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BRITS in BMW MOA

Threeteas

New member
How many other Brits are there in this group?

How many of you are anglophiles?

Can we use this forum to exchange cultural experiences, for example extol the virtues of the humble pork pie and why you don't eat it hot. Branston pickle, warm beer, comedy beyond Monty Python, etc...
Differences and similarities.

Why folks should ride around the UK and what they should see.
Where have US riders been in the UK?
How to be able to afford it, tips on budget travel.

Perhaps we can help dispell some commonly held beliefs too, so US riders, what are your questions?
 
Mmmm...Branston pickle!

I'm not a Brit but I've always been sort of an Anglophile. My very good friend Ross from Manchester prefers the term "Brit Hag" :)
 
this thread is un-american:nyah


i lived in scotland for a spell bout' 7 years ago. didn't know how to drive a motorbike at the time but had some fun in a mini (the old kind), wrong ways into roundabouts, pushing the brake and clutch with one foot, that sorta thing. i think i went to the only exchange program where we actually had to study and do a lot of work, wasn't the goof off fest that most of my friends had.
 
what do you see?

Paging MaddBrit to the courtesy phone.

So what is it about Britain that you find so compelling?

They say when you live somewhere, you are too close to see it yourself, probably because you are tied up with the day-to-day stuff.
 
ahh branston

Mmmm...Branston pickle!

I'm not a Brit but I've always been sort of an Anglophile. My very good friend Ross from Manchester prefers the term "Brit Hag" :)

Just had a crusty roll with stilton and branston...and slices of apple. Simple, yet so complex.
 
Bonnie Scotland

this thread is un-american:nyah


i lived in scotland for a spell bout' 7 years ago. didn't know how to drive a motorbike at the time but had some fun in a mini (the old kind), wrong ways into roundabouts, pushing the brake and clutch with one foot, that sorta thing. i think i went to the only exchange program where we actually had to study and do a lot of work, wasn't the goof off fest that most of my friends had.


Which Uni?

Where in Scotland?
Did you cross the border?
Did you partake in the annual haggis hunts?:brow
 
I'm an anglophile.

Love the comedy, from Python to WAY beyond. My local PBS-affiliate runs more Limey laffs than any other station in the country, and was the first to do so when they got Monty Python for dirt-cheep in 1975. It is thought that the series would have been lost entirely had KERA not saved it from the dustbin. I watch several hours of Britcom most weekends, ranging from around 1980 to the early 2000's. And I really dig Doctor Who as well (if I ever get an RT-P I'm gonna paint it dark blue and get a license plate that says TARDIS :laugh ).

Love the beer!

Had a Mini in Germany- loved that rustbucket too, as well as the gaggle of Sunbeam Alpines my dad had when I was a kid.

And the music- gonna turn on some Madness right now! Then maybe some Iron Maiden, ELO, Richard Thompson, or...!

People joke about the food, but I have liked what I've tried so far.

I have yet to visit Britain, but I flew over on the way to Germany. I only know this because the pilot told we could see London outlined in lights out the left-windows. We were at 44K' and it was about an hour before sunrise. I recognised the shape of the city and the dark snake of the Thames from many maps I've seen.
I will not hesitate to visit if the USD ever gets back to a reasonable exchange-rate.

And that's just my random musings on the subject for the moment.
 
My anglophilia probably stems from my mother who was an Aussie. I know, a poor, backward cousin, but anglo nonetheless. My mom was a true victorian and was raised in Australia in the 20s, which I figure was proabably like Brittain in the 1890s.

I have a dear friend who is Brittish and love Monty Python, British candy, some of their food, history, etc. . . . They did rule the world for a time, you know.

Brits have great, colorful turns of phrase that I greatly enjoy, but they don't hold a candle to the Aussies. Although they speak English, their arcane references and nonsensical expression render them almost unintelligable. Great fun! My current favorite is "on your bike," for "get out of here." It's not archane or unintelligable, but there's something charming about it. My wife and I say it to each other all the time.
 
I'm an anglophile.

