Inside England From an Insider

[acooke-13]

Hey guys! This is my first MyTake...So be gentle!

Ok, here's what England is really like!

1. Not everyone is obsessed with the Queen/Royal Family.

Not sure why everyone thinks we all bum the Royals, there are literally only few people who absolutely adore the Queen and the Royal Family, we really don't give a shit... So no, we defiantly don't invite her around for tea and crumpets. In regards to the recent wedding, a lot of people were excited, probably because it's an excuse to celebrate, it's a nice day and at Wills & Kate's wedding, we all got the day off school/work, so I think that's what people were hoping for (we didn't).

2. We are not all from London and speak like the Queen.

A lot, and I mean a lot of people (from what I've heard) outside of England think we are all from London and all speak the same, when infact there are over THIRTY regional accents over England, some are; Brummie, Geordie, Teesside, Yorkie, and the list goes on. There's also an on going argument between Northerners and Southerners about where is best. For the record, it's the North.

3. Tea is Dinner but also Tea - and we don't all drink it.

Up North, we call dinner, tea. But we also have the drink, tea. It's pretty easy to tell which one someone's talking about, but even Southerners don't understand the reasoning for calling dinner, tea, and frankly, neither do I! It's just the lingo.

No, we don't all drink it, it's not in our blood, and we do drink it in the summer too. I never really drank it until I started working and I just liked it, it has a nice taste depending on which tea it is, but a lot of people can't stand it and opt for coffee.

4. Why don't we tip.

It's because in England and just about everywhere but the US pays the waiter a living wage and they even include tax into what their buying at the shop. In the US, it's expected because their employers don't have to pay them even minimum wage. That's why waitresses and waiters have to basically live on their tips. Also, we do tip if the service and food is good (there is sometimes a service charge on the bill anyway) Why would I want to tip if the staff are snotty and the food was minging? One time, when I worked in a Football Club shop, a group of Americans came in, probably in their early 20s, bought a shit ton of clothes and when I went to give them their £20 change, they told me to KEEP IT. Excuse me WHAT!?

5. The beloved English weather

So, it doesn't always rain, so that's a bonus! Each year is different, some years we get a lot of rain, others we don't. This year has been extremely generous, even giving us a lot of sun and warm temperatures, heck I even got a tan in the heatwave!

We also don't have air conditioning, because it only gets hot enough to warrant it probably once a year, at best! We have fans though, for when everyone wishes it was warm and It actually gets warm, then we complain.

6. What's with our teeth?

Ok so this one made me giggle a bit, why does everyone seem to think we all have crooked and dirty teeth? Granted druggies, homeless people and people who've been in fights/accidents will have wonky or no teeth, smelly breath and black teeth. But everyone else who brushes them and goes to the dentist like a normal person has pretty standard teeth.

7. Adding U's to words.

This made me laugh;

England: colour;
America: color
England: humour
America: humor
England: flavour
America: flavor
England: what are you doing
America: getting rid of u lmao

I don't know why, it's just interesting - I think it's literally a case of Americans just dropping the U and the English keeping it.

8. We don't have separate tiny homes for our post outside our house.

We have a letterbox, so yano when we get lots of mail the dog can eat it... I do kinda prefer having a letterbox though, it means no one has access to your post it if it's in your house. Although, I don't know if they have locks on them in the US or anywhere they're used. Plus, I'm lazy, I don't wanna have to go out of the house to get my post!

9. Our plugs are huge, so if you step on one it's a lot more painful!

But, they're a lot safer because they have an on/off switch. Also we don't have sockets in our bathrooms, that's a NO GO and a very safe one at that. There also used to be a lot of string lights instead of switches, a lot of the designs and architecture in England seems to be centred around not being electrocuted!

10. Finally, driving facts

We drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, which is actually brilliant for me because I'm left handed anyway.

It's illegal to be in the fast lane and to be going slow and/or not overtaking vehicles, it's classed as dangerous driving.

Everyone drives over the speed limit, everywhere.

90% of people drive manual cars, I thought this was the same for all countries but apparently Americans opt for the automatics.

Roundabouts, we have so many roundabouts, which is were I get the most road rage, I can't stand when people pull out in front of me then proceed to go slow!!

There is no minimum speed limit, maximum is 70MPH on motorways.

Turning right on a dual carriageway will confuse the shit out of you, trust me.

London has a congestion charge.

More drivers are aggressive, the road rage here is REAL, guilty as charged.

Undertaking is illegal, so yeah pull out into the right lane and overtake.

