What makes Britain so good? Convince me.

As a fellow Brit, albeit an unpatriotic one, what makes Britain so 'Great'?

I left there as I was sick of all the uneducated youths hanging around street corners and causing violence in the streets. I just felt as if it was (and still is) spiralling out of control. The cost of living and petrol and food also seems rather steep.

Have you ever seen a film called This is England? It's rather good and thought provoking.

Why do you like Britain? I used to a long time ago and want to be convinced that the country still is worth caring about because I just feel it has gone to the dogs so to speak. Look at what Gordon Brown has 'achieved' for example.

Convince me :)

Take care.

Ian

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ather on October 4, 2008 at 11:46am: i love britain as it is my home;
it is a place where my friends and neighbours know me and welcome me.
Its a place where i was educated, where i learnt about the good and bad things about life, and allowed me the freedom to think and say.
A place that cares about the future, and its environment.
Its a place that has all the seasons under the sun occur in a single day!
Its the place for fish n chips or a curry or a chinese or a thai
Britain may be an overcrowded country, but has open gates where all cultures, races, religions and creed intermingle harmoniously and genuine people that seek refuge, are given the opportunity to stay.
It is the only place with different accents, dialects considering its size.
Its the birthplace of the computer, of invention and of sport and one of the first places to offer aid to charities to other countries.
British Humour is the best and we laugh at ourselves the most.
I'm proud of british history, although bleak at times, the country has left a vast imprint and a glorious legacy possibly on most countries on our planet.
A place where every 4 years i relive the pain of supporting my country as they get knocked out of the world cup/euro tournaments.
Gordon Brown may have done 'nothing' but he does not define Britain.

I'm proud to be British and would fight for my country to protect its shores, yes there are yobs, gangs and crime occurring but im proud that the Gurkhas have been given citizenship and equal rights due to the justice system.

If any nation deserves to be called Great it had to be the one i am typing to you from ... Britain; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ian Walker on October 5, 2008 at 5:23pm: That is a good reply although some people may think that some of the benefits you have listed are not actually benefits at all.

Take care.

Ian; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ather on October 5, 2008 at 5:26pm: True, and thanks for your kind response although i was writing more from my heart!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ian Walker on October 15, 2008 at 7:42pm: I realised that :)

Take care.

Ian; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by danisthemann on October 14, 2008 at 1:57pm: i like the sea the most evern if you onley get one or two days of sun; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ian Walker on October 15, 2008 at 7:42pm: I never saw the sea where I lived :(

Take care.

Ian; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steven Lauren on October 17, 2008 at 12:37am: You guys have all the best culture and class - FTW! I only wish that music, TV, and theatre over here in the States was 1/2 as good.

Your best (David Beckham/Gordon Ramsey) and worst (Simon Cowell/Pierce Morgan) are both welcome here!

:-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ian Walker on October 19, 2008 at 7:11pm: I've noticed that popular British films such as The Italian Job and popular TV series like The Office and Life on Mars are always duplicated in the USA but are never as good. We don't really duplicate any of your stuff, Pop Idol (which lead to American Idol in the USA) started off in the UK :)

Take care.

Ian; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steven Lauren on October 20, 2008 at 6:18pm: Oh I was totally aware of Pop Idol, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, etc. starting in the UK. I have to agree with you that every time the US attempts to remake a UK program it always turns into total crap (the Doctor Who telemovie from 1996 also springs to mind - although Paul McGann was brilliant, Sylvester McCoy better than I remembered and the TARDIS interior design better than the entire original series and the new series combined). There are very few exceptions to this rule. Steptoe & Son vs. Sanford & Son maybe. There is one modern example (one you mentioned) where the US remake not only seemed to be as good, but astonishingly for once (imho) actually better?!?! That was with "the Office". I have seen both and I actually prefer the US version, as much as I loved the original! I NEVER thought that could be possible! Still, the point being that the UK has the best TV programming, and the fact that other nations - including the US - remakes them only verifies that fact. :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ian Walker on October 21, 2008 at 8:20am: I've heard that the US Office is not very good and that is from Americans themeselves :)

I don't think a British version of Heroes or X-Files would work.

Take care.

Ian; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ado Rey on January 7, 2009 at 12:39am: I've been watching the Distraction game show when it was being hosted in Britain and now in America both by Jimmy Carr. All I can say is that I feel uncomfortable and want to cringe whenever I watch the British show and just laugh it off while watching the American version. The host himself seems to have adjusted to the American audience's lesser tolerance towards pain and broadcast masochism that the game is exhibiting.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by scotsboyuk on January 14, 2009 at 5:44am: What makes Britain so good? I'll tell you what makes Britain so good!

Red pillar boxes
Black cabs
Sipping beer on a warm summer's evening by the village green
Cricket
Fair play
Magna Carta
Driving an open top sports car in the rain, turning to one's lady companion and saying 'Bracing weather, isn't it darling?"
HM the Queen
Churchill
Bagpipes
Rugby
Land of Hope and Glory
The Union Jack
Scotch
Sterling
Haggis
Snowdonia
Shakespeare
Britannia
Boris Johnson
HIGNFY
Jeeves & Wooster
The Few
Lord Admiral Nelson
Charles Dickens
Charles Darwin
The Thin Red Line
The BBC
A stiff upper lip
Sir Isaac Newton
Stephen Hawking
King Arthur
The Last Night of the Proms
Never giving in
Hope when all hope has been lost
A pig headed refusal to acknowledge defeat
Blackadder
Sir David Jason
Enid Blyton
Only Fools and Horses
Red telephone boxes
Big Ben
Stonehenge
A full cooked breakfast
Kilts
Fawlty Towers
Monty Python
The English language
Gaelic
Welsh
The Beatles
The West Coast of Scotland
Spitfires & Hurricanes
Bobbys on the beat
Roarke's Drift
Afternoon Tea
Robert Burns
Parliamentary democracy
Self-depreciating humour
Sarcasm
Stephen Fry
Calm in the midst of a crisis
Queues
The State Opening of Parliament
Murder mysteries
Dunkirk
The NHS
Fish n' chips
Country houses
HM Queen Victoria
London
HMS Victory
Black pudding
The British Armed Forces

... and many more besides! Huzzah for Britain! Huzzah I say!; ▶ Reply to This