The joys of being British

[MSTRS:Me]

oooooo - you were lucky, Hitcher almost had you then!

yea I suspect he was busy with the Do you have a problem thread at the time. I feel very lucky to have wriggled out of that one - I'm off to organise a Lotto ticket

[Indiana_Jones]

I love being British

-Indy

[Oscar]

I thought the "joy" of being British was never being at a loss for something to moan about...

Like having the Rugby World Cup?

Is you moaning about other people moaning conscious irony, or just a life style?

[Mongoose]

Ahhhhh, the joy of knowing that Scotland is NORTH of the border

[moko]

Ahhhhh, the joy of knowing that Scotland is NORTH of the border

Friggin long way north of the border from South Otago mate

[bluninja]

Ahhhhh, the joy of knowing that Scotland is NORTH of the border

...and that most scots don't live there

[Yokai]

...and that most scots don't live there

Waddaya mean - Corby is most def'nit'ly north of the Watford Gap!

[Biff]

Ahhhhh, the joy of knowing that Scotland is NORTH of the border

It's my understanding that it's only the English that are referred to as poms, cos the're the ones that moan a lot. The Celts, namely the Scots, Welsh and Irish are all a really content breed and never moan..................

[Hitcher]

Pom is a contracted acronym that originated in Australia. It is a shortened version of "Pommie" which stands for Prisoner of Mother England.

[Oscar]

It's my understanding that it's only the English that are referred to as poms, cos their the ones that moan a lot. The Celts, namely the Scots, Welsh and Irish are all a really content breed and never moan..................

Really? A somewhat oversimplified view...
The Celts were a people prevelant throughout Britain and France, including what later became England, where lots still reside. What's more you've obviosly never been to Sweaty Sock Land as the Jocks can be some of the biggest whingers you've ever meet - how would you feel if you had to wear a skirt and had only crap football teams to support?

[Biff]

Pom is a contracted acronym that originated in Australia. It is a shortened version of "Pommie" which stands for Prisoner of Mother England.

That's one explanation I've heard since being here - another I've read in what I believe was the Modern English Dictionary ( Collins or Oxford maybe, it's got rude words an all ya know) is that it originates from the French word Pomme, meaning apple. This is because the Brits that originally travelled to Oz all those centuries ago suffered terrible hardship from amongst other things, scurvy. As such the ships we're always stocked up with apples in order to provide a source of vitamin C.

[Biff]

Really? A somewhat oversimplified view...
The Celts were a people prevelant throughout Britain and France, including what later became England, where lots still reside. What's more you've obviosly never been to Sweaty Sock Land as the Jocks can be some of the biggest whingers you've ever meet - how would you feel if you had to wear a skirt and had only crap football teams to support?

Hmm - even more oversimplified that my oversimplification. I can't be arsed to get into it again now, but another fellow Englishman and I covered this one off recently here. We were even joined by a Welshman who made up his own swear words.

I've just finished reading a history of British ancestory book ya see just after a similar book about Celts and was dying to pretend I was a fountain of knowledge about all things relating to the history of being British (being that I am, British that is).

[Oscar]

That's one explanation I've heard since being here - another I've read in what I believe was the Modern English Dictionary ( Collins of Oford maybe, it's got rude words an all ya know) is that it originates from the French word Pomme, meaning apple. This is because the Brits that originally travelled to Oz all those centuries ago suffered terrible hardship from amongst other things, scurvy. As such the ships we're always stocked up with apples in order to provide a source of vitamin C.

It's almost certainly a legend:

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/pommy.htm

This amusing anecdote is doubtful as anything more than a fanciful invention, as acronymic origins antedating the mid-twentieth century are automatically suspect, and the use of "pommy" has been recorded at least as far back as 1915. Moreover, nobody has yet turned up corroborating evidence that "Prisoner of His Majesty" or "Prisoners of Mother England" were actually common designations for criminals transported to Australia. The best guess at this time is that "pommy" was based on the word "pomegranate" -- either because the redness of the fruit supposedly matched the typically florid British complexion, or because (like "Johnny Grant") it was used as rhyming slang for "immigrant."

[Oscar]

Hmm - even more oversimplified that my oversimplification. I can't be arsed to get into it again now, but another fellow Englishman and I covered this one off recently here. We were even joined by a Welshman who made up his own swear words.

I've just finished reading a history of British ancestory book ya see just after a similar book about Celts and was dying to pretend I was a fountain of knowledge about all things relating to the history of being British (being that I am, British that is).

By "British" you must mean English (like me), as no self respecting Scots, Irish or Welshman would ever call himself British.

My understanding is that the Celts chased off the then inhabitants of England (Picts and suchlike) and then were themselves chased off by later arrivals like Vikings, Angles and Saxons (and eventually Norman French). As well as the obvious poeples of Scotland and Ireland, pockets of Celtic Language and culture exist today in Cornwall, Wales and France.

[Oscar]

One of the joys of being British (or more correctly in my case Anglo-Kiwi), is the fact that I have a ticket to the All Blacks - Lions Test in Wellington this year...