Any English people?

2

Replies

  • danacho
    danacho Posts: 115 Member
    I'm a North Londoner its like most other places in the world it has its built up areas and then on the outskirts of towns its such a beautiful place when the sun's out, you can't beat those country views especially when we get the odd sunny day!!

    Then inner Londoner is great on a sunny day and you generally get a happy atmosphere...
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    The world has Shakespeare, and his many under-rated contemporaries too. *Sigh of contentment. :D * I'm Irish btw

    Ireland gave the world James Joyce. I still, to this day, have no freakin' idea what "Finnegan's Wake" is about. Not a damn clue.

    There's another thing we excel at as shown by this thread. Being ridiculously morose. Being grumpy is admittedly one of my favourite pastimes. It must be the stupid weather. We lead the world in navel gazing. Who else could come up with bands like The Cure or The Smiths? Nobody else would have them. Hurrah!

    "A grief ago,
    She who was who I hold, the fats and the flower,
    Or, water-lammed, from the scythe-sided thorn,
    Hell wind and sea,
    A stem cementing, wrestled up the tower,
    Rose maid and male,
    Or, master venus, through the paddler's bowl
    Sailed up the sun;

    Who is my grief,
    A chrysalis unwrinkling on the iron,
    Wrenched by my fingerman, the leaden bud
    Shot through the leaf,
    Was who was folded on the rod the aaron
    Road east to plague,
    The horn and ball of water on the frog
    Housed in the side...."

    and so on.
  • blackrose80
    blackrose80 Posts: 134
    The world has Shakespeare, and his many under-rated contemporaries too. *Sigh of contentment. :D * I'm Irish btw

    Ireland gave the world James Joyce. I still, to this day, have no freakin' idea what "Finnegan's Wake" is about. Not a damn clue.

    There's another thing we excel at as shown by this thread. Being ridiculously morose. Being grumpy is admittedly one of my favourite pastimes. It must be the stupid weather. We lead the world in navel gazing. Who else could come up with bands like The Cure or The Smiths? Nobody else would have them. Hurrah!

    "A grief ago,
    She who was who I hold, the fats and the flower,
    Or, water-lammed, from the scythe-sided thorn,
    Hell wind and sea,
    A stem cementing, wrestled up the tower,
    Rose maid and male,
    Or, master venus, through the paddler's bowl
    Sailed up the sun;

    Who is my grief,
    A chrysalis unwrinkling on the iron,
    Wrenched by my fingerman, the leaden bud
    Shot through the leaf,
    Was who was folded on the rod the aaron
    Road east to plague,
    The horn and ball of water on the frog
    Housed in the side...."

    and so on.

    LOL - All tis true! And at least you made it through 'Finnegan's Wake'! :D I see you made to sunny Wales to seek refuge instead. ;)
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    LOL - All tis true! And at least you made it through 'Finnegan's Wake'! :D I see you made to sunny Wales to seek refuge instead. ;)

    Yeah, I did struggle through "Finnegan's Wake". I'm not entirely sure I finished it though. It could have just been a psychedelic dream sequence shot in high definition & widescreen which I imagined...

    The singing in the Valleys was calling out to me. How could I resist? I guess that's another thing the UK has - great choirs!
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
    The singing in the Valleys was calling out to me. How could I resist? I guess that's another thing the UK has - great choirs!

    And Doctor Who! (Sorry, Wales makes me immediately think of The Doctor!)
    and the beer is superb

    Agreed! British beer (as in real ale) is wonderful - so much better than lager! Cider is yum, and of course, Guinness (I know, I know, it's Irish but hey, we've had James Joyce....!).

    And while we're at it, chocolate! I am aware that some chocolate-snobs are a bit sniffy about British chocolate but actually it's not at all bad, and really, quite comforting at times! Take note, Americans! :laugh: Oh, and strong Cheddar. Yum! :bigsmile:
  • BillyC96
    BillyC96 Posts: 7,560 Member
    The singing in the Valleys was calling out to me. How could I resist? I guess that's another thing the UK has - great choirs!

    And Doctor Who! (Sorry, Wales makes me immediately think of The Doctor!)
    and the beer is superb

    Agreed! British beer (as in real ale) is wonderful - so much better than lager! Cider is yum, and of course, Guinness (I know, I know, it's Irish but hey, we've had James Joyce....!).