Anyone wanting to drive in London, DON'T, there's plenty of public transport, don't put yourself through it.

Ok guys, that's it! It's long but informative (I hope), I hope you enjoyed the read!

Lemme know what you think!

[ZeussLightningBolt]

LOL. I'm guessing you're from the north. I have to agree with you on it being better. The north has nicer scenery and isn't as touristy.
I think it rains more in Scotland
I knew about the accents. I like the Manchester accent, hate the London accent.

And the dropping the U thing was actually proposed by Teddy Roosevelt to simplify the English language, and it sort of caught on. But really, the English language originated in England, so YOUR English is actually proper English.

And your tip story was funny. It's not uncommon for Americans to tell you to keep the change, and there's no doubt they did it 'cuz they thought you were hot.

by the way, is it really as expensive as you hear, and is the food really the worst in the world?

[ZeussLightningBolt]

I also hear Brits are rude as hell, especially Londoners, but most of the ones I've met have been really friendly. MOST

[acooke-13]

It is usually Southerners that are rude, I noticed that on my first trip to London and I can't stand it!!

No actually, it's not that expensive, in London granted its slightly more pricey than the average city, but it is the capital - but if you look hard enough then you'll find good prices!
As for the food, I love it! Don't know where you heard that it's the worst, it's actually really nice :)

[ZeussLightningBolt]

From English people. lol

I also hear they don't like Polish people.

[ZeussLightningBolt]

Thanks for MHO

And yes, I heard people from London and Cornwall are really rude.
Also Wales

[acooke-13]

Who doesn't like Polish people? Not heard it! The English and Scottish aren't exactly best pals tho!
and no problem

[kittyluv]

I can´t get over calling sausages tea!!! Incredible. I also dated a British guy, originally from Scotland but living in London, and I totally dissed the royal wedding this summer and also said I´d shudder at the thought of living in the UK. Did I completely burn my bridges with this guy?

[acooke-13]

It is mostly the North that call it tea, no idea why! Um, it depends how passionate he is about the Royals and his country I suppose. If someone said that to me I was potentially going to date I wouldn't be bothered, I'm not a massive fan of the Royals myself and I don't know why you wouldn't want to live in the UK, other than London it's great here (most of the time lol)

[kittyluv]

It´s raining a lot. isn´t it? lol

[acooke-13]

Yesterday it was but todays lovely, so far!

[MrOracle]

The reason the English add "u"s to words is because following the Restoration (which put Charles II back in power after Oliver Cromwell had defeated him and exiled him and killed his father [the then-King Charles I] and turned England into a republic for about a decade) in 1658, Charles II and the whole of England were heavily influenced by the most powerful and longest-ruling king of all time, King Louis XIV of France, who was the center of power over all of Europe until his death in 1715.

Charles in fact spent his 9 years in exile in France, and particularly after his return, English society was HEAVILY influenced by France, with high society often speaking French, wearing French clothes, reading French books, and so on. This was the period where a strong French influence had entered English in Briton.

But significant English immigration to the Americas pre-dated this, and so pre-Frenchified English continued to be taught and written in America, while England's English was corrupted by French influence.

[acooke-13]

Wow thanks for that :) very informative!

[Kilapan]

Interesting explanation, for my part I like that the gringos do not use the 'U', since in Spanish we say 'color', 'humor', etc.

[Anonymous]

Interesting take. Thanks for sharing.

Regarding # 4 (Why don't we tip) - it seems there are some misconceptions you, and a lot of the world have about how and why tipping works in the US. I'll start by saying I have waited tables in a lot of restaurants for a lot of years, so I speak from a standpoint of experience.

Your statement that "That's why waitresses and waiters have to basically live on their tips" is misleading because it gives the impression waiters/waitresses don't earn a lot of money. They do, and I mean A LOT, if they do a good job. As a waiter I have earned a shit ton of money, far more than most people who are "unskilled", and certainly a better "living wage" than a whole lot of others.

The difference between the system here in the US and elsewhere is that the tipping system gives customers control over how well the waiter is compensated BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE. If you remove tipping from the equation, customers will still pay the same amount (because the cost will just be added to the price on the menu), AND it will all be taxed, so less of it will actually get into the hands of the waiter.

So you see, the system in the US is better for all involved. It's better for the customer because it means they don't have to pay a poorly performing waiter as much as a good one, thus motivating the waiter to perform their best, and it's better for the waiter because he/she has more control over his/her earnings, AND ultimately earns more.

