Where we are proud to be British

[Legoless]

@Mikey- yup, I've had my tyres slashed 3 times at a previous address, one on an Accord Aerodeck (estate) with brand new tyres on it (not cheap).

@Prof Flitwick- yup, Stephen Fry is a great national treasure. And whereas you might expect someone who is both 'posh' and extremely intelligent to only appeal to those of a similar ilk, he seems to be adored by everyody, regardless of class or social standing.

Another great Englishman, Rest in Peace, was the late John Peel. He championed many music acts that would not have been given a look-in by any other DJ. If you are over 35 and a music fan, you only need look through your collection to see some of the 'left field' acts that were first featured on his radio show. But more than that, he was a fabulous person without trying to be a 'personality', which put him at stark contrast to his egomaniac colleagues at Radio 1. And wheras their inane chatter, sycophantic co-hosts, and generally chart music only tended to grate (they really thought that their radio shows were about them), John Peel concentrated on the music. That is not to say that he didn't talk- indeed he did so, sometimes at length, yet he was, unlike his colleagues, self-deprecating but highly eloquent.With his wimsical English sense of humour and sense of the absurd, sometimes he could wax lyrical in King James style prose, always relevent (if tenuous), yet delicious to the ear. There is something intimate about radio at its best, and you always felt that he was talking to you directly rather than addressing the masses. He'd often talk about his family, whom he clearly adored, and who were very much ingegral to the man he was.

What was always surprising was how young people related to him. Here was a scruffy, balding, grey bearded guy in a shapeless wooly jumper- the very antithesis of 'cool', yet when he put in an appearance on stage they adored him. Young people tend to react badly to older people trying to be 'cool', and because of his down-to-earth demeanour (together with his soft Liverpudlian tones), and his great love of music, regardless of how esoteric, they really took him to their collective bosom.

In his later years he also presented a show called 'Home Truths' for that great British insitution, BBC Radio 4 (of which I am a huge fan). In Home Truths he often had to interview ordinary people in their own homes about tragedies that had occurred in their lives. A deeply sensitive man, quite often he would break down in tears and need to be comforted by the people he was supposed to be interviewing!

As a Radio 1 DJ, he had to present Top of the Pops on a rota basis. Ever the wag, he once announced a band with the words 'And if you don't buy this record I shall break into your house and break wind in your kitchen!'. When the TotP producer heard about it, he cut short his holiday in Austalia and flew back to give Peel a carpeting!

When Peel died, I was deeply saddened, far more so than for any other famous person. His contribution to the world of music can not be underestimated, and when I hear some of the shite that gets airplay these days, I keep thinking 'what if Peel was still around?'. He was, and always will be, deeply missed by those who knew him in real life, and by those of us who never met him, but felt we knew him nonetheless.

[johnny cogs]

@Mikey- yup, I've had my tyres slashed 3 times at a previous address, one on an Accord Aerodeck (estate) with brand new tyres on it (not cheap).

@Prof Flitwick- yup, Stephen Fry is a great national treasure. And whereas you might expect someone who is both 'posh' and extremely intelligent to only appeal to those of a similar ilk, he seems to be adored by everyody, regardless of class or social standing.

Another great Englishman, Rest in Peace, was the late John Peel. He championed many music acts that would not have been given a look-in by any other DJ. If you are over 35 and a music fan, you only need look through your collection to see some of the 'left field' acts that were first featured on his radio show. But more than that, he was a fabulous person without trying to be a 'personality', which put him at stark contrast to his egomaniac colleagues at Radio 1. And wheras their inane chatter, sycophantic co-hosts, and generally chart music only tended to grate (they really thought that their radio shows were about them), John Peel concentrated on the music. That is not to say that he didn't talk- indeed he did so, sometimes at length, yet he was, unlike his colleagues, self-deprecating but highly eloquent.With his wimsical English sense of humour and sense of the absurd, sometimes he could wax lyrical in King James style prose, always relevent (if tenuous), yet delicious to the ear. There is something intimate about radio at its best, and you always felt that he was talking to you directly rather than addressing the masses. He'd often talk about his family, whom he clearly adored, and who were very much ingegral to the man he was.

What was always surprising was how young people related to him. Here was a scruffy, balding, grey bearded guy in a shapeless wooly jumper- the very antithesis of 'cool', yet when he put in an appearance on stage they adored him. Young people tend to react badly to older people trying to be 'cool', and because of his down-to-earth demeanour (together with his soft Liverpudlian tones), and his great love of music, regardless of how esoteric, they really took him to their collective bosom.

