What makes you proud to be English?

Ross_Alumni
Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
in Coffee lounge

St. George's Day

Today is St. George's Day, and to mark the occasion , we would like to know:
  • What is your favourite thing about England?
  • What do you treasure about being English?
  • What do you think we do in this country that embodies Britishness, and that people from other countries consider us odd for?
Looking forward to hearing from you :) 

Comments

  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    Good topic 

    I am a proud British citizen I am proud of our diverse culture and traditions 

    The beauty of our country side and heritage sites 

    Our monarchy makes us different to other countries and respected globally 

    Despite being a small country we 8ften lead they way in inventions eg covid vaccines as one example 
  • Ami2301
    Ami2301 Online Community Member Posts: 7,877 Championing
    You know you're British when you complain about it being too cold and then complain when it's too hot :lol:
  • Sandy_123
    Sandy_123 Scope Member Posts: 60,274 Championing
    I love England, our history, the way we do celebrations and royalty with all the pomp. 

    St George was Turkish, and never came to England, not alot of people know that. I only know that because I Google alot of things noone else does lol( geek). 
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 14,992 Championing
    I’m in the camp of you don’t choose your country of birth and neither are you in control of the country itself so it is not something to be personally proud of.

    That said I like a lot of things about England...

    The weather, although we famously moan about it, is very diverse. I like how we can have freezing cold in winter and big heatwaves in summer. Lots of other places seem to have pretty similar weather all year round.

    We have a very uncorrupt and on the whole fair system of justice and law and order. People moan about the police, mostly because they have been spoiled and don’t realise how lucky they are. They could try living in many other countries where the police take bribes or where you can get arrested and beaten on the spot for something trivial.

    As already said we have some really great heritage sites and a lot of history. It’s also very diverse i.e. buildings from each part of history are obvious - and you can travel through history in a town just by looking at the buildings, many of which are still in use which I think is great.

    I like our countryside and the diversity of it. We have snowy mountains and open fields and forests and rivers etc. We have a lot of “green” here which is great too.
  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,874 Championing
    I love wales lol ? 
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,532 Championing
    lisathomas50 said:
    I love wales lol ? 
    Sounds like something for a St Davids day thread!  You'll have to wait until March for that though...  :D
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,532 Championing
    I'm not sure there's anything specifically English that I'd take pride in...  

    The history is pretty good, but that's quite often British.  I suppose I'd have to say the countryside and coastline, some very unique habitats near where I live too.  I do like an English Rose garden at a stately home, can't get much more English than that I suppose!
  • Dragonslayer
    Dragonslayer Online Community Member Posts: 2,164 Pioneering
    I think we have one of the best history's in the world, along with the best countryside,. Especially Yorkshire, and everywhere we go there are some beautiful sites and countryside to see and some of the most magnificent buildings to visit. The amount of visitors we get, along with those that wish to live here are testament to that. We are now also a richly diverse country which adds to its value and gives it even more appeal.
    I don't like when our heritage gets knocked though. History is what it is. Maybe things happened, that shouldn't have. but we can't change them. And I have to say for a country our size to have such a vast Empire was quite an achievement. 
    I agree with @66Mustang on all he says. I once heard that Britain with it's four seasons has one of the worst weathers in the world, but one of the best climates Which is why we don't have all the bad bugs and things. 
    I also agree with @janer1967 about inventions over the years, there are so many it's hard to count them and today we can still lead the way. Saddest thing about the industrial revolution, (which we led) was how the workers were treated and lived back then. But again that's history and we can't change it.
  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    We have some wonderful scenery too, I’m thinking of the Lake District especially.
  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,874 Championing
    I think most of the comments are about being British rather than English I think its hard to say why you like being English 
  • Caz_Alumni
    Caz_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 621 Empowering
    @leeCal @Dragonslayer I couldn't agree with you more about the scenery. As you say the Lake District is a highlight, plus I'm a big fan of the Yorkshire Dales. 

    @OverlyAnxious @lisathomas50 Yes, it's a bit tricky to pinpoint exactly what we mean (or think we mean?!?) when we talk about being English. Plus, patriotism and nationalism can all get a bit too territorial for my liking sometimes.

    I think I'm better off staying out of the debate and relying on my Irish roots to claim that I feel neither British nor English!
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 14,992 Championing
    leeCal said:
    We have some wonderful scenery too, I’m thinking of the Lake District especially.
    I agree

    And the Yorkshire Dales. :)

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