Myths about British Traditions

Myths about Great Britain

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Every country in the world has a set of stereotypes associated with it that outsiders generally believe on face value. People think stereotypically very often. But today I want to show that some old stereotypes about Great Britain are now out of date .

The aims of my project:

• to find out what stereotypes do foreigners have about Britain
• to find out what stereotypes are not true nowadays
• to dispel some of them

Myth 1. British Food is Bad, Bad, Bad

• After World War II, the UK lived in austerity. A whole generation grew up eating the "mend-and-make-do" equivalent of food
• British people are much more discerning about what they eat 
• London has as many excellent restaurants as New York and certainly more types of cuisines to sample than Paris.

Myth 2. Everything Stops for Tea at 5 o'clock

• Lots of people like coffee. And time for a nice cup of tea, or "a nice cuppa" as we often say, could be any time.
• Nobody really has time for long and elaborate afternoon teas.
• Make time, during your visit, for at least one proper afternoon tea at a hotel or country tea shop.

Myth 3. It's Always Foggy in London

• London's fogs were not caused by damp weather but air pollution.
• As early as 1306, King Edward I, tried to ban the burning of soft coal for fuel but it took about another 700 years of pollution before people came to their senses.
• In the 1956 Clean Air Act, burning anything but smokeless fuel - primarily anthracite coal - was banned once and for all in London

Myth 4. The Queen Rules England

• The Sovereign, whether King or Queen, is the symbolic head of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
• The Queen has the power to appoint some high ranking clergy and to grant some honors - knighthoods and such - in her annual birthday honors list. But all of these appointments are with the advice and consent of her officials.
• Still, the Royal Family are a great tourist attraction and visitors love the spectacle of Royal occasions, palaces and castles.

Myth 5. Great Britain, The United Kingdom, British Isles and England Are All the Same

• Great Britain  is an island occupied by three distinct countries - England, Scotland and Wales. Scotland and Wales have their own devolved governments.
• The United Kingdom  is composed of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, in fact, its full official name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• England   is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.

Myth 6 . British people speak the “Queen’s English”.

• ” . Look at any representation of Britain from a foreign country and you will see British people speaking in a manner that is considered just as ridiculous to most of Britain
• Britain has a wide variety of accents, some even bordering on dialects, the majority of which do not sound remotely like how British speech is presented in foreign media
• People who speak the way British people are commonly presented sound just as snooty and posh to British people.

Myth 7. British people are unfriendly.

unfriendliness

shyness

What comes across as being ignorant or unfriendly is, and please believe me, shyness.

They are quite shy with strangers, but when you get us talking, they don't stop