Britain

When I think of the English, I think of .........

BeerBull dog

"Beer, honesty, Bulldog-type, Royal Family, Cricket, the Weather"
- Dickie Bird (Famous English cricket umpire)

Cricket

"Long shadows on county cricket grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old maids bicycling through the morning mist"
- John Major (Ex Prime Minister )

TeaBig BenShakeBeefeater

cream teas, Big Ben, Shakespeare, pubs, beefeaters

"I think that English people are quite reserved. I had to laugh when I went by tube and saw everyone sitting and reading their newspapers."

Double Decker bus

"Gardening, warm beer, stiff upper lip, double-decker buses, Morris dancing "

"Saying the words 'splendid' and 'terribly' and old fashioned words/phrases like 'cheerio', 'spiffing' etc, '' (We don't say these words!)

Queenmorris dancingUK Flag

Morris Dancing, Royal family, Union Jack, God Save the Queen, Battle of Britain, Trooping the Colour'

"A lot of folks overseas think that the English are crazy about dogs and love them more than their kids!"

"The English eat a big breakfast in the morning with bacon, eggs, baked beans…”

Rain

"England is a land of beer, football and bad weather."
(Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT rain every day in England! :)

"My in-laws are from the Middle East - they think that we boil all our food. If the truth be told I would rather eat curry than boiled cabbage!"
Beckham "I'm working in a school in Catalonia and they all think that it rains 24/7 in England, and that we eat bad food which is ironic because the food over here is terrible!! Oh, and they all think that we must know David Beckham because we are English!"

"Patriotic people, some think we are snobs but we are just proud of our country and Queen. We are very polite and patient although as in any country, there are the bad eggs. But on the whole we are a very pleasant nation."
Tom Eccles aged 13.

"People think the English are no good at learning foreign languages and have the attitude that if they yell loud enough in English the "foreigners" will evertually understand them... "

What are the first three things which come into your mind when you hear the words 'England' or 'the English? Follow this link to tell us

The Bobby

The British BOBBY is one of our most cherished icons, called after the founder of the modern police force, Sir Robert Peel. The local policemen may also be known as the "Plod" after the delightful policeman character Mr. Plod in Enid Blyton's "Noddy" stories, or as a "copper," from his habit of "copping" (seeing what they are up to and catching) wrongdoers.
Our policemen are not routinely armed and there is considerable public support for it remaining that way; the British have a natural aversion to the everyday use of guns, and still yearn for the days when the local Bobby could dispense summary justice to misbehaving juveniles with a swift clout as soon as he caught them.

English pubs

ENGLISH PUBS pop up in all sorts of places, but if they're not in England - they're not English pubs! There is an alarming trend towards "modernisation" and "theme pubs" but there is also a growing backlash against chrome-and-formica and loud music. You can find good pubs in both town and country, although city pubs have by and large succumbed to the need to attract a younger clientele.
A good pub will have "atmosphere" - a cheerful and friendly landlord (or landlady), helpful and chatty bar staff - if they are also decorative then that is a bonus - and "locals" willing to gossip with any visitor. There is a popular fallacy that we drink our beer warm : this is decidedly not so : a good beer (that is, made from malted barley and flavoured with real hops, not chemical stuff) is served at cellar (storage) temperature - which given the climate, is decidedly NOT warm! Continental lagers are served chilled, but then no true Englishman would consider lager as real beer.

Full English breakfast

A FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST (usually abbreviated to simply "Full English") is an excellent way to start the day, if you have time to cook one (or someone to cook it for you!) and time to sit down and eat it! A REAL Full English consists of several courses and in country houses used to be set out as a hot buffet for guests to help themselves as and when they got up. Nowadays the only time most people eat a FULL English breakfast is on Sundays and on holiday when they can spend a more leisurely morning - such a meal needs time to "go down" and digest. Either kippers or porridge will start the meal - kippers are smoked herring, and will be served poached or grilled, with brown bread and butter; porridge (oatmeal) can be eaten with brown sugar and cream or milk (although Scotsmen will tell you that only salt is correct.) After this "starter" comes the main course : bacon, eggs (fried or scrambled), sausages, black pudding if you're in the north, grilled or fried tomatoes, maybe kidneys and possibly a slice or two of fried bread. In the past, kedgeree (a sort of risotto with rice, smoked fish and hard-boiled eggs, a relic of the British Raj) would also have been offered, but this is unusual nowadays. Regional variations occur - in south Wales you are likely to be offered Laver Bread, a concoction of oatmeal and seaweed which tastes better than it sounds. Finally, if you have any room left, toast and marmalade will finish off the meal, all washed down with copious quantities of tea.