Love the comedy, from Python to WAY beyond. My local PBS-affiliate runs more Limey laffs than any other station in the country, and was the first to do so when they got Monty Python for dirt-cheep in 1975. It is thought that the series would have been lost entirely had KERA not saved it from the dustbin. I watch several hours of Britcom most weekends, ranging from around 1980 to the early 2000's. And I really dig Doctor Who as well (if I ever get an RT-P I'm gonna paint it dark blue and get a license plate that says TARDIS :laugh ).

Love the beer!

Had a Mini in Germany- loved that rustbucket too, as well as the gaggle of Sunbeam Alpines my dad had when I was a kid.

And the music- gonna turn on some Madness right now! Then maybe some Iron Maiden, ELO, Richard Thompson, or...!

People joke about the food, but I have liked what I've tried so far.

I have yet to visit Britain, but I flew over on the way to Germany. I only know this because the pilot told we could see London outlined in lights out the left-windows. We were at 44K' and it was about an hour before sunrise. I recognised the shape of the city and the dark snake of the Thames from many maps I've seen.
I will not hesitate to visit if the USD ever gets back to a reasonable exchange-rate.

And that's just my random musings on the subject for the moment.


There are parts of London that look far better from 44k feet, although the Olympics 2012 are set to change that side of the city.
I did some work with Peugeot in Coventry and part of their plant was the old Sunbeam works...sunbeam...sunbeam talbot...peugeot talbot...peugeot.

I've never owned a mini, although it's compulsory that you have a ride in one if you are British and the mini is a TARDIS, I've seen over ten students crammed into one.

The food, well let's just say post WWII there was rationing and that's when the poor reputation was fed to folk. I think it was 8 of the top 20 restaurants in the world that are now to be found in the UK (2006). 4 for France, only 2 in the USA according to an international foodie mag which was a US publication.

The music...ahh the music. It's a geographical thing. Being a small country we have a series of national stations from the BBC. You get to hear a range of music from one station, rather than the niche styles over here. The BBC is funded by a license rather than advertising revenue, so can spread its wings, beyond the target audience ad revenue. Same applies to the TV and newspapers. It's a geographical thing.
 
Which Uni?

Where in Scotland?
Did you cross the border?
Did you partake in the annual haggis hunts?:brow

Stirling
Several times, maybe more like 20, lots of busses, hitching and trains, london, manchester, sheffield, brighton, all over the place. old gent: "where ya heading son", me: "oh yeah, going down to london", old gent at the bus station: "wow, that's a long ways away, never been there myself" me: "(thinking; yeah, it's like driving to DC from Boston) oh yeah, should be quite the adventure" hahahaha
I love haggis, well, not love, but liked enough to eat multiple times. I actually wrote a little comic strip involving a hagis monster that a friend printed in a local punk rock zine in Stirling.
 
distance is relative

Stirling
Several times, maybe more like 20, lots of busses, hitching and trains, london, manchester, sheffield, brighton, all over the place. old gent: "where ya heading son", me: "oh yeah, going down to london", old gent at the bus station: "wow, that's a long ways away, never been there myself" me: "(thinking; yeah, it's like driving to DC from Boston) oh yeah, should be quite the adventure" hahahaha
I love haggis, well, not love, but liked enough to eat multiple times. I actually wrote a little comic strip involving a hagis monster that a friend printed in a local punk rock zine in Stirling.

For those that don't know, a haggis is a peculiar wee beastie, being the only mammal with both fur and feathers. It's left legs are shorter than its right, so it is excellent at scaling the mountains of the Highlands but only in an anti-clockwise path.
On the Gloriouis 8th, beaters are sent to the top of the 'Bens' where they scare the Haggis into turning round. This unbalances them and they roll down the sides of the Ben passed the shooters. The final feast comprises of the beast plucked and cooked in it's own skin, then presented flambed in fired whiskey at the table.

