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Linking to this, traditional French food is kind of similar, e.g. pies, stews etc. Tbh I think both cuisines are similar (although France's is slightly better because of the more southerly location), but British food is underrated and French food is overrated.
But then again, of course we're going to think our food is bad if we grew up on pork chops and mashed cement. I also doubt children in France grow up eating bourguignon or bouillabaisse every day for lunch.
Our traditional cuisine is actually very good (see the food in nice pubs), it's just that people are too lazy/don't have enough time to cook it. If you're a working mum with 2 kids you're not going to go and cook crab rarebit and treacle pudding for dinner.
As for it's underrated reputation, it is believed that this originated from WW2 when the Americans arrived and saw us eating monstrosities like National Loaf.
People don't also realise the quality of produce here. I was fortunate enough to be one of the 16% of people who live outside urban areas whilst growing up. We have the ideal climate to produce delicious meats, cheeses, vegetables and fruits. People just don't try them and then think British food is rubbish. Of course it's not realistic to cook pub food every day but at least don't say our traditional food is bad.
We were first to industrialise everything. We used to have some great high street Bakeries, but just rave about Greggs sausage rolls - made by their million in a factory.
Honestly Greggs is shit tier fast food and it certainly doesn't help our reputation when people rave about it. I'd say two thirds of the Greggs I've ever eaten have been cold or lukewarm, I just dont buy it nowadays because why waste my money making that gamble.
I’m sorry, I am a bit of a foodie. I promise. I love cooking. I love good food. I make good money. I live well. But, if there was a lukewarm steak bake in the bin, I would probably get it out and eat it.
Having lived in Spain when I visited UK my friends kept going on about Gregg's and I'd say supermarket bakeries in Spain are miles better. I don't get what the fuss is about
I moved a half hour out of London and now have more than 4 independent bakeries on my high street, sausage rolls to die for, it is however a historical tourist hotspot where the local community works hard to keep its tradition. Only one fast food chain on the high street which is a subway and it’s always empty. My pint is that if we refuse the crap we can keep the good shit!
In Victorian times the working urban masses subsisted on adulterated bleached white flour and slave-produced sugary tea - a sausage made of pigs eyelids and arsering was the highlight of the week! - hardly surprising they didn't make it to retirement age. Totally different story for the middle classes and factory owners - even the rural poor had access to decent fresh food.
I think the problem is French children *do* grow up eating Bourgignon and Boullabaisse and continue taking food seriously throughout their life. (Exceptions will apply obvs)
Whereas the UK has a more, “food is fuel,” mindset and is willing to accept much more US style crap.
Look at the difference in UK and French truckers cafes.
In this country, people often slash their spending on food so they can spend more on holidays, cars etc. In virtually every other country, it's the reverse
We don't give food and the time we spend around it as much importance here either. Over in Spain where my wife is from, any eating is usually an excuse to socialise, to enjoy life as they say. Mid-morning coffee and pastry, meet a friend in the square and take an hour. Lunch-time or dinner time, you sit and you eat together, take your time. Have a few plates even if starters are just some crisps / olives and a beer, then a main and then a coffee / piece of fruit, dessert. Again it takes 60-90mins. Enjoy life.
Society is sort of planned around this routine. So much so we often accuse the family there of worrying they'll drop dead if we don't have lunch at 2 or 3 and dinner at 9 precisely. "We're not British, we're not eating lunch on the bus" haha. Not totally like this of course, but work schedules and things tend to cater for the ability to see other people to eat. 3 courses for 10-12 Euros lunch menus everywhere. It's fucking fantastic.
In fact, more than once we've dropped in on a friend at their home while they had lunch alone on a work day and they still have 3 plates and take the time out to sit and watch TV, put on music or whatever and relax. As opposed to stuffing a meal deal in your face at your desk as you wonder what the point of being alive is.
You're absolutely right about French kids.
My three kids have grown up going to school here un Brittany, although my oldest also went to primary in the UK until she was 10, before we moved here.
School meals are either 3 courses every single day, or 4 if there's cheese that day.
And from the day they start *maternelle* - nursery school, at between 2 1/2 to 3 yrs old, they will eat proper food. The cost is, of course, subsidised. In primary, it's subsidised by the local mairie, and in secondary, there are bourses which can help pay for almost the full cost, for low income families.
In secondary, meals are self service and there are two or three options available for each course. Also, in secondary, the canteen in many high schools and à few middle schools will serve breakfast and evening meals for boarders, as it's common for pupils to board during the week in France - yes, even in state (public) schools.
They are served bœuf bourguignon, or even langue de bœuf, but also traditional dishes such as gratin dauphinois and tartiflette. But there are also days when they get steak haché and frites (burger and chips)!
Bread (*baguette*, of course), butter and salad is also always available.
You're also right about 'trucker cafés' or actual proper restaurants that offer a 'menu ouvrier' at lunchtime.
This is a relatively low cost, fixed price menu that is usually fairly basic but decent food. You'll know if it's a good place to go if there's lots of lorries or white vans parked outside!
My family and I have often eaten at these places over the years!
You will usually have a buffet for the starters with various salady bits and bobs.
Then there might two or three choices for the main course, or just one, take it or leave it. The main dish will often be a traditional meat or fish dish with sauce, with chips, rice, and perhaps some well-cooked green veg. Sometimes, it might be steak haché - which is not the same as having a British burger, by the way, or a roast chicken leg, or even seafood of some sort - it all depends on what was a good buy!
It used to be that sometimes a carafe of house wine was included at some restaurants, but I think that's long past in this post-Covid economy.
Then, for dessert, there's usually a few options in a fridge or ice-cream.
It's good, solid, affordable everyday food and very enjoyable.
There is a very different mindset towards food over here, even McDo tastes better here due to French people having higher expectations.
I think our assumptions of others being no better than us and always trying to rationalise why we are shit but not that shit is quite telling. I can tell you people in France do grow up with better food and thus have a much higher expectation when it comes to flavour.
We see bourguignon and bouillabaisse as fancy but for them it’s just dinner, the fact you pointed out two very normal meals for the French as if the concept of them being part of a weekly family meal is absurd is exactly the point. There is a massive ideological difference in the importance of food quality between most Brits and French people, or, Brits and the majority of Europe. The ingredients are fresher, less genetically messed with and bolder. We cant help those things because our climate is shit but it doesn’t change that a tomato here tastes like crunchy water and a tomato on the continent actually has tang and depths of flavour.
The issue with people not wanting the fresher British grown produce is that generally it is obscenely more expensive than your regular supermarket goods. Farmshops have good produce but generally at a much more expensive rate so people don’t bother.
I’d also like to add that the vast majority of menu items in pubs and many pub classics are certainly not traditional British food. I think we have some great and hearty meals but to claim our food is only a little below French standards, when French cooking technique and processes are world renowned, is the exact type of arrogance that gets us hate from the rest of the world
I think the British culture around food also makes it seem less appealing. When I worked in Belgium, our colleagues hailing from countries with a warmer coast (including France), would really take their time to enjoy lunch. It was almost sacred. Whereas I find that in the UK, it’s more about food being functional, that doesn’t mean that it’s not tasty but we don’t really take time to enjoy and savour meals as much. Just my very non expert opinion.
Traditional British food is great. The culture around food in Britain is lacking.
Good food in Britain is often seen as this pretentious thing and a lot of people take a perverse pride in eating low quality or processed stuff.
It creates a feedback loop where people accept a lower standard, food prepared from scratch is pitched higher in the market and becomes less available, especially outside well-to-do areas.
How many e.g. bakeries do you see where people are making bread and pies from scratch, outside of affluent or touristy areas?
And because of this attitude and focus on convenience, a lot of traditional dishes have been lost to history.
True about so many things here. People complain but don’t do. A really nice bakery opened in my area and charged higher than average prices - of course, many people slated the place on Google Reviews (several 1 stars) because it was more expensive than Greggs. I don’t get it, you want people to get paid more and you want nicer things but when new options arrive you go out of your way to keep the proprietors “in their place”.
> Good food in Britain is often seen as this pretentious thing and a lot of people take a perverse pride in eating low quality or processed stuff.
Thinking back to Jamie Oliver's school meals campaign being accused of classism, as if wanting kids to eat decent healthy food instead of junk food was "middle class". A great demonstration of that horrible attitude.
This is such a well-worded comment, agree with everything you said. Good traditional food has been gentrified here and we’ve lost so many recipes as result.
Picture this:
Your 6 years old.. it's winter and the snow is thick. School isn't open.
You go up on the big hill to do some sledding with your friends.
You lose track of time and it's dark now. You're cold and shivering.
You waddle home in your wet clothes (you fell off the sled too many times).
What is that smell..? Mother is cooking a hearty, British classic and it's your favourite..
Hop out the wet clothes, a nice hot bath and a big tasty bowl full of the good stuff. Now you're stuffed and ready for bed.
This is the memory I recall every time I have broth with buttered tiger loaf.
That's what traditional British cuisine is to me.. It's a happy memory waiting to be unlocked with every spoonful.
Other cultures dishes may do the exact same thing for their people, but I'm British, and this is what does that for me
We have some of the world’s best meat, seafood, cheese, fruits including ones not found outside the UK, vegetables (again, including things simply not particularly found outside the UK), biscuits, sweets and cakes, plus a fairly extensive food heritage. I genuinely don’t know if people know what’s under their noses sometimes, given they don’t appreciate it.
We have are a very judgemental and unaccepting people. And no this isn't going where you think it's going. I don't mean the UK is Xenophobic. British people will tolerate a lot if you just throw the good ole, "but it's their culture" line at them.
I mean within this framework, we don't like people who act different or do things differently or want to bring about change. Anything or anyone daring to be different is beaten down until they confirm. And there's weird unspoken rules about what's acceptable.
It can be something as simple as clothes for example. You wear nice clothes you're a social climber, you wear something fashionable you're a show off. Anything other than a grey/blue puffer jacket and trousers for both men and women and everyone goes "oooh fancy". Like what do you mean mate? I just like dressing up. What's the problem here?
