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?

has anyone said "well dressing"

salad cream and branston pickle

and sandwich spread (blueerrgh)

only going to church at christmas

having a sherry just at birthdays or christmas

This thread seems to be espousing (love that word) a cartoonish British Culture of our 1960's childhoods - no way would my dd eat sandwich spread.
And talking of which, no-one's mentioned Enid Blyton yet.

1970s childhood thank you very much

Dilly dally desperately tries to cling onto last semblance of youth.
I love Enid Blyton

Oh Dillydally, in that case your childhood was punk, power strikes, the Siver Jubilee, space hoppers, choppers, Holly Hobbie and Swap Shop.

that certainly was mine, Cam

Marina, excellent post

Can I add that contemporary British culture is not particularly family friendly

(Or maybe that's another thread)

1980's childhood, thank you very much I still had a chopper and a space hopper though as i used to get my cousins cast offs

I can just imagine trying to cover all this in one session!

I think the most pertinent things (i.e. the biggest differences between Spain and the UK are):

• The family - people move away much more in the UK. Here old people usually live with a son or daughter (which is good in general. On the downside, there are cases of domestic violence against old people here . Doesn'thappen in the UK because most are in homes .) Also everyone loves kids, and no-one is afraid to talk to them - an old man in the supermarket asked dd to go home with him yesterday - he was joking, but can you imagine the reaction he would have got in the UK?

• multiculturalism - hate the term, but the UK is much more racially and culturally mixed than Spain. Bigotry is sadly just as common in both countries.

• Marina's list! You missed the Smiths though - is that because I mentioned them?

• attitude to authority. In Spain overall "rules" are more like "guidelines". Few people obey no-smoking signs (not only do people smoke in the bank, but the cashier often has one in his mouth while counting the money). But individual people in authority - like doctors - have the same god-like status they used to have in the UK. No-one expects choice of any kind in the health service - childbirth is bed,stirrups,epesiotomy.

• the seaside/picnic thing. must mention that.

• don't know about folk-lore - should look into it.

• gardens in general, inc gnomes, ponds and sheds.

• DIY (forgot that - no-one does it here, and no-one services their own car either. DH lent his battery charger to a neighbour and the poor man had absolutely no idea what it was)

• queuing and saying sorry/excuse me.

• "the good old days" in general - the only nostalgic people in Spain are generally Franco-supporters.

How does that sound?

Yes, SP . I think you have an excellent range of topics there. Sounds good to me! Fascinating subject all round. We have lots of Spanish students where I work and although I know they try hard I think they find London life and the English way of living VERY peculiar at times...
Ooh, forgot Mike Leigh, Derek Jarman, Nic Roeg, Pressburger and Powell, Ridley Scott!

Also forgot - not having mixer taps! (but the Spanish don't have combi boilers and the insulation is always rubbish so you have to wait about half an hour to get hot water in the bathroom and there's never enough for a bath)

Also must mention tea.

Who are pressburger and Powell?

maybe you should mention teh pub as well, could be in a 'leisure' section with picnics / TV etc
The working hours are quite different as well aren't they?

i had a chopper, swapped my "digital" clock radio with flipover numbers for it

the pub, yes.

Working hours are different, but many big companies now work through siesta anyway.

saying sorry

saying sorry when it's not your fault

With marthamoo - eating in car parks, no matter how rich and posh or not rich and not posh you are.

From about the middle ages to the Industrial revolution, the English at least were unique in Europe in having a taboo against married couples living with their parents. So the average age of marriage was unusually late here (late 20s) - the young couples had to save up until they could leave home. Industrial revolution/urbanisation broke that taboo down.

The class system (don't know whether Spain has this, or such a preoccupation with it).

Sorry, SP, just seen this (isn't Threads I'm On fab when you remember to use it)
Powell and Pressburger were a directing/producing British film duo responsible for such classics as The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, I Know Where I'm Going! etc. Quintessentially whacko English cinema, Black Narcissus especially is totally bonkers but very compelling.

I was very frightened after seeing the Red Shoes as a child.

I was very frightened after seeing the Red Shoes as a child.

I was very frightened after seeing the Red Shoes as a child.

Were you very very very frightened, Cam?