What makes the British British ?

Bubble & squeak
Cottage/ Sheperds pie made from left over Sunday Roast
Wash house complete with mangle & boiler
Blue cube rinse for whites

I love Bubble & Squeak Bridgeit and always make sure I do plenty extra vegetables whenever I make a roast dinner. The left overs all get mashed together and popped into bags for the freezer. Ideal for a midweek meal.

We Brits tend not to complain about poor service, duff products etc. We'd rather grumble about it to someone but not do anything about it.

Cricket on the village green followed by afternoon tea made by little old ladies in pinnys.

Cream teas with scones and jam.

Wimbledon and strawberries and cream

Buttered crumpets or toast done on a toasting fork in front of an open fire for tea in the Autumn after a long walk with the dogs.

Being snowed in at the slightest fall of snow in the Winter months.

I agree with Fennel ....solid and calm disposition.

Just been to Sainsburys and while queuing at the checkout a Klaxon sounded and a loudspeaker announced that all staff should stand by for a security announcement. The Klaxon and message kept repeating, and after a few moments all the shoppers just calmly continued to shop or put their items through the checkout tills. Nobody seemed bothered at all .......at least outwardly.

Solid and calm ...thats what we are!

Always saying sorry and being too polite to complain

According to the Dowager Lady Grantham: "...people say it's our history, but personally I blame the weather"!

Here is one answer!
www.gov.uk/british-citizenship

& of course being able to answer the silly questions on the British Citizenship test... which I am sure many 'born British' would not be able to answer!

Personally I would say the British are as diverse as any other national group but f I had to choose one thing it would be a love of 'a good cup of tea'!

TravelsafarCricket on the village green followed by afternoon tea made by little old ladies in pinnys.

Cream teas with scones and jam.

Wimbledon and strawberries and cream

Buttered crumpets or toast done on a toasting fork in front of an open fire for tea in the Autumn after a long walk with the dogs.

Being snowed in at the slightest fall of snow in the Winter months."
I think you'll find that these are English and that really is what most people on here think British is !!You wont find much cricket on greens in Scotland for example .

Yep, Paddyann. I would agree with a good cup of tea though and talking about the weather.

Apparently “The British feel they are superior to every other Nationality. The English know they are”.

On the continent hotels have Engländer Zimmer (rooms for the English) Because they never complain.

Nobody has mentioned the British Class system & the old school tie /old boys network which is possibly a British phenomenon as fewer other places have the public school system in the same way.. though I stand to be corrected!

The influence of the British class system on national behaviour interests me as topic for research and I am off to Google it. Meanwhile, can any Gnetters with knowledge of life outwith the UK comment on this?

Not in my town mrsmopp.

Deep suspicion of anything and anyone identifiably foreign.

Paying lip service to Christianity with Victorian Christian customs (and some pagan ones!), a surfeit of chocolate at Easter, non-virgin brides in white dresses and babies being named at a font while nonbelieving godparents promise to protect them from the devil.

Parsley - "can any Gnetters with knowledge of life outwith the UK"
I've been thinking about that, having lived in France for 16 years. I had a few opinions in that time, I needed to speak french to get the replies.
I asked an old man whether he thought there was any racial hostility to the british. He said not really, it's Maghrebs we don't like.
My hairdresser used to help me speak french - she said the british were ... passed her hand over her face ... closed off.
I did argue that was probably the language problem.
Another thing I often heard was that the british were richer than the french - that was in a rural area. Probably true as well.

ps another thing, which I was annoyed about, the french tend to credit the americans with their liberation in WW2, rather than our british forces.
But that's a different issue.

Parsley, I was still a child,& it was post war, neighbors helped each other, food was often purchased on a daily basis. Lots of home cooking (not much flavour!)
Washing was done on a Monday, a blue rinse was for whites not hair, talking of hair home perm was done neighbor to neighbor lots of woman wore scarves knotted at the front, shops closed Sat Pm & definitely on Sundays. ( everyone was attending Church ?! )Conservatives & Labour were poles apart, and everyone knew their place!!!& if they didn’t they were certainly reminded & then along came the Sixties, hey man & hippies but we didn’t know that the 1st referendum was just around the corner & the rest is history as they say.Peace & love to you all ???

I think travel rather sums up the attitude of some posters who clearly see that British=English.

Dead pan humour
Slapstick humour

British just encompass the land of Great Britain,
English refers to the part of Great Britain which is England. We often say Ireland without stating if we are referring to Southern Or Northern. Same with Wales,just the same as referring to divide county /district

I thought the English were British littleflo

I think we all know that the adjective "English" relates to that area of the UK known as England!
The tendencies that define Britishness (according to travel) in no way reflect anything that relates to Scotland and I wonder if they are in any way relevant to Wales.
And no it is not the same as referring to counties or districts.
Your post reinforces my point beautifully, bridgeit.

Have any of you seen Henning Wehn the German comedian on Have I Got News for You ? He is so funny and has a perfect British humour.