There have been a number of comedy programmes on television recently about “very British problems”. This has led to some interesting pub conversations about our “Keep Calm and Carry On” character.
My daughter sent me the following anecdotes that have been circulating on Facebook:
Sorry three were repeats as these are jpegs. Saying “sorry” is another British-isms.
Which now leads me to ask: Have you any other anecdotes about being British to share?
I love things like this! They are all so true. I have done most of these in past few days..
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Me too. I couldn’t stop laughing when my daughter read them out.
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I’m not even British, but I so understood them!
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Blog update with “sorry” bus http://wp.me/p6jveM-tQ
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What is the reference to the 3 kilos of cocaine and a dead goat?
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The fact that Brits always feel guilty when they are innocent. The stern customs officers make you wonder if you have actually packed something illegal by accident.
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After being in the UK for a few months, this is funnier than it would have been before-hand. I am starting to appreciate the peculiarities (is that a word) of the British. That said, I will say that we Canadians 100% share the “sorry” reflex. Americans make fun of us for it. Did you know this about us, already? Sorry.
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I have quite a few Canadian friends and there are many similar customs with those of the British. Moaning and whinging but never directly to those that matter is often one of them. Sorry! Hope I am not being offensive.
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Ha! Hit the nail on the head with that one.,
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I’m an American. In Britain. Sorry about making fun of you for saying sorry. Until I moved here, I had no idea that it went all the way into the DNA of the culture.
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Ha ha! Poke fun, please! The more fun, the better. We’re so apologetic, we have entire tv segments mocking ourselves for it. It just becomes a verbal tick, like finishing every sentence with “eh?”, eh?
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Blog update with “sorry” bus http://wp.me/p6jveM-tQ
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Blog update with “sorry” bus http://wp.me/p6jveM-tQ
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Brilliant! I’m not British, but I do a lot of these. They must be habits that were transported to the outposts of the Empire.
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Yes! I suppose as colonialists we must have tried to influence most Commonwealth countries.
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Being unable to order anything other than ‘the usual’, because the waiter has taken the trouble to remember it
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Oh! Yes definitely and the same for anywhere that remembers what you ordered or style of hair etc.
And I never send anything back! I had lived on the Mediterranean where it is not considered an offence – Back in Blighty, I forgot and asked for another crumble as this one was burnt. They gave me another but were so devastated that I had to go another once and order it again to show there were no hard feelings, before never going again out of embarrassment.
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So much to identify with here.
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this is great! and funny!
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Glad you like it.
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It appears I may be British, after all! Haha!! Loved this post. ❤
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Ha Ha!
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Sadly, the train ones are no longer true. People do eat crisps next to you – I’ve even done it myself. The person in the window seat only lets you know that they want to get off as the train pulls into their station, giving you two seconds to remove all your worldly goods from the tiny pull-down table. On the other hand, I am always relieved when the conductor acknowledges I have the correct ticket and I’m not holding it upside down. I have to check this before I present it these days, as I went through a phase of getting odd looks from the conductors as they twisted their necks awkwardly to read the date.
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I identify with the ticket thing. You have some points there… things are changing slightly.
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So funny and so true. I think I’ve done all of the above apart from the tea because I don’t drink it.
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Blog update with “sorry” bus http://wp.me/p6jveM-tQ
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These are hilarious! I’m not British but I’ve done many of these. It’s part of not wanting to offend anyone. Thank you for sharing!
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Blog update with “sorry” bus http://wp.me/p6jveM-tQ
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lol, “The overwhelming sorrow of finding a cup of tea you forgot about” 😀 these are very funny 🙂 are most of them true? 🙂
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Yes! I would say they are!
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whahahaha!
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What fun! I can relate to some of this experiences so that might be the result of my British ancestors on my father’s side. The first time I visited London I felt as if I were coming home…expect for the tea…I am a coffee drinker.
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Apart from Asia and the UK most of the world are coffee drinkers. Have you ever tried Marmite?
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No, I have never tried it nor heard of it so I Googled it. Now if I see it I will know what it is and would be willing to try it!
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It’s a very British product that has been going since Victorian times. People are divided in two, they either really love it or really hate it: here is a TV commercial on YouTube that is a funny sketch about it: https://youtu.be/_MfV0yA7bck
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I’ve also done some of these things, even though I’m Greek! 😋
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Probably why the British have always loved the Greeks! There is no monopoly on them. Thanks for visiting.
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I love a crew with a sense of humor. Thanks for the smiles and Carry on:)
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This was a cute read, I’m headed to England, so I should hold on to this for reference?
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Hope you enjoy your stay – don’t just visit London – that’s a world of its own and not like anywhere else. I recommend http://www.tripadvisor.com for answers to all your questions!
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We will be based in Cambridge. The “trouble” is figuring out what to go see, there is so much 🙂 It’s a good problem to have.
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Discovery is part of the fun. Don’t go to too many castles – there are so many it can bog you down.
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I have to kind of chuckle at that, but I imagine they can all sort to start to run together after awhile.
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