101+ Things The UK Got Right
genuinely. not being mean this time.
Like many, I often complain about living in the UK. It got to a point where I thought that there was nothing good. Everything I thought of, there was a sad whineful side. Eventually, that nagging voice got sickening, even for me. I might move out someday but why torture myself with this negative point of view? So, as a challenge to think positively, I began a notes page on my phone recording everything I genuinely liked about the UK. It ranged from the mundane cuisine to the whimsical stories that have made me smile. Some are nonsensical, but I guess this is for entertainment. Shockingly I got up to 101 things. Please excuse the lack of capitalisation and senseless ordering. I wanted to retain the impromptu charm of this list. Maybe I’ll come back and add more but for now, I figured I’d share what I found.
greggs
plug sockets
paddington bear
sticky toffee pudding
crumpets
yorkshire pudding
carveries
lemsip, especially the blackcurrant flavour
sticky toffee pudding
jaffa cakes
seeing the northern lights sometimes
asda chicken and bacon salad
larry, chief mouser of downing street
wonderful range of accents
football club comradeship
driving on the left
passing by sheep on every road trip
bus links
celebrities living more like normal people
walkability of cities
clean sewage systems
drinkable tap water
scandals in politics when it gets too boring
cornish landsapes
oxford feeling like harry potter magic
aesthetic banknotes
no venomous snakes
gun laws
not being french (jk, but the anglo-french rivalry is cute these days)
being able to drive to france
satirical political parties
harry styles
david attenborough
the “welcome to luton” prank by max fosh
rabbit season
"you alright, love?"
reliably no small talk between strangers on public transport
daylight times during summer
being the first country to deploy an approved covid vaccine
being able to count on the lionesses when the men’s england team lose
inventing IVF
romanticised albionic nostalgia
delusions of winning the fifa world cup every single time
relatively peaceful religious co-existence
cozy christmas aesthetics
emotional john lewis christmas adverts
quality street chocolate
the availability of brain-rot reality tv
age of consent at 16 including voting rights
bank holidays
2010s britpop era and boy bands
public footpaths
pomp and pageantry of royal events
the gradual implementation of free period products
not being infested with flies and mosquitoes
horrible histories
football chants
many dog-friendly spaces
the lake district
kebab shops
cafes in garden centres
museums so full of stuff that there’s no need to travel abroad…
snow day magic
cornish pasties
mr bean
british humour- unmatched
inventing chicken tikka masala
falmouth worm-charming championship
the prestige of british universities
a noticeable pancake day
using metric measurements when it matters
llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
the fact that whitwell, a small village of less than 100 "succeeded" in twinning with Paris
the art of queuing
the whole country finding humour in a head of lettuce outlasting one of our prime ministers
shakespeare plays when they're not taken too seriously
squash (the drink)
celebrating when someone breaks a glass at a bar
christmas crackers being more common
pantomimes
many brilliantly creative expressions and obscene language use
the whimsicality of bonfire night
traffic lights going amber before going red and green
walking around b&q
random pheasants and foxes roaming around
girls bracing for the cold weather to go clubbing
the bbc countdown theme
calling a mental breakdown a "menty b"
compulsory gcse geography field trips
daffodils and tulips during the spring
self-checkout at logical places
henry the hoover
"clubcard accepted"
non-uniform day at school
freedom of speech against the government
deer parks
vintage fashion
victorian literature
legendary boomer rock music
bagpipes
"i'll get the kettle on"
Anything I missed?
