What does Britishness mean to you?

[banjo]

A police car and a screamin' siren
Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete
A baby wailing, a stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamplight blinking

A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped-up phone booth
Paint-splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

That's Entertainment.

 

[MJsGhost]

It's 17.45 on POETS day, so I am late. I hate being late, so I'm going to stop p|ssing around on NSC, shut the work PC down and head to the pub for some tasty beer.

 

[dangull]

The biggest empire the world had ever seen- winning side in 2 world wars- decline

 

[Questions]

What British means ?

Invading foreign countries who are weaker than us and killing lots of people and wearing shoes and socks with shorts on a summer holiday.

 

[mikeyjh]

Being completely comfortable with our nationality, not needing to over celebrate a 'national day'.....

 

[vegster]

What British means ?

Invading foreign countries who are weaker than us and killing lots of people and wearing shoes and socks with shorts on a summer holiday.

And getting arrested abroad ...

 

[Baldseagull]

A police car and a screamin' siren
Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete
A baby wailing, a stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamplight blinking

A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped-up phone booth
Paint-splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

That's Entertainment, Britishness is feeling nostalgic about when that was life.

 

[Norman Potting]

Being completely comfortable with our nationality, not needing to over celebrate a 'national day'.....

...and not getting all angsty (is that a word or small village near Haywards Heath) about it - just getting on with and not keep on coming up with conspicuous and frankly embarrassing displays of nationalism/patriotism (yes USA, I mean you laddy).

 

[Husty]

Beginning sentences with 'I'm not racist, BUT...'

 

[Baldseagull]

Preferring to support the Plucky Underdog rather than the Mighty Champion, hence Mantis Shrimp beats Honey Badger. (in a vote)

 

[Hamilton]

Yorkshire puddings. Warm ale. Cricket pitches. I wandered lonely as a cloud. Strawberries and cream. Tolerance. Spotted Dick. Creativity. Haggis. Music. Stool Ball. Thistles. Amazing accents. Rounders. Rain. The smell of grass. Green grass. Final score. Fiercely independent. A bit of Shamrock. Cockles & Muscles. Manners. Free speech. Country pubs. Tea shops. Notting Hill Carnival. I vow to thee my country. Muddy knees. Rugby (Union). Whisky. Rolling Hills. Leeks. A rose garden. Pipes. Morris Dancing. More rain. Harvest festivals. Funfair rides. Bonfire night. Hogmanay. Auld Lang Syne. The BBC. Big Ben. Knees up Mother Brown. Margate. A walk along the prom prom prom. The home of Golf. James Bond. Judi Dench. Pride. Principles. Queuing. Guinness. Tweed jackets. Roast beef. Nelson's column. Changing the guard. Glastonbury. Scrumpy. Inventors and discoverers. The NHS. Security. Fairness. The giant's causeway. Plymouth gin. The Royal Navy. We won't be Druv.

Etc etc etc...

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

we are (England) the only country to win both the football & rugby world cup

 

[Beach Hut]

Abusing Barnes

 

[Fungus]

Britain is the only country in the world where the weather forecast includes phrases like "the rain will last until teatime" and everybody understands what time of day is being talked about.

Would that be afternoon tea at 3pm, or jam sandwiches and tea at what I now call dinnertime?

The rain will last forever anyway.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Playing by the EU laws,when everyone else ignores them.

 

[Horton hears a few]

Architects of the world we live in. Self depreciation.

 

[Sloe Joe]

Being able to manfully stride into a Harveys pub and order a pint of Best without recrimination from Asians and Africans etc.
I'm not racist, just enjoy the things the way they should be.

 

[mikeyjh]

...and not getting all angsty (is that a word or small village near Haywards Heath) about it - just getting on with and not keep on coming up with conspicuous and frankly embarrassing displays of nationalism/patriotism (yes USA, I mean you laddy).

Precisely

 

[CoachVealie]

Celebrating the things that meant something to my ancestors.

 

[Soulman]

Celebrating the things that meant something to my ancestors.

Yep, nothing wrong with that.