The only party who loses out is the government because they collect less tax revenue, but that doesn't exactly break my heart.

So now you are informed.

[acooke-13]

Thanks for that!

[Electric_Dreams]

1. I think more people are obsessed with Queen than The Queen. I find neither to be all that impressive. Definitely.

2. Scouse is the worst/best (for a laugh). I cannot take those with the Carragher scouse accent seriously when they talk. I find it amusing.

3. I like Iced tea. Some extremely traditionalist, patriotic limeys tell me I am too American.

4. (they probably don't know what "minging" means). Those lads sound like they were silver spooners.

5. It does usually rain in ELO songs though.

6. Anyone who can afford to visit the dentist regularly has too much money.

7. To be fair the U's are not truly necessary.

8. Letter boxes are also good for quick pizza deliveries.

9. They make a good weapon though. You can kill a man in just 27 hits with a British plug. Not bad. Not bad at all.

10. Most drivers are egotistical, arrogant, abusive imbeciles. I was not. I no longer drive because of insurance cost. I miss it.

[acooke-13]

Wow thanks haha.
As for number 8, how big is your damn letterbox?

[Electric_Dreams]

Well.. the pizza is delivered quickly that way but not necessarily in good condition. This is perhaps why I am no longer a pizza delivery driver.

[NeglectedChild]

What is this propaganda? Northern accents are some of the worst and why do all of you finish your sentences with the word "like" all the bloody time. Especially people from Newcastle.
The best accent is obviously:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5akR47MaDww

But I agree, the UK is not London. But if you don't drink tea you're not British, I'm sorry. Nice take.

[acooke-13]

Hahaha! No the North have the best accents, there different rather than the typical cockney (London) which everyone thinks we all speak like. I do drink tea and a shit ton now! But thanks! :)

[NeglectedChild]

Common man, even scouse accents? You can't be serious. That's not even English lol.

Does anyone speak with a cockney accent? I feel like it's pretty rare. If we're talking London only you can tell what part they're from just from their accent.

[acooke-13]

I know, scouse is awful (no offence to them) but jesus it's mucky.
Yes they do, I went to Thorpe Park a few years back and It was full of them.

[NeglectedChild]

I don't know. I don't even think there's one london accent. East Londoners sound way different to Central and South londoners for example.
Even in Birmingham, it's a good mix.
I have the most neutral accent ever and people say I sound posh.

[Lovi87]

I liked this take, but the only thing I want to quote you on is...

"But everyone else who brushes them and goes to the dentist like a normal person has pretty standard teeth."

Like a normal person? some people can't afford to go to the dentists, others who don't brush (some at least), suffer from mental illnesses which gives them no motivation to look after themselves. Other bad teeth comes down to genetics.

Those with mental illnesses will drink and eat etc to stay alive if well enough to steer away from harming themselves, but they will lose their motivation to bathe, brush, clean up, dress, and so on.

I hope that not everyone judge's people by their teeth. It might not look nice, or smell nice... but many have other reasons other than, "I just can't be bothered to brush them". some people were also not taught to brush at young ages. There are many reasons for self-care neglect.

[acooke-13]

Thank you :) Now I only did a brief statement on each, if I was going to include mental health issues the take would have been miles long. But unfortunately, mental health isn't just a problem in the UK, which is another reason as to why I didn't include it, because this take is about England and it's stereotypes - mental health not being one of them (as it's a worldwide problem) But I do agree, this is an issue and I for one do not judge people by there teeth unless I know their circumstances.

[Lovi87]

Yeah, and I totally understand about making it too long etc. I just thought I'd point it out so others can catch it as well because I have seen people judge people over things without knowing them. It's really shallow.

[acooke-13]

Well thank you, and I agree, it's shallow to be judged before you've even spoken to someone.

[Lovi87]

You're welcome.

[Sudipta007]

I am not English. But i like English accent.

Yea i find really confused about the English weather, specially in summer sometimes its sunny and gorgious within fraction of some minute suddenly get cloudy..
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Also i like cricket. I thought cricket was boring first. But then i realized the the game. And it are no longer to be boring though its a good game with lot of intelligence and patience, whenever i see test match abandon due to weather, bad light condition, rain stopped play it made me crezy about the weather...

[acooke-13]

Haha thanks. Well football is our main sport over here, I'm not really a fan of cricket but my brother is!

