What makes the British British ?

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

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 .

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'!

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

Always saying sorry and being too polite to complain

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Holding a door open to let someone through? Not sure if other nations do that.

Good manners - please, sorry, thank you, general politeness.

Definitely humour and self deprecation. Stiff upper lip, no blatant emotion from us.
Princess Diana's death excluded.
Just reading back and seems we mostly agree on things including discussing the weather and dogs.

NanKate that always makes me laugh too. Your friend and I must be thinking the same thing ??

I was waiting at a bus stop a while ago (don’t usually use the bus) and was getting a little anxious about people not queuing properly, just standing wherever. However, was relieved to see when the bus arrived everyone seemed to remember where they should be in the ‘queue’!

A caller on the show last night said that she was talking to a foreign friend who was a bit down and she said to him ‘keep your pecker up’ which caused her friend to laugh who said it meant something quite different in his country. ?

Being over optimistic about our nations’ teams’ chances in international games!

Do yo know the bit in the film Notting Hill when Hugh Grant can't climb over a gate and keeps saying oops a daisy, and Julia Roberts can't stop laughing at how British that was. Very funny and made you hear it differently

I think it is humour. I understand, we use humour in advertising far more than other countries.

We are, usually, self-deprecating, and tend not to make mountains out of molehills.

We do not over emote, Sparklehills comment about Antiques Road Show is a classic example. If that had happened in the US everyone would be screaming and OMG-ing.

ps stiff upper lip as Squiffy says.

I do that OldMeg.
Also phlegmatic -
" (of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition. the phlegmatic British character"
The french lady who took on our cat said she's a british cat. Very phlegmatic. I had to look it up. Like stiff upper lip as
Though that has changed a bit recently, since Diana?

Being born in Britain?

Not stopping to talk to strangers we meet unless they have a dog, on which case it’s perfectly acceptable to stop and strike up a conversation about their dog ??

Discussing the weather and complaining if it's either hot, cold, wet or dry.
Queuing and letting others push in.

The ability to laugh at ourselves.
Always talking about the weather.
Queuing.
I would have said our sense of fair play but not sure it is so evident now.