    And while we're at it, chocolate! I am aware that some chocolate-snobs are a bit sniffy about British chocolate but actually it's not at all bad, and really, quite comforting at times! Take note, Americans! :laugh: Oh, and strong Cheddar. Yum! :bigsmile:

    The ales are pure heaven. I don't think I've tried an ale yet that I didn't at least like, and there are many I love! I haven't developed a taste for cider yet, although a cold cider on a hot day is great.
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
    We have a great micro-brewery around the corner to us where, as well as brewing their own flavours, they allow you to customise your own ones, and will even allow you to design your own labels! They're fab!

    When I used to co-run a permaculture project a couple of years ago, we used to have stalls at the local food show in the summer - strangely enough, we were always sited opposite several ale stalls....and being fellow exhibitors, we'd get loads of freebies! Nom! :laugh:
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
    Goktor I disagree strongly with the majority of your points, I am shocked you see the NHS, postal service, police, crime rates and the government in such a good light. As for the class system, once you're at the bottom of it looking up you soon realise how big the divide is - granted its not as bad as other countries but a little bit of a bad thing does not make it right or acceptable.
    I don't need to go to Bangladesh to see it there, that's like saying if I had a broken arm go and visit somebody with terminal cancer and see how good I've got it. I don't need to see somebody worse off than me to realise I've still been dealt crap cards.

    It has been brought home to me recently how grateful we should be to have the NHS. I have seen topics on here from Americans who do not have health insurance, and they cannot afford to even go to the doctor for a simple check up on something that MAY be minor, but MAY be fatal. I would far rather live in a country where I don't have to put a price on my health lihe that.

    There are so many programs run by the states and fed that people can get help if they need it. I will bet that the majority of these people have opportunity to get insurance but they don't want to pay for it or they don't want to work. There are exceptions of course and that is what the gov programs are for. The taxes that are required to fund such a service hold people down rather than allow the pursuit of happiness. People will see what I'm talking about when there is an added taxes assessed to there employer provided health coverage.

    The reason it's so expensive is because of gov intrusion and laws that squash competition. Plus, it is not common for US citizens to go to another country to receive care. There is a reason for that. We do have a problem with cost, but it can be fixed without nationalizing it.

    Hospitals and Dr's are a limited resource, how is it fair for the state to decide who gets what care and when?
  • pandaeye
    pandaeye Posts: 126
    I live in Devon in the UK, love to walk in the rolling countryside when the weather let's me lol! Dont live in a cottage, just a nice average house. Dont speak posh either, just a slight Devon twang! But I do love it here, would also like the opportunity to travel more and experience other cultures, got to win the lottery to do that tho!! :laugh:
  • marmite230
    marmite230 Posts: 32
    Im from Hertfordshire. Lots of Americans on this site. Have been to many places in the U.S and always found it welcoming to English people.
    I'll go back to America as much as i can.
  • mrssparkle
    mrssparkle Posts: 47
    Why would you want to live in England? The weather is ****, the food is bland and the people are mostly racists and homophobic and theres a class system and the divide between the groups is only getting bigger. It's not very nice.

    You could always emigrate! Sorry but you make too many generalisations. The English people you know may be homophobic, racist and class ridden but not everyone is like that. On the MFP web site alone there are lots of people from different cultures etc.. we are not all so quick to prejudge as you seem to be. Yes, perhaps you do not want to be seen as "the quintessential English person" decribed in the thread that does not mean you have to lamblast what was said so vehemently, the poor girl who started the thread must be sorry she ever wrote it. And no I don't live in a cottage etc but I will accept what she said with good grace!!!!
  • clarech
    clarech Posts: 157 Member
    I'm a Canadian living on the Isle of Wight just off the south coast of England. I live in a modern townhouse in a village. There is a castle within walking distance of my home. The weather is mostly very good, and I can ride my motorcycle year round. The food is excellent, not bland at all, and the beer is superb. Most of the people I've met since moving here are wonderful. The area has problems with unemployment, but that can be said about a lot of places at the moment. I like where I live. It is physically very pretty, and if you like cycling, hiking, or other outdoor pursuits it's a great place to be. I have zero complaints about the NHS or our local hospital, and my doctor is a great guy. He happens to be German. I'm the one with an accent here, and I'm told it's 'charming' or 'sexy'. I'm occasionally mistaken for an American, but that's ok.

    I love the iow go there on my fiances bike whenever someone will have the kids it has some great biking roads we hope to be able yo move there sometime as we love it so much
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
    Your English when in the living room.

    In the bathroom European.
  • susiewusie
    susiewusie Posts: 432 Member
    Why would you want to live in England? The weather is ****, the food is bland and the people are mostly racists and homophobic and theres a class system and the divide between the groups is only getting bigger. It's not very nice.

