Notes on a small island: The things that really make Britain great
Thursday, 28 August 2008
From rolling hills to rolling cheeses, morris dancing to readers' wives, our nation has a host of endearing pecularities to celebrate. In an extract from his new book, Iain Aitch takes stock of the sights and sounds that truly make us who we are
Scroll down to leave your suggestions on what makes Britain great.
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Copyright 2008 Independent News and Media Limited

Comments
307 Comments
Got this book after reading the article and it is great. Very funny. That is my Xmas presents sorted!
Posted by Matt Barclay | 03.09.08, 12:09 GMT
Great - just means big as compared to Brittany. Stop getting so puffed up.
Posted by Alison | 03.09.08, 09:54 GMT
Britain isn't great.
Posted by Hank | 03.09.08, 08:44 GMT
Dividing the world into two kinds of people and 'Have I got news for you?'
Posted by Dodgy | 02.09.08, 22:29 GMT
Scotland?
Posted by ivan | 02.09.08, 17:52 GMT
Talking to strangers.
I've worked abroad a lot, and lived in Australia -- fantastic place, but I always got odd looks when I (youngish woman) made idle conversation with strangers in bus queues etc.
Just after I came back to London, I heard a man in a shop buying a bottle of beer, then changing his mind and saying "Could you make that two, please", and the (Asian) shopkeeper saying "Two, 20, you can have as many as you like" and the customer saying "Then I'll have 20, but I'm only paying for two", and they both laughed. I could have sobbed with joy -- "I'm home!".
Posted by janet | 02.09.08, 14:42 GMT
1. Traffic lights. Red, orange, green, orange, red, and so on. Love it.
2. Queues. Straight lines of people. You're good at it.
3. Football, and what goes with it.
Posted by thomas avenel | 02.09.08, 13:56 GMT
It's disdain for any kind of nationalism
Posted by steve fenton | 02.09.08, 12:02 GMT
The sense of humour, as demonstrated by this article. Had me laughing out loud!
Posted by Mel | 02.09.08, 09:40 GMT
Marmite
Posted by Thomas Peter Blyth | 02.09.08, 07:13 GMT
307 Comments