Culture And Climate: Great Britain

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by CerberusIV
Why anyone would want to move to this country is beyond me.

Well that would depend on where they're coming from, wouldn't it?

[MikeH]

Originally posted by CerberusIV
Britain doesn't have a culture and arguably never has had one, it just goes out and borrows bits of other cultures.

That is a culture. It's the culture of a society that grew from being invaded, colonised and absorbing the culture of the invaders. Terry Pratchett's Ankh Morpok is a reflection of the way we English (the Welsh and Scots are still mostly celts) absorb cultures.

[General Ludd]

I like rain, personally.


But it gets really ****ing cold after it rains here, for some reason. It's bummin' me out.

It's been raining almost none stop for a week now... and it's turned into snow and hail the past couple of days.

[C0ckney]

i think our tendency to complain to everyone about a problem, except of course the person capable of doing something about it, is a result of our weather

[The Mad Monk]

In a thread on another forum (the thread I got this idea from), another poster wrote:

a large part i would say

as i mentioned earlier, the whole concept of cafe culture and the kind of beautiful people thing only exists in mediterranean european countries

england (and the whole of Britain and Ireland really) has evolved with pub culture, places of warmth and light like beacons, with pub games like darts and snooker, things that do not need fine weather to enjoy.

rugby and football are games that thrive in autumnal, wintery and spring conditons. Plenty of mud and blood and guts. The national sporting character is forged from games of football on sodden, uneven pitches in pouring rain, low on skill, high on effort.

I think that's very insightful.

[The Mad Monk]

It's possible that weather might drive people to find better lands, hence colonization, but that wouldn't explain it's popularity to other European nations -- or would it?

[MikeH]

The reason it got invaded so often is that it was a rich island, full of tin, iron, gold, trees (not any more, they cut 'em all down), Fertile farmland, good fishing. Little hostile terrain - also makes it harder to defend.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by MikeH
(the Welsh and Scots are still mostly celts)

The Scots and Irish both were colonized by Vikings as well as by the English. There's plenty of non Celtic genes floating around in that gene pool. The Welsh probably are more Celtic then the others though.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

It's possible that weather might drive people to find better lands, hence colonization, but that wouldn't explain it's popularity to other European nations -- or would it?

the other nations/ or nationals - ie. like me are crazy



they all got lost on ships and later couldn't get off as the ships all sunk in the storms and they thought they can get to a better land on the other side of the new continent... and when they realised that they got trapped and this is all an island it was too late

Now the ones who were smart discovered the Tech of Whiskey and never tried to move on stayed in Scotland -your prerenial barbarrian...

the onese who were searching and got fed up once they figuread out they can't swim and that there was no trees on the island anymore (as all the forest have been cut by the ones before them making ships and fleeing from this non-stop rain island) and they settled settled in the south out of misery - english and the ones who got mad searching for an exit from the cursed place and got stuck in the mountains - welsh... and there you have it...

In the meantime the Romans came just for adventure... and they brought writing, planted trees again, lots of psychiatrists, and alchochol... it was only than the people finally wanted to stay here...

reason for numerous stone-age artifacts in UK - the failed attempts to dispel bad weather.

This was one of the latest to say **** off to the gods who cursed the land:

[CerberusIV]

Strange you should post that particular image. I watched a TV programme last night that concluded it was probably carved on the orders of a local landowner just after the English Civil War as a protest against efforts to promote Oliver Cromwell as a national hero.

Ironic really as Cromwell wasn't exactly nice to the Welsh or Scots and really not nice to the Irish. The seizure of Jamaica on his orders is also one of the key early episodes in the creation of the British Empire.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Oerdin


The Scots and Irish both were colonized by Vikings as well as by the English. There's plenty of non Celtic genes floating around in that gene pool. The Welsh probably are more Celtic then the others though.

You'd be surprised. The Irish genetic make-up has less Nordic input than the Scottish, and they're both way behind the English.

The Welsh do have even less Nordic input, but the most Celtic of the lot are the Cornish- now part of England. Not even the Romans got a look-in there.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by CerberusIV
Strange you should post that particular image. I watched a TV programme last night that concluded it was probably carved on the orders of a local landowner just after the English Civil War as a protest against efforts to promote Oliver Cromwell as a national hero.

Outdated theory. The Cerne Abbas giant is reckoned to date back much earlier, possibly being as old as the Uffington White Horse.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

And here I always pictured Great Britain as just one big Disneyland................

[Dauphin]

The biggest effect that the climate has had is that it causes the English to talk about the awful/wonderful weather in order to break a silence.

It probably also has the effect that the English are willing to knuckle down to some hard work as there is little outdoor fun to be had. Its no surprise that the temperate and cooler climates are often more economically vibrant than tropical and hotter climates.

[Ben Kenobi]

Why anyone would want to move to this country is beyond me. I'm more interested in leaving.

I'd love to go at some point. Lots and lots of history.