Fab Confab: British vs English (Part II)

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Thank you for joining me for another Wednesday Fab Confab chat! Today is a continued conversation about what it means to be British vs English. Last week's Part One highlighted the geopolitical definition and offered the lovely words from Sarah of Modern Country Style.

Image: A Place For Tea

For today I invited Laura of A Place for Tea to join us. She was one of my first 'blog friends'. She is an English mum who lives in New Jersey, US. So pull up a comfy chair and grab a cup of tea :)  

Laura writes:

I've got to say that before I came to the States I never gave much thought as to whether I was English or British. I travelled under a UK passport and other than that I gave little thought to what I was...

You've got to bare in mind, I felt that the English culture was not as tangible as other European countries.  When I thought of France or Spain, I could run off a list of items that culturally defined them... But I struggled to do the same with England...  

Then I left the green, green grass of home and my lifestyle, my quirks and idiosyncrasies all jumped out as being quintessentially English... Not British... my lifestyle is English... I would not be able to say that I live a British lifestyle, as I don't have enough knowledge of the other cultures... 

Image: A Place For Tea

However, the other day I was at the supermarket, chatting with the checkout women... when the customer behind me, asked where in England I was from... it turned out she was from Ireland. We chatted about the weather at home... the food... the TV... the countryside. We talked of our families and similar upbringing. We had common ground. We were British. 

Here in the States I identify myself as British to the outside world, as it's all encompassing, but I live the life of an English woman. 

On a side note I know that British is used as a more politically correct term, as the UK is made up of a broad spectrum of individuals and the label 'British' reflects the diversity of our country... 

Thank you so much, Laura, for your thought provoking words and sharing your personal view.
And such lovely photographs :)

Please feel free to join the conversation in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

{ Join 'Around The World In A Day' Linky Party on Sat Mar 19th. Details here }

View 'British vs English: Part One' here