Sarah at Another Bend in the Road has been thinking about Englishness. She asks "what things do you imagine or think of if you were asked to think of things that were very 'English'?"
Here, in no particular order, is my list of things I think of as quintessentially English (which inevitably overlaps a bit with Sarah's and suggestions from her commenters) ...
Hedgerows, country lanes, oak trees, blackberries, nettles, cottage gardens, sheep, Big Ben, Radio 4, Winston Churchill, the Queen, Michael Palin, Beefeaters, unarmed policemen, irony, eccentricity, self-deprecating humour, Marmite, jam roly-poly and custard, roast beef and horseradish sauce, pork pies, fish and chips, Mars Bars, clotted cream, tea urns, electric kettles, weather forecasts, drizzle, leaves on the line, wrong kind of snow, queues, Minis, Dads Army, Doctor Who, Monty Python, Blue Peter, village fetes, the Book of Common Prayer, morris dancing, maypoles, Enid Blyton, E. Nesbit, Beatrix Potter, Narnia, Wind in the Willows, Harry Potter, football, cricket, Rugby, Bank Holidays, Bonfire Night, Marks and Spencer, the National Trust.
Anyone else want to play?
You've thought of some good ones there. Thanks for joining in and for your comment, it's always nice to meet new bloggers. :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings.
Isn't there a particular way you eat ice cream cones - with a chocolate bar or something? I think your list is fairly inclusive - how fun!
ReplyDeleteI apparently need to learn more about English culture. I do not know what the following are:
ReplyDeleteHedgerows
Radio 4
Marmite
jam roly-poly and custard
pork pies
clotted cream
tea urns
leaves on the line
Blue Peter
village fetes
morris dancing
Bonfire Night
Marks and Spencer
*I'm in the middle of the United States.