    You could always emigrate! Sorry but you make too many generalisations. The English people you know may be homophobic, racist and class ridden but not everyone is like that. On the MFP web site alone there are lots of people from different cultures etc.. we are not all so quick to prejudge as you seem to be. Yes, perhaps you do not want to be seen as "the quintessential English person" decribed in the thread that does not mean you have to lamblast what was said so vehemently, the poor girl who started the thread must be sorry she ever wrote it. And no I don't live in a cottage etc but I will accept what she said with good grace!!!!

    Well said , I was thinking the same why stay here if she hates it so much ???
  • just_silk
    just_silk Posts: 105 Member
    Glad to be found charming, many thanks :flowerforyou:
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Your English when in the living room.

    In the bathroom European.

    Sitting room.
  • LeviFit
    LeviFit Posts: 18 Member
    Miss Marple is fictional. We just imagine that the grass is greener on the other side (of the pond) but in reality, people are the same where ever you go. Has any one watched the British and American versions of "Shameless".
    I rest my case.
  • danacho
    danacho Posts: 115 Member
    apart from our birth certificate what qualities make you English?
  • danacho
    danacho Posts: 115 Member
    apart from our birth certificate what qualities make you English?

    Mines sarcasm i never leave home without it :-)
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    LOL! I'm not from England nor my family; they claim to be mostly English and part Irish, but had to step in and say this thread has been a very entertaining read! I plan on visiting the UK one of these days. :)
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    I went to america once, I hated being called charming. Firstly because I'm not..my accent does not make me charming, secondly because when I think of charming I think rich bellend being a bit smarmy trying to win you over, yuck.

    In high school, I had a friend with an English accent, and whenever she cussed, we'd all start laughing. I think it's just the accent that gives the allusion of charm and elegance. But I love it!
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    I'm English but I hate to disappoint you, we don't all live in lovely cottages in the countryside! lol
    Px

    haha I know! :) But I think they're adorable!
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    I'm an anglophile <3

    Besides getting to my goal weight and my reward for that my biggest dream is to live in England someday

    Aw that awesome! I'd love to visit someday. But I'd never move out of the U.S. I love America (except the government LOL) and its diversity and all the sites.
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    i'm english... from East Sussex by the sea. sorry i've never lived in a cottage but i would love to!! I have some tall family members tho and quite frankly they would just keep hitting their head in a little tudor cottage LOL

    one of my posts recently was how 'chuffed' i was that i had lost weight. didn't realise how British that sounded til it was pointed out to me by an American friend lol. was quite honoured that she said she may well use the word in her future!!! think she may confuse a few people tho. sure i can think of some more british -isms too to confuse our friends across the pond :-)

    I love those British words! I'm a cashier in a tourist city, and a nice couple came in the other day and asked me where the loo was. :)
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Why would you want to live in England? The weather is ****, the food is bland and the people are mostly racists and homophobic and theres a class system and the divide between the groups is only getting bigger. It's not very nice.

    But on the other hand, there are no monsoons or true droughts; there is a great national health service; the government isn't massively corrupt; most of the police can be relied upon to do their job; the justice system, although not perfect, is a lot better than in the majority of the rest of the world; statistically, you are unlikely to be raped or murdered (or both), stolen from, beaten up etc; there is very little poverty here (although there *are* homeless people and folk living on the breadline); the postal system works (generally!); the church doesn't try to interfere too much; this is a great climate for growing food; there is a shedload of history; there's loads of great theatre; this is a wonderful multicultural melting pot of diverse cultures (and despite what the media would have you believe, racism *is* on the decline). And there is very little dangerous wildlife (unless you count the chavs)!

    Go to Bangladesh and see how people live there - Britain is a paradise by comparison. When amato mio went out there a couple of years ago, he was moved to tears. The class divide is astounding - makes Britain seem devoid of it. In fact, I'm not really aware of a true class divide here - I think it's a bit of a myth, really!

    However, it's true that there are pockets of many of the things that Needleknievel mentioned above but I think you'd get that anywhere. I have to agree about the food though! In general, British food sucks! Fortunately, thanks to the aforementioned cultural diversity, it's pretty easy to find good and interesting food.

    Despite missing Italy every day of my life, the UK really is not a bad place to live...I do wish it were warmer though!

