David Mathieson

A design engineer by profession. A teacher by accident A photographer

A lover of hats
Someone who loves Mexican artisanal beers

and the personal chef to my wife.

http://dtmathieson.wix.com/ilearn http://dtmathieson.wix.com/fotografiarte http://dtmathieson.wix.com/mysite

From www.blueprintforfootball.com

From www.blueprintforfootball.com

What is British Culture?

If I say to you.

Britain
What comes to your mind when I ask this?
(Time to jot things down in pairs)

Lets see what came to your mind.

How many thought of some of these

.... and of course

The British character

Everyone associates the British, I guess, with the stiff upper lip.

It probably comes from being taught not to show your emotions, especially at British Public Schools. If you do show them, then its a sign of weakness. Its not the winning thats important, its the taking part that counts.
This is a phrase told to many children by their parents. It kind of gets ingrained into the British psyche that tells you that at least you tried your best. In sports we feel, in a way, a little embarrassed when we win and always apologise to the loser for beating them.

We love to collect things. Collecting things starts from an early age with stamps. We are encouraged by our parents to collect something as a hobby.

I think, really, collecting things is a way of not letting go of the past and that things were better than they are now which kind of sums up the British Character

So Id like to take this opportunity to tell my wife that she can actually blame my parents for all the clutter and odd things up on shelves and in my bookcase.

So what is Keep Calm and Carry On all about?

This poster was initially produced by the British Ministry of Information at the beginning of the Second World War, and was intended to be distributed in order to strengthen morale in the event of a wartime disaster, such as mass bombing of major cities using high explosives and poison gas, which was widely expected within hours of an outbreak of war. The first two posters, Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory and Freedom is in Peril were produced by His Majestys Stationery Office. These two were posted on public transport, in shop windows, on notice boards and hoardings across Britain. The third and final poster of the set was Keep Calm and Carry On. The plan for this poster was to issue it only upon the invasion of Britain by Germany. Thankfully this never happened and the poster was never officially seen by the public.

It is believed that most of the Keep Calm posters were destroyed at the end of the war in 1945. However, nearly 60 years later, a bookseller stumbled across a copy hidden amongst a pile of dusty old books bought from an auction. A small number also remain in the National Archives in London, and a further 15 were discovered in the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

Sadly nobody knows who originally came up with the simple and quintessential Britishness of the Keep Calm and Carry On message.
Now theres a Keep Calm and ........ for almost everything.

From - www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/history.htm

What is Britishness?

Britishness, it is often suggested, is ultimately about shared values of tolerance, respect and fair play, a belief in freedom and democracy. If Britishness means anything at all it must go beyond ticking boxes of general niceness. While that may make us feel good about ourselves, there is something a bit disturbing about people who stand in front of the mirror marvelling at their perfect teeth.
(Perfect teeth, of course, are regarded as thoroughly un-British.)

Who calls themselves British?

20% of UK population prefer to be described as British

63% of people in England describe themselves as English rather than British.

This is a rise of 23%, as the figure in 2008 was 41%

Trying to define Britishness is like trying to paint the wind.

From

For me Britishness is . . .

The fact that we still think we rule the world

Canada Australia New Zealand New Guinea South Africa Zimbabwe Kenya Sierra Leone Gambia Nigeria Uganda Sudan Iraq Yemen

Hong Kong Burma Malaya Singapore India Pakistan Bangladesh Sri Lanka Belize Guyana Bahamas Jamaica Falklands Malta

... and if the USA dont start behaving then well revoke their Independence from us.

Queuing is a national obsession

One of the only words in the English language thats 4 letters longer than it should be.

Tea is central to our existence

For the British, whatever goes wrong in life - whether its sudden bankruptcy, disaster by meteorite, alien invasion or losing in the World Cup to Germany on penalties - you can be sure that it can be fixed with a cuppa and a biscuit. Making the perfect cuppa involves the kind of concentration usually seen in Zen Buddhism. Uttering the words ooh, lovely is compulsory.

We try our best with language

We enjoy a sense of Irony.

Irony. Its like goldy or silvery but made of Iron.

Irony in Action

To us, foreign food is strange

One topic unites us

We enjoy beaches differently

We are easily pleased

Even going out to eat is different

Who is to blame for this?

A Sense of Fair Play

Its rude to complain

Politeness

Politeness means :
Apologising to the other person when they stand on your foot accidentally. Saying thank you to another person when you have just given them directions. Saying pardon me after hiccupping when you are in a completely empty room.

Etiquette (Pub)

The invisible queue

. . . and one for yourself

(Mis)Understanding British English

Would you like something? No. Im fine thanks!

Refusing food when offered by your host because youre being polite; but inwardly you are starving and really wished you had said yes to that sandwich and cuppa.

Bibliography

So how do you adapt?

Acceptance Realisation Changing things (& Mindset) Embracing the Culture ....and then Adapt As well as Adopting

Realisation

Im a foreigner !!

The British generally dont carry any form of identification other than a driving licence.

If we say who we are, we assume that others believe us. So having to carry a form of identification came, at first, as a bit of a shock.

Youre foreign, arent you?

No. Im British!

Acceptance

Learning to accept and respect your new culture is an important step to becoming a part of where you now are.

Change everything you did before

You learn to drive (differently)

You learn to drive (differently)

But once you learn to avoid the potholes (baches), unpredictable taxi drivers and buses, as well as the other drivers; driving in Monterrey is a piece of cake.

Embracing the culture

Finally. You adapt.

Things become a little less confusing

You acclimatise to the weather

(or as well as you can in Monterrey)

You get used to the food and traditions

You have tacos before class

You enjoy movies you didnt think you would.

Finally, you have adapted

You know youve adopted when ...

Thank You!