Going to the Dogs (the British way)

[SleepyWitch]

Seeing as the lazy English ppl in here (not to mention the lazy Scots and particularly lazy Welsh, if any) can't be bothered to start a thread analogous to the Kraut Konspiracy, I'll do it for you :D (yes you may bow and worship me ;) j/k).

I just returned from a week's trip to England and even though it's a really crappy country, I'll emigrate there after I graduate :D ;)

here's ten things I like about the UK
1. Wales :D
2. Scotland
3. ???

ok, I'll start again:
10 food-related things I like about England (not including the other nations):
1. egg and cress, cheese and onion, cheese ploughman sandwiches
2. Twinings Earl Grey tea
3. cheese on toast with mushrooms and peas
4.
5. fruit salads and smoothies from Tesco or Marks and Spencers
6. pretty much anything from Mark's and Spencer's Simply Food (yep, I know I'm a food snob, plus it's not worth half the money you pay, but anyway....)
7. Green and Black's chocolate
8. Bakewell tarts (the icy ones with red goo that's supposed to taste like cherries), scones, flapjacks, sponge cakes, angel layer cake (especially the cheap variety that is made of 90% sugar and 10% artificial flavours), chocolate layer cakes/cheese cakes that have enough calories to sustain an elephant for 2 years
9. ginger nut biscuits
10. cherryade, Irn Bru and all those other horrid chemical soft drinks

http://www.sandwichbuffet.co.uk/images/menu/SANDWICH-PLATTER-1-BUFFETS%20009.jpg

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3346374/2/istockphoto_3346374_bakewell_tart.jpg

grrrr, now I'm drooling... I'll post some more random things I like about England tomorrow (if I can be bothered ;) )

as for you English people and other Brits, if you have a spare minute (i.e. when you're not watching soaps, whining about the Birmingham Blitz or engaging in retail therapy; JOKING, no offence!!!!), feel free to post whatever comes to your mind!

[vheissu]

Not a Brit, but I've been living in Scotland for, what is it now...almost 4 years!

Scher, what places did you visit during your week in Britain?

I have to agree to most of the stuff youve put on your list, M&S food is really good and, yes, it's simply overpriced but you'll never be disappointed...unlike some things that crop up in Tesco! :sick:

Tea...earl grey, darjeeling and ceylon are my favs. But I'll always be a coffee person!:p

Green and Blacks is just delicious! I have the G&B recipe book :D and their ice-cream isn't bad either!

What else...kettle crisps, Ben&Jerry's, muffins ('specially if they come from Portobello down in London!), chutney! I'm sure I'll remember more!

The one thing I can't stomach is Irn Bru...no way, ever!

Anyone like marmite?? It's one of those love it or hate it things...

[Niamh]

Okay i'm not a brit but....I love cherry bakewells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *drolls*
We have most of those things in Ireland though....

[Lote-Tree]

Seeing as the lazy English ppl in here


We have conqured the world both with Language and Ideas We can now afford to be lazy! :D



(not to mention the lazy Scots and particularly lazy Welsh, if any) can't be bothered to start a thread analogous to the Kraut Konspiracy, I'll do it for you :D (yes you may bow and worship me ;) j/k).


We need not such gimmerkery. Our Fame Stands the Test of Time :D



I just returned from a week's trip to England and even though it's a really crappy country, I'll emigrate there after I graduate :D ;)


We let you escape?

That compassion for you :D

Next time we will not be that compassionate ;-)

[SleepyWitch]

We have conqured the world both with Language and Ideas We can now afford to be lazy! :D



We need not such gimmerkery. Our Fame Stands the Test of Time :D



We let you escape?

