Being British: Thread the Tenth

[Amortentia x]

Thanks a mill - I'm Irish, so I can mock Ireland as much as I like
I just wanted to know what yee Brits thought of us so I can go OTT and be all sarcastic and satirical

Go raibh maith agaibh

[CakeorDeath]

First off, I am sorry if I offended anyone with my jokes. It was mostly against British people, who imperialist some of us are about the language, and I really didn't mean to be offensive.

And I am fully aware that Britain has enough bad politicions to be getting on with!

They were both rather tounge-in-cheek jokes but perhaps they were ill-judged.


Now, on to Ireland. My mum is Nothern Irish so I know a little bit about the differneces and simularities with England. But I might confuse the two countries.

Irish food
Potatoes, soda bread, more traditional than other parts of the UK (but that just might be my Granny ) and lots of cakes. Also, I think that Ireland gets new chocloate bars first so that they can be tested out on the Irish before being given to the British.

Irish music
Like folk music, old-fashioned.

Irish past-times
Drinking, dancing, drinking and did I mention drinking?

Irish sports
Can't think of anything, sorry.

Irish accents
I can tell the difference between Northern and Southern Irish accents, the southern accent is softer, less harsh and more relaxed.

Irish sayings
'Och, well ...', 'Will you have a cup of tea, but?' as opposed to 'But will you have a cup of tea?', 'Wee' for little, 'Aye', granny and granda seem to be the perfered form adress for grandparents, and of course 'ejit!'

Irish names
Connor is popular and surnames with 'O' at the begining or Sweeney, Murphy.

Irish looks
Blonde people, red haired people.

Irish parties
Music, booze and food. Parties are loads of fun.

Irish culture
More laid bak than english culture, more friendly, but also more religiously conservative.

Ireland itself
A great place that is a burgening country after years of being kept behind by ... well people like me.

Irish politics
There is obviously the Troubles, which is thankfully less bad than it was. Sadly we also have the systimatic abuse of people suposed to be in care by sections of hte Catholic Church.

I don't know anything else about Irish politics, sorry.

Irish views on other people
They seem very affable to English people which is a little od consideeing all we've put them through

Irish celebrities
I know about comedians like Dara Ó Briain etc but not about ones that aren't over here.

Irish books
Eoin Colfer and Seamus Heaney are the only two authors who come to mind at the moment.

Irish men
Charming, funny, laid back and cheeky.

Irish women
Motherly, cheery, independant and pretty.

Ireland's place in history
It's been treated very badly by England for ... well for a long time.

Ireland's place in the world
It's not a very important country in the world but is genrally liked for being a nice country with lovely people.



Sorry, if I've inadvertantly offended anyone, all meant in goo faith.

[Pheonix Tears]

Irish food
Potatoes Yes, they're fabulous. Irish stew. Lamb. I've been to Ireland about 13/14 times, I absolutely love it there.

Irish music
Ronan Keating, The Corrs, Boyzone.. What was that all girl group called? A load of sisters.. I have no idea.. Mind blank..

Irish past-times
Hehe. Um. I see reading (I always think of Marian Keyes who I adore! She's so cute!), walking, driving like a maniac (if you're anything like my cousins), going to the pub (yes, I know, cliché, but still!) And talking.. Every time I go to Kerry we stop in town, and will talk to at least 5 people before we actually get into the shop! Irish people, in general, I believe, are so friendly.

Irish sports
Gaelic Football, which seems to be, as far as I can tell, a mixture between rugby and football. Rugby, also, I think of, and football I guess as well.

Irish accents
Oh, I do love a good Irish accent. I know that at times, the accent can be ridiculously thick and hard to understand. Take, for example, my families housekeeper, I've known her all my life, and yet I cannot understand her unless I concentrate very very hard, and my attention span isn't that great, really. You would know, obviously, that the accent varies from place to place, and I think the older you are, the more pronounced it is? Do you get me? The younger generation seems to be a lot easier to understand, basically. I know I can hardly talk, I've got a thick west-country accent when I say certain words, but with people 'over a certain age' it seems to be a lot thicker.

Irish sayings
'Cop on' What does that even mean, by the way? I think it means 'wise up' or something. Oh, and certain expletives are said with a fabulous accent, so they don't sound so rude, I think you know what words I mean

Irish names
Boys: Ronan, Gerry, Gerald. Really, I'm thinking Catholic Saint names, basically. And Kieran, well my cousin spells it the Irish way (because he's Irish) so it's Cairen, or something like that - it's hell to spell on birthday cards, anyway.

Girls: Again, I'm thinking Saints names as well. Sinead etc. I would name my cousins names, but they're very unusual, so I won't. I know it's a bit of a generalisation about having a Saints name, but I swear, everyone in my family is named after a saint. Okay, I'm not sure if Eleanor is a saint, but at the very least, my middle name is.

And as for last names, I'm thinking of the 'o' in front of everything, o'brien, o'rouke. Also, fitz? Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick.

