10 Reasons I'm Proud to be British

It’s 2016 and this year in Great Britain we’re celebrating our Queen’s 90th birthday! If there is anything to make you feel proud to be British it’s anything to do with HRH Queen Elizabeth II. She is now our longest reigning monarch and although I don’t consider myself to be a royalist, I do feel proud to live in a country ruled by a Queen.

Today I’m sharing some reasons I’m proud to be British. So enjoy, because this is a one off! We all know where my heart truly lies, but I won’t ever forget my roots!

Roast Dinners
Every Sunday the OH and I have a discussion about roast dinners. Especially roast beef and yorkshire puddings. He was out in the US for a while and it was one of the reasons he wanted to come home and if I’m honest with myself, I think I feel the same! Going out for a roast dinner on a Sunday is one of my absolute favourite British traditions and when someone from abroad comes to visit it’s one of the things I always say they have to do!
History
I love that the UK has a rich history. Growing up I loved learning all about our history from the Vikings to the Victorians. The town I grew up in has a rich history, it changed hands from English to Scottish 13 times! And for a while we were at war with Russia because the declaration of war had England, Scotland and our town!
The Great British Bake Off
My favourite British tv show of all time, it is SO British. The baking, the commentary, Mary Berry. It has everything and I watch it religiously and that’s someone who very rarely watches any British TV.
JK Rowling & Harry Potter
I’m not sure how British she considers herself these days, more Scottish I guess. But I love telling my friends Stateside that Harry Potter is our legacy. They may have the theme parks but the Harry Potter is based in Great Britain, the characters are British and it was written by a British woman. I personally believe these days if you don’t like some aspect of Harry Potter be it the books or the films or both, you cannot possibly British.
The Scenery
Out of the city, well most cities, Great Britain is a truly beautiful country and I feel awful that I’ve seen so little. Hopefully I’ll get to finally see Cambridge this year which I’m excited about. I love the Lake District and up Scotland, such areas of true natural beauty that I don’t think get enough mentions. If the weather was more predictable I think I’d book a lot more breaks around the country! One day though.
NHS
A bit of a serious one now, but I am so thankful for the NHS. I don’t want to get into a debate about it but having the NHS made my life so much easier when I fell pregnant at 23. I could barely look after myself and the NHS did all that for me. From speaking to my friends in the US I know how easy we’ve got it when it comes to the NHS, and that definitely makes me feel proud.
British Comedy
I do love my American sitcoms, New Girl is one of my absolute favourite tv shows ever. But I also find myself laughing so hard at the likes of The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner, Peep Show.. all British made and such a British sense of humour. I love the panel shows like Qi and Mock the Week, all stand up comedians I like are British. My sense of humour is very British.
Tea
I’ve made it no secret that I never used to like tea however in the past four years a good cup of tea is one of my absolute favourite things. Lots of milk and lots of sugar, and when I drink it from a tea cup while having afternoon tea it’s the best thing ever.
Shakespeare
My main focus of study at university, of course I’m proud that William Shakespeare is a big part of shaping the face of British theatre.. so much so that my daughter is named after a character from my favourite play, Twelfth Night. One day I will go to the Globe and I will visit Stratford.
British Cliches in London
London is one of the last places in the country for all the things people think of when they think of a British city. The telephone boxes, the red buses.. It’s where the Queen lives, you can’t get more British than that!