[Waffles731]

"Ok so this one made me giggle a bit, why does everyone seem to think we all have crooked and dirty teeth?"
I know this one actually and at one point it had some truth.
So way back when a dentist in the U. S was tired of people having bad teeth so he suggested to the U. S government to put Fluoride in the water, it worked and our teeth drastically improved.
However the U. K at the time refused to do that and as such you guys had much worse teeth.
Now with modern day toothbrushes its irrelevant but back in the day it was a thing

[acooke-13]

Ahh cool, thanks for that info!

[Edanurus]

Yeah a few the north is the better place (Yorkshire is the best) but theirs a couple of things that you don't get.

4. We do tip, for exemplary service if you put in effort then we'll tip you to show our appreciation it's not just a given.

6. American stereotype that comes down to asthetics. English teeth are more healthy but less astheticaly pleasing (natural over plastic). In America it's more let's have pure white veneres.

7. Um I think you mean Americans take letters away 😋

9. They're safer because we earth everything. That's what the extra prong is for.

10. Undertaking isn't completely illegal unless your on the inside lane.

I still go with the idea that London isn't really England.

[acooke-13]

I didn't say we don't tip completely, it's just not frowned upon if we don't - I did say that if we find the service and food is good we do tip!
But thank you for your input!
I'm presuming you're a Yorkshire lad then, it's almost the best

[spunkygiraffe]

Well, I haven't been to england, and I don't really know much about how it is different from the usa, so this actually taught me some stuff. My cousin married a Brit, and lives in londen, but I know her accent is one of the many, many different variations.

[acooke-13]

That's cool! I'm glad it's taught you something :)

[jcampbell115]

I'm really interested in the different terms you use for the same words, such as post (mail in Canada), or minging (not sure what that even means) lol.

I'm also used to knowing that I have breakfast, lunch and dinner. We don't really have tea breaks

[InTimoreDei]

Newfoundlanders have tea breaks and have similar slang. The culture there is very Irish.

[acooke-13]

I find it really interesting too, like you call it the 'side walk' I believe? And Brits call it a path..
Well, Southerners do call it breakfast, lunch and dinner too, no idea why Northerners call it breakfast, dinner, tea.. What we call a tea break but be a 5 minute break during work, not necessarily to drink tea, but to smoke and maybe go on your phone.
Minging is just another word for disgusting :)

[jcampbell115]

Yeah it's the side walk, because you "walk on the side" or the road I guess. A path here is interchangeably referred to as a trail lol, like a dirt path through the woods

[acooke-13]

I see, pretty much goes. Ahh, we don't really use the word trail other than if you were to say 'my trousers are trailing along the floor' type thing lol

[jcampbell115]

Lol, nice!
We also drive on the right side of the road, similar to the US

[jcampbell115]

It would feel so strange to me driving over there

[acooke-13]

I know, most countries do now drive on the right.. It would feel weird to me driving on the right, my Dad did whilst we were in the US and he said it was easy enough to get to grips with, but they have like 2 roundabouts in the whole damn country lmao

[Miristheiss]

I visiting England for a week. I stayed in London near Hyde Park and got a week long tube pass to get about. I loved the tube. I took several trips outside of London, ones to Stonehenge, Oxford, Bath, Stratford upon Avon and to some castle (I forget the name). I had a great time.

Sorry if I missed it, where in England do you live?

[acooke-13]

Oh that's cool! You've been to more of the south than I have! Yeah I can't do more than like 3 days in London it's too busy for my liking.
I live in the North East, about 40 minutes south of Newcastle

[Kilapan]

Here what is most known about England is the Premier League (as in all South America), then music, especially rock groups.
I am happy to read that the monarchy does not have such big fanaticism because here it is seen as something absurd.
I like the rainy oceanic weather so I would not have problems living in such a place. I imagine that rural landscapes must be very beautiful.
I really liked your post, I am always attentive to your questions, you are one of my favorite GaG users.

[acooke-13]

Wow thank you so much! :)

[AbdKilani]

I liked it , it was nice and funny and good
Well written , as for the teeth thing i think it has to do with tea as tea will color your teeth a bit and leave stains on them
As for many things I know about England thanks to Top Gear
You added many things
Thanks for this Take :) and keep going
A first take that is a great start :)

[acooke-13]

Thank you!! :)

[AbdKilani]

Welcome 😊
Thanks for sharing a great take

[HalfASoap]

Is it ever annoying to have so many restrictions on what you can do? I hear you can't even play an instrument in public or wield a butter knife, but in the US people can technically own anti-aircraft machine guns, though it would be tricky to make it happen.

[acooke-13]

Erm no, we don't really have that many restrictions, other than the obvious gun laws and wielding butter knifes are not illegal and neither is playing an instrument in public so I'm not sure where you heard that from.
What restrictions are you referring too?

