The Myths Of Britain Banished

Okay, so I've noticed, now that my blog is a whole month old, that I get my fair share of readers from across the globe, hello to all of you! From talking to people from around the world on platforms like Twitter, I have noticed there are a lot of misconceptions about my wonderful homeland. I'm going to bust some of these myths and let you know what the real Britain is like.

Firstly, I hear a lot of girls say they want a British boyfriend. Here is what I suspect they are thinking of:

And here is what rather a few of the guys in Britain are actually like:

So to all you girls out there dreaming of your perfect British man, yes there are a lot of beautiful charming gentlemen (I am fortunate to have met  quite a few myself), but just remember what us British girls also have to put up with whilst trying to find our own. Myth number one: busted.

Another common misconception is that we all talk like the queen, when in fact, all the little towns and cities have their own accents and regional words. For example, living in Cheshire, I would call a round piece of bread a bun or a roll, but move elsewhere in the country, you may find the same round piece of bread being called a cob, a bap, or a barm cake. Yes, this is a little bit weird for such a small country, but we do all speak a little bit differently, it's not just Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish accents, there's a whole variety of sounds that come out from our mouths. This map should help you understand more:

Myth 2: banished.

Probably the worst misconception is that we all drink tea all the time and it's all we ever drink as we all love it so much that we bathe in it. As a matter of fact: I hate tea, and I also know a lot of other people who agree with me, and are British. It's brown and earthy and disgusting. I'd much rather have a lovely cup of coffee than a tiny sip of tea, thank you. Yes, I suppose we do consume a lot of tea as a country, but then again, so do a lot of other countries around the world. Another issue with tea: no we do not have afternoon tea all the time; when we do have afternoon tea it is a special occasion and we dress up and go to fancy hotels or restaurants and have posh little sandwiches and cakes. No, I have never been to afternoon tea, because surprise surprise, I don't drink it. Although we do have champagne afternoon tea now, I may have to try that instead.

Myth 3: bamboozled.

Here's a few more I have come across that I will quickly go through:

• We don't all have bad teeth- we actually get free braces on the NHS
• The Queen doesn't have more power over us than the Government
• Not all of our health care is free
• It doesn't always rain in Britain
• Our breakfasts aren't always huge- some people don't eat breakfast at all
• Great Britain, United Kingdom and England are not all the same
• We DO NOT like to queue, I, in fact, hate to queue (unless it's for a concert)

Now please, go forth and spread your newly found knowledge about British culture, and no more stereotyping us, thanks.

Picture Sources:

//i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01208/10th-tennant_1208537i.jpg

http://www.imjoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/chav-scum.jpg

http://front.dadaviz.com/media/viz_images/english-dialects-on-the-british-isles-3256618.png

Support Small Business Day

I am a major supporter of smaller businesses as I believe they need our money more than the larger corporations do. Living in a small town, I am constantly seeing small businesses lose out to the bigger companies and this really isn't fair, which is why yesterday (29/11/2014) was so important. It was national support small business day in the UK which meant after the consumerist's dream that was Black Friday, it was time to show some appreciation to those people who are trying so hard to please people with their products. For me, this has spread over the whole weekend (naturally).

On the day itself, I took a trip to Afflecks in Manchester and spend almost £150 on some amazing things. For everyone who doesn't know, Afflecks is the alternative dream in the heart on Manchester city centre. A huge market place with 3 levels and so many independent retailers. I bought everything from handmade earrings to a vintage military jacket to patches for my denim vest. There are a range of shops that sell good food, band merch and even roller derby kit (I was in heaven). Kickflip Boards have their own little corner of Afflecks, and yes I was slightly shocked when the guy behind the counter told me who has was! He was Matt, the actual owner of Kicklip Boards. This may not mean much to most of you, but he's awesome!

After my shopping spree in Afflecks, I did put some money back into bigger businesses because I was in the city and I needed some things that I couldn't buy in Afflecks such as Nandos' chicken and Iron Fist shoes. But yes, most of the money I spent yesterday went to independent retailers and it felt good.

Both last night after I came home and this afternoon were spent going around the Christmas markets in my home town. Lots of unknown makers and bakers come together every month to sell their wares and get their name out as high quality retailers. I personally adore these markets. The streets get closed (usually just for the Sunday, but this one lasted the whole weekend) and people come together and form relationships with sellers and buy some incredible, unique products. This month, I mainly bought food. Good homemade cheeses, macaroons and breads were far too tempting and the people who sell them are much more friendly than walking into a large supermarket, after all, this is what they love to do and have made a business out of it!

This month I saw some very interesting stalls and sampled some amazing goodies. The highlight of this afternoon's shopping has to be my tub of Prossecco sorbet from the artisan ice cream parlour that is situated in Knutsford, Cheshire. It makes incredible ice creams such as pistachio (another one of my favourites) and rum & raisin.

Supporting local businesses doesn't just have to mean once a year, or even once a month. I am a frequent shopper at The Candy Warehouse, again based in Knutsford. The staff are amazing and the concept behind the shop is great. There is a great mix of old favourites and fascinating new discoveries from all over the world (they have a major love for Japanese sweets). The best thing is, not only do they have the best shop front ever, they also ship deliveries all across the UK!

If you don't do anything else to support local businesses, go and support my friends at The Candy Warehouse and Kickflip Boards.