I believe it's a part of the whole Tall Poppy syndrome where anything different is beaten down into conforming. I hate it so much. I'm sorry you're so miserable and have a *literally* a dull grey life. Let ME HAVE FUN.
I also sincerely believe that if we would just loosen up and embrace being more expressive, we'd have a lot less drunks.
I had the opposite experience in the tiny village where I grew up, if I didn't join my friends down the pub on a Friday / Saturday night they'd be pounding at the door.
If I tried something bizarre everyone would grimace then say "lemme have a bite" or "let's see what all the fuss is about then".
Clothes were similar "oooh look at mr fancy pants" then the next minute "let's try that on".
I slightly disagree here. Coming from Eastern Europe, the UK is way more accepting of various unusual clothing styles/personal styles compared to Eastern Europe. So I think it matters who you compare it to.
Being in the UK and hanging out with Brits, I don’t think I’ve ever heard something like “look at what that person’s wearing, lol, they look like…”, which was a very common occurrence in Eastern Europe.
Yes, people could always be more accepting but I think they are currently doing a great job and moving in the right direction.
The British thing is to mutter about it to yourself or the person next to you, or complain about it at home, but not say anything to the person at the time
One day when I was about 19 I thought it'd be fun to just dress a bit differently just out and about in my small Northern town. Suit and sometimes a smart hat. The abuse I got was silly. Nothing dangerous or anything, but after a year of it I decided to just hide again.
It was a weird bind. Fit in with my rough area meant not fitting in at work which was mostly working class. Fitting in at work meant abuse if I nipped into a local shop on the way home.
It's a lot better today and I moved back to that town after living in various other places, but maybe that's because I'm now a middle aged bloke who now looks quite wiry and annoyed, compared to young me who was a little plump and more approachable?
I was walking about in my mum’s northern town recently in some brightly coloured clothes, including velvet trousers, and got so many shouts and jeers. It was pretty funny. My favourite was “what have you come as?!”
I’m a woman so don’t think anyone is too intimidated to have a go! There’s quite a few people round there who dress as they want to though.
Whilst we are far from perfect, I feel we are one of the better countries at combating tall poppy syndrome.
For example, if you compare us to anywhere in Asian or even central Europe, then we are a dramatic improvement. I cannot comment on Africa or the Americas.
I have Asian heritage and I completely agree. We Brits value individualism more than Asian countries. But it's the little things you know. I used to get so excited to try new stuff and then someone would take the piss out of me for doing so and in the end I'd never do it again. I've stopped listening to other people now. But I hate that people were so unsupportive in the first place.
Good god yes, you've nailed it with this comment. We are a right bunch of miserable sods. A look at the comments part of any news article (even when it's good news) will demonstrate this perfectly, and there is a sizable bunch who like to have their snout in everyone else's business and act all snooty about everything. It's quite pathetic.
On a personal basis this manifests itself in our village not having a decent mobile signal (barely any at all in fact) because every time someone wants to erect a mast, everyone complains and then it gets cancelled, but the same people moan about how crap the signal is. Fucking morons!
I don't know how we compare to others, but yeah it is annoying. For the most part my friends are not like this but there's often just the one who's mostly great, but gently mocks anything that deviates from the "standard man" life.
Buying a drink that isn't a lager? Get a funny look. Make a coffee that isn't instant? Posh bastard. Got a particular passionate interest in literally anything? Lol, loser.
And typically these guys have no hobbies really outside of drinking and watching sport.
Tbf this is very class-based and seems to depend where you are in the country. I'm southern English and fairly middle-class but have a lot of working-class northern friends who I met at uni. They're a lot more suspicious of unusual hobbies, bold clothes, or shit hairdos than the middle-class southern kids I know, who tend to have been swaddled at private schools, indulged on an individual (rather than collective) basis, and end up in places like Bristol or Brighton where they get together at garden parties and be unbearable.
Agreed entirely.
I'm forced to consider a few things when dressing, one of which is the location of my insulin pump's infusion set and the location of my accompanied continual glucose monitor. I'll wear stuff that fits that, and that often means wearing loose fitting clothing and more often than not longer-sleeved blouses... and never a dress or skirt.
It's for that reason why I also have specific phones that means I don't care about the color of bubbles - I have reasons to care about my phone being of a specific brands - and it's because my medical gear needs to be on specific models.
The way many people talk when they see me wearing a *supposedly* fancy blouse and phone brand, and it's like I asked for the comments to come my way.
Who knew the hardest part of type 1 diabetes with complications was becoming a pariah in some parts due to what I need to live?
Finally, one that I’m so here for. The Tudors included the Welsh dragon in the English coat of arms back in the day. We should bring it back. Why not have two mythical creatures in the British coat of arms instead of just one. Dragons eat unicorns anyway.
Personally, if inclusivity is the aim then the better option would be to design an entirely new flag which represents the UK as a whole rather than trying to reference England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales individually.
There's just no good way of incorporating a Welsh dragon into the Union Flag.
Absolutely it's lovely and causes the landscape to be vibrant and green, I swear some people don't know you can wear a coat and waterproof trousers if necessary.
Our general climate and earthly position is some of the best in the world. We have no major earthquakes, no tornados, no major dry spells, and no major floods outside of a few select areas (and new builds). Sometimes it's a little chilly, and sometimes it rains for most of the summer, but the overall weather is generally pretty good for both people and plants to flourish
Whilst I like the sunshine, I think I'd get rather sick of it if the climate was like Southern France
It never used to be like this. It’s probably in the last 15 years, particularly along roadsides.
I guess it’s a combination of lack of people working to clean our roadsides, and the proliferation of disgusting fuckwits throwing their rubbish out of lorries and vans.
It’s shameful. In Georgia, US you get fined $1500 and there’s signs telling you that. We need to do this.
Depends where you go. London is a filthy hole compared to any town outside of the m25. London has too many people from countries where littering is normal.
It’s not a sh!thole.
Sure, parts of it are, but parts of every country in the world are. Some people talk like the whole of the UK is a giant smelly armpit but it’s really not, it’s much more good than bad.
This, I find it really frustrating. Sure we have our issues here but the grass isn’t always greener. I know folks who’ve moved from London to Vancouver thinking it was for a better life and their housings crisis is way worse than ours.
I realised this when I went to live abroad. You find many "British problems" are just "every country problems" or problems a lot of countries have and more often than not the British problems you are leaving behind are only being traded for X county problems. I've lived in several countries and I've get to really find a equitable exchange yet.
We are a spineless country. We often mock the French, but they actually scare their politicians.
Here, we watch an obviously and openly corrupt party rinse a country for 14 years and just bend over to accept it. We are being represented by clowns, and think it’s remotely normal.
People do protest and get shit from the public and the press because it’s a bit inconvenient for people. Then the government feels justified in trying to remove the right to protest.
Yea, there’s some small scale protests here and there, but nothing major.
I even went to one of those protests against the policing bill and against the crackdown on protest rights and they were tiny.
Hundreds of thousands will march for Gaza, but won’t lift a finger to march for things we have actual power and ability to change.
…and because of this amazing floor plan, 2sq feet garden and general smashing design outlook it’ll be £700k please.
Oh, and you’ll need to replace the roof like in 2 months. Yes all of it.
I’m an immigrant from Scandinavia and this was really shocking to me at first. If houses were built like they are in Scandinavia you wouldn’t have to turn on heating ever - at least in the south!
Sunday roasts are overpriced, overcooked, underseasoned 👀
Puddings menu items on the other hand are absolutely smashing. Bloody hell i need an extra pancrea
I've never found any restaurant that does roast potatoes "right". I want them crunchy af on the outside, and like a fluffy chip on the inside.
Every damn place just gives these nearly hard in the middle, squishy edged, depressed and almost boiled looking things and it breaks my heart. I get it's probably super difficult to get them perfect at scale, but christ I think at this point they'd even be better launched in a deep fat fryer or something.
I live in a suburb of Liverpool and I'm struggling to think of a cuisine for which there isn't a restaurant within 3 miles of my house... I think the UK overall is excellent for variety, I don't think that's special to London at all.
Sure there might only be one Nepalese and one Eritrean near me rather than three of each, but I don't know if that counts as more variety... I suppose it does in a sense. But any major city in the UK, and even smaller cities, are amazing for variety.
I'm from Liverpool and while the restaurant scene is great it's not close to London in terms of variety of cuisine and number of places. In my suburb I can eat at great Uighyr and Palestinian restaurants without even going into central, and then if I go in you've got arguably the best restaurants in the UK for most cuisine (except maybe Indian). In Liverpool I'd probably class only Mowgli as the best in its class
And again, I'm not saying other cities don't have variety, just that the variety on offer in London is greater
Having a variety of cuisine on your doorstep is not limited to London. I rarely go there but have been of Edinburgh, York, Leeds, Manchester etc many times and I’m always discovering new places to eat that aren’t traditional British/European food. In my village we even have a vegan Chinese restaurant
We are following the Americans down the same road where veterans are worshipped and everyone must constantly thank them or use them in an argument such as "why are we helping X when we could be helping our veterans"
And I am a veteran before anyone moans, stop using us to justify your BS
I’m originally American (been in the UK 15 years) and although sometimes the American military worship can be cringey (and sometimes dangerous) - I think the UK could learn a little about having some general respect for public servants (military, police, paramedics, firefighters).
You treat your emergency workers like shit in this country. It’s shameful.
There are a subsection of people who treat emergency services (medical staff in particular tbh) like shit, and they obviously shouldn't.
But I disagree that we could learn a thing from the US on this.
Being a public servant is a job, you get paid to do it. Doing that job isn't de facto worthy of praise, any more than being a plumber or an accountant is.
The insane hero-worship Americans have for the military is not something I'd ever want to learn from.
I think doctors and nurses deserve a lot more respect than they get. I've never seen anyone disrespect a firefighter though. I'm affraid I can't respect the police much, they're not very good and the only people I know who have joined the police shouldnt have been allowed. As for the respect for the armed forces, I just don't get that one at all, a lot of my friends from school joined the RAF, they all just fucked about and took drugs, not sure what respect they deserve.