I know some of you may be sceptical, but it's a tradition that the first feathers, off the first haggis of the season, are presented to the Queen's heir. Have a look at the Prince of Wales insignia-three feathers...haggis feathers.
Further evidence can be gleaned from the history of Nova Scotia. As geologists amongst you will know, Scotland, north of Loch Ness, was once attached to the North American continent. Based on this one fact alone an entrepreneur in 1876, one Ducan Mc Donat, set about trying to farm the Haggis in Nova Scotia. Now you may recall I mentioned the feathers. Unfortunately the prevailing winds from across the Atlantic were strongest at the same time as haggis breading season started. The winds caused the female haggis, or hen, to present herself to the male haggis, or sporran, with her feathers all awry. Not being able to tell front from back, the sporran would give up for fear of an embarrassing mistake, so the business died.
Duncan went on to found a cake based company here in the USA, but I'm not sure what he called it.

At some point remind me to expalin the phrase...talking bolloc*s!

I only passed through Stirling and recall the very impressive castle.

Distance is relative. When I was young 90 miles was a holiday...granted in 90 miles you'd have passed from England, through Wales and to the coast, on the way , you'd have been through 20-30 towns and hundreds of years of history. It's like a country only condensed...a concentrate of distance and history.
That's what I miss the most.
 
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So what is it about Britain that you find so compelling?

They say when you live somewhere, you are too close to see it yourself, probably because you are tied up with the day-to-day stuff.

We visited there a year ago and stayed in London for a few days. I felt at home almost instantly.

After spending some time there, it was apparent to me that there's a maturity to the English society that we haven't achieved yet. Here in the US, we're very much like a teenager. We're learning how and how not to influence the world around us, but aren't really in the company of the adults yet.

I enjoyed our time there quite a bit.
 
Say what???

Just two questions.

1. Riding from the mainland to the UK, or is it Great Britain, or is it England, or is it His/Her Majesty's ???? Anyway, I'm talking Chunnel. Do you put the motorbike on a train? Do you need your own tie downs? Appoximate cost........I'll convert sterling to Swiss francs.

2. Getting from UK/GB/ENG/HMSS to Ireland??Ferry? Tie Downs??? Best town to leave from, arrive to??? Besides putting a big duct tape "X" on the right side of my windshield.......any other mind tricks I can use to look right, then left, then right before I head off for a banger, and I'm not talking about metal on metal :nono

wait, one more queston????

Isle of Man?????? When is that race?

Thanks in advance!!!
 
cultural exchange

My local PBS-affiliate runs more Limey laffs than any other station in the country, .

I know the derivation of "limey" from our naval history and vitamin C deficient rickets and scabese being limited by eating fresh fruit - limes kept longer than other fruit, but, apart from Jimmy Cagney singing it, where does Yank come from?
A "yankee doodle" sounds even more bizarre.
 
I'm an Anglophile.

Have only been to London and it's suburbs though, but have many friends who currently reside there, and several friends and family members who are from there.

My favorite British "comedy" act has got to be the late Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, fronted by the late great Vivian Stanshall (any of you who've ever heard Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells would have heard him as the narrarator).

Of British actors living or deceased, there are many favorites. Among them John Mills, Jim Broadbent, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Laurence Olivier, Deborah Kerr, Alec Guiness and Wendy Hiller come to mind. I had the honor to meet Sir Michael here in NY last Spring. :)

Musically, I consider Vaughn-Williams, John Dowland, Henry Purcell, Elgar and Britten to be amongst the greatest composers ever.
 
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My favorite British "comedy" act has got to be the late Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, fronted by the late great Vivian Stanshall (any of you who've ever heard Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells would have heard him as the narrarator).


him and keith moon had some rather funny escapades in london in the early 70s playing dress up as SS officers (the whole british-nazi humor thing is certainly uniquely british) and running around town.
 
University of Central Lancashire, 2003 here.
Lived in Preston.
Visited lots of other places.

:heart Self-confessed Anglophile.:heart

And to get to Ireland, may I suggest the ferry that runs from Holyhead, Wales to Dun Laoghaire? It was quite nice, and the roads through Wales are gorgeous (especially if you like to look at woolly jumpers).
 
BRITS in MOA

Some of my closest friends are from the UK . . .

However, I still do not understand the common folks support of the Monarchy?

(Oops, maybe I should have posted this in the new "Fight Club" forum)
 
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