That compassion for you :D

Next time we will not be that compassionate ;-)

heehee, good old Lote :)


We have conqured the world both with Language and Ideas We can now afford to be lazy! :D
oh well, I agree about the language, although some people have still failed to conquer the English language or be conquered by it even after 7 exams ;)
what Ideas? the wash basin with two taps, one of which spouts out huge gushes of scalding hot water and the other one icy water, so you have to put the plug in, mix hot and cold water with a dash of soap, then wash your hands in the slosh, realize you can't rinse them because there is soap in the basin, run off and leave the whole mess for the next person to enjoy ??? ;)

[Lote-Tree]

oh well, I agree about the language, although some people have still failed to conquer the English language or be conquered by it even after 7 exams ;)


I see it as a trial to be made worthy of it ;-)



what Ideas?


From Spinning Jenny's to Ipods! :D



the wash basin with two taps, one of which spouts out huge gushes of scalding hot water and the other one icy water, so you have to put the plug in, mix hot and cold water with a dash of soap, then wash your hands in the slosh, realize you can't rinse them because there is soap in the basin, run off and leave the whole mess for the next person to enjoy ??? ;)

For a moment I thought you were describing German cooking :D

There is a sink plug - you unplug it to let the dirty water out of it and pour fresh bowl ;-)

[manolia]

We have conqured the world both with Language and Ideas We can now afford to be lazy! :D


Sounds like patriotism :p :lol: :D

What i like:
Literature
Black Adder and Monty Pythons
beer :D
and Lote (a category of its own) :p

[Lote-Tree]

Sounds like patriotism :p :lol: :D


Ha ha :D I knew someone will pick one that!

But ancient Greeks also conquered the world and created an Unique Civilisation whose language - yes even the language and ideas still resonates in our society today! These are human achievements and yes I am proud of our species. Is this patriotism? I think not :D



and Lote (a category of its own) :p

Ha ha :D harmless category :blush:

[manolia]

Ha ha :D I knew someone will pick one that!

Ha ha :D harmless category :blush:

:lol: harmless indeed (not so sure about that) :lol:

[TheFifthElement]

Oh Sleepy, didn't you know? English people are far too self-effacing to start a 'let's love Great Britain thread'! One of my favourite things about this country!

Anyway, things I love about Britain are:

- politeness
- the world famous 'stiff upper lip'
- standing in queues
- ironic sense of humour (Monty Python, Red Dwarf, The Office, The Royle Family)
- the overwhelming need to 'share' innovations with the rest of the world. Let's face it, if the English language was American it would have been franchised and we'd all be paying royalties to use it ;)
- the weather - heck, what else is there to talk about
- the many and varied accents
- Blackpool Tower
- the Monster Raving Loony Party (where else?!)
- the inability to discuss any topic related to sex without giggling and using the words 'um' 'er' 'well' in copious quantities to the exclusion of any other words.
- optimism, you wouldn't think the Brits to be optimistic but yet we still think we can win the world cup or beat Australia at cricket.

and in a category of their own, THE MEN

Orlando Bloom
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/bloom.jpg

Hugh Lawrie

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/house.jpg

James Purefoy

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/james_purefoy_03.jpg

Daniel Craig

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/daniel-craig.jpg


on the other hand, I hate:

- lager louts
- football hooliganism...or in fact anything football related.
- Labour, Tories and Liberals
- being America's favourite pet
- British films

[SleepyWitch]

Oh Sleepy, didn't you know? English people are far too self-effacing to start a 'let's love Great Britain thread'! One of my favourite things about this country!


as in "Rule Britania"? ;) hey, I was only joking.
er... I didn't say it has to be a let's love Great Britain thread. the Kraut Konspiracy isn't about that either.