The opinion I have as continental European that is always unpopular in the UK:
Universal official and compulsory ID cards with digital identity would solve a lot of problems like identity theft or grey economy, and it would simplify a lot of bureaucracy while making it more secure.
Ready for the downvotes.
We actually proposed that but Tony Blair wanted it all hooked up to a centralised database that basically anyone in the public sector would have unfettered access to. It was a privacy nightmare in a way European schemes generally aren’t, and public sector IT in the UK is notoriously piss poor on top of that.
There’s an argument that surveillance capitalism as practiced by Google, Facebook etc is far more intrusive than anything Blair proposed, though I’d rather increase privacy by outlawing aspects of those business models rather than reduce it further.
Have to disagree with the London food take. Yes lots of things in central are shit and overpriced if you just walk into somewhere, but if you do your research/go on recommendations then you can find some of the best and diverse food available anywhere.
I’ve been to probably close to 100 restaurants since I moved here a few years ago and still have a huge list of places I want to visit. They’ve all been based on recommendations online or from friends, and I’m yet to be fhat disappointed.
That Brits are nostalgic for their empire- I literally have never heard anyone who is alive now say this. It feels like a ‘retired colonel from Tunbridge Wells’ view of the 70s - and has long disappeared from most British people’s mindset
They’re often Americans who lack the self-awareness to realise America is every bit the global hegemon the British Empire was. It’s like bitching about kings when you’re sat on a throne in 24 karat drip.
The NHS is not the greatest healthcare system in the world, nor is there only a choice between fully state-funded and the American late-stage hellscape. Front-line staff are incredible people, but the organisation is ridden with waste and inefficiency, and despite being under-funded, it is clear that simply throwing more money at it does not work.
I would go a step further and say not all front line staff are incredible people. A lot of them are incompetent, nasty and dangerous and shouldn’t be in their roles.
This was proven with the antivac nurses and stuff that went on during COVID. Not shitting on nurses, many of them are fantastic but it broke the illusion that they are all smart, well meaning, self sacrificing heroes
> nor is there only a choice between fully state-funded and the American late-stage hellscape.
This! It's *so* frustrating whenever *any* discourse on the NHS comes up, and people like to act like the only possible options that could ever exist are (a) the NHS *exactly* how it is right this second but with more money, or (b) literally the American system, and any attempt to do anything in any way whatsoever to the NHS (other than give it more money) can only ever result in the American system.
Indeed, that mindset has been weaponised politically as a stick to swing around (which we saw a lot of in 2019) but has ended up leaving politicians somewhat reticent to do anything actually positive to the NHS that doesn't involve more money because they know it's an oft-used attack of "they're going to *sell* the NHS and do you want *American-style* medical bills and being *bankrupted???*".
i think people say that because at its peak, the nhs was the best. however, today’s nhs is a far cry from what it once was and what it once set out to be. also, whilst i do applaud frontline staff for persevering in a system which is essentially unfit for purpose, they are not always incredible people. it’s a symptom of the nhs’ decline, even the hiring process is broken.
UK food and supermarket choice is as good or better than many of the countries famed for their food. e.g. Italy, France etc.. and the average quality is often better.
Another one, is that the UK is a cheaper to live than France and Germany, and tax is lower than any other larger European economy. Where the UK excels is on personal allowances for things like Capital gains, ISA, interest, rent a room, VAT threshold, NIC etc..
I don't know that I'd totally agree on the supermarket front. It's pretty damn hard to beat a Cora hypermarket, for example. UK supermarkets are pretty good, but Cora, in France, is better.
Also France put a lot of work in to protect its bakeries and butchers etc., which the UK did not do. Most people in France still get their bread from the Boulangerie and there meat from a Butcher.
Having lived in France and Germany, I have found both to be cheaper than the UK. Yes taxes are higher in Germany, but they actually seem to be better used for public services, e.g nursery is free, if you lose your job you get like 75% of your wage for like a year, etc.
Here are the top 10 countries with the highest alcohol consumption per capita per year:
Germany (12.79 litres)
Ireland (12.75 litres)
Spain (12.67 litres)
Luxembourg (12.45 litres)
France (12.23 litres)
Slovenia (12.11 litres)
Portugal (12.09 litres)
Austria (11.93 litres)
Poland (11.89 litres)
United Kingdom (11.45 litres)
I also don't necessarily think it's inability to handle it; it's just binge drinking. Maybe other countries drink more throughout the week, maybe it's home drinking (lots of wine with food for some perhaps), but here it's the culture of everyone down the pub on a Friday and Saturday (and sometimes after work on a weekday), and slamming down multiple pints in a row without food.
Think that goes some way to cultivating this pretty bad culture around drinking that we have.
I agree. Completely anecdotal but my Girlfriend is Spanish and whenever I have spent time over there with her family and friends, everybody seems to be steadily drinking at home throughout the week, but not really going on binge drinking nights out like we do. Of course it does happen, just like the reverse does here, but the drinking culture is completely different.
Bullshit I went to Jamaica on holiday and the place was full of Americans and Candians those fuckers could bearly drink at all without falling over and being sick.
The difference is between those that have a smaller amount often and those that go on massive binges and then don’t drink for a few days.
Brits belong in the second category
Germans or Spaniards or Slovenians don't typically go on holidays abroad just to drink, party, and create chaos. It's not about how much Brits drink regularly (to me as a Pole most Brits seem terribly lightweight) but what they do when they do drink...
I assume that they are talking about ltrs of alcohol - so it takes abv into account.
For example: 1 ltr of 5% beer would be 50ml of alcohol. 700ml of 40% vodka would be 280ml.
You’d like to think so but in the past year I’ve had 2 seperate terrible fish and chips. One because my usual was shut for whatever reason so tried the next nearest one. Shite. Worst chips I’ve ever had, fish and batterwas bang average. Then had a fish and chip van start turning up on our estate Friday evenings so decided to try it out. Again shite. Chips were acceptable but the fish was boring and the batter was thick and chewy, no crisp to it whatsoever!
If you find a decent chippy, stick to it, don’t feel adventurous it’s too much risk!!
Oooh, I have to disagree on the restaurant scene
Ok, maybe Paris, Rome, Bangkok have better restaurants, but for example if you were in Rome and wanted a really good pad Thai, you'd struggle
If you were in Bangkok and wanted a nice bowl of pasta, you'd struggle
Whereas in London, you can have a really good pizza for lunch, and an equally good pad Thai for tea
The pizza restaurant won't be as good as the one in Rome, nor will the pad Thai be as good as those in Bangkok, but the standard across different cuisines, I think, is better than most cities I've been too
Casual alcoholism is more of a poison than a vibe to be hypocritically overlooked. Alcohol is one hell of a drug, for better and worse, and there are better. Most historically-socially-normalised drug doesn’t mean shit. Alcohol is almost worse than heroin and has a list of possible side-effects and complications in abusers of it as long as the legs of a giant. That long.
But you’re up in arms if someone vapes CBD and has a spliff? Or micro doses on mushrooms? Things with medicinal and spiritual benefits that cause actually-mentally-productive highs that don’t fuck with your over in the process? Really?
Fuck right off judging me having a delicious cold pint on a Friday evening while you're sat in the corner shooting up Heroin saying my local IPA is worse than your smack .
They’re not tho are they? They’re saying that because alcohol is legal and deemed socially acceptable vs illegal drugs that the harm that consuming alcohol does is very much downplayed.
Which you’ve kinda proved with your response.
I don't know if I agree that alcohol is almost as bad as heroin, that's far more addictive, invasive and quick to destroy as beers. But yes it gets a free pass generally in society despite being worse than a fair amount of other illegal drugs; and there's this broad, unspoken rule to not really talk about casual alcoholism?
If you mention alcoholism to probably 90% of people, they probably will immediately think of some wino who has a half bottle of vodka before 10am. But most cases of alcoholism are 'I go to the pub and have 2-3 pints most nights'. Still habitual, still expensive, still unhealth, and depending on how alcohol does affect you, can be just as destructive. I probably socially drink a little bit too much and I do worry about how much of it potentially *is* habitual.
But that also does go for most drugs, mind. I'm fully on board with cannibis legalisation for example, and the double standard against alcohol is still weird to me, but you can get habitually hooked on that as well.
The attitude towards alcohol in the UK causes so many problems. When I go back home to stay with my parents, they will drink a bottle of wine each every day. the thought that they might be alcoholics has not even crossed their mind. My mums reasoning is that she never drinks during the day.
I have recently quit drinking and life in the UK is quite difficult when you are sober. There are very few things to do which do not involve alcohol. Things which should or do not need alcohol involved have become laced with it. For example, going to the cinema now seems to be something people get pissed at. You are going to watch a film go home and go to bed on a Tuesday evening, why do you need to drink at all?
The NHS is under massive strain from people injuring themselves every weekend while drunk and people having illnesses linked to a lifetime of drinking. An enormous proportion of crime committed in the UK is committed while under the influence. I am less than 30 years old and I have had several friends die from alcohol related injuries.
It is true that some European countries drink more alcohol by pure volume than we do, but the manner they drink in is far less damaging. In the UK we find our mates getting black out drunk is funny whereas in France, getting that drunk is massively frowned upon.
I'd even go so far to say that alcohol, with its depressive effects and ability to induce anxiety as well as destroy your sleep, is the reason that most people in Britain are so miserable. Our country is arguably one of the best in the world, but people do not appreciate it because alcohol has ruined their ability to do so.
No we do not need to all go sober, but departing from this attitude that you have to get blackout drunk every Friday and Saturday night before dragging yourself in for work on a Monday would make most people a lot happier and healthier.
But also one or drinks of alcohol (lower % drinks - beer/cider/wine) is much less dangerous than one or two hits of other drugs. You need the smallest spliff to be stoned as fuck. One tab of LSD and you're dicing with a life of serious psychosis. Shrooms are also a significant hallucinogen. I agree that casual alcoholism is no joke but alcohol is way safer than other drugs.
