire and a hot pot or filled to the brim with raucous laughter and spilt beer. British culture is endearing politeness and acceptance that we aren't perfect. We laugh, mostly at ourselves. We produce great scientists, musicians, artists and actors. The rest of the world finds us quirky until they visit. Then they understand.

Ordnance Survey maps

@Timeforatincture

Ordnance Survey maps

I was just about to say the same! And our wonderful footpath network. Give me an OS map - especially if it's a new area to me - and I'm the happiest woman alive.

It's safe to walk in the countryside or on your own.
No highjacking
Being mugged
Car jacking.
No gated cimmunities

So many other countries have the above we are so lucky not to have to put up with all that.
The number if times I've been on holiday and the advice is nearly always
"Dont travel out of the local area. It's not safe""

Oh yes.
Another one.
It's nice to be able to walk in the countryside without worrying about wildlife.
whether that be bears, wolves, lions, tigers,s, snakes,poisonous spiders.etc
All we have to worry about are adders!
Another.
We can swim in the sea without fear of sharks or poisonous fish.
Another.
We can go for a walk at any time f the day due to our moderate temperatures.
No staying close to home near the air con and only venturing out when it's cooler.

We have mote freedoms in this country than we realise.

Feeding/looking out for garden birds. I don't know if this is unique to Britain, but our garden centres, supermarkets, pound shops, and even smaller convenience shops all have areas dedicated to bird feed and apparatus.

I love feeding the birds and watching them flock, especially when I've just put fresh seed out. There is a real pecking order between species as well, with birds patiently (or not so patiently) waiting their turn.

@BritInAus but tomorrow you can have lamingtons and a day off.

Wonderful British Food -
Cheddar cheese
Branston pickle
Cream Teas
Battenburg
Marmite
Mr Whippy
Hot Cross Buns
Foodstuffs with crazy names - Toad in the hole, Bubble and Squeak, Spotted Dick
Cornish Pasties
British strawberries in the early summer
Bacon sandwiches
Rich tea biscuits
Salt and vinegar crisps
Tea, Tea, Tea (never the same abroad and I always take a large bag of teabags when I travel)
Conversely our ability to embrace food from all over the world and be willing to try things we are unfamiliar with.

Punting in Oxford on a summer's day (whilst imagining you are a character in Brideshead Revisited)
Dry stone walls and narrow country lanes
Villages with wonderful names eg Cold Christmas, Skinners Bottom
The first daffodils poking through
Beautiful old buildings standing shoulder to shoulder with modern ones

Wind in the Willows
Alice in Wonderland
Swallows and Amazons
Malory Towers
Winnie the Pooh
Jane Austen
The Bronte sisters
Charles Dickens
George Eliot

Folk Music from every part of the UK
Elgar's Nimrod
Festivals that are individual to particular regions or villages
Summer Fetes
Charity Shops

Shetland ponies
Hedgehogs
Dogs being treated like part of the family

Our ability to enter competitions when we are well aware we have no hope in hell of winning eg Eddie the Eagle, Eurovision, the World Cup

Radio 4
Gardeners World
Glastonbury
Wimbledon

National Trust
BBC
Carry on Films (yes I know they are very un PC but they evoke so many childhood memories and still make me laugh

Not showing too much emotion in public (unless completely pissed and then overemoting to strangers)

Sitting in the garden on a summer's day and asking whether the sun is over the yard arm

Cricket and the fact that they stop for tea!

The Queen who must have the best poker face in the world as you never know quite what she's thinking.

Obsession with the weather, and ability to be pessimistic even when it's nice (looking at you DM - "well it won't last ..."

@catwithflowers

Oh and changing seasons. Much as I sometimes moan about (lack of) summer weather, I would hate to live anywhere where the weather never changed.

Yes the seasons. The rhymes of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The changing landscapes and each season being a landmark in time. I so missed it when I was living in the desert in the Middle East, and then the endless green lushness of tropical climate in Malaysia.... first world problem I know.....You only really appreciate the UK weather when you live away from it I think.

Tea and sarcasm.

@mayonegg

I am in love with our gentle but varied countryside, the greenness, the woodlands and the trees, the fields, dry stone walls, hedgerows, the neatness and purpose of little towns and villages, our buildings, cottage gardens. Our coastline, our folk tales and folk music, traditional pubs (are there many left?) with their dark cosy wood and nicknacks amassed over the years. Roaring fires with the wind howling outside. Gentle humour, kindness, the willingness to see the best in people, the tendency towards politeness and courtesy, our willingness to help each other out, beautiful old bookshops, our rich language with all it's wonderful nuances. Our weather and climate, not too hot not too cold, our very defined seasons and everything about them, rainy days and dramatic skies. I love our tradition of Christianity and church hymns and tea and biscuits, but also the fact we're still very pagan at heart with our maypoles and halloween and other local customs that vary from place to place. I think if you strip away the politics (which I have no interest in for the sake of my own mental health) and the 'culture' of materialism and celebrity and selfishness and fakeness perpetuated by the media, I think we have the most wonderfully rich culture with our roots in the nature and spirituality of the island. I'm not sure if what I've written is culture or just snippets of things I love about the place, but I feel like that's what's in my soul. I think I am a little bit pagan though. Sorry this isn't as well written as posts usually are on MN, I'm not as articulate as most on here but felt compelled to post on this thread because I feel so weary of being made to feel ashamed of being British (English).

@mayonegg this is a truly wonderful piece of writing, and so evocative. Please don't think that you are not as articulate as some on mumsnet as I was thinking as I was reading that this is excellent, and I actually got a bit teary, moreso when I got to the bit about you apologising for it not being well written.

I guess it epitomises another thing about us Brits - being so damn self-deprecating

Jilly Cooper

Bubble and Squeak
Hot buttered crumpets
Marmite on Toast.
The fact that people trust you enough to leave fruit and veg by the roadside to buy, with a box to leave your money in.

Our folklore.
Our dry sense of humour.
Our championing of the under dog.

Does anyone else remember feeling the buzz and the positive vibes around the time of London 2012 Olympics? Such a different vibe to now.

@BolloxtoGender

Does anyone else remember feeling the buzz and the positive vibes around the time of London 2012 Olympics? Such a different vibe to now.

I bet it’ll feel similar when we can get back out and do stuff

Strawberries & cream, the english countryside during the summertime and roast lamb at Easter. Memories.

Thank you for this thread. At a time that's everything feels so combative and wrong, it's reminds me of why I love living in this country.

I would say pretty much all of the above from the diverse food, history, countryside, (usually) tolerant people to the seasons (long summer nights, sunny winter days)

Meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen for months today for a very slippery and slidey walk! Giggling our heads off as we practically skated along, desperately trying not to fall over. I haven’t laughed so much for ages, and I’d forgotten what good company she is.

Ooops! Above is on wrong thread sorry - was supposed to be on the one about little things keeping us going!

David Attenborough.
If God hasn't made him immortal then it should be a day of National Mourning whereby the BBC play only his shows for a week, in chronological order