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Original poster

Uniquely British things

371 replies

ChristmasA123 · 05/12/2022 19:09

I went for a walk earlier and saw one of my favourite things.. a random glove stuck on a railing. Obviously someone had dropped it and a kind stranger has put it somewhere easy to spot. I often see dropped items popped on fences/gateposts like this and it got me wondering.. I wonder if they do that in other countries? I've also noticed how polite drivers are here.. mainly! With that little wave or thumbs up when someone lets you through. I've never seen that driving in the US or Europe. Oh and I love the BBC Christmas ident. It's always so cosy. Are there any other cute/ wholesome things that only generally happen in the UK?

OP posts:
ImAvingOops · 07/12/2022 08:22

Doesn't everyone smile at dogs? Surely that's normal, rather than a quirk?

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 08:39

ImAvingOops · 07/12/2022 08:22

Doesn't everyone smile at dogs? Surely that's normal, rather than a quirk?

Indeed! What a strange thing to say is uniquely British!
@mathanxiety Sorry but the burglar story was funny.

Irish people think a cup of tea is the cure for all ills,, and thank the driver as do people in two other countries I’ve spent a lot of time in .

Political satire uniquely British? Not a bit of it!!
Americans are the masters of this. West wing anyone!!

ImAvingOops · 07/12/2022 08:41

re the dog thing, I do think Brits might greet dogs with more enthusiasm than we greet children!

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 08:47

@ImAvingOops Agree with you there, but the French do this as well!

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 08:57

We are off to Paris for the weekend on Friday. I love the way you greet everyone e when you enter a shop in France, and they do the same!

snowballer · 07/12/2022 09:15

That entire fleets of gritters have incredible names. The best I saw was Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Anti-Slip Machiney. We definitely have a love of the ridiculous.

beastlyslumber · 07/12/2022 09:25

Yes, we love the ridiculous! Monty Python springs to mind.

InMySpareTime · 07/12/2022 09:38

The plethora of meat'n'bread options available on any high street. I swear it's the country's best way of avoiding full invasions:
"I've come to invade!"
"Oh, lovely, well we're a bit busy now, but that spiced meat'n'bread thing you have there looks nice, did you make that yourself?"
"Errrr, yes"
"You should set up a stall selling that, maybe leave the invasion for a year or two and see how it goes"
...

Igglepiggleslittletoe · 07/12/2022 09:57

None of these are 'uniquely' British. I am Irish and we do most of them too.

InMySpareTime · 07/12/2022 10:05

Blackpool/Brighton rock is quintessentially British. It is now sold in other places globally but only because we exported it.
It's actually pretty tough to find something that's common throughout all of Britain but unknown in say Ireland/Europe/America/Australia/Canada, because our borders are notoriously porous and Brits have always liked to bring all their home comforts wherever they go in the world.

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 10:06

@Igglepiggleslittletoe Yes. . This thread is embarrassing and a bit cringy!

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 10:07

I say that as a Brit!

Igglepiggleslittletoe · 07/12/2022 10:10

Also not unique to Britain as Irish people do it too but referring to 'ourselves' when living abroad as 'ex pats' instead of saying we are immigrants.

InMySpareTime · 07/12/2022 10:12

Also not uniquely British, but I love to see grammatical corrections on Graffiti.

ArrrrrghStopLickingTheDog · 07/12/2022 10:14

Good to hear that then, makes the world a nicer place

Original poster
ChristmasA123 · 07/12/2022 10:52

@humancalculator I suppose the key is in the actual post not the title. I was walking around and just wondering if particular things happened more here or happened globally. I wasn't suggesting anything definitely WAS uniquely British. I'll be much more cautious about thread titles in future.. if I ever do another one!

OP posts:
Original poster
ChristmasA123 · 07/12/2022 10:53

@Igglepiggleslittletoe I'm your opinion.

OP posts:
Original poster
ChristmasA123 · 07/12/2022 10:54

*in

OP posts:
Igglepiggleslittletoe · 07/12/2022 10:55

Er no it is fact.

ImAvingOops · 07/12/2022 10:59

OP don't worry about it - there are some mardy buggers on here, who will nitpick and ignore the spirit of a thread.
While few specific behaviours are unique, but when you put them together, you do get a culture which is different from other cultures. Kate Fox wrote a fascinating book about the specific behaviours which comprise English culture, so it is a real thing.

Youwillyouwill · 07/12/2022 11:05

@ChristmasA123 Yes. I think if you haven’t put uniquely British in your title you may well have got different responses!

Original poster
ChristmasA123 · 07/12/2022 11:06

How can it possibly be a fact? Weird.

OP posts:
Cuppasoupmonster · 07/12/2022 11:07

ImAvingOops · 07/12/2022 08:22

Doesn't everyone smile at dogs? Surely that's normal, rather than a quirk?

No the British love dogs more than anyone else. They might raise a smile elsewhere but here they’re treated like royalty. That’s why everyone worries about a homeless person’s dog before the homeless person 😬

Igglepiggleslittletoe · 07/12/2022 11:08

ChristmasA123 · 07/12/2022 11:06

How can it possibly be a fact? Weird.

Because most people from other countries are telling you that the things on here stated as 'uniquely' british are in fact no unique to britain at all.

Cuppasoupmonster · 07/12/2022 11:08

The pedantry is just being used to cover up the fact they don’t like British people being anything other than self berating 🤷🏼‍♀️