anyways, I like queuing and the stiff upper lip, too. Living in England has made me a lot more patient :) I find queuing kind of relaxing :)
in Germany, when the bus is late and people have to wait forever (which doesn't really happen very often) they'll shout "What kind of sh!t is this? It's an outrage! aaaarghwaaaarghbrrrrrrrrgrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

militant granny on the train??????
on the other hand, it's all the more shocking when Britons don't keep a stiff upper lip.
for example, last week my hubby and me were going from Brum to Manchester by train. the train was late and there was a problem with the software so the reservations didn't come up. So they asked people to wait for a second until the reservations were up so that everyone could find their seat. My hubby and me considered picking any random seat, but we noticed everyone was looking for their reserved seats, so we waited and put our luggage in the rack meanwhile. It turned out some people were in our seats, but I figured it wasn't a good idea to go up to them and tell them "Excuse me, these are reserved." because it would be very unBritish to directly ask them to leave. The problem was, there were only single seats left and hubby and me wanted to sit next to each other, otherwise we wouldn't have minded sitting somewhere else.
So we just made our way towards our seats and the conductor intercepted us, looked at our tickets and told the people in our seats they'd have to move. So this bloke in my seat piped up "What if everyone started looking for their reserved seats now? There'd be chaos". In fact, everyone had looked for their own seats and there was no chaos.
Then there was this grumpy old granny in hubby's seat. She did move on, but she told everyone at the top of her voice "You're lucky, yours wasn't reserved, mine was reserved." blablabla..... I mean seriously, this granny was on her own, so what's the problem with moving? this is one thing I don't like about the English, they don't have the guts to tell you straight to the face that they're cross but they'll b!tch and grumble at the top of their voices.
I just whispered to hubby to keep shut and we read our newspapers, but, seriously, I'd like to have told that old hag to shut up. I mean, we didn't even insist on her moving, it was the conductor who told her to move on... we didn't say a single word, except "Sorry".
What would have been the polite thing to do? were we in the wrong?
grrrrrrrrrrr stupid granny

[Lote-Tree]

:lol: harmless indeed (not so sure about that) :lol:

Self-effacingly so harmless ;-)

[TheFifthElement]

hehehe Sleepy you committed a cardinal sin, asking an old person to give up their seat so you, a youngster, whose duty it is to respect the elderly with your strong legs and boundless energy, could sit down. Tut tut tut! So what if they were your seats, so what if you didn't even ask her to move, it was your duty to give up your seat so said elderly person could rest her weary legs. So, what you should have said is 'oh no we couldn't possibly ask you to move, (look at the conductor with an expression of total shock and disbelief) you stay there, oh and by the way, can we bring you a cup of tea?' ;)

Perhaps that's one to add to the list of dislikes, or one's that could go either way, the ever present sense of propriety - youngsters stand up for old people, men stand up for women, etc, etc. Did you get the chance to observe a situation where a seat became free when there were still people standing up? One of two things happens, either the regular train travelers all rush for the seat, scrambling over each others bodies to get there first, or there's about 10 minutes of excrutiating embarrassment as everyone offers the seat to someone else, but the other person is honour bound to refuse and in the end everyone stands up and no one sits down! *sigh* we are a nation of extremes.

Some other things to add to the dislikes:

- chavs
- Liverpool (:eek:)
- rousing military songs (aka Rule Britannia!)

[SleepyWitch]

hehehe Sleepy you committed a cardinal sin, asking an old person to give up their seat so you, a youngster, whose duty it is to respect the elderly with your strong legs and boundless energy, could sit down. Tut tut tut! So what if they were your seats, so what if you didn't even ask her to move, it was your duty to give up your seat so said elderly person could rest her weary legs ;)

Perhaps that's one to add to the list of dislikes, or one's that could go either way, the ever present sense of propriety - youngsters stand up for old people, men stand up for women, etc, etc. Did you get the chance to observe a situation where a seat became free when there were still people standing up? One of two things happens, either the regular train travelers all rush for the seat, scrambling over each others bodies to get there first, or there's about 10 minutes of excrutiating embarrassment as everyone offers the seat to someone else, but the other person is honour bound to refuse and in the end everyone stands up and no one sits down! *sigh* we are a nation of extremes.

Some other things to add to the dislikes:

- chavs
- Liverpool (:eek:)

hahaha :lol: well, she wasn't that old. besides, there was a free seat just across the isle, so all she had to do was get up, take one step and sit down again. and the bloke next to her (who was in my seat) wasn't old at all, unless 30-ish counts as old. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :)

[andave_ya]

From Spinning Jenny's to Ipods! :D

hey hey! You're "plagiarizing." A Lebanese man created ipods! :D come on!

