Virtually every time we see mention of a Brit on ThaiVisa it is associated with some kind of drunken (usually) misdemeanour. Even if the nationality isn't mentioned any thread posted in Animal Farm (aka General Topics) about drunken behaviour elicits comments like "he must be a Brit". Like nobody else in the world ever gets drunk and does something stupid.

Well it is time we had a thread about the harmless side of British culture and one, no doubt, that will take centre stage in 2012.

Lets hear it for : Eccentricity.

]Britain: a land of bog snorkellers, worm charmers and hostage takers[/size]

To those who fear 21st Century Britain has become a land of cloned towns filled with the same chain stores and coffee bars as any American mall, one author has demonstrated that its citizens remain as eccentric as ever and its oldest customs are alive and well.

For according to her new alternative guide to the British Isles, we remain a land of worm charmers, bog snorkellers and black pudding fighters.

Jane Peyton, 47, an author born in Skipton, North Yorks, set herself the task of documenting some of the country's oldest - and oddest - traditions after a spell living Los Angeles where she found herself homesick for old fashioned British eccentricity.

Her subsequent research took her into the little-known worlds of competitive snail racing, upside-down choral singing and marital fidelity trials to name but a few.

While television viewers around the world may be familiar with lively exchanges in the House of Commons, few will be familiar with the preferred method of keeping local politicians to account favoured in High Wycombe, Bucks - weighing them.

In a custom revived in 1892, the town's outgoing mayor and councillors are publicly weighed to determine whether they have been living off the fat of the land during their time in office.

Many of the customs she documents in her book "Brilliant Britain", date back many centuries but few will be familiar to the millions of tourists who visit the country to see sights such as Big Ben or the London Eye.

Other practices such as Swan Upping, the annual census of swans on the Thames, which are owned by the Queen, have become better known in recent years, regularly reported in foreign media as an example of British quirks.

"I realised that if a Hollywood film were ever made about British traditions no one outside the British Isles would believe they were true - maybe not even Britons themselves," said Ms Peyton.

"I think British people will be very consoled to know that all of these traditions are still going on.

"A lot of people think that our individuality has gone now that we are in the EU and part of a globalised economy and are all the same, they will be quite pleased to see that all of these customs are going on."

During her time abroad she found herself homesick for unexpected facets of British life, from the comforting rhythms of BBC Radio's Shipping Forecast to the sense of humour which fostered Monty Python or Blackadder.

Among her favourite discoveries was the custom, well known to political anoraks, of holding a Government whip as "hostage" at Buckingham Palace during the state opening of Parliament to ensure the Queen's safe return after the ceremony.

Perhaps the oldest, and strangest, of all are the Dunmow Flitch Trials in Great Dunmow, Essex. Held every leap year, couples must persuade a judge and jury of their love for each other in order to win a flitch, a side of bacon, the tradition is believed to date back to the 12th Century and merits a mention in Chaucer.

Other favourites include the world Worm Charming World Championships in Willaston, Cheshire, or the Bog Snorkelling World Championship in Llanwrtyd Wells, in Powys, Wales.

She was also taken with a black pudding throwing contest in Ramsbottom, Lancs. In a nod to the War of the Roses, Lancashire Black Puddings are thrown at Yorkshire puddings.

I wonder if Thailand and Cambodia would consider exchanging volleys of black pudding (or local equivalent) instead of bullets over that not so stately pile?

It's names like 'Ramsbottom' that I love...

Check out a classic from the league of Gentlemen - British comedy at it's weirdest!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YOtpgz4L5d8

It's names like 'Ramsbottom' that I love...

Check out a classic from the league of Gentlemen - British comedy at it's weirdest!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YOtpgz4L5d8

"Ramsbottom" was the snake on the "Sooty & Sweep Show", he says, showing his age...

I just recently got all wistful and homesick reading "Notes From A Small Island", by Bill Bryson. Another superb insight into Brit culture.

I know what you mean, kmart. That was the first Bill Bryson book that I read and it reminded me that we can never see ourselves as well as a sympathetic outsider although Bryson is now virtually 'family'.

Also, the piece in the OP mentioned the Shipping Forecast which, hey, I really do miss. There's something strangely comforting in its measured cadences and litany of familiar place-names; almost like a religious chant.

Also, the piece in the OP mentioned the Shipping Forecast which, hey, I really do miss. There's something strangely comforting in its measured cadences and litany of familiar place-names; almost like a religious chant.

It was until they introduced North and South Utsire - bloody Norwegians. I see they've also renamed Finisterre to FitzRoy. Outrageous!

I like the original Anglo Saxon name for Nottingham.... the home of Snot's people.

I like the original Anglo Saxon name for Nottingham.... the home of Snot's people.

That 'snot very nice.

That was a soap in America wasn't it, Snot's Landing.

Boogie Woogie music was a direct reference to nasal discharge...................True fact.

Boogie Woogie music was a direct reference to nasal discharge...................True fact.

No it isn't.

Boogie Woogie music was a direct reference to nasal discharge...................True fact.

No it isn't.

Yes it is......My four year old nephew insists ( and his dad is bigger than yours )

( and his dad is bigger than yours )

Not difficult, mine's been dead for 30 years.

Wiki says...

A rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s[1]. The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the term skiffle means "rent party", indicating the informality of the occasion. Thus, the word became associated with informal music. However, many notable jazz musicians are associated with rent parties, including pianists Speckled Red, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, although rent parties also featured bands as well. The OED also gives boogie as a term for rent party.

...and there was I thinking something else altogether...

I like the original Anglo Saxon name for Nottingham.... the home of Snot's people.

I'm proud to be a 100% snot from Snottingham

Wiki says...

A rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s[1]. The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the term skiffle means "rent party", indicating the informality of the occasion. Thus, the word became associated with informal music. However, many notable jazz musicians are associated with rent parties, including pianists Speckled Red, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, although rent parties also featured bands as well. The OED also gives boogie as a term for rent party.

Different regions had different names for this - I played in a band called Wapatui House Party.

This recipe makes twenty-five gallons.

Ingredients

2 - 1.75 liter bottles of gin, rum, and vodka (6 bottles total)

Equal parts apple cider, lemonade, and orange juice to make 25 gallons. (Frozen concentrate is acceptable.)

Chopped fruit to your liking. I enjoy one bag each of oranges and grapefruit and two bags of apples.

40 lbs of ice cubes

One case of cheap beer

Five pounds of dry ice

A thirty gallon container (regular holders of wapatui use a plastic garbage bin used ONLY for this service)

Instructions:

The day before the party, chop the fruit and soak in the alcohol overnight. Refrigerate.

The day of the party, mix the fruit, remaining booze, and fruit juices together in a thirty gallon container.

Add beer and stir vigorously.

Add ice cubes and wait for the Wapatui House Party to start. At the last moment, crush the dry ice with a hammer and add to the wapatui.

It is believed the name Wapatui came from the word meaning "watermelon" The common container used was a big watermelon with the flesh scooped out.

CB