In his later years he also presented a show called 'Home Truths' for that great British insitution, BBC Radio 4 (of which I am a huge fan). In Home Truths he often had to interview ordinary people in their own homes about tragedies that had occurred in their lives. A deeply sensitive man, quite often he would break down in tears and need to be comforted by the people he was supposed to be interviewing!

As a Radio 1 DJ, he had to present Top of the Pops on a rota basis. Ever the wag, he once announced a band with the words 'And if you don't buy this record I shall break into your house and break wind in your kitchen!'. When the TotP producer heard about it, he cut short his holiday in Austalia and flew back to give Peel a carpeting!

When Peel died, I was deeply saddened, far more so than for any other famous person. His contribution to the world of music can not be underestimated, and when I hear some of the shite that gets airplay these days, I keep thinking 'what if Peel was still around?'. He was, and always will be, deeply missed by those who knew him in real life, and by those of us who never met him, but felt we knew him nonetheless.

Y'know... I would say Bob Harris is doing quite a subtle, stealthy job of taking up the mantle... he's a bit of an ambassador for new and eclectic music.

Edited June 9, 2011 by johnny cogs

[Jedi master Brick]

The rains a sign... Wimbledons coming

[Joey Lock]

What makes me proud to be British?

No other country in the world could have the sheer genius for such comedy.

[Legoless]

What makes me proud to be British?

No other country in the world could have the sheer genius for such comedy.

Hmm, that makes you about 90 years old?

Funnily enough, people always say that Formby played the ukelele- in fact, as can be seen above, he played the banjo.

Edit- Correction- he played the banjolele which was a cross between the two (he says after deciding to check his facts).

Edit- again to include new face-palm emoticon.

I think I'll shut up now.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Legoless

[Joey Lock]

Hmm, that makes you about 90 years old?

Funnily enough, people always say that Formby played the ukelele- in fact, as can be seen above, he played the banjo.

Edit- Correction- he played the banjolele which was a cross between the two (he says after deciding to check his facts).

Well what makes you proud to be British? Bar fights over premier league players who aren't British? Builders burping and saying "Sorry love, this is gonna take a arm an a leg to finish, gonna have to come back in two weeks" after you paid them and never returning? Made in Essex? Waterloo Road? Old Britain was the best.

[Gregorovich]

I'm proud to be British - most of the time. There's a lot of great moments in our history that we have a right to be proud of. However, a lot of the things that go on make me feel a little ashamed. The sectarianism and racism that goes on in our football, the drunken imbeciles that roam our streets, and the level of crime in our towns and cities.

But overall I'm very happy with the country I live in. If you think about it, we live in a great community, and I'm very grateful for it.

[Darth CJ]

I'm proud to be British - most of the time. There's a lot of great moments in our history that we have a right to be proud of. However, a lot of the things that go on make me feel a little ashamed. The sectarianism and racism that goes on in our football, the drunken imbeciles that roam our streets, and the level of crime in our towns and cities.

But overall I'm very happy with the country I live in. If you think about it, we live in a great community, and I'm very grateful for it.

Yes. God Save The Queen.

[The Crazy One]

:

I think I'll shut up now.

Stunning idea.

I thought I'd share a couple of things I hate about Britain, just so I can proove I am British:

Sun and Mail readers.

Chavs.

Tourists.

Socks and sandals.

Cyclists.

Victoria Beckham.

X Factor.

Piers Morgan.

[Big Cam]

I'm a yank so I'm only going to make one post, for two reasons.

1. If I could live anywhere, England would probably be the place and I wish I had that accent. Seriously, I love british accents.

2. I'd like to formally thank Britain for Top Gear, the original, not the crappy US version.

Ok, carry on.

[charlieboy]

I'm a yank so I'm only going to make one post, for two reasons.

1. If I could live anywhere, England would probably be the place

Can i ask why? Always interesting to hear explanations as to why you'd want to live here.

2. I'd like to formally thank Britain for Top Gear, the original, not the crappy US version.

That right there is one of the best things about being British. Jezza should rule the country!

What isn't so great is when a topic highlighting British greatness has a spelling mistake in the title. Should it not read 'Why we are proud to be British' ?

So then,why am i proud to be British? To be honest im not really! What have we done recently as a country to be proud of? Nothing springs to mind. The news is full of corrupt politicians doing time for fiddling expenses, our premier league football players are all bedding anything that moves, we pay crazy prices for everything we buy and give all our hard earned taxes to other countries! Yea,really proud me!

[Mr Man]

Seriously, I love British accents.

Red Flag--Bull?

British Accents? Never say that, people in different parts of Yorkshire (about the size of NY) and tell what part of a little village your from by your accent .

Jezza should rule the country!

