The little things that make Britain great

[Miguel Alvarez]

I'll agree with whoever said chocolate. American chocolate is rank.

Also

Queues. I've been to a few countries where the concept of queuing doesn't exist. Winds me up no end.

[zac510]

All the rain that makes the fauna so luscious and green and makes Thames flow strong and proud!

[Matt UK]

It's a cliche, but I also love our sense of humour / irony - it's part of our DNA and no one else seems to get it!

Example: pouring with rain, get wet running from cab to building, walk into meeting with water dripping down my face and say "Morning all, lovely weather out there"

UK response: "Yeah, great isn't it" <smiles>
Non UK respnonse: "Really? I though it not so good this morning" <puzzled looks>

Again, it's fantastic to be home

[zaphod42]

Frankeh said:

I quite like English apathy.

I'm not bothered either way to be honest. Doesn't really bother me as long as I don't have to do anything about it.

[williamp]

The weather. WE can have very hot days, but the cold winters kills off all those pesky bugs which carry diseasaes prevelent in other parts of the World

Because we had the empire, you can get to almost everywhere direct from the UK. Even other parts of Europe have to change 'planes somewhere else

The NHS. Free at the point of service is a god-send. And be honest, it probably couldn tbe run any other way then it is now

The history. The sense of occasion (Royal wedding, etc)

Race circuits. Lots of 'em. And most of them close together. The Midlands has Rockingham, silverstone, Mallory, Donington, Cadwell park, Curborourgh (sp?) etc

The women. They speak the same langauge as me. We watched the same childrens TV. We eat the same sort of food.

[Rude-boy]

Miguel Alvarez said:

I'll agree with whoever said chocolate. American chocolate is rank.

Also

Queues. I've been to a few countries where the concept of queuing doesn't exist. Winds me up no end.

100% agree.

The ability to queue is something no other nation seems to be able to understand, yet the British are not only masters at it but also seem to be able to coral others into following suit most of the time.

[Yiliterate]

Our TV adverts are - on average - just a tiny little bit more sophisticated than those of our continental cousins.

Shows our plebs are of a fractionally higher quality than theirs

[George H]

Cider. I always miss that when I'm abroad.

[Pondered Scrotum]

Fish and chips.

Real ale.

Roast dinner.

Girls - foreign girls are sometimes quite nice but nothing is as nice as a pretty British lass!

Humour.

Countryside.

Pubs (as mentioned).

History.

The over arching lack of pretentiousness (outside London of course). Other European countries always seem so up themselves - our self-depreciating manner serves us well I think.

And the simple fact that it's HOME.

[MK4 Slowride]

You won't get ripped off by shopkeepers.

All things you eat & drink are safe and won't make you ill, so long as they're not bootleg.

[Stu R]

Food. I love good British food. Despite the dubious reputation internationally (which is changing for the better it seems), it's clear we're bloody good at it when we try.

[Caulkhead]

Pondered Scrotum said:

And the simple fact that it's HOME.

It all really boils down to this doesn't it? It's what we're used to and it suits us.

I've lived in several countries and I've always returned here. I guess I'm just comfortable here because it's where I'm from, but we really do many things far better than we realise.

[stuart-b]

These threads make me home sick.

Been out of the UK for a year now (living and working in Croatia), and I really miss some things.

Some things I definitely don't miss however.

It's a toss up... but I think the best of both worlds helps...

[snowy slopes]

The varied scenery, from the highlands of scotland, to the lake district, wales and the west country, through the south coast, and up to the fens and lincolnshire, before ending up in northumberland, it's all great scenery, and varied

The accents, which i have to say are terrific for winding up those who cant quite grasp the regional dialect, especially broad scots, or geordie, even broad west country accents are fun to listen too, but the king of all accents for winding up people, is the black country accent

Proper ale

[Rude-boy]

stuart-b said:

These threads make me home sick.

Been out of the UK for a year now (living and working in Croatia), and I really miss some things.

Some things I definitely don't miss however.

It's a toss up... but I think the best of both worlds helps...

You know if I had an uninterrupted supply of proper Suffolk bacon I might just be able to live in another country. Unless someone could guarantee that though the deal is off

[jmorgan]

Stu R said:

Food. I love good British food. Despite the dubious reputation internationally (which is changing for the better it seems), it's clear we're bloody good at it when we try.

A particular favourite of mine. Find a good chef and the output is superb. I like pig in a bun in its various formats, OK for a run out etc but a good pub or restaurant using local produce can really turn it out.

[madala]

...Pork Pies...

[madala]

George H said:

Cider. I always miss that when I'm abroad.

....loads of counties in Europe and elsehwere make very good cider.....define abroad?

[stuart-b]

Rude-boy said:

You know if I had an uninterrupted supply of proper Suffolk bacon I might just be able to live in another country. Unless someone could guarantee that though the deal is off

How did you know there wasn't any good bacon here? Doh! Or cheese. Can't get cheddar to save my life. Even Wheatabix is a struggle from a German Supermarket.

Red wine is also terrible, except a couple of brands on the island of Hvar.

Still, I can just pop here for the weekend (2 hours away)...



Plus, the weather has been 30-40c for the last 4 weeks, and will be like that for the next 3 months...

That bit is the plus!

[Frankeh]

Thread spoilers incoming. Look away now if you don't want to know the answer..

We added 'Great' as a prefix.