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Poms Love Tea, Soaps & Pets
09/02/2003 07:00 AM
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is a nation of tea-loving soap opera fans who value privacy, love their pets, gripe about the weather, refuse to admit they like reality TV and are most proud of their sense of humour.
They also consider themselves hip and cosmopolitan but their habits are traditional, and prawn cocktail and steak and chips are their favourite meals, according to a nationwide survey of what it means to be British in 2003.
People generally don't mind queuing and can be spotted abroad by their sunburnt skin, football shirts, wearing socks with sandals and the distinctive pint of beer in their hand.
"We are such a country of contradictions," said Sophie Daranyi, a spokeswoman for UKTV which commissioned the survey.
"We're happy to give people 50 pence at a bus stop but very few of us go around to meet our neighbours."
UKTV, which is jointly owned by the BBC and Flextech Television, a division of Telewest Communication, is a leading digital and satellite broadcaster.
It commissioned the survey of 1,000 people to get a better perception of how people see themselves.
According to the poll, 53 percent of people treat their pets like a member of the family, 39 percent think the weather is the most annoying aspect of living in Britain and 73 percent drink traditional tea, compared to six percent who prefer Earl Grey tea.
"A lot of people think that we are this quite quirky nation. What the survey has done is confirm that, rather than contradict it," Daranyi added.
09/02/2003 07:00 AM
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is a nation of tea-loving soap opera fans who value privacy, love their pets, gripe about the weather, refuse to admit they like reality TV and are most proud of their sense of humour.
They also consider themselves hip and cosmopolitan but their habits are traditional, and prawn cocktail and steak and chips are their favourite meals, according to a nationwide survey of what it means to be British in 2003.
People generally don't mind queuing and can be spotted abroad by their sunburnt skin, football shirts, wearing socks with sandals and the distinctive pint of beer in their hand.
"We are such a country of contradictions," said Sophie Daranyi, a spokeswoman for UKTV which commissioned the survey.
"We're happy to give people 50 pence at a bus stop but very few of us go around to meet our neighbours."
UKTV, which is jointly owned by the BBC and Flextech Television, a division of Telewest Communication, is a leading digital and satellite broadcaster.
It commissioned the survey of 1,000 people to get a better perception of how people see themselves.
According to the poll, 53 percent of people treat their pets like a member of the family, 39 percent think the weather is the most annoying aspect of living in Britain and 73 percent drink traditional tea, compared to six percent who prefer Earl Grey tea.
"A lot of people think that we are this quite quirky nation. What the survey has done is confirm that, rather than contradict it," Daranyi added.
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