My favorite type of literature is English literature, hands down. I don't care WHAT Americans say -- Brits aren't stiff!! You only have to read Agatha Christie to see what they're thinking! They're cool!! They're smart, intellectual, and interesting!

I love British humor, so much so that I laugh more often at English humor than I do American. Though I do get a lot of odd looks by surrounding people when I laugh at something they don't even think vaguely funny!

[Virgil]

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/daniel-craig.jpg

Hey, how did someone take a picture of my body and paste someone's head on this. :p :p How dare they. ;)




on the other hand, I hate:

- lager louts
- football hooliganism...or in fact anything football related.
- Labour, Tories and Liberals
- being America's favourite pet
- British films

How come you didn't mention male public urination? :lol:

I didn't know you were our pets. :D I guess that's why this thread is titled "going to the dogs." :D

[TheFifthElement]

How come you didn't mention male public urination? :lol:

I don't mind men peeing in public, it's kinda funny. Doesn't really fit with the 'stiff upper lip' image though does it!


I didn't know you were our pets. :D I guess that's why this thread is titled "going to the dogs." :D
:lol: :lol: indeed, but the leash is a little tight ruff ruff!!

[SleepyWitch]

Fifth, heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp! I'm totally confused now:
My dad told me today that one of his engineer colleagues worked in England for 3 years (She worked at the plant where they make Minicooper cars, sp?).
This colleague told him that the English had a very strict hierarchy (at the work place) and that anyone who happened to wear a pinstripe suit was entitled to boss the others around, no matter whether he was actually any good at his job. Being a foreigner, my dad's colleague was considered to be outside this hierarchy (i.e. nobody could boss her around), but she nevertheless found it very stifling.
I've heard the English see themselves as particularly rebellious, individualist and loving their freedom. So what went wrong there? Was this company the exception that proves the rule or is this the norm? :confused:

[TheFifthElement]

:lol: well Sleepy, I think it is possible that someone was pulling your Dad's leg - there are some weird rules around dress codes and the like but I'm not sure the wearing of a pinstriped suit is one of them. At the company I work for there's a real problem over dress codes - recently they announced that there would no longer be a dress code, so people could be trusted to behave as adults and dress appropriately. This prompted an instant meeting in which it was decided that despite the message which had been given we were to tell our teams that they were to carry on as before in 'business smart' dress, which some think is a relaxed code because men don't have to wear ties or a jacket! On top of that a message came out from one of the managers saying that if you worked in his area you had to wear a suit! In our London office it is very much frowned upon if a man wears a short sleeved shirt, and shirts with pockets are considered a serious lapse of judgement!

I guess UK is a country of extremes, on the one hand extremely conservative, on the other out of control. There is no happy medium. Think about it - you have the Queen, the might of the Navy, the historical institutions and the 'still upper lip', and you also have The Sex Pistols, the Sun newspaper, Carry On films, and football hooligans. Basically everyone's nuts! You're lucky that militant granny didn't start hitting you with her handbag!

[Virgil]

:lol: :lol: indeed, but the leash is a little tight ruff ruff!!

Well, consider it this way, we were your pets for WWI and WWII. :D

[Virgil]

Well, there are two things I'm truely grateful to England. One is Shakespeare, the immortal bard. Here is Shakespeare on England:


This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
From Richard II. As you can see the Bard was definitely patriotic and this isn't his only example.

The second thing I'm truely grateful to England is these guys:

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=21269&rendTypeId=4

http://www.spafax.com/american/music/2007/July/images/RollingStones.jpg

http://aarkangel.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/rolling-stones.jpg

http://www.raw-tcsd.com/rolling%20stones%20aus530.jpg

I can't tell you how many countless hours of pleasure they have given me over the years. The world's greatest rock and roll band,
THE ROLLING STONES

Of course their music is more American than British. :D