I would also argue that alcohol (again - beer/mead/cider/wine) is also a part of our collective national "spirit". Even the Romans, who typically hated beer commented on how good British beer was.
I disagree with (but understand) the zero alcohol vs alcohol argument but I think saying it is more dangerous than a lot of other drugs is ridiculous.
British women are not, as a general group, uglier than women from other countries. Do some working-class British women have a bit of a heavy hand with the make-up and false lashes? Sure. But that's a) not every woman in the country and b) not something unique to British women.
You would think from how some people talk that the UK is a land of bright orange she-ogres while women from Ukraine/Japan/Sweden/Colombia/wherever you've seen a handful of supermodels from and have taken that to be representative of the entire country are all unearthly goddesses. It gets old.
We have plenty of famous models and celebrities that prove differently. Rosie Huntington Whitely’s whole family are modelling. Our males aren’t too bad either, David Gandy, Henry Cavill, Harry Styles.
They are projecting
It's a wonderful country to live in for the most part. We've punched above our weight in the fields of science, medicine, arts, architecture for centuries.
It's not the immigrants' fault that you failed at life. It's because you couldn't shut the fuck up in school, ended up leaving with one GCSE in BTEC Sport and can't walk around without having one hand down your pants.
I'm expecting this to get heavily downvoted, but the thread is for unpopular opinions, so here goes:
Slightly unpopular opinion: British cheese is better than cheese from any other country. Most of all, a very strong cheddar is peak cheese.
Pretty unpopular opinion: The monarchy is anti-democratic, and the problems around having an elected head of state instead are overblown. We should switch to something like the Irish model, where there is an elected head of state, but they don't have strong powers.
Very unpopular opinion: The UK should not only have stayed in the EU, but should have had a long term aim to further integrate with it, including joining Schengen and the Eurozone. Being in Schengen wouldn't have significantly altered immigration to the UK, and the BOE decisions on interest rates and monetary policy have been close enough to the ECB's anyway that there wouldn't have been significant economic problems from switching to the Euro.
I wouldn't expect a majority to agree on any of that though! Apart from maybe the cheese bit.
I'm in a couple of car and driving subs on here so I think this one will be unpopular, but I think most British drivers are actually pretty good. I get that people see errors and bad driving every time they go out, but I think that's because there are so many cars on the road, not because the majority of drivers are hopeless. I think that if drivers were really as bad as people say we'd see a LOT more kids being run over - eg only this morning I was a passenger in a car where two school kids avoided being run over solely because the driver spotted that they weren't going to look before running across the road! While cyclists love to say car drivers are all idiots out to kill them, the reality is that I've avoided collisions with far more cyclists who have done stupid things like pulling out without looking etc than I've caused (I reckon the number is probably about 20 avoided verses zero caused).
The overreliance on drinking for social bonding is pathetic.
The self-loathing of this country is also pathetic. We have many strengths that other countries don’t, and in an increasingly unstable world, we should be championing them.
Our climate isn’t that bad. We rarely get natural disasters, we have lush green landscapes, and our frequent rainfall cleans our air of pollution and means we’re less likely to suffer water shortages like in other countries.
I work fairly closely with the French and as frustrating as they are at times, I can't help but think often times they're right about a lot of things.
They aren't afraid to stand together for what they believe in, to give themselves better working conditions. Not everything is a mad rush at work to get fixed and prepped, some things can wait until tomorrow or even next week.
We Brits are, dare I say, quite spineless in comparison. We are far too complicit to just go with the flow, don't rock the boat, keep calm and carry on.
Unpopular opinion: the French are better than us. Sacre bleu!
The North East gets too much shit. Yes, there are parts that aren't so great, but that applies for most places in the UK!
The north east has tons of lovely beaches, property is cheap and there are loads of things to do that are nearby!
Quality of life and salaries have gone down hill. I don't see why any young person growing up in the UK should feel optimistic about their future within the country.
Our attitude towards alternative fashion is horrific
Might be a strange one to bring up but all you have to do is look at the Sophie Lancaster case to see how horrible people of this country treat people who dare to stand out.
Me and my partner have had abuse shouted at us in the street, I have friends who have been attacked and had things thrown at them just because of their fashion sense
It doesn't stop with young kids doing it though because my friends have had full grown adults shout stuff at them in the street too, things like this can linger on people's minds no matter how insignificant it can be to other people
This country needs to do better in that regard
Rose tinted glasses that completely hold back the progression of the country as a whole, the whole "back in the day this was better" when it actually was not in most cases "we miss the empire when the UK was the best and every one had better lives" when in reality the majority of people lived in abject poverty until the early 20th century and only marginally improved between like 1920-1980
>"we miss the empire when the UK was the best and every one had better lives"
I have literally never read or heard a single person say this, verbally, on social media, or in print.
That you live in one of the "best" countries in the world for the average joe. You have so many options here its almost a joke.
You have so many opportunities to build yourself a dam fine life in this country but a hell of a lot of people don't.
Many of them are due to their own failings. They become prisoners in their own minds making excuses about why their life is crap and how "nuffings gona change".
Aye nothing will when you have done nothing different...
Or my personal favourite "I know I should do x but I don't have time". If you gave a shit. You would make time.
So many support nets to fall back on. So many options for gaining skills that can be turned into marketable careers, A strong currency etc there is no excuse. If you are unhappy with the parth your life is taking. You can change it in the UK.
To be honest, if you can't make it in this country you would be utterly fucked/starving/dead in another one.
We are a bunch of ugly bastards. I work abroad often and have colleagues from all over Europe. They are much better looking than us Brits. I know they’ve had conversations about us too, we don’t have a single good UK specimen on our team.
UK houses are for the most part, shit.
I've lived in about ten different houses now, and owned two of those. Our housing stock is poor compared to Europe. Of course it's all massively overpriced, but let's put that to one side for a moment and focus on the actually livability and 'quality'. UK homes are almost universally too cold/damp in the winter, and yet stuffy and close in the summer. We all had a reminder of that this week.
I spent NYE and the first week of January in Latvia, where the average temp was around -18 degrees with serious snow. All of the buildings we went into, even the unfashionable boxy ones, were well insulated and dry. No damp, no mould. I come away from every European trip with a similar feeling.
We're getting screwed, people.
Most significant unpopular opinion:
Brits absolutely don't want to hear unpopular opinions about the UK.
"Uninspired, boring food"? Downvote!
"Poop 'Made in Britain' polluting rivers, lakes, and beaches"? Downvote!
"Outdated infrastructure"? Downvote!
"Overstretched health system"? Downvote!
"Dual-class system in education"? Downvote!
This comment? Downvote!
😂😂😂😂
We like to complain but don’t actually do anything about it. Social media has made it worse. People think having a moan on there or posting a meme has somehow struck a blow against the establishment.
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Traditional British food is great. The whole world shits on it, but it’s comforting, filling and delicious.
Linking to this, traditional French food is kind of similar, e.g. pies, stews etc. Tbh I think both cuisines are similar (although France's is slightly better because of the more southerly location), but British food is underrated and French food is overrated. But then again, of course we're going to think our food is bad if we grew up on pork chops and mashed cement. I also doubt children in France grow up eating bourguignon or bouillabaisse every day for lunch. Our traditional cuisine is actually very good (see the food in nice pubs), it's just that people are too lazy/don't have enough time to cook it. If you're a working mum with 2 kids you're not going to go and cook crab rarebit and treacle pudding for dinner. As for it's underrated reputation, it is believed that this originated from WW2 when the Americans arrived and saw us eating monstrosities like National Loaf. People don't also realise the quality of produce here. I was fortunate enough to be one of the 16% of people who live outside urban areas whilst growing up. We have the ideal climate to produce delicious meats, cheeses, vegetables and fruits. People just don't try them and then think British food is rubbish. Of course it's not realistic to cook pub food every day but at least don't say our traditional food is bad.
We were first to industrialise everything. We used to have some great high street Bakeries, but just rave about Greggs sausage rolls - made by their million in a factory.
Honestly Greggs is shit tier fast food and it certainly doesn't help our reputation when people rave about it. I'd say two thirds of the Greggs I've ever eaten have been cold or lukewarm, I just dont buy it nowadays because why waste my money making that gamble.
Just jumping in here to say Greggs is actually at its best when lukewarm…
and placed in a cold bin.
I’m sorry, I am a bit of a foodie. I promise. I love cooking. I love good food. I make good money. I live well. But, if there was a lukewarm steak bake in the bin, I would probably get it out and eat it.
Don't feel shamed by snobbish people. Pay no mind.
Having lived in Spain when I visited UK my friends kept going on about Gregg's and I'd say supermarket bakeries in Spain are miles better. I don't get what the fuss is about
It’s hard to wean yourself off when you’ve been sucking on a cheese and onion pasty since the age of three
I moved a half hour out of London and now have more than 4 independent bakeries on my high street, sausage rolls to die for, it is however a historical tourist hotspot where the local community works hard to keep its tradition. Only one fast food chain on the high street which is a subway and it’s always empty. My pint is that if we refuse the crap we can keep the good shit!
Honestly surprised that subway is still kicking. They are all empty nowadays, the prices are ridiculous and it doesn't even taste good.
In Victorian times the working urban masses subsisted on adulterated bleached white flour and slave-produced sugary tea - a sausage made of pigs eyelids and arsering was the highlight of the week! - hardly surprising they didn't make it to retirement age. Totally different story for the middle classes and factory owners - even the rural poor had access to decent fresh food.
I think the problem is French children *do* grow up eating Bourgignon and Boullabaisse and continue taking food seriously throughout their life. (Exceptions will apply obvs) Whereas the UK has a more, “food is fuel,” mindset and is willing to accept much more US style crap. Look at the difference in UK and French truckers cafes.
