What Are the Best Things About Britain
If you are thinking of visiting the UK and wonder what the United Kingdom has to offer you as a visitor or indeed you already live here and wonder what exactly are our national assets then read on as yet another poll reveals all
Here are the results of a poll to find out what are the best things in Britain, things that quintessentially sum up this county,
The Top Ten
-
1 Fish and chips.
2 The Queen.
3 Olde worlde pubs.
4 Sunday roast dinner.
5 Red telephone boxes.
6 Big Ben.
7 Cream teas.
8 The Beatles.
9 The pound.
10 Royal Family
It’s kind of depressing in a way when you read it, very old-fashioned but then I guess we are traditionally a historic country. I would venture to suggest that the list reads more like
what do people most identify us with rather than
what are the best things about us
Given the leaning towards Devon splits and tea in Miss Marple villages and pints of warm ale in 14th century coaching inns perhaps it’s time for an updated list that not only reflects our society in modern terms but also the new generation who are eating Macdonalds not Cream Teas, using cellphones not phone boxes, are not (quite rightly) remotely bothered about The Beatles and are more interested if 50c then the Great British £ !
Here is an updated list, solely of my devising, which, in my arrogant opinion 
, better reflects modern society in the UK and the so called Youth of Today:
The Updated Top Ten in Random Order
1: Underage teenage pregnancy, the worst in Europe
2: Our children are the 24th in the world literacy table, beaten by Poland and Bosnia
3: Chlamydia - we have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Europe
4: Adult Obesity - we’re the fattest people in Europe with 30% clinically obese soon
5: Child Obesity - 10% of kids are clinically obese on their 1st day at school
6: Most number of CCTV camera per person in the world ! The government is watching you
7: Rolls Royce motor cars - oops sorry that’s German now isn’t it
8: Benefit dependency - 1 in 3 homes now get more than 50% of their income from benefits
9: Football - soccer we are beaten by countries with smaller populations than London
10: War mongers - we’ve started or fought in more wars than any other country in history
So there we go, have I missed anything out !
Regards
Rod
Jordan said,
June 25, 2008 @ 8:52 am
RC
The smell of bacon cooking in the mornings.
Everywhere i have ever been, England is the only country than has proper bacon sandwiches.
Jordan
Rod said,
June 25, 2008 @ 8:59 am
Jordan,
indeed !
The smell of bacon sandwiches is guaranteed to make me feel hungry.
I believe even vegetarians find it problematic as well so there must be something in it.
The English Breakfast full stop should really be on the list.
Granted if it’s an unhealthy version it’s a heart-stopper but still better than any other breakfast I’ve ever had.
Continental breakfast
Even continentals won’t eat it when given the choice of a Full English !
Regards
Rod
Jordan said,
June 25, 2008 @ 11:25 am
Here Here!!
vgjhgfjh said,
May 10, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
come on you gotta have red double decker buses.
Rod said,
May 10, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
vgjhgfjh,
good point - now you mention it I should have thought that must come equal to the red telephone boxes - if not slightly ahead really !
Many thanks for taking the time to comment
All the best
Rod
jay said,
July 9, 2010 @ 8:28 am
hey how about festivals??? im sure we do the best festivals eva
chris keyworth said,
July 9, 2010 @ 2:20 pm
its got to be the weather…..
EnglishGirl said,
August 3, 2010 @ 3:28 pm
Blur, Glastonbury, Reading, full English Breakfast, cows, Doctor Who, Cockney accents, SAINSBURYS, weather, BBQs, Stephen Fry, Mock the Week, the fact that we’re not American….
oh yeah and borough market
EnglishGirl said,
August 3, 2010 @ 3:32 pm
oh and british sense of humour
Rod said,
August 3, 2010 @ 7:31 pm
EG,
thanks fo rthe comment and welcome to the site, hope you’ll return.
Great list, not sure about Sainsbury’s nad cows, I was in Sainsbury’s today and was also in amongst a herd of cows - not at the same time you’ll appreciate
British sense of humour - the best in the world
Cheers
Rod
Owen said,
February 1, 2011 @ 7:52 pm
Harry potter must be on not only that the amazing history ore historic buildings(Stonehenge) by the way it is proven we have started no wars other countries declared war on us an do not forget our lovely comedy
Rod said,
February 2, 2011 @ 8:39 am
Owen,
excellent additions to the list - many thanks and welcome to the site
All the best
Rod
RButhnot said,
February 3, 2011 @ 9:47 pm
The fact that you can travel - by car of course - from dramatic sea cliff, through heath and moorland, through rolling hills and grasslands, to breathtaking mountain scenery, all in a single day. We just must have the most variable scenery it is possible to pack into an island this size.
Rod said,
February 4, 2011 @ 8:09 am
RB,
that’s a good point - also of interest is the fact you’re never more than 70 miles or so away from the sea wherever you are in Britain !
Cheers
Rod
option911 said,
February 4, 2011 @ 5:38 pm
Having lived and worked in the majority of the developed world, I am too ready to complain about the state of Britain and how we dumb down every inch of being British. I for one actually enjoy coming home, it really is the place I want to live. My wife, who is Chinese, moved here 6 years ago - she thinks this is the most beautiful country. We take for granted simple things, Greenery for example. Following long periods in scorched desert like scrub, it almost hurts the eyes to see just how green UK is, especially in the spring. The other thing is the diversity of colours of our native land, compared to other countries even in Europe, our ranges of colours in our neat little fields is so pretty. The other thing I miss is fresh air (Is that raucous laughter I hear from others about Grimsby). As was said, we are never further than 70 miles from the sea and therefore never far away from a source of fresh clean cooled air. Finally we have four distinct seasons, each one with its own beauty and due to our geographically unusual position, they have a wide variation in climatic conditions. We may have some problems with our society and the people who populate it, but our natural resource is beyond reproach. I will try to find some low level pictures I have taken whilst transiting accross England, to support my argument.
Rod said,
February 4, 2011 @ 7:05 pm
Option,
you’re spot on - England’s the finest place on earth, and Lincolnshire the finest place in England
In theory I could probably go and live anywhere in the world I suppose but I can’t see myself ever moving - only feet first of course !
Regards
Rod
Emma said,
November 30, 2011 @ 5:22 pm
Harry Potter has to be one of Britain’s success stories. The books were written by a British author, and was a global success. The films were filmed in Britain and had British actors/actresses, and was also a global success. But you’re definitely right about the fish and chips - I love them!