What is British culture?

[SenoraPostrophe]

I've been asked to teach an English course (hooray - programming gets boring sometimes) which includes a section on "British culture".

Obviously I could throw a few ideas together myself, but it is quite an interesting question and I'm sure I'd miss something.

Ideas so far:

dry, Self-depreciating humour
Dinner parties (the Spanish don't do them - they meet up in restaurants, kids and all, instead)
Fish and chips
Toad in the hole
Sticky toffee pudding
Christmas pudding
custard
Kids getting up at 5am christmas day (don't do that here either - me and dd were the only ones awake in the whole street at 8am last year)
pubs
pub quizzes
culturally adventurous (Rock n roll and hip hop only became mainstream in the US after they were in the UK. Don't know if that's because the US is culturally conservative or racist).
Shakespeare
tea
chocolate digestives
Branston (mmm Branston)
Stilton

....that's it so far. Can you tell I haven't had tea yet?

also as an aside, the students will be TV execs who want to be able to talk to their counterparts at British stations. What do TV execs talk about?

...aslo to add to the bit about the British being culturally adventurous - Spanish pop music is so 80s it's unbelievable!

u forgot

spotted dick,
Talking about the weather,
the beatles
the royals
bonfire night
er.....

A good olde fashioned roast dinner

Well.... TV execs talk about .......... Whose got the best rating...how wonderful one thought the programme he saw the other night was .........and errmmm what they'll be having for dinner tonight???

And British culture is

Beatles
Benny Hill (ugggh maybe don't mention that one)
Wonderful humour!!
Not so wonderful
Roast Dinners
Royal Family

We're pretty boring bunch when you think about it aren't we?

The seaside - paddling, fish and chips, penny arcades and fairgrounds.

Mods and Rockers (thinking along the same line)

umm, will think hard for you.

mmm roast dinner.

Why the Beatles and not the Stones, Punk, The Smiths though?

oooooooooooh air hockey as well, football and scoocer, oh and don't forget the fave one Cricket!

oooooooooooh air hockey as well, football and scoocer, oh and don't forget the fave one Cricket!

Penny arcades!

I spent many a happy hour in those. They still have 2p falls machines on Brighton pier - I'll be taking dd soon.

always picking fault with someone no matter how nice they are, even worse if they're really nice, or have something we'd love as the green eyed monster takes over and we say something derogetary instead of just being happy for them, or we pretend we're happy for them, then moan how lucky they are when they've gone(been on receiving end, but have done it myself!shame)

lazy summer evenings when the air is heavy for a summer storm and the insects are up above the fields, church bells, tennis on the lawn, "mad" old ladies at fetes - these are some of my particular memories as a child - would they help?

mmw - the British don't have a monopoly on being petty.

Also I forgot - Pimms and lemonade.

Right..

Cups of tea
Cricket
Football and Hooliganism
Queueing
Marks and Spencer
Stiff upper lip
Pie and Pint
Indian takeaway
Fish and Chips
Candy Floss and Rock
Butlins
Blackpool
Rain
Soaps

I've come over all patriotic now!

village fetes - especially the competitions, I think. A friend tried to do pass the parcel with some Spanish children recently and it didn't go down very well.

How could I forget takeaways? I miss them.

I think I should tape an episode of a soap for them. Stenders or Coranora?

just realised that I am not really helping with the culture theme? just day dreaming about my childhood!

Umm, how about the more old fashioned traditions? when we were in Cornwall we would have an Easter egg race down the hill in Padstow, do the May Day Dance through the houses and weave the May Pole, celebrating the Royal Family despite the scandals, vicars being the end all and be all, wedding ceremonies, old style farming techniques . . .

Does that help at all?

a 'stiff' sherry.

yes, thanks libb.

I do also want some contemporary stuff though - the sort of thing that TV execs might find useful when buying a series. Trying to think of some very British TV progs which wouldn't work in Spanish as an example and I can't.

But there was a Spanish comedy about lots of people living in a block of flats. Someone had left a baby on the landing and the jokes in the entire programme revolved around the fact that everyone wanted to keep the baby (not British at all!).

sorry munnzieb, posts crossed! great minds think alike.

oooh hadn't clicked refresh either!

funny how when you think british it's automatically to the food and the weather! lol,

oh and of couse theres London.

I guess the Royle Family springs to mind for the dry wit and timing, the whole family is "family" thing - The Office, we do tend to be obsessed with our working relationships too?

You can tell I like this kind of analysis . . .

british culture also includes Welsh culture, Scottish and Irish.
(can tell you about the Welsh but not the other two sorry)

Eisteddfods (festivals of music dance and recitation)
Folk dancing
Bara Brith ( a spoecial type of fruit cake)
Lava bread
Welsh language
Welsh lady and costume
St David
Daffodil and leek
rugby
Welsh folklore
Mabinogi

am sure i'll think of more soon

pixiefish - how about the Broons for Scottish culture? (don't think they'll make head or tail of it, but accents is another topic!)

what is Mabinogi?

No idea sorry Senora- can answer most questions on Welsh culture but sadly lacking in the others- apart fot the basics obviously- Scots have their haggis, kilts, loch ness monster