THE BRITISH THREAD

MARVELLOUS!

Having a thread for Brits will at least give me something to read up on when I log on in the mornings, as opposed to wandering round the place looking for "night owl" Americans, or Chinese students who need questions answered.

The other day, there was only me and some newbie who I'd never heard of. TWO people on the whole of A2K!! I was very tempted to do a spot of streaking.
I shall now post any snippet of weird and wonderful Brit stuff here when I see something.

....and the occasional serious post, of course.

Though I'm not British (but born in what was the British Zone and of another nationality, which makes me double qualified), I read some English and Scottishpapers:
- The Guardian, the Manchester Evening News, the Evening Standard and on Sunday The Observer in their print versions.

The Independent's and The Harlow Star's online versions plus whatever I find wheresoever of interest.

Sometimes, a Scottish paper as well (online and/or print version).

Hey fellow Brits. Can I be really insensitive and tell a Steve Irwin joke?

Whe asked what his favorite childhood TV programmes were, Steve Irwin replied "Well I loved Thunderbirds but Stingray will always have a place in my heart"

sorry about that if anyones offended (only in the UK could I have been told this approximately 12 hours after his death)

x

Well, it IS the Brit thread, DP, and it's very common to have these type of jokes bandied around very soon after a major event.

I think it's a sort of inbuilt coping mechanism...finding humour in tragedy and all that.



One I heard a long time ago (although not about a tragic event, it was very topical at the time) was........


Q. Which 18 stone man rode the Grand National winner?

A. Lester Piggott's cellmate.


(Lester Piggott - a very famous English jockey had just been jailed for tax evasion)

Smorgs - An interest idea of yours. A little self contemplation is often needed, if only too prove to our selves that we as indeviduals are no more fireproof that anyone else.
UK society takes many things for granted, expecting to get anything we want. We have affluence on the one hand, debt on the other.
We have the 4th or 5th richest economy in the world. What deoes that mean to Mr & Mrs Joe Public ? It means spend up to your credit limit, get a new bank loan & start agin.
Our population is now 60million & rising. We have immigrants from the world over crawling out of the woodwork , climbing out of our ears. Most have much too offer us, as employees & as creaters Makes me smile when I think back to the mid 1950s, when I lived in Wimbledon & saw my first black face. Within a year such faces were 2 a penny. Fifty years later & by coming to the UK, this motley crew from the world over, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, The Amercas & Afro Caribean have made this island of ours a very interesting & diverse society. The new population, for the most part, have brought new ideas, skill, foods, language, newspapers, artisic ideas & sports as well as a labour force. The one bone of contention that is slithering its slimey hatred thru our towns & cities are those narrow thinking mindbenders who would have a race war on our hands if they could. Such troublemakers are pathetic.
I have never subscribed to bigotry or racism. It is a negative non productive enterprise. A half empty jug as opposed to a half full jug
Where there are problems, the outside chance of streetfighting or gunslingerss & suicide bombers, we should call on our various leaders and spokesmen "to bang a few heads together"
1've stopped reading newspapers earlier this year, for the simple reason that a lot of the time they cannot be believed.
I'm all for immigration, integration & inspection..............................
WE ARE NOT INDUSTRIAL OR CULTURAL LUDDITES

Already in 1595 (sic!) Queen Elsabeth wrote to the "London City Council" that there were too many black in the city and still even more arriving ...

(source: Ackroyd's Biography of London)

as a citizen of the former empire, i am happy to join your wonderful thread

i don't read any Brittish newspapers but i do read several other publications

Viz, Private Eye and in the good old days Punch, on the music side mixmag, Uncut, NME, Q, DJ Magazine, Mojo, and a few years back Ministry and Select

listen to BBC radio 1 and 4 often, love the Essential Mix on 1 and the comedies and documentaries on 4 (Hamish and Dougal, Mapping the Town)

love Brittish TV as well, Coronation Street, Heartbeat, Born and Bred, The Last of the Summer Wine, A touch of Frost, Hetty Wainthrope Investigates, Waiting for God, Take the HIgh Road, The Royal, Paradise Lodge, Fawlty Towers, The Thin Blue Line, Blackadder, Father Ted

there's a bunch more i can't think of now

I hear you oldandnew... and fully agree with the sentiments expressed.

I remember when we got the first black girl at my convent - we were actually excited, I had personally NEVER met a black person until 1970!


djjd, Viz and Private Eye are faves of mine too. Along with Extras (new series next week), Little Britain etc...

I read Word magazine recycled from my brother, The Manchester Evening News and usually The Big Issue.

Ellpus, I remember a Lester joke:

Lester Piggot asked one of the Prison officers to put a bet on for him, the Officer said "Do you want to pay the tax or do an extra week?"

(fnar fnar)

x

I saw the first black person in the early 50's - we had British troops here.
(I saw more, when we drove on holidays in the "American zone".)

Since I've been visiting the UK from 1963 onwards, I became used it.

A somehow funny aside: the day after my parents got married in 1945, they decided to make a pilgrimage to a close-by village to thank that such could happen in those days. And because there'd been a reserve army hospital in the next town, my father thaught it to be a good idea to ask there for orders (he's been an army surgeon and 'lost' his old unit).
On the way there, about 3 miles away from home, my mother asked my father, if that was now really one of the long announced of Hitler's secret weapons. And she got quite upset when father threw her (and himself and the bikes) after a short look in the ditch: it was an US jeep with black soldiers.

Two days later, my mother became familiar with black people ... since some divisional headquarters were in our house. [Father left then .... three years POW.]

My Grandad was a POW, my Dad served in Aden, my Mum was in the WRAF's. My cousin actually served for two years in the French Foreign Legion!

Mum still walks like she's square bashing!

Are you located in GB now, walter?

x

Not at all - I'm only trying to move up UK-torists numbers now and then and to be a friendly host to British guests the other time.


Well, at least for some weeks/year :wink:

The first black person I ever met, was a girl in my class at Senior school, called Yvonne. Bloody funny she was, and eventually became a Doctor. She remained a good friend of mine up until she went away to Medical College....then I saw here here and there for the next few years, before she qualified and went off to the USA.

I wonder where she is now.....?

Have you tried Friends reunited?

x

PS I'm knackered, are you?

Friends reunited!! You clever Manc, you.!!

I have always wanted to google Yvonne, but she never let me.


Yes.

Did you **** her? Sorry no wish to be personal, just curious.

No Steve, I was a good boy. Had a thirty second dalliance once, behind the bike sheds.

Obviously THE place for all good boys ...

My computer (in case you're interested) Just practising photos, ignore the date...

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Trying to ignore the date