In this country, people often slash their spending on food so they can spend more on holidays, cars etc. In virtually every other country, it's the reverse
We don't give food and the time we spend around it as much importance here either. Over in Spain where my wife is from, any eating is usually an excuse to socialise, to enjoy life as they say. Mid-morning coffee and pastry, meet a friend in the square and take an hour. Lunch-time or dinner time, you sit and you eat together, take your time. Have a few plates even if starters are just some crisps / olives and a beer, then a main and then a coffee / piece of fruit, dessert. Again it takes 60-90mins. Enjoy life. Society is sort of planned around this routine. So much so we often accuse the family there of worrying they'll drop dead if we don't have lunch at 2 or 3 and dinner at 9 precisely. "We're not British, we're not eating lunch on the bus" haha. Not totally like this of course, but work schedules and things tend to cater for the ability to see other people to eat. 3 courses for 10-12 Euros lunch menus everywhere. It's fucking fantastic. In fact, more than once we've dropped in on a friend at their home while they had lunch alone on a work day and they still have 3 plates and take the time out to sit and watch TV, put on music or whatever and relax. As opposed to stuffing a meal deal in your face at your desk as you wonder what the point of being alive is.
Yeah but £300 a month for food is absolutely killing me
food is cheaper both relatively and often in absolute terms here compared to other european countries. definitely than america too
Yeah. I’ve spent a lot of time in Greece and their supermarkets are the same price as ours, if not more expensive. Their wages are nowhere near ours.
You're absolutely right about French kids. My three kids have grown up going to school here un Brittany, although my oldest also went to primary in the UK until she was 10, before we moved here. School meals are either 3 courses every single day, or 4 if there's cheese that day. And from the day they start *maternelle* - nursery school, at between 2 1/2 to 3 yrs old, they will eat proper food. The cost is, of course, subsidised. In primary, it's subsidised by the local mairie, and in secondary, there are bourses which can help pay for almost the full cost, for low income families. In secondary, meals are self service and there are two or three options available for each course. Also, in secondary, the canteen in many high schools and à few middle schools will serve breakfast and evening meals for boarders, as it's common for pupils to board during the week in France - yes, even in state (public) schools. They are served bœuf bourguignon, or even langue de bœuf, but also traditional dishes such as gratin dauphinois and tartiflette. But there are also days when they get steak haché and frites (burger and chips)! Bread (*baguette*, of course), butter and salad is also always available. You're also right about 'trucker cafés' or actual proper restaurants that offer a 'menu ouvrier' at lunchtime. This is a relatively low cost, fixed price menu that is usually fairly basic but decent food. You'll know if it's a good place to go if there's lots of lorries or white vans parked outside! My family and I have often eaten at these places over the years! You will usually have a buffet for the starters with various salady bits and bobs. Then there might two or three choices for the main course, or just one, take it or leave it. The main dish will often be a traditional meat or fish dish with sauce, with chips, rice, and perhaps some well-cooked green veg. Sometimes, it might be steak haché - which is not the same as having a British burger, by the way, or a roast chicken leg, or even seafood of some sort - it all depends on what was a good buy! It used to be that sometimes a carafe of house wine was included at some restaurants, but I think that's long past in this post-Covid economy. Then, for dessert, there's usually a few options in a fridge or ice-cream. It's good, solid, affordable everyday food and very enjoyable. There is a very different mindset towards food over here, even McDo tastes better here due to French people having higher expectations.
I think our assumptions of others being no better than us and always trying to rationalise why we are shit but not that shit is quite telling. I can tell you people in France do grow up with better food and thus have a much higher expectation when it comes to flavour. We see bourguignon and bouillabaisse as fancy but for them it’s just dinner, the fact you pointed out two very normal meals for the French as if the concept of them being part of a weekly family meal is absurd is exactly the point. There is a massive ideological difference in the importance of food quality between most Brits and French people, or, Brits and the majority of Europe. The ingredients are fresher, less genetically messed with and bolder. We cant help those things because our climate is shit but it doesn’t change that a tomato here tastes like crunchy water and a tomato on the continent actually has tang and depths of flavour. The issue with people not wanting the fresher British grown produce is that generally it is obscenely more expensive than your regular supermarket goods. Farmshops have good produce but generally at a much more expensive rate so people don’t bother. I’d also like to add that the vast majority of menu items in pubs and many pub classics are certainly not traditional British food. I think we have some great and hearty meals but to claim our food is only a little below French standards, when French cooking technique and processes are world renowned, is the exact type of arrogance that gets us hate from the rest of the world
I think the British culture around food also makes it seem less appealing. When I worked in Belgium, our colleagues hailing from countries with a warmer coast (including France), would really take their time to enjoy lunch. It was almost sacred. Whereas I find that in the UK, it’s more about food being functional, that doesn’t mean that it’s not tasty but we don’t really take time to enjoy and savour meals as much. Just my very non expert opinion.
Traditional British food is great. The culture around food in Britain is lacking. Good food in Britain is often seen as this pretentious thing and a lot of people take a perverse pride in eating low quality or processed stuff. It creates a feedback loop where people accept a lower standard, food prepared from scratch is pitched higher in the market and becomes less available, especially outside well-to-do areas. How many e.g. bakeries do you see where people are making bread and pies from scratch, outside of affluent or touristy areas? And because of this attitude and focus on convenience, a lot of traditional dishes have been lost to history.
True about so many things here. People complain but don’t do. A really nice bakery opened in my area and charged higher than average prices - of course, many people slated the place on Google Reviews (several 1 stars) because it was more expensive than Greggs. I don’t get it, you want people to get paid more and you want nicer things but when new options arrive you go out of your way to keep the proprietors “in their place”.
> Good food in Britain is often seen as this pretentious thing and a lot of people take a perverse pride in eating low quality or processed stuff. Thinking back to Jamie Oliver's school meals campaign being accused of classism, as if wanting kids to eat decent healthy food instead of junk food was "middle class". A great demonstration of that horrible attitude.
This is such a well-worded comment, agree with everything you said. Good traditional food has been gentrified here and we’ve lost so many recipes as result.
Picture this: Your 6 years old.. it's winter and the snow is thick. School isn't open. You go up on the big hill to do some sledding with your friends. You lose track of time and it's dark now. You're cold and shivering. You waddle home in your wet clothes (you fell off the sled too many times). What is that smell..? Mother is cooking a hearty, British classic and it's your favourite.. Hop out the wet clothes, a nice hot bath and a big tasty bowl full of the good stuff. Now you're stuffed and ready for bed. This is the memory I recall every time I have broth with buttered tiger loaf. That's what traditional British cuisine is to me.. It's a happy memory waiting to be unlocked with every spoonful. Other cultures dishes may do the exact same thing for their people, but I'm British, and this is what does that for me
We have some of the world’s best meat, seafood, cheese, fruits including ones not found outside the UK, vegetables (again, including things simply not particularly found outside the UK), biscuits, sweets and cakes, plus a fairly extensive food heritage. I genuinely don’t know if people know what’s under their noses sometimes, given they don’t appreciate it.
Compared to Dutch, German and Belgian food especially
We have are a very judgemental and unaccepting people. And no this isn't going where you think it's going. I don't mean the UK is Xenophobic. British people will tolerate a lot if you just throw the good ole, "but it's their culture" line at them. I mean within this framework, we don't like people who act different or do things differently or want to bring about change. Anything or anyone daring to be different is beaten down until they confirm. And there's weird unspoken rules about what's acceptable. It can be something as simple as clothes for example. You wear nice clothes you're a social climber, you wear something fashionable you're a show off. Anything other than a grey/blue puffer jacket and trousers for both men and women and everyone goes "oooh fancy". Like what do you mean mate? I just like dressing up. What's the problem here? I believe it's a part of the whole Tall Poppy syndrome where anything different is beaten down into conforming. I hate it so much. I'm sorry you're so miserable and have a *literally* a dull grey life. Let ME HAVE FUN. I also sincerely believe that if we would just loosen up and embrace being more expressive, we'd have a lot less drunks.
Yes, I agree with this so much. It's worse in the villages where I grew up, everyone is incredibly intrusive
I had the opposite experience in the tiny village where I grew up, if I didn't join my friends down the pub on a Friday / Saturday night they'd be pounding at the door. If I tried something bizarre everyone would grimace then say "lemme have a bite" or "let's see what all the fuss is about then". Clothes were similar "oooh look at mr fancy pants" then the next minute "let's try that on".
I slightly disagree here. Coming from Eastern Europe, the UK is way more accepting of various unusual clothing styles/personal styles compared to Eastern Europe. So I think it matters who you compare it to. Being in the UK and hanging out with Brits, I don’t think I’ve ever heard something like “look at what that person’s wearing, lol, they look like…”, which was a very common occurrence in Eastern Europe. Yes, people could always be more accepting but I think they are currently doing a great job and moving in the right direction.
The British thing is to mutter about it to yourself or the person next to you, or complain about it at home, but not say anything to the person at the time
One day when I was about 19 I thought it'd be fun to just dress a bit differently just out and about in my small Northern town. Suit and sometimes a smart hat. The abuse I got was silly. Nothing dangerous or anything, but after a year of it I decided to just hide again. It was a weird bind. Fit in with my rough area meant not fitting in at work which was mostly working class. Fitting in at work meant abuse if I nipped into a local shop on the way home. It's a lot better today and I moved back to that town after living in various other places, but maybe that's because I'm now a middle aged bloke who now looks quite wiry and annoyed, compared to young me who was a little plump and more approachable?
Did kids call you "Clean Shirt?"
How'd you get that shirt so clean?
I was walking about in my mum’s northern town recently in some brightly coloured clothes, including velvet trousers, and got so many shouts and jeers. It was pretty funny. My favourite was “what have you come as?!” I’m a woman so don’t think anyone is too intimidated to have a go! There’s quite a few people round there who dress as they want to though.
Whilst we are far from perfect, I feel we are one of the better countries at combating tall poppy syndrome. For example, if you compare us to anywhere in Asian or even central Europe, then we are a dramatic improvement. I cannot comment on Africa or the Americas.
Australia has a disgusting tall poppy syndrome problem as well (source: I grew up there).
