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If you had to use three objects from the UK when describing Britain to a foreigner, what would they be?
I have been asked to do this, so any suggestions welcome 😕
A pint of beer.
A ballot box.
A very small Union jack flag.
teapot, london bus, union jack
A tourist advisor
A historian
An EffinSafety
curry, feral child, foreign lager
Football hooligan.
Rain.
Pint of warm bitter.
How does the union jack represent Britain?
[pedant] Do you want ideas for the UK or Britain?[/pedant]
The Sex pistols
The queen
Tea
A bible
A Beatles album
A 1960's school atlas
fineteapot,
fine if describing part of britainlondon bus,
fine if describing britain and other countriesunion jack
How does the union jack represent Britain?
Because it's the most recognisable flag like thing that is most associated with Britain. And you are showing it to a foreigner, whose grasp of the minutiae of the complex national identity crisis is probably not as anal as some...
Small, because it represents the diminution in power and influence that has occured since the end of Empire.
thread-ending splendour 😆curry, feral child, foreign lager
Because it's the most recognisable flag like thing that is most associated with Britain. And you are showing it to a foreigner, whose grasp of the minutiae of the complex national identity crisis is probably not as anal as some...
Most people who see Y Ddraig Goch on my camera recognise where this anal dude is from, johnny foreigner isn't quite as stupid as you'd like to think. But thanks for your input.
Great some helpful suggestions so far!
A 1 Euro coin
goldfish
bowl of petunias
yoyo
Phone box
Coppers helmet
Spitfire
[i]Most people who see Y Ddraig Goch on my camera recognise where this anal dude is from, johnny foreigner isn't quite as stupid as you'd like to think.[/i]
...and considering the original question posed at the top of the page this is relevant in what way?
...and considering the original question posed at the top of the page this is relevant in what way?
It was specially written for you, my sweet, not the OP. 🙄
I'm with crikey. Union Flag.
So when you show people a Welsh flag, they understand that you are Welsh?
Thanks for clearing that up, very helpful.
My reading of it is that people within the have a sense of National identity, which would mean that they would not like to be assumed to belong to another. Perhaps as a Welshman would rather not be thought of as English, a Northern Irishman would not like to be thought of as British. and would rather you didn't mislead other people about it.
As to the "Y Ddraig Goch" bit, i can only assume don simon dropped an apple on his keyboard whilst typing.
^^ Yeah,
but...
If you had to use three objects from the UK when describing Britain to a foreigner, what would they be?
Ok, but you could have objects from the world to describe britain, surely you would choose something erm... British
Isn't the union flag British?
[i]My reading of it is that people within the have a sense of National identity, which would mean that they would not like to be assumed to belong to another. Perhaps as a Welshman would rather not be thought of as English, a Northern Irishman would not like to be thought of as British. and would rather you didn't mislead other people about it.[/i]
All of which is perfectly understandable, but again, given the limited range of the original question, perhaps not that relevant.
The use of a Union Jack would serve as an interesting starting point for an explanation of the complex and distinct national identities associated with this part of the world, and also to demonstrate the sensitivity with which this issue should be addressed, to avoid causing any unintended offence.
Red telephone box, fish and chips,Pint or ale
Oh I see, use the union flag, deliberately to demonstrate the diversity and sensitivity of some people?
I'm lost. It's either the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland or it's not.
[i]Oh I see, use the union flag, deliberately to demonstrate the diversity and sensitivity of some people?[/i]
Exactly. Then Johnny foreigner won't upset the varied and fiercely proud inhabitants of the different nations which, in the past, may have been assumed by some to be merely appendages to England.
A Big Ben souvenir.
A patch of green, green grass.
A Chicken Tikka Masala, or something else to highlight our rich cultural diversity.
Sarcasm
Irony
Obsession with weather
[i]
(what do you mean they are not objects!?)[/i]
I'm lost. It's either the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland or it's not.
The Union Flag
[img] 
[/img]
Anything missing?
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british flag
yorkshire tea bags
a good ole dusty bin and a set of darts...lol
And? It's either the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland or it's not.
Whether you agree with it or not, it is still the flag - taking whatever your agenda is out of the equation for a second - it is recognisable as the flag of Britain to people from all over the world. So in the case of the original question...
If you had to use three objects from the UK when describing Britain to a foreigner, what would they be?
So you see, if don simon has to explain this in a visual way to people here, how difficult a concept it must be for those from foreign lands?
Hence my suggestion of the flag as a useful educational tool.
😯 Don Simon.... 😆 😆 😆
So you see, if don simon has to explain this in a visual way to people here, how difficult a concept it must be for those from foreign lands?
I've already told you that johnny foreigner recognises the different flags, the problem appears to lie in the lack of education and undestanding in the UK. 🙄
a flag doesn't describe britain, it just reveals which country you're describing.
1. a nice cup of tea
2. a cup of rainwater
3. a blade of grass
Forget the curry... my third item would be a boat.
it is recognisable as the flag of Britain
As a Johnny Foreigner myself, I always made the association between [b]Union[/b] Jack and [b]United[/b] Kingdom and knew the UK to be the United Kingdom of Great Britain [b][i]and[/i][/b] Northern Ireland.
For the pessimist:
Blood, piss and vomit covered paving slab from any regional town centre on a Friday night.
CCTV camera
Katie Price
Optimist:
A nine inch wide compacted ribbon of dirt sweeping gently downhill through a bluebell wood
A Cream Tea
Helena Bonham-Carter
..and, don simon, imagine the consternation in certain quarters provoked by [b]my[/b] national flag and its associations.
G'day mate.
Mr Bean (very famous)
The Queen
Big Ben