Stuff Brits Like: A Guide to What's Great about Great Britain

Author: Fraser McAlpine
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Category: Travel, Europe
Age Group: 15+
Book Format: Paperback

As the lead writer for BBC Anglophenia, Fraser McAlpine (a man assembled from almost every region of the UK*) spends his life explaining Brits to foreigners. Now he lifts the lid on our Marmite pot of nations and takes you on a journey from the Isle of Wight to Inverness, Belfast to Bangor, exploring the joyful enthusiasms (and pet hates) of an endlessly multifarious Britain. Stuff Brits Like celebrates why we like puns and pedantry, decorum and drawing willies on things, Trainspotting and Downton Abbey, apologizing needlessly (sorry) and cocking a snook. We cheer both the underdog and the bad guy, we adore melancholy types like Morrissey and grumpy Eeyore... and we love being told off by scolds. Meet mythical beasts from the Scottish Nuckelavee to the Cornish Knocker; the branch of the WI called the Iron Maidens, and the British Cheese Board (yes, it is really called that); find out which eccentric Lord would only eat his meals in his swimming pool, why postboxes are bright red (it's health and safety gone mad) and the origin of weird traditions such as the Burning of the Clocks.Stuff Brits Like takes you through why Doctor Who could only have come from Britain, why cricket is a form of siege warfare in whites, and why we argue about the best five British films or what makes The Great British Guitar Band...

Table Of Contents

Introduction; Pedantry; Talking about the Weather; Keep Calm and Carry On; British History; Offal; Apologizing Needlessly; Pubs, Inns, Bars, and Taverns; The Forecast; Saucy Seaside Postcards; Speaking English When Abroad; Sarcasm; Libraries; Puns; The Bumps; Portable Food; Football; Cross-Dressing; Movie #1: The Great Escape; Cocking a Snook; Dancing; The NHS; Dunking Biscuits; Doctor Who; Arguing over What to Call Meals; Tea; Comedy; Village Halls and the W.I.; The Archers; Emotional Reserve and Decorum; Marmite; Talking about Class; Taking Dogs into Pubs; Sheds; Cricket; The Underdog; Cheering the Bad Guy; Desserts with Unappetizing Names; Movie #2: The Railway Children; Innuendo; Animals; The British Christmas; James Bond and Sherlock Holmes; Anyone Who Gets a Round In; Bell Ringing; The Royal Family; Phone Boxes; Reality TV; Drawing Willies on Things; Accents; Great British Guitar Bands; The BBC; Avoiding Confrontation; Wimbledon; Grade-B Swearwords; The Charts; Coronation Street; Movie #3: Trainspotting; The Great British Fry-Up; Children's TV; America; Desert Island Discs; Creating New Worlds; Melancholy; The Tabloids; Cars and Top Gear; Chocolate That Tastes of Chocolate; Stonehenge; Embarrassing Foreigners; Metal; Boot Fairs and Charity Shops; Rugby; Curry; Moaning about Bureaucracy; Pub Quizzes; Movie #4: Kes; Mythical Beasts; The Theatre; Banter; Ampersand Foods; Conkers; Eastenders; Regional Nicknames; Kebabs after the Pub; Downton Abbey and Sunday Night Nostalgia TV; Weird Traditions; Real Ale; Putting Union Jacks on Things; Stags, Hens, and Having a Do; Movie #5: Four Weddings and a Funeral; Feminism; Queuing; Curious Pop; Tribute Bands; The Boat Race; Crisps and Other Deep-Fried Foods; The Cheese Map of Britain; National Treasures; Bonfire Night; Quirks, Foibles, and Eccentricities; Nightcaps; Camping; Scolds; Slang and Making Up Words

About Fraser Mcalpine

Fraser McAlpine was raised in Oxfordshire by English parents from Grimsby and Scottish grandparents from Paisley, and he lives in Cornwall and works in London. He's the lead writer for BBC Anglophenia (specializing in Doctor Who) and has worked as a music journalist for Radio 1, Radio 2, Top of the Pops and the NME. Visit www.stuffbritslike @csi_popmusic