    Oh, and my MIL lives in a cottage in the country (and she *does* speak like the Queen!)! We used to have a cottage too, until we decided to move to a town and bought a converted Victorian shoe factory in 2006! :happy:

    I've heard it takes a long time to see a doctor over there! A lot of internationals come to the U.S. for emergency medical care because although it's expensive, you get amazing care. Also, I think a lot of poverty exists and other issues in the U.S. because we always have to recue everyone. We always donate the most when any disaster happens. We're in multiple wars. I feel like the U.S. should focus more on its own people. Because some of us need our own government to help us! Just look at Hurricane Katrina. My husband was there, and had to move from Mississippi bc it was so bad down there.
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Goktor I disagree strongly with the majority of your points, I am shocked you see the NHS, postal service, police, crime rates and the government in such a good light. As for the class system, once you're at the bottom of it looking up you soon realise how big the divide is - granted its not as bad as other countries but a little bit of a bad thing does not make it right or acceptable.
    I don't need to go to Bangladesh to see it there, that's like saying if I had a broken arm go and visit somebody with terminal cancer and see how good I've got it. I don't need to see somebody worse off than me to realise I've still been dealt crap cards.

    It has been brought home to me recently how grateful we should be to have the NHS. I have seen topics on here from Americans who do not have health insurance, and they cannot afford to even go to the doctor for a simple check up on something that MAY be minor, but MAY be fatal. I would far rather live in a country where I don't have to put a price on my health lihe that.

    If they don't go to a doctor, it's their own choosing. Hospitals and doctors let you do payment plans. It's law that hospitals can not deny you service just because you can't pay. And there's a form in every state you can fill out, stating that you can't pay, then you don't have to pay :) We had a healthcare bill, similar to your system, pass and should take effect in 2014. A lot of the country is trying to reverse it.
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
    Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
    Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
    And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
    Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
    And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
    And every fair from fair sometime declines,
    By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
    But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
    Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
    Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
    When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

    So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
    So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

    And of course, the UK has Shakespeare too! :bigsmile:


    And we have Elvis Presley! We win :D
  • clarech
    clarech Posts: 157 Member
    apart from our birth certificate what qualities make you English?
    Sarcasm definatly (love it when people don't get your being sarcastic lol) and I have to say drinking tea which I drink by the bucket load I'm trying to cut down but I love it so much. Oh and you have to talk and moan about the weather at least once a day I think its the law!
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Why would you want to live in England? The weather is ****, the food is bland and the people are mostly racists and homophobic and theres a class system and the divide between the groups is only getting bigger. It's not very nice.

    You could always emigrate! Sorry but you make too many generalisations. The English people you know may be homophobic, racist and class ridden but not everyone is like that. On the MFP web site alone there are lots of people from different cultures etc.. we are not all so quick to prejudge as you seem to be. Yes, perhaps you do not want to be seen as "the quintessential English person" decribed in the thread that does not mean you have to lamblast what was said so vehemently, the poor girl who started the thread must be sorry she ever wrote it. And no I don't live in a cottage etc but I will accept what she said with good grace!!!!

    I'm not sorry I wrote it! I didn't mean to generalize that everyone lives in a cottage. Just meant that I think the cottages are lovely. I live in a tourist town and the English are among my favorites. They're so nice and pleasant. They're just great to talk to, always so happy. When it comes to rudeness, I've only met a few rude Canadians. But most of the mean people are from the U.S. A lot of the wealthy people think they deserve everything, and that they're better than everyone just because they have money. I've been cussed out, and that's only happened with Americans. I'm ashamed by a lot of things my fellow citizens do.
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Why would you want to live in England? The weather is ****, the food is bland and the people are mostly racists and homophobic and theres a class system and the divide between the groups is only getting bigger. It's not very nice.

    You could always emigrate! Sorry but you make too many generalisations. The English people you know may be homophobic, racist and class ridden but not everyone is like that. On the MFP web site alone there are lots of people from different cultures etc.. we are not all so quick to prejudge as you seem to be. Yes, perhaps you do not want to be seen as "the quintessential English person" decribed in the thread that does not mean you have to lamblast what was said so vehemently, the poor girl who started the thread must be sorry she ever wrote it. And no I don't live in a cottage etc but I will accept what she said with good grace!!!!

    Well said , I was thinking the same why stay here if she hates it so much ???

    I think that should be the rule with any place. If you don't like living here, then get out! We certainly won't miss you lol. We get a lot of snow where I live, and a lot of tourists complain that it's so crappy and the worst place and I just want to yell at them to leave, then. I love where I live. It's so beautiful (at least in the summer ) haha.
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