http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7391776.stm

Are you English? Does this sum us up? Have you visited England? Are we like this?

exxagerated but not wrong is what id say.
Id nitpick when applying to myself personally but not disagree with as a description of the place as a whole

I suggest we take out that old English tactic on the writer and BROADSIDE HIM!

On a serious note... I do agree with some of those points, the celebrity obsession is enough to make me want to eat my TV.

parts of that is true about ANY country, i could change england for canada or united states and it would fit

but yeah some of the statements about the places are true, like bath is a darn cool place and so was stonehenge tho it had just closed when we got there and sadly i was too young to see over the bar to enjoy england to the most

the one thing i did notice tho was we got treated a lot nicer once they found out we were canadian, especially in france, asked them if they could speak english, some would say no, showed them our canadian passports, they gave it a try if they couldn't already

I hope there's a mention in that book somewhere about how hardy we English folk are. Living in a country where it rains every other day really does toughen one up.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
I hope there's a mention in that book somewhere about how hardy we English folk are. Living in a country where it rains every other day really does toughen one up.

you mean how 'northern' people are hardy right? :P

bitter, mild, coal mines etc

nightfish:

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
I hope there's a mention in that book somewhere about how hardy we English folk are. Living in a country where it rains every other day really does toughen one up.

you mean how 'northern' people are hardy right? :P

bitter, mild, coal mines etc

Meh I'm a southern pansy born and bred, currently living in sheffield, and all the locals give me funny looks when I wander around in december in shorts and a T-shirt.
But yeah that's pretty accurate on the whole, especially the bit about essex.

nightfish:

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
I hope there's a mention in that book somewhere about how hardy we English folk are. Living in a country where it rains every other day really does toughen one up.

you mean how 'northern' people are hardy right? :P

bitter, mild, coal mines etc

What are you talking about? You northerners have had it easy since Thatcher closed the mines down. :P (I kid, I kid).

Reading the comments on the BBC page, it's sad to see how many people believe the dross the media comes up with about our country. Surprisingly enough, we do have kids that aren't chavs, we do have Englishmen and women who aren't overweight, we're not all obsessed with Pete Doherty or Amy Winehouse, and we don't all live in council houses and knife each other up. In fact, if I was to come up with what I think is the worst aspect of Britain, it would be the bloody media.

eh how can it make a generalisation in one paragraph then talk about how diverse we are, it makes no sense

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
In fact, if I was to come up with what I think is the worst aspect of Britain, it would be the bloody media.

you mean it's even worse than the welsh? :)

and sides aren't you guys all about wayne rooney and billie piper?

Newcastle is "Vibrant", well that's one way of putting it...

Most of it seems fair, although no mention is made of the Northern Git, a creature impervious to logic, rain, cold and ale.

They forgot the rain. You can't talk about the UK and not mention rain...

*Perpares to knife, garrote, crush and set j-e-f-f-e-r-s on fire, until realising that without j-e-f-f-e-r-s, there will be one less trollslayer.*

Hmmmm.... I shalt forgiveth thee for thy mention of she-who-will-named-at-thy-peril-anywhere-above-the-pennines, though only this once.

here a question...

they say in the guide that there is 'warmth in our humour'

your thoughts fellow forumers. I always thought English humour was weird not warm - why a lot of people don't get it.

nightfish:
here a question...

they say in the guide that there is 'warmth in our humour'

your thoughts fellow forumers. I always thought English humour was weird not warm - why a lot of people don't get it.

English humour is usually pretty self-deprecating. We Englishfolk are renowned for our ability to take the piss out of ourselves. I guess that can be seen as pretty warm.

Fondant, believe me, I hate Thatcher just as much as you. Me and my mum's boyfriend are planning on having a street party the day she finally croaks. You're welcome to join us.

Cleverly, despite what you may think, not everyone here in England reads OK Magazine. Most of the people I know couldn't give two hoots about who Wayne Rooney is shagging. Again, don't mistake what the British Press publishes for what the population actually thinks.

English humour rarely attacks; we're a Nation that has to be goaded into a mean stare; so a lot of our dark thoughts come out in our humour (That and the rain of course).

There is this clipping though
"A spokesman for the company said he believed would-be visitors would recognise that the comments were "tongue-in-cheek"."

That's the one thing about the English, never quite take them at their word. We love exaggeration and sarcasm.

Hence Newcastle being 'vibrant'; but Derby is a hole.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:

Cleverly, despite what you may think, not everyone here in England reads OK Magazine.

Indeed, I read Woman's Weekly

its is all about home and family and the things in life that really matter :D

lightbulbthief:
eh how can it make a generalisation in one paragraph then talk about how diverse we are, it makes no sense

Yeah. The report seems really poorly written. I mean, the book probably covers a broad range of topics in a much more structured and fluent way, but the way the report just skips about from topic to topic is really unprofessional and poorly edited.

Derby is a hole.

It really is. I'm from Leeds and I visited there during summer. Its a God damn pit infested with little more than short scene children and diverse accents to break up the scenery between the next church.

British are cool. I like their Rail systems and cars. Never thought negative of them, because Canada is one of those few countries that got autonomy without starting a war.

Anarchemitis:
British are cool. I like their Rail systems and cars.[/i].

Could I ask you why Canadians holds the UK in such high-esteem? When I was there last so many shops had a picture of the Queen in a prominent position. Even people in the UK don't do that. hehe

Anarchemitis:
I like their Rail systems

*faints*

Uh...so it would be alright for you to travel 100 miles at the lowest cost of $83.20?

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:

Cleverly, despite what you may think, not everyone here in England reads OK Magazine. Most of the people I know couldn't give two hoots about who Wayne Rooney is shagging. Again, don't mistake what the British Press publishes for what the population actually thinks.

i just grabbed 2 semi-famous brits i know and even added a bit of geekiness to it with billie

as for taking the piss out of one another, it's a sport with the brits, scotch and those other 2 groups that try to form words in english but fail miserably, i hang around enough that i've learned just to say "what could you say that in english please?"

i do find british humour to be a bit more clever tho, sometimes more idiotic but still civilized, heck even british swearing sounds nice

I like their Rail systems and cars.

You just try living with the bloody things. When its good its ok, provided you dont mind being sardine-canned during peak times and having the smell of piss and other less than savory smells if you're near the toilet. And when its bad, its shockingly poor. Leaves on the line? Amount of times trains have been late because of leaves. Leaves, dammit!

cleverlymadeup:

i do find british humour to be a bit more clever tho, sometimes more idiotic but still civilized, heck even british swearing sounds nice

Watch QI, Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You for the best in English Comedy.
(What American Show would have Bill Clinton as Guest Host?)

But please god don't 'port any more British Shows to their American Versions. Red Dwarf(USA), The Office(US), The IT Crowd(US) simply don't work.

Distraction is very English and is over in the States.

And Spike(Buffy) always used to throw as much British swearing in as he could.

It was generalised, but not. If you get what I mean.

I'm from England and I see it as an inside joke. You really have to be here most of your life to get it. It's not just about the football; I hate football, it's about the socialising rather than the actual sport. The people who wrote this took the country at face value.

I don't think they took it for what it really is, but then again, how could you? It's such a diverse country that you would need a lot of time and most of your life to fully experiance it.

God, I don't know. I'm probably sprouting bollocks again.

Crap_haT:
It's such a diverse country

The best thing about the UK. The most racially tolerant country in the world and for that one fact I am proud to be part of this island.

*stands up and salutes* Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves....