Meme of Britishness
Nov. 6th, 2018 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99Originally pinched from nwhyte.
I still think there's a few points where I am intrinsically too foreign to answer :)
1. Marmite - love or hate?
We need a loathe option. Hate it.
2. Marmalade- thick cut or thin cut?
Thinly. And without bits. Unfortunately, the family all disagree.
3. Porridge- made with milk or water?
With milk please. But I like stiff porridge not milky porridge. Which makes me a fiend according to one friend.
4. Do you like salt, sugar or honey on your porridge?
None, I like jam. Of those, sugar then honey on my preference list.
5. Loose tea or teabags?
Teabags by circumstance, loose by choice (if I had the time or the tea strainer to use proper tea I would).
6. Where on your door is your letterbox?
It's not. I live in a flat. My too small letter box is outside on the wall so I have to send things to the local post office or the local Sainsburys.
7. What's your favourite curry?
I like kormas and passandas.
8. What age is the place where you live?
It's 33. The block of flats was built the year I was born. It was destiny :)
9. Where do the folks running your local corner shop come from?
India, or British via Indian parents. I think. Basing this on all the Bobby's I know being Indian owned by people of Indian descent rather than Pakistani.
10. Instant or fresh coffee?
Much like the tea question, instant by circumstance, fresh by choice.
11. How far are you from the sea?
According to the Birmingham Mail 113 miles (which is 182 km).
12. Have you travelled via Eurostar?
Yes. Plane is still cheaper, even before you include the price of getting to London.
13. If you were going to travel abroad, where's the nearest country to you?
It is 199 miles to Dublin, so Ireland (Calais is the next nearest place, 243 miles). It's also remarkably cheap to travel to and there's regular flights from Birmingham Airport. I may know this because I've been to a conference there.
14. If you're female (or possible even some males) do you carry a handbag?
Not unless it's for a wedding. I do have a messenger bag I use when rucksacks are not appropriate.
15. Do you have a garden? What do you like growing?
Sadly no garden but I have two cactuses.
16. Full cream, semi skimmed or skimmed?
Semi-skimmed. At some point when I was round about 7, I stopped being able to stomach full-fat milk in large amounts.
17. Which London terminal would you travel into if going to the capital?
Euston.
18. Is there a local greasy spoon where you live?
Several.
19. Do you keep Euros in the house?
Yes, because it makes sudden travel arrangements easier. This time of answering I know where my stash is.
20. Does your home town have a Latin, Gaelic or Welsh alternative name?
Only Beorma, which is Anglo-Saxon. St. Helens, which theoretically is my actual home town, doesn't. Vienna was Vindobona.
21. Do you have a well known local artist or author?
Tolkien is an obvious one for Birmingham. And yes, we are place that comes up as Mordor if you type it into Googlemaps.
St. Helens apparently has Carole Matthews who writes romantic fiction. I've never heard of her, but she's won awards in her field.
I don't think Vienna's ever produced anyone all that famous. /silliness
22. Do you have a favourite Corrie character?
No.
23. Are your kitchen sink taps separate or a mixer?
Separate because the UK is a benighted country.
24. Do you have a favourite brand of blended tea?
I suspect that my answer of 'whatever Ringtons put in their one-cup-cuppas' is not helpful.
25. What's in your attic if you have one?
I have no attic.
26. If you go out for a cream tea, what jam do you like on your scone?
Raspberry probably. Apricot is my favourite jam, but I find it sickly on cream scones.
27. Talking of scones- scon or scown? Jam or cream first?
Scon. And jam first.
28. Barth or bath?
Bath. I see no 'r'.
29. Carstle or castle?
Castle. Ditto.
30. What flavour of crisps do you favour?
Ready salted. (Although my favourite savoury snack is Mini-Cheddars.)
31. If you go to the chippie, what do you like with your chips?
Salt. I loathe vinegar. And mushy peas. And most gravy.
32. Take away, take out or carry out?
Take away.
33. If you have one, what colour is your wheelie bin?
The communal one is a giant green one with a black lid. At home-home, it's brown.
34. What colour skips does your local skip hire use?
Not sure. It's yellow in St. Helens.
35. Do you celebrate Guy Fawkes?
Only in the sense of oohing and ahhing over other peoples's fireworks. I can never find anywhere selling them myself.
36. Dettol or TCP?
TCP.
37. Do you have a bidet in the bathroom?
No. See also, UK and benighted.
38. Do you prefer courgettes or aubergines?
Neither. Courgettes are evil and I don't like the texture of aubergines.
39. In the 'real world' Do you have friends of other nationalities? Which nationalities?
Yes, of course. (Let's see, mother was an expat working for the UN, I studied in Leicester and work in Birmingham.)
40. Do you have a holy book of any sort in the house?
Not as far as I know. We have several at home-home, including the thoroughly ancient one from when my mother got from Sunday School.
41. Do you prefer a hankie or tissues?
Tissues.
42. Are you a fan of crumpets? What do you like on them?
Oh yes. And spready cheese please.
43. Doorbell, knocker or both?
I have a doorbell that would wake the dead. Allegedly I have a button to open the door when it is pressed. I can't find the damn button. This has caused me unnecessary hassle before now.
44. Do you own a car? What sort?
Nope.
45. What sort of pants do you guys prefer? Y fronts or boxers?
I like what Marks and Spencers call shorts. But they're perpetually out of stock so most of mine are bikinis.
46. Anyone still a fan of suspenders?
They've invented self-holding up stockings. My mother says this is a huge improvement.
47. Do you have a favourite quote from the bard?
Not really. I need to be in the mood.
48. Do you like toasted muffins?
I'm Northern enough to have to ask do you mean baps, or muffins, or barm-cakes.
49. Do you think a traditional trifle should contain jelly?
Yes. Who doesn't put jelly in their trifles?!
50. Do you attend regular religious worship? Of what kind?
Nope. A worrying number of my Sundays are spent hitting people with swords.
I think this is the bit where I say, oh the last time I did this was pre-Brexit and how much Britain has changed and so on, but I don't recognise this pre-Brexit paradise a lot of remainers describe. I think it's because the two countries in one thing you get in the UK has always been there and there's a lot of inequality that needed to be addressed which may explain the Brexit vote.
nwhyte.I still think there's a few points where I am intrinsically too foreign to answer :)
1. Marmite - love or hate?
We need a loathe option. Hate it.
2. Marmalade- thick cut or thin cut?
Thinly. And without bits. Unfortunately, the family all disagree.
3. Porridge- made with milk or water?
With milk please. But I like stiff porridge not milky porridge. Which makes me a fiend according to one friend.
4. Do you like salt, sugar or honey on your porridge?
None, I like jam. Of those, sugar then honey on my preference list.
5. Loose tea or teabags?
Teabags by circumstance, loose by choice (if I had the time or the tea strainer to use proper tea I would).
6. Where on your door is your letterbox?
It's not. I live in a flat. My too small letter box is outside on the wall so I have to send things to the local post office or the local Sainsburys.
7. What's your favourite curry?
I like kormas and passandas.
8. What age is the place where you live?
It's 33. The block of flats was built the year I was born. It was destiny :)
9. Where do the folks running your local corner shop come from?
India, or British via Indian parents. I think. Basing this on all the Bobby's I know being Indian owned by people of Indian descent rather than Pakistani.
10. Instant or fresh coffee?
Much like the tea question, instant by circumstance, fresh by choice.
11. How far are you from the sea?
According to the Birmingham Mail 113 miles (which is 182 km).
12. Have you travelled via Eurostar?
Yes. Plane is still cheaper, even before you include the price of getting to London.
13. If you were going to travel abroad, where's the nearest country to you?
It is 199 miles to Dublin, so Ireland (Calais is the next nearest place, 243 miles). It's also remarkably cheap to travel to and there's regular flights from Birmingham Airport. I may know this because I've been to a conference there.
14. If you're female (or possible even some males) do you carry a handbag?
Not unless it's for a wedding. I do have a messenger bag I use when rucksacks are not appropriate.
15. Do you have a garden? What do you like growing?
Sadly no garden but I have two cactuses.
16. Full cream, semi skimmed or skimmed?
Semi-skimmed. At some point when I was round about 7, I stopped being able to stomach full-fat milk in large amounts.
17. Which London terminal would you travel into if going to the capital?
Euston.
18. Is there a local greasy spoon where you live?
Several.
19. Do you keep Euros in the house?
Yes, because it makes sudden travel arrangements easier. This time of answering I know where my stash is.
20. Does your home town have a Latin, Gaelic or Welsh alternative name?
Only Beorma, which is Anglo-Saxon. St. Helens, which theoretically is my actual home town, doesn't. Vienna was Vindobona.
21. Do you have a well known local artist or author?
Tolkien is an obvious one for Birmingham. And yes, we are place that comes up as Mordor if you type it into Googlemaps.
St. Helens apparently has Carole Matthews who writes romantic fiction. I've never heard of her, but she's won awards in her field.
I don't think Vienna's ever produced anyone all that famous. /silliness
22. Do you have a favourite Corrie character?
No.
23. Are your kitchen sink taps separate or a mixer?
Separate because the UK is a benighted country.
24. Do you have a favourite brand of blended tea?
I suspect that my answer of 'whatever Ringtons put in their one-cup-cuppas' is not helpful.
25. What's in your attic if you have one?
I have no attic.
26. If you go out for a cream tea, what jam do you like on your scone?
Raspberry probably. Apricot is my favourite jam, but I find it sickly on cream scones.
27. Talking of scones- scon or scown? Jam or cream first?
Scon. And jam first.
28. Barth or bath?
Bath. I see no 'r'.
29. Carstle or castle?
Castle. Ditto.
30. What flavour of crisps do you favour?
Ready salted. (Although my favourite savoury snack is Mini-Cheddars.)
31. If you go to the chippie, what do you like with your chips?
Salt. I loathe vinegar. And mushy peas. And most gravy.
32. Take away, take out or carry out?
Take away.
33. If you have one, what colour is your wheelie bin?
The communal one is a giant green one with a black lid. At home-home, it's brown.
34. What colour skips does your local skip hire use?
Not sure. It's yellow in St. Helens.
35. Do you celebrate Guy Fawkes?
Only in the sense of oohing and ahhing over other peoples's fireworks. I can never find anywhere selling them myself.
36. Dettol or TCP?
TCP.
37. Do you have a bidet in the bathroom?
No. See also, UK and benighted.
38. Do you prefer courgettes or aubergines?
Neither. Courgettes are evil and I don't like the texture of aubergines.
39. In the 'real world' Do you have friends of other nationalities? Which nationalities?
Yes, of course. (Let's see, mother was an expat working for the UN, I studied in Leicester and work in Birmingham.)
40. Do you have a holy book of any sort in the house?
Not as far as I know. We have several at home-home, including the thoroughly ancient one from when my mother got from Sunday School.
41. Do you prefer a hankie or tissues?
Tissues.
42. Are you a fan of crumpets? What do you like on them?
Oh yes. And spready cheese please.
43. Doorbell, knocker or both?
I have a doorbell that would wake the dead. Allegedly I have a button to open the door when it is pressed. I can't find the damn button. This has caused me unnecessary hassle before now.
44. Do you own a car? What sort?
Nope.
45. What sort of pants do you guys prefer? Y fronts or boxers?
I like what Marks and Spencers call shorts. But they're perpetually out of stock so most of mine are bikinis.
46. Anyone still a fan of suspenders?
They've invented self-holding up stockings. My mother says this is a huge improvement.
47. Do you have a favourite quote from the bard?
Not really. I need to be in the mood.
48. Do you like toasted muffins?
I'm Northern enough to have to ask do you mean baps, or muffins, or barm-cakes.
49. Do you think a traditional trifle should contain jelly?
Yes. Who doesn't put jelly in their trifles?!
50. Do you attend regular religious worship? Of what kind?
Nope. A worrying number of my Sundays are spent hitting people with swords.
I think this is the bit where I say, oh the last time I did this was pre-Brexit and how much Britain has changed and so on, but I don't recognise this pre-Brexit paradise a lot of remainers describe. I think it's because the two countries in one thing you get in the UK has always been there and there's a lot of inequality that needed to be addressed which may explain the Brexit vote.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-06 11:50 pm (UTC)Always a good move!
They've invented self-holding up stockings. My mother says this is a huge improvement.
When my mother started work as a nurse, they had to wear thick white stockings held up with suspenders which dug into their legs, so every time they sat down to write up a patient report they'd unsnap them and let them dangle free. This led to a very unfortunate situation where Matron called her over to help with a child and she could feel her stockings sliding all the way down. (She says she thinks Matron noticed, but kindly let it go!)
no subject
Date: 2018-11-07 07:24 pm (UTC)I cannot imagine doing the amount of work nurses do in suspenders. All hail forgiving matrons (because she undoubtedly knew, Matron's being all-seeing!)