[A-man-22]

I'm English and can confirm all of these.
1. Never been interested in the royal family
2. Not from London from Bedfordshire
3. tea = supper=dinner
Sure tea is a drink as well but I you want to complain about English using one word for 2 meanings look at other languages ours is hardly the worst
4. Unlike America we pay our waiters and chefs properly.
5. I kinda disagree British weather goes like this
Spring -good
Summer- a bit hot but ok
Autumn- death heat wave every year
Winter- cold very cold
6. Do know why this stereotype exists it's not true enough
7. American makes the English language worse.
Seriously you guys don't say tap but spigot?
8. Yes letter boxes/ flaps on every front door
9. A ground wire saves lives Americans
10. There is actually quite a few countries who drive on the left like Japan. Better than countries who use farenhiet that's only America.

[acooke-13]

How long have you lived in England? You think it gets hot and has a heatwave every year? My god are you sure your in the right England lollllll.
I completely don't get Fahrenheit, 0 is freezing and 100 is boiling why can't it be that simple lol

[A-man-22]

I have lived in England my entire life, born here, raised here and live here.
Around autumn time we get a heat wave of about 24-30°c which is very hot for England.

[acooke-13]

We only got one this year, we don't get one every year unfortunately. Autumn is infact the time it starts to get mild, wet & windy, it's summer when the heat waves happen.

[A-man-22]

Im a low temperature person can't focus in temperatures around 20°c+. Don't mind the cold at all. I guess that's why I feel more heat waves than you do.

[acooke-13]

I didn't say I didn't feel them, there just aren't that many. We've had one the past two years (I think) aheat wave is classed as, two days which are at the temperature of 30degrees Celsius or more. We don't have them every year.

[acooke-13]

That's two consecutive days, by the way.

[drummerdude25]

This is great! I have a lot of English/Irish heritage so I am pretty fascinated by the U. K. and it's only grown more as I've gotten older. It seems like such an interesting place. Familiar yet, different. I really want to visit!

[acooke-13]

Aw thank you! Oh really that's cool, yeah you should! I would advise against spending the whole time over here in London, Yorkshire is absolutely beautiful in the countryside :)

[drummerdude25]

I'd love to go to one (or all, lol) of your music festivals over there... You guys do it right. :D

[acooke-13]

Yeah they're pretty cool!

[TadCurious]

Thank you for this interesting myTake. As for receiving the post (mail), so exactly where is the "letterbox" in English homes? Is it just outside the front door, or somewhere else?

[acooke-13]

You're welcome :)
A letter box is in the door itself, it's like a little flap, google it and you'll be able to see what it looks like! It gets pushed through and goes into either a basket on the other side of the door if you have one, or onto the floor.

[TadCurious]

Okay, thanks! Something like this, then? How convenient when it's raining. lol

[TadCurious]

Ooops! The pic got cut off and didn't show the letterbox.

[TadCurious]

Well actually it didn't get cut off. Anyway. . . lol

[acooke-13]

Yeah, thats what it would look like from the inside. We don't have a basket so it just goes on the floor lol

[delagarza]

I really like this take! Well done! I'll be honest I'm surprised y'all don't have tea in your blood and have the Queen over for tea and crumpets, but over all I loved reading it :)

[acooke-13]

Ahh thank you @Delagarza ! Glad you enjoyed reading it :)

[sodababe2]

Totally agree with what’s been said 100% except.. as a Londoner... (I love the south and its accent more)

[acooke-13]

Thank you, haha that's understandable, most people usually prefer where there from as it's what they're used to:)

[Mikey_Ramone]

I'd love to have a British girlfriend. British girls are known as super polite having their own styles and etiquette. And their accent... OMG so cute.

[acooke-13]

Aww. Yeah, we tend to say sorry for EVERYTHING, even when it's not our fault. Which accent are you referring too?

[Mikey_Ramone]

I met Londoners and Scottish girls here quite a few. I think in general I cannot distinguise which one would I rather prefer to listen to haha. Just "British accent." :P

[acooke-13]

There are over 30 regional accents, I can't accept the 'British' accent sozzzz

[Mikey_Ramone]

Ahahaha forgive me for being dumb! :P

[acooke-13]

It's okay lol you're not dumb

[Mikey_Ramone]

Oi, Thanks :) Have a good day mate!

[acooke-13]

Thanks, you too!! :)

[Mikey_Ramone]

:) yayy