Why don't we sometimes talk about what is good about Britain for a change?

Josianne

Urmstongran

henetha

Thank heavens for this thread, MOnica. There is so much that is good about this country, but the bad gets emphasised all the time.

Indeed henetha. Seconded.

I think the problem arises when we start to define our own country by what another country has or doesn't have, or does or doesn't do. It isn't a competition, we should realise nowhere is perfect. This thread shows we have so much to be grateful for in the UK, and likwise, what other nations want to see in us is their own choice.

Well said Josianne.

PollyTickle

Our postman just delivered a letter addressed to ‘the lady in the house with white shutters, our hamlet name and Anglesey. Where else in the world…?

Yes!
Postmen and Postwomenwho deliver through the letterbox in the door against all the odds!

In some countries the letterbox is an outside box or post has to be collected from the nearest post office.

My letter turned out to be from a lady in the next village who wanted to know the name of the plants in my pots but didn’t like to knock because she thought we might think that was rude.
She wrote out her phone number and I’ve just had a lovely long chat and potentially made a new friend. Is this a very British thing?

I agree Calistemon, post much more secure through front door letterbox and saves us going out in the rain. When we lived in Australia the post box was on the road, not very secure from potential identity theft. The newspaper was chucked on the grass whatever the weather.
Not knocking Australia, just saying how much I like the letters landing in my hallway.
I do love the U.K.

Australia Post has got worse.
No parcels are delivered because they won't fit in the box (if you have a box at all, otherwise collect everything from the PO) so all parcels have to be collected from the PO.

Hurray for our Postie!

And hurrah for the good old British milkman too. Fresh milk, delivered straight to your doorstep, regular as clockwork. And in eco friendly glass bottles too.

Almost everyday, I give thanks and think , There but for the grace of God.

And yes hurrah for our postie ,
Long flowing hair (was blond now white), shorts even in the snow.
He has been our postie for over 20 years.
At school with our next-door ineighbour, so about 74 years young.

Maypole dancing
Cheese rolling
Pancake flipping
Morris dancing
and tonight in the town next to ours hot tar barrel racing. What a weird, but happy, lot we all are!

Oh yes, all the crazy fabulous traditions. We have a man dressed as a hobby horse and wassail the apple trees here.

Policing by consent
NHS
Education for all
Free speech hey!!!
Fantastically multi cultural society
Proper pies....
Proper chips!
Great traditional food.
BLOKES with a fantastic sense of humour and self deprecation! Ha ha!! Best blokes in the world !
Most capable women in the world, well we do cope with the blokes.......

Great thread. Has really cheered me up. Thank you Monica.
Think I'll save it.

The very unique British sense of humour. The ability of the British to laugh at themselves and make jokes at their own expense, even in the bleakest of times.
HM Queen Elizabeth. Whilst their are many who don't have a good word to say about the royal family, she has served our country selflessly and is admired by many other nations.
British countryside: the most varied and beautiful in the world.
The British sense of fair play.
Shakespeare.

Shakespeare

Yes, although I may not have agreed with that when I was doing my GCEs!. ?
So many Shakespearean sayings are still in use today

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts."

HM Queen Elizabeth. Whilst their are many who don't have a good word to say about the royal family, she has served our country selflessly and is admired by many other nations

Well said, Chewbacca ?
I am sure this is not the life she would have chosen but she put duty before self.

I doubt that those who are quick to criticise have done that themselves.

What a brilliant thread this is, thank you M0nica and also Josiane for getting it going.
I’d like to add English/British television. We are fortunate to be able to get it in the European country that we currently reside in. It’s far better than anything else I’ve come across.

Chewbacca

And hurrah for the good old British milkman too. Fresh milk, delivered straight to your doorstep, regular as clockwork. And in eco friendly glass bottles too.

Not in NI. Sounds good.

You can get clean water out of a tap in other countries, and it’s good to live in one of them. It’s good to know about other countries with beautiful scenery, clean beaches and historic buildings. I think it’s more important to live in a country where we can learn from others and appreciate other traditions, cuisines and cultures as well as our own. . No point in saying our pageantry / health provision / food / whatever is the “best in the world” without any real evidence. Yes I do like British scenery , Scottish islands etc , and because we like the familiar I enjoy returning to them. I also love Italy with its ancient buildings, beautiful mountains etc . What I find slightly uncomfortable about these sort of threads is the tone of exceptionalism ( “ we are the best…”.)

Allotments! Mine costs £45 a year, including a shed, greenhouse and water.

The ability we have to point out the good things about our country when someone starts a thread like this.
We know it’s not perfect here and other countries have lovely things, but it’s great to celebrate what’s here. Thanks M0nica.

^What I find slightly uncomfortable about these sort of threads is the tone of exceptionalism ( “ we are the best")
I disagree. Several posters on here have used phrases like nowhere is perfect or insipte of all the bad stuff. I think everyone here is being realistic, not puffed up, about our country. And to be sure, beauty is in the eye of the holder, so some things are "the best" for us.

Mollygo

The ability we have to point out the good things about our country when someone starts a thread like this.
We know it’s not perfect here and other countries have lovely things, but it’s great to celebrate what’s here. Thanks M0nica.

Well said.
Crossed post!

Josianne

^What I find slightly uncomfortable about these sort of threads is the tone of exceptionalism ( “ we are the best")
I disagree. Several posters on here have used phrases like nowhere is perfect or insipte of all the bad stuff. I think everyone here is being realistic, not puffed up, about our country. And to be sure, beauty is in the eye of the holder, so some things are "the best" for us.

Sorry that was to vegansrock.

Vegansrock does have a point though. I’ve contributed to this and please don’t get me wrong there are lots of things which are great about this country but I think the “best and most beautiful “ ones are a bit much ! For example nobody can honestly say our countryside is “the most varied” in the world.

I love everything about this country of ours the good and the bad. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. There is no such think as perfect anyway perfect would be boring.

No country is perfect no people are perfect but I think we have a wonderful place to live. And agree with all the pluses posters have put.

vegansrock if you don't like living here there is a whole world out there you may find somewhere you would like to live more. No one has to stay in this country if they don't like it.

We have that freedom to choose which a lot of people in other haven't got that right.