What isn't so great is when a topic highlighting British greatness has a spelling mistake in the title. Should it not read 'Why we are proud to be British' ?

No He Should Not!!

(Hate Hate .)

And No it means this thread is WHERE we are proud to be British, not WHY (I think

Edited June 10, 2011 by Mr Man

[Legoless]

Red Flag--Bull?

British Accents? Never say that, people in different parts of Yorkshire (about the size of NY) and tell what part of a little village your from by your accent .

Used to be the same in Gloucestershire, although with increasingly mobile populations (since most rural-born folks can't actually afford to live in the place of their birth due to sky-high property prices) it is no longer so. Although I can differentiate between a Cheltenham and a Gloucester accent, and a Forest of Dean one.

Although I've lived my whole life in the northernmost parts of the West Country- I do love the Devon accent most of all, possibly followed by the Northern Irish (which, I am sorry to say, I used to hate as a kid because the only time I ever heard it was in connection with The Troubles).

[Gregorovich]

1. If I could live anywhere, England would probably be the place and I wish I had that accent. Seriously, I love british accents.

I'm sorry to say, but there's no such thing as a "British accent". Different places in the UK have different accents. Scottish people sound totally different from English people, just as Irish people sound different from the Welsh. And even after we distinguish the different countries' accents, there's different accents throughout the communities and regions. For example, people from Essex could sound completely different from those from Liverpool. We also have slightly differing dialects, even in the same countries. For example, whereas most people say "know", the people of Edinburgh might prefer to say "ken", etc...

So with that said, I'm guessing you mean you love one of the English accents, not this phoney "British" one you speak of .

[Jargo]

Recieved pronunciation is the name given to the way of speaking at the BBC and theatrical professions. It's entirely artificial but the clearest way to communicate. It's what the majority of non-British people assume all of us sound like.

[The Crazy One]

Hah, I love how grumpy this topic is!

[Jargo]

GET ORF MOI LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!!!!

[Legoless]

GET ORF MOI LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!!!!

Calm down, calm down!

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Just in case some of you are too young to remember the Harry Enfield Show (early 1990's)

Edited June 11, 2011 by Legoless

[Mr Man]

Calm down, calm down!

All that quote does to me is make me think of Red Dwarf not the Harry and Paul show .

[Big Cam]

Too many people to quote, I don't really have a good reason for wanting to live there. I am just fascinated by what I see. I know it's a premature not thought out thing to say, but until I experience it, it's the greener grass on the other side of the fence for me.

As for the accent comment let me apologize for my ignorance on the topic. As an american I have an idea in my head of what a british accent is and I'm sure it's what most americans view as a british accent, and I honestly like out, again probably just because it's do different from what I'm used to. Irish accents come in a close second for me.

I meant no disrespect and fully admit I am uneducated in what I'm talking about, but those are my thoughts based on my experiences.

[johnny cogs]

Today, It's all about this.....

[Mr Man]

Too many people to quote, I don't really have a good reason for wanting to live there. I am just fascinated by what I see. I know it's a premature not thought out thing to say, but until I experience it, it's the greener grass on the other side of the fence for me.

As for the accent comment let me apologize for my ignorance on the topic. As an American I have an idea in my head of what a British accent is and I'm sure it's what most Americans view as a British accent, and I honestly like out, again probably just because it's do different from what I'm used to. Irish accents come in a close second for me.

I meant no disrespect and fully admit I am uneducated in what I'm talking about, but those are my thoughts based on my experiences.

Nar it's OK. British people always give the same accents arguments to Americans who say they love the 'British' accent.

And sure come live here if you want to just remember that we drive on the correct side of the road .

[Legoless]

Nar it's OK. British people always give the same accents arguments to Americans who say they love the 'British' accent.

And sure come live here if you want to just remember that we drive on the correct side of the road .

Yeah. That said, I just love the American accent- the way all Americans sound like Forrest Gump.

The reason why we drive on the left is for two reasons. Firstly, it is to avoid bumping into oncoming traffic. Secondly, we invented 'drive by' killings. Your right arm is your 'sword arm'- therefore, to pass on the left meant that your right arm was free to defend yourself, or slaughter your oncdoming opponent.

[Big Cam]

Oh, I fully understand that we drive on the wrong side of the road, although I have gotten awfully familiar to shifting with my right hand.

[Mr Man]

Oh, I fully understand that we drive on the wrong side of the road, although I have gotten awfully familiar to shifting with my right hand.

Well be careful if you do come over here and find yourself opening all the windows when trying to gear change with your right hand .

Edit: We are only 101 pages behind the Canadian thread.

Edited June 16, 2011 by Mr Man