Irish looks
See, I don't really see the blonde girls, I see brunettes, brown eyes, pale skin, freckly. Also, ginger I'm ginger-ish, I'm allowed to talk about myself like that. The boys, pretty much the same. Muscled

Irish parties
Are wild! They sound amazing! And from what I've been told, they incorporate all generations. Family parties are really good for that. I like family parties

Everyone seems to love Ireland, and regard it with some sort of affection, really. I know plenty of people who want that 'Irish boy' complete with accent and a cute smattering of freckles. And yes.. In Ireland, it rains a lot! Woo! It's part of the charm, I guess. The shopping is fabulous, the people are lovely, friendly, warm people and it's nice. Of course, this is just stuff which I thought up off the top of my head, I should probably read it through and check it and things. I love Ireland


This was fun, I'm going to bug my mum about going again this summer.

-Elle

[Gorgeous_Ginny]

Irish food

Not too sure?

Irish music

The Pogues, really cheery and light, violins etc.

Irish past-times

Getting drunk

Irish sports

Football

Irish accents

Very uppy downy, if you get what I mean, like a sing song type voice


Irish sayings

Top of the morning to yer


Irish names

Sean, Shannon

Irish looks

Freckles, Small

Irish parties

Very wild full of drunks

Irish culture

Not too sure?

Ireland itself

Very beautiful, and very picturesque(if you spell it that way)

Irish politics

A load of rubbish!

Irish views on other people

They either see someone as an angel or a devil, no inbetween.

Irish celebrities

Naill Quinn, Roy Keane,
Quinn is a hero,
Keane was until he got a bit to big for his boots.
Oh and Paul McShane, I love him!!!

Other than footballers, Louis Walsch and Westlife, they're okay but too dated!

Irish books

Don't know if I've read any?

Irish men

Good looking, with lovely accents

Irish women

Just a normal woman!

Ireland's place in history

Did you guys have the potatoe fammon? or something to do with potatoes?
IRA!

Ireland's place in the world

A cute place, perfect for romance, and a nice break!

[Heather25x]

As I wrote the original Being British class and you were a student for at least one of the runs, you should have said if it had offended you. I included the stereo-types lesson because there are stereo-types, they do come up in fanfiction and they can be helpful or they can degrade the story. Talking about them and clarifying them was an easy introduction into the lesson, because everyone knows about stereo-types, and it is a form of immediately identifying a country. Talking about differences between countries and stereo-types are two different things, and not always bad, especially if, as two people have no asked, somebody is looking for very stereo-typical type help. I would personally rather see a very stereo-typical UK in a story than a story where Harry calls Ron "dude" or walks through a desert in the middle of Surrey (which sadly I have actually seen).

I don't want to cause arguements, but I think you need to chill out just a little bit.

Um, maybe I'm just having a memory lapse here, but would you mind telling me when I was in the Being British class? I don't remember ever being in a Being British class. Why would I take a class on Being British if I am British?

Okay, yeah, easy introduction to the lesson, fine, but what I'm saying is that they do not need to be discussed in every Being British thread - which they are, constantly! - and I think it's partly just a way for people to laugh about their stereotypical views on other people. And no, I will not "chill out". This is something I feel strongly about, so I'll say my opinion if I feel the need to. Since no one else is speaking up, I am. Please don't ask me not to speak strongly about this because I won't just sit back and say "Please, guys, stereotypes aren't ture, you know that, try not to talk about it so much, okay?" because that does nothing.

I've already said that when people ask what stereotypes there are for countries then I have no problem with people talking about them. It's just that it's so not helpful for people to discuss stereotypes tactlessly, bluntly and all the time.

You can say you don't think it's that big a deal if you want, but it is to me, and no one speaks "chilled out" or half-heartedly when they feel strongly about something.

[apollo13]

I apologise, I briefly got you confused with someone else.

At the same time, I'm not sure where you are coming from. One moment you are saying that we shouldn't be talking about stereotypes at all, the next you are saying

when people ask what stereotypes there are for countries then I have no problem with people talking about them.

People are asking for them. It's okay to express your opinion, but you're being a bit intimidating and aggressive, and you need to be careful - because privately I have spoken to someone on IM who was actually offended by something you said. This thread is not for arguing, it's for helping people who do not know about the UK, and stereotypes are a quick and easy way to help people identify. If they want something more specific they can ask. The reason it is repeated is the same reason the questions are often repeated on the Ask a Mod thread - newbies coming in, plus people aren't going to scoure through all the old threads. People use stereotypes as a basis for building their story, so it's the first thing they look for.
This thread is basically at an end now, we need a new one, and I really think everyone should just drop this arguement. I'm not even fully sure what the arguement is, but people are getting very frustrated and annoyed.

Did you guys have the potatoe fammon? or something to do with potatoes?
IRA!

Yeah, there was a massive potatoe famine in the mid 1800's, I think. Something like 25% of the Irish population died, I believe.

Of course, such a thing would not happen again today, because Ireland is not so reliant on their potatoe crop, but it is still a large trade, I think, and if it happened again it would certainly be a heavy blow to their economy.

Gaelic Football, which seems to be, as far as I can tell, a mixture between rugby and football. Rugby, also, I think of, and football I guess as well.

Oh, wow, how could I forget about that?! It's an amazing sport.

We need a new BB thread - can someone else make one? :O I am waaaay too scared.

~Evie

[mudbloodproud]

I have started a new Being British thread for your use. With the new thread, the disrespect will NOT continue or I will take House Points.

Being British XI