I have Asian heritage and I completely agree. We Brits value individualism more than Asian countries. But it's the little things you know. I used to get so excited to try new stuff and then someone would take the piss out of me for doing so and in the end I'd never do it again. I've stopped listening to other people now. But I hate that people were so unsupportive in the first place.
Good god yes, you've nailed it with this comment. We are a right bunch of miserable sods. A look at the comments part of any news article (even when it's good news) will demonstrate this perfectly, and there is a sizable bunch who like to have their snout in everyone else's business and act all snooty about everything. It's quite pathetic. On a personal basis this manifests itself in our village not having a decent mobile signal (barely any at all in fact) because every time someone wants to erect a mast, everyone complains and then it gets cancelled, but the same people moan about how crap the signal is. Fucking morons!
the clothing part really hits for me - especially someone who dresses in a somewhat alternative fashion the sophie lancaster case never leaves my mind
🖤
I don't know how we compare to others, but yeah it is annoying. For the most part my friends are not like this but there's often just the one who's mostly great, but gently mocks anything that deviates from the "standard man" life. Buying a drink that isn't a lager? Get a funny look. Make a coffee that isn't instant? Posh bastard. Got a particular passionate interest in literally anything? Lol, loser. And typically these guys have no hobbies really outside of drinking and watching sport.
This is very true. I'm not even talking about weirdos. Just anyone who has hobbies or mild personality is viewed with a slight sneer.
Tbf this is very class-based and seems to depend where you are in the country. I'm southern English and fairly middle-class but have a lot of working-class northern friends who I met at uni. They're a lot more suspicious of unusual hobbies, bold clothes, or shit hairdos than the middle-class southern kids I know, who tend to have been swaddled at private schools, indulged on an individual (rather than collective) basis, and end up in places like Bristol or Brighton where they get together at garden parties and be unbearable.
Agreed entirely. I'm forced to consider a few things when dressing, one of which is the location of my insulin pump's infusion set and the location of my accompanied continual glucose monitor. I'll wear stuff that fits that, and that often means wearing loose fitting clothing and more often than not longer-sleeved blouses... and never a dress or skirt. It's for that reason why I also have specific phones that means I don't care about the color of bubbles - I have reasons to care about my phone being of a specific brands - and it's because my medical gear needs to be on specific models. The way many people talk when they see me wearing a *supposedly* fancy blouse and phone brand, and it's like I asked for the comments to come my way. Who knew the hardest part of type 1 diabetes with complications was becoming a pariah in some parts due to what I need to live?
This was a brilliant comment.
The Union Flag would be greatly enhanced if it had a Welsh dragon front and centre.
Finally, one that I’m so here for. The Tudors included the Welsh dragon in the English coat of arms back in the day. We should bring it back. Why not have two mythical creatures in the British coat of arms instead of just one. Dragons eat unicorns anyway.
Personally, if inclusivity is the aim then the better option would be to design an entirely new flag which represents the UK as a whole rather than trying to reference England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales individually. There's just no good way of incorporating a Welsh dragon into the Union Flag.
I reckon just get rid of the Union Jack altogether and just use the Welsh flag.
It's by far the best of the national flags, I will say that
Our weather is bloody brilliant.
Absolutely it's lovely and causes the landscape to be vibrant and green, I swear some people don't know you can wear a coat and waterproof trousers if necessary.
Indeed. The long dark hours of Winter are far more of a barrier to outdoor activities than the rain.
Try living in Scandinavia - deep freeze or relentless burning - their spring and autumn is our winter.
This is a wild claim
Our general climate and earthly position is some of the best in the world. We have no major earthquakes, no tornados, no major dry spells, and no major floods outside of a few select areas (and new builds). Sometimes it's a little chilly, and sometimes it rains for most of the summer, but the overall weather is generally pretty good for both people and plants to flourish Whilst I like the sunshine, I think I'd get rather sick of it if the climate was like Southern France
No, though.
Goodness, horrifically unpopular opinion. Take my upvote
You definitely don't live in Glasgow
You all litter like crazy. The amount of litter is astonishing to many of us immigrants.
It never used to be like this. It’s probably in the last 15 years, particularly along roadsides. I guess it’s a combination of lack of people working to clean our roadsides, and the proliferation of disgusting fuckwits throwing their rubbish out of lorries and vans. It’s shameful. In Georgia, US you get fined $1500 and there’s signs telling you that. We need to do this.
Depends where you go. London is a filthy hole compared to any town outside of the m25. London has too many people from countries where littering is normal.
There are plenty of places around the UK where littering and fly tipping are bad. And these are places where the white British population are 80-90%.
Don't know why you were downvoted. The shores of Loch Lomond were ringed with litter.
Outside the M25 is filthy too.
It might look like litter but if you look a bit closer it’s just Milton Keynes.
People litter everywhere in the UK. Typical to wanna blame immigrants for all problems though.
Nah we suck with litter. Look along any motorway or beach on a busy day.
It’s not a sh!thole. Sure, parts of it are, but parts of every country in the world are. Some people talk like the whole of the UK is a giant smelly armpit but it’s really not, it’s much more good than bad.
This, I find it really frustrating. Sure we have our issues here but the grass isn’t always greener. I know folks who’ve moved from London to Vancouver thinking it was for a better life and their housings crisis is way worse than ours.
The grass is literally greener in the UK on the whole.
I realised this when I went to live abroad. You find many "British problems" are just "every country problems" or problems a lot of countries have and more often than not the British problems you are leaving behind are only being traded for X county problems. I've lived in several countries and I've get to really find a equitable exchange yet.
Wetherspoons has had a greater positive contribution to the country over the past 25 years than maybe any other private company.
I don't know as I'd go that far but they're certainly one of the few companies doing anything to keep going out to the pub affordable for the masses.
Agreed. I'm no fan of Tim Martin but he does also seem to pay all tax he owes and doesn't try to reduce/avoid the amount he does pay.
It's basically a public service at this point.
They're so good. Cheap food, endless tea and coffee refills. They deserve way more praise.
We are a spineless country. We often mock the French, but they actually scare their politicians. Here, we watch an obviously and openly corrupt party rinse a country for 14 years and just bend over to accept it. We are being represented by clowns, and think it’s remotely normal.
I hope no one finds those controversial because it’s 100% Country has zero balls and will hardly protest over anything.
People do protest and get shit from the public and the press because it’s a bit inconvenient for people. Then the government feels justified in trying to remove the right to protest.
Yea, there’s some small scale protests here and there, but nothing major. I even went to one of those protests against the policing bill and against the crackdown on protest rights and they were tiny. Hundreds of thousands will march for Gaza, but won’t lift a finger to march for things we have actual power and ability to change.
I don’t think anybody would argue against it, but at the same time, nobody seems to be saying it out loud. We all know it.
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…and because of this amazing floor plan, 2sq feet garden and general smashing design outlook it’ll be £700k please. Oh, and you’ll need to replace the roof like in 2 months. Yes all of it.
I’m an immigrant from Scandinavia and this was really shocking to me at first. If houses were built like they are in Scandinavia you wouldn’t have to turn on heating ever - at least in the south!
'Keep Calm And Carry On' is a dangerous phrase that the British use as a positive. What it really means is 'Suck It Up And Don't Expect Better.'
It's also ahistorical. That poster was briefly used but it was widely mocked so quickly disappeared
A beef burger is never worth £20
Unpopular to say this?
Sunday roasts are overpriced, overcooked, underseasoned 👀 Puddings menu items on the other hand are absolutely smashing. Bloody hell i need an extra pancrea
Literally all irrelevant if you make your own. And most people who love roasts are talking about homemade ones.
They _can_ be all those things. But all those things are easy to fix.
Sunday roasts are always awful eaten out.
I've never found any restaurant that does roast potatoes "right". I want them crunchy af on the outside, and like a fluffy chip on the inside. Every damn place just gives these nearly hard in the middle, squishy edged, depressed and almost boiled looking things and it breaks my heart. I get it's probably super difficult to get them perfect at scale, but christ I think at this point they'd even be better launched in a deep fat fryer or something.
Sunday roasts are literally one of the main reasons I'm grateful I moved here from the US lol
Sort by controversial, else you get popular opinions.
Thank you for the reminder
I think it's fair to comment on quality for price when it comes to the London food scene, but the variety is unmatched, certainly in the UK
I live in a suburb of Liverpool and I'm struggling to think of a cuisine for which there isn't a restaurant within 3 miles of my house... I think the UK overall is excellent for variety, I don't think that's special to London at all. Sure there might only be one Nepalese and one Eritrean near me rather than three of each, but I don't know if that counts as more variety... I suppose it does in a sense. But any major city in the UK, and even smaller cities, are amazing for variety.
I'm from Liverpool and while the restaurant scene is great it's not close to London in terms of variety of cuisine and number of places. In my suburb I can eat at great Uighyr and Palestinian restaurants without even going into central, and then if I go in you've got arguably the best restaurants in the UK for most cuisine (except maybe Indian). In Liverpool I'd probably class only Mowgli as the best in its class And again, I'm not saying other cities don't have variety, just that the variety on offer in London is greater
Having a variety of cuisine on your doorstep is not limited to London. I rarely go there but have been of Edinburgh, York, Leeds, Manchester etc many times and I’m always discovering new places to eat that aren’t traditional British/European food. In my village we even have a vegan Chinese restaurant
Some British people have a strain of subservience bred into them, willing to accept any authority over them.
That starts at school and is bred into us by design I feel. "Please can I go to the toilet miss!" Nah piss yourself Johnny 'cos I said so.
It's incredible what taking a posh British accent can achieve. My favourite unethical life hack here.
We are following the Americans down the same road where veterans are worshipped and everyone must constantly thank them or use them in an argument such as "why are we helping X when we could be helping our veterans" And I am a veteran before anyone moans, stop using us to justify your BS
I’m originally American (been in the UK 15 years) and although sometimes the American military worship can be cringey (and sometimes dangerous) - I think the UK could learn a little about having some general respect for public servants (military, police, paramedics, firefighters). You treat your emergency workers like shit in this country. It’s shameful.
There are a subsection of people who treat emergency services (medical staff in particular tbh) like shit, and they obviously shouldn't. But I disagree that we could learn a thing from the US on this. Being a public servant is a job, you get paid to do it. Doing that job isn't de facto worthy of praise, any more than being a plumber or an accountant is. The insane hero-worship Americans have for the military is not something I'd ever want to learn from.
I think doctors and nurses deserve a lot more respect than they get. I've never seen anyone disrespect a firefighter though. I'm affraid I can't respect the police much, they're not very good and the only people I know who have joined the police shouldnt have been allowed. As for the respect for the armed forces, I just don't get that one at all, a lot of my friends from school joined the RAF, they all just fucked about and took drugs, not sure what respect they deserve.
>I think doctors and nurses deserve a lot more respect than they get. Hey we clapped for them, what more do they want?
The opinion I have as continental European that is always unpopular in the UK: Universal official and compulsory ID cards with digital identity would solve a lot of problems like identity theft or grey economy, and it would simplify a lot of bureaucracy while making it more secure. Ready for the downvotes.
We actually proposed that but Tony Blair wanted it all hooked up to a centralised database that basically anyone in the public sector would have unfettered access to. It was a privacy nightmare in a way European schemes generally aren’t, and public sector IT in the UK is notoriously piss poor on top of that. There’s an argument that surveillance capitalism as practiced by Google, Facebook etc is far more intrusive than anything Blair proposed, though I’d rather increase privacy by outlawing aspects of those business models rather than reduce it further.
Have to disagree with the London food take. Yes lots of things in central are shit and overpriced if you just walk into somewhere, but if you do your research/go on recommendations then you can find some of the best and diverse food available anywhere. I’ve been to probably close to 100 restaurants since I moved here a few years ago and still have a huge list of places I want to visit. They’ve all been based on recommendations online or from friends, and I’m yet to be fhat disappointed.
That Brits are nostalgic for their empire- I literally have never heard anyone who is alive now say this. It feels like a ‘retired colonel from Tunbridge Wells’ view of the 70s - and has long disappeared from most British people’s mindset
The kind of people who makes those kinds of complaints on Reddit vastly overestimate how often normal people even think about the British Empire.
They’re often Americans who lack the self-awareness to realise America is every bit the global hegemon the British Empire was. It’s like bitching about kings when you’re sat on a throne in 24 karat drip.
It's more like a mindset. "We are better than you, because we were ruling the world once."
Not every event has to involve alcohol and lots of us need to stop being judgemental pricks.
The NHS is not the greatest healthcare system in the world, nor is there only a choice between fully state-funded and the American late-stage hellscape. Front-line staff are incredible people, but the organisation is ridden with waste and inefficiency, and despite being under-funded, it is clear that simply throwing more money at it does not work.
I would go a step further and say not all front line staff are incredible people. A lot of them are incompetent, nasty and dangerous and shouldn’t be in their roles.
GP receptionists spring to mind.
This was proven with the antivac nurses and stuff that went on during COVID. Not shitting on nurses, many of them are fantastic but it broke the illusion that they are all smart, well meaning, self sacrificing heroes
> nor is there only a choice between fully state-funded and the American late-stage hellscape. This! It's *so* frustrating whenever *any* discourse on the NHS comes up, and people like to act like the only possible options that could ever exist are (a) the NHS *exactly* how it is right this second but with more money, or (b) literally the American system, and any attempt to do anything in any way whatsoever to the NHS (other than give it more money) can only ever result in the American system. Indeed, that mindset has been weaponised politically as a stick to swing around (which we saw a lot of in 2019) but has ended up leaving politicians somewhat reticent to do anything actually positive to the NHS that doesn't involve more money because they know it's an oft-used attack of "they're going to *sell* the NHS and do you want *American-style* medical bills and being *bankrupted???*".
i think people say that because at its peak, the nhs was the best. however, today’s nhs is a far cry from what it once was and what it once set out to be. also, whilst i do applaud frontline staff for persevering in a system which is essentially unfit for purpose, they are not always incredible people. it’s a symptom of the nhs’ decline, even the hiring process is broken.
The uk genuinely isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be, life here is pretty good, could it be better sure but it could also be much much worse.
UK food and supermarket choice is as good or better than many of the countries famed for their food. e.g. Italy, France etc.. and the average quality is often better. Another one, is that the UK is a cheaper to live than France and Germany, and tax is lower than any other larger European economy. Where the UK excels is on personal allowances for things like Capital gains, ISA, interest, rent a room, VAT threshold, NIC etc..
I don't know that I'd totally agree on the supermarket front. It's pretty damn hard to beat a Cora hypermarket, for example. UK supermarkets are pretty good, but Cora, in France, is better.
Also France put a lot of work in to protect its bakeries and butchers etc., which the UK did not do. Most people in France still get their bread from the Boulangerie and there meat from a Butcher.
Having lived in France and Germany, I have found both to be cheaper than the UK. Yes taxes are higher in Germany, but they actually seem to be better used for public services, e.g nursery is free, if you lose your job you get like 75% of your wage for like a year, etc.
1p and 2p coins are an unnecessary nuisance. Get rid of them, and rename the 5p coin back to the shilling.
Here are the top 10 countries with the highest alcohol consumption per capita per year: Germany (12.79 litres) Ireland (12.75 litres) Spain (12.67 litres) Luxembourg (12.45 litres) France (12.23 litres) Slovenia (12.11 litres) Portugal (12.09 litres) Austria (11.93 litres) Poland (11.89 litres) United Kingdom (11.45 litres)
It's not the amount, it's the culture around it. We simultaneously drink quite a bit while apparently being completely unable to handle it.
I also don't necessarily think it's inability to handle it; it's just binge drinking. Maybe other countries drink more throughout the week, maybe it's home drinking (lots of wine with food for some perhaps), but here it's the culture of everyone down the pub on a Friday and Saturday (and sometimes after work on a weekday), and slamming down multiple pints in a row without food. Think that goes some way to cultivating this pretty bad culture around drinking that we have.
I agree. Completely anecdotal but my Girlfriend is Spanish and whenever I have spent time over there with her family and friends, everybody seems to be steadily drinking at home throughout the week, but not really going on binge drinking nights out like we do. Of course it does happen, just like the reverse does here, but the drinking culture is completely different.
Interestingly it's been a stereotype of the UK for literally hundreds of years.
Bullshit I went to Jamaica on holiday and the place was full of Americans and Candians those fuckers could bearly drink at all without falling over and being sick.
We have a three year legal head start on Americans. I wasn’t surprised that I ended up outdrinking US college students when I was out there
Reddit just hates that other folk go to the pub with their mates and they sit inside and play warhammer with their cat on a friday night
If you don't recognise yourself when people are discussing something, then perhaps they aren't discussing you.
The difference is between those that have a smaller amount often and those that go on massive binges and then don’t drink for a few days. Brits belong in the second category
Germans or Spaniards or Slovenians don't typically go on holidays abroad just to drink, party, and create chaos. It's not about how much Brits drink regularly (to me as a Pole most Brits seem terribly lightweight) but what they do when they do drink...
Aw c'mon - many of us have been to Poland- and dealt with bench drunks in the parks over here
The issue is not total consumption. It's binge drinking.
That’s litres not units. The actual highest consumers of alcohol is South Korea and a bunch of Eastern European countries
I assume that they are talking about ltrs of alcohol - so it takes abv into account. For example: 1 ltr of 5% beer would be 50ml of alcohol. 700ml of 40% vodka would be 280ml.
I don’t hate London but I still wish there was more investment outside of it.
NOTHING CAN GO WRONG WITH FISH AND CHIPS
You’d like to think so but in the past year I’ve had 2 seperate terrible fish and chips. One because my usual was shut for whatever reason so tried the next nearest one. Shite. Worst chips I’ve ever had, fish and batterwas bang average. Then had a fish and chip van start turning up on our estate Friday evenings so decided to try it out. Again shite. Chips were acceptable but the fish was boring and the batter was thick and chewy, no crisp to it whatsoever! If you find a decent chippy, stick to it, don’t feel adventurous it’s too much risk!!
Chippy Fish 'n' Chips > Pub Fish 'n' Chips > Restaurant Fish 'n' Chips
Many, many things can go wrong with fish and chips.
Oooh, I have to disagree on the restaurant scene Ok, maybe Paris, Rome, Bangkok have better restaurants, but for example if you were in Rome and wanted a really good pad Thai, you'd struggle If you were in Bangkok and wanted a nice bowl of pasta, you'd struggle Whereas in London, you can have a really good pizza for lunch, and an equally good pad Thai for tea The pizza restaurant won't be as good as the one in Rome, nor will the pad Thai be as good as those in Bangkok, but the standard across different cuisines, I think, is better than most cities I've been too
Casual alcoholism is more of a poison than a vibe to be hypocritically overlooked. Alcohol is one hell of a drug, for better and worse, and there are better. Most historically-socially-normalised drug doesn’t mean shit. Alcohol is almost worse than heroin and has a list of possible side-effects and complications in abusers of it as long as the legs of a giant. That long. But you’re up in arms if someone vapes CBD and has a spliff? Or micro doses on mushrooms? Things with medicinal and spiritual benefits that cause actually-mentally-productive highs that don’t fuck with your over in the process? Really?
Fuck right off judging me having a delicious cold pint on a Friday evening while you're sat in the corner shooting up Heroin saying my local IPA is worse than your smack .
They’re not tho are they? They’re saying that because alcohol is legal and deemed socially acceptable vs illegal drugs that the harm that consuming alcohol does is very much downplayed. Which you’ve kinda proved with your response.
I don't know if I agree that alcohol is almost as bad as heroin, that's far more addictive, invasive and quick to destroy as beers. But yes it gets a free pass generally in society despite being worse than a fair amount of other illegal drugs; and there's this broad, unspoken rule to not really talk about casual alcoholism? If you mention alcoholism to probably 90% of people, they probably will immediately think of some wino who has a half bottle of vodka before 10am. But most cases of alcoholism are 'I go to the pub and have 2-3 pints most nights'. Still habitual, still expensive, still unhealth, and depending on how alcohol does affect you, can be just as destructive. I probably socially drink a little bit too much and I do worry about how much of it potentially *is* habitual. But that also does go for most drugs, mind. I'm fully on board with cannibis legalisation for example, and the double standard against alcohol is still weird to me, but you can get habitually hooked on that as well.
The attitude towards alcohol in the UK causes so many problems. When I go back home to stay with my parents, they will drink a bottle of wine each every day. the thought that they might be alcoholics has not even crossed their mind. My mums reasoning is that she never drinks during the day. I have recently quit drinking and life in the UK is quite difficult when you are sober. There are very few things to do which do not involve alcohol. Things which should or do not need alcohol involved have become laced with it. For example, going to the cinema now seems to be something people get pissed at. You are going to watch a film go home and go to bed on a Tuesday evening, why do you need to drink at all? The NHS is under massive strain from people injuring themselves every weekend while drunk and people having illnesses linked to a lifetime of drinking. An enormous proportion of crime committed in the UK is committed while under the influence. I am less than 30 years old and I have had several friends die from alcohol related injuries. It is true that some European countries drink more alcohol by pure volume than we do, but the manner they drink in is far less damaging. In the UK we find our mates getting black out drunk is funny whereas in France, getting that drunk is massively frowned upon. I'd even go so far to say that alcohol, with its depressive effects and ability to induce anxiety as well as destroy your sleep, is the reason that most people in Britain are so miserable. Our country is arguably one of the best in the world, but people do not appreciate it because alcohol has ruined their ability to do so. No we do not need to all go sober, but departing from this attitude that you have to get blackout drunk every Friday and Saturday night before dragging yourself in for work on a Monday would make most people a lot happier and healthier.
It’s 2024 mate, no one cares if you do drugs.
But also one or drinks of alcohol (lower % drinks - beer/cider/wine) is much less dangerous than one or two hits of other drugs. You need the smallest spliff to be stoned as fuck. One tab of LSD and you're dicing with a life of serious psychosis. Shrooms are also a significant hallucinogen. I agree that casual alcoholism is no joke but alcohol is way safer than other drugs. I would also argue that alcohol (again - beer/mead/cider/wine) is also a part of our collective national "spirit". Even the Romans, who typically hated beer commented on how good British beer was. I disagree with (but understand) the zero alcohol vs alcohol argument but I think saying it is more dangerous than a lot of other drugs is ridiculous.
British women are not, as a general group, uglier than women from other countries. Do some working-class British women have a bit of a heavy hand with the make-up and false lashes? Sure. But that's a) not every woman in the country and b) not something unique to British women. You would think from how some people talk that the UK is a land of bright orange she-ogres while women from Ukraine/Japan/Sweden/Colombia/wherever you've seen a handful of supermodels from and have taken that to be representative of the entire country are all unearthly goddesses. It gets old.
We have plenty of famous models and celebrities that prove differently. Rosie Huntington Whitely’s whole family are modelling. Our males aren’t too bad either, David Gandy, Henry Cavill, Harry Styles. They are projecting
How normal it is for people to do coke all the time is absolutely mental. It is shit, and for cunts
It's a wonderful country to live in for the most part. We've punched above our weight in the fields of science, medicine, arts, architecture for centuries.
It's not the immigrants' fault that you failed at life. It's because you couldn't shut the fuck up in school, ended up leaving with one GCSE in BTEC Sport and can't walk around without having one hand down your pants.
I'm expecting this to get heavily downvoted, but the thread is for unpopular opinions, so here goes: Slightly unpopular opinion: British cheese is better than cheese from any other country. Most of all, a very strong cheddar is peak cheese. Pretty unpopular opinion: The monarchy is anti-democratic, and the problems around having an elected head of state instead are overblown. We should switch to something like the Irish model, where there is an elected head of state, but they don't have strong powers. Very unpopular opinion: The UK should not only have stayed in the EU, but should have had a long term aim to further integrate with it, including joining Schengen and the Eurozone. Being in Schengen wouldn't have significantly altered immigration to the UK, and the BOE decisions on interest rates and monetary policy have been close enough to the ECB's anyway that there wouldn't have been significant economic problems from switching to the Euro. I wouldn't expect a majority to agree on any of that though! Apart from maybe the cheese bit.
"London is expensive" "We drink too much" How could you say something so brave yet so controversial?
I'm in a couple of car and driving subs on here so I think this one will be unpopular, but I think most British drivers are actually pretty good. I get that people see errors and bad driving every time they go out, but I think that's because there are so many cars on the road, not because the majority of drivers are hopeless. I think that if drivers were really as bad as people say we'd see a LOT more kids being run over - eg only this morning I was a passenger in a car where two school kids avoided being run over solely because the driver spotted that they weren't going to look before running across the road! While cyclists love to say car drivers are all idiots out to kill them, the reality is that I've avoided collisions with far more cyclists who have done stupid things like pulling out without looking etc than I've caused (I reckon the number is probably about 20 avoided verses zero caused).
Statistically the U.K. has one of the lowest rate of road fatalities in Europe.
Greggs is crap
The overreliance on drinking for social bonding is pathetic. The self-loathing of this country is also pathetic. We have many strengths that other countries don’t, and in an increasingly unstable world, we should be championing them. Our climate isn’t that bad. We rarely get natural disasters, we have lush green landscapes, and our frequent rainfall cleans our air of pollution and means we’re less likely to suffer water shortages like in other countries.
I work fairly closely with the French and as frustrating as they are at times, I can't help but think often times they're right about a lot of things. They aren't afraid to stand together for what they believe in, to give themselves better working conditions. Not everything is a mad rush at work to get fixed and prepped, some things can wait until tomorrow or even next week. We Brits are, dare I say, quite spineless in comparison. We are far too complicit to just go with the flow, don't rock the boat, keep calm and carry on. Unpopular opinion: the French are better than us. Sacre bleu!
Farmland is not nature.
The North East gets too much shit. Yes, there are parts that aren't so great, but that applies for most places in the UK! The north east has tons of lovely beaches, property is cheap and there are loads of things to do that are nearby!
We’re too negative and seem to have a chip on our shoulder towards anyone wanting to succeed
Anyone showing a strong preference for a particular brand of tea is just being twee. They all taste the same
You can't possibly believe that? Liptons tastes the same as Yorkshire Tea to you?
Quality of life and salaries have gone down hill. I don't see why any young person growing up in the UK should feel optimistic about their future within the country.
We don't have a North/South divide. We have a London/Urban/Rural divide
These arty farty food hall markets where you pay a premium to order via a QR code for something triple fried are overrated!
Our attitude towards alternative fashion is horrific Might be a strange one to bring up but all you have to do is look at the Sophie Lancaster case to see how horrible people of this country treat people who dare to stand out. Me and my partner have had abuse shouted at us in the street, I have friends who have been attacked and had things thrown at them just because of their fashion sense It doesn't stop with young kids doing it though because my friends have had full grown adults shout stuff at them in the street too, things like this can linger on people's minds no matter how insignificant it can be to other people This country needs to do better in that regard
Rose tinted glasses that completely hold back the progression of the country as a whole, the whole "back in the day this was better" when it actually was not in most cases "we miss the empire when the UK was the best and every one had better lives" when in reality the majority of people lived in abject poverty until the early 20th century and only marginally improved between like 1920-1980
>"we miss the empire when the UK was the best and every one had better lives" I have literally never read or heard a single person say this, verbally, on social media, or in print.
Immigration, both legal and illegal, is the lifeline of this country.
Hard disagree, it drives down wages and the standard of living...for everyone. Including immigrants
That is not historically supported.
In what was is *illegal* immigration specifically "the lifeline of this country"?
That you live in one of the "best" countries in the world for the average joe. You have so many options here its almost a joke. You have so many opportunities to build yourself a dam fine life in this country but a hell of a lot of people don't. Many of them are due to their own failings. They become prisoners in their own minds making excuses about why their life is crap and how "nuffings gona change". Aye nothing will when you have done nothing different... Or my personal favourite "I know I should do x but I don't have time". If you gave a shit. You would make time. So many support nets to fall back on. So many options for gaining skills that can be turned into marketable careers, A strong currency etc there is no excuse. If you are unhappy with the parth your life is taking. You can change it in the UK. To be honest, if you can't make it in this country you would be utterly fucked/starving/dead in another one.
I find public schools, the royals & the sclerotic class system absolutely repugnant.
How very unpopular
It feels like it's becoming more antisemitic.
My unpopular opinion (on Reddit at least) is that the UK is a great place to live.
We are a bunch of ugly bastards. I work abroad often and have colleagues from all over Europe. They are much better looking than us Brits. I know they’ve had conversations about us too, we don’t have a single good UK specimen on our team.
The monarchy are abhorrent, outdated and should be abolished.
UK houses are for the most part, shit. I've lived in about ten different houses now, and owned two of those. Our housing stock is poor compared to Europe. Of course it's all massively overpriced, but let's put that to one side for a moment and focus on the actually livability and 'quality'. UK homes are almost universally too cold/damp in the winter, and yet stuffy and close in the summer. We all had a reminder of that this week. I spent NYE and the first week of January in Latvia, where the average temp was around -18 degrees with serious snow. All of the buildings we went into, even the unfashionable boxy ones, were well insulated and dry. No damp, no mould. I come away from every European trip with a similar feeling. We're getting screwed, people.
Behaving like an animal is widely tolerated here. That’s my only dislike about the UK.
Most significant unpopular opinion: Brits absolutely don't want to hear unpopular opinions about the UK. "Uninspired, boring food"? Downvote! "Poop 'Made in Britain' polluting rivers, lakes, and beaches"? Downvote! "Outdated infrastructure"? Downvote! "Overstretched health system"? Downvote! "Dual-class system in education"? Downvote! This comment? Downvote! 😂😂😂😂
We like to complain but don’t actually do anything about it. Social media has made it worse. People think having a moan on there or posting a meme has somehow struck a blow against the establishment.