26 Marvellously British Problems That Make Life Awkward For Us All

Tea, weather, and closet alcoholism. God save the Queen!

Ah, Great Britain. Our proud island nation, once the pinnacle of the world, conqueror of nations and true masters of the consumption of tea and crumpets. A land of patriotism, royalty, corgis and - naturally - butlers called Jeeves. We're a very strange race of people in Britain. We all like to think we're normal, but really, there's countless things throughout our day-to-day adventures that are just so delightfully awkward, and so uniquely British, that we hardly notice them anymore. That is, of course, until we came along and pointed out all the incredibly awkward things about being a proud member of this wonderful land. If you're not from here, please don't judge us. We may all need help, but we're mostly harmless. So join us as we delve into the 25 problems British people face that make our lives so very awkward, yet we simply can't resist embracing them with open arms.

26. The Polite Door-Opener

You're just casually strolling through your local shopping centre/place of work when you spot someone in the distance approaching a door you're also heading towards. This is a critical moment; you know you're going to get there first, and you have to decide if you're going to open the door and slip through quickly, or alternatively hold the door open for the other person to pass through. Just make sure they aren't far away when you do it; such awkwardness is off the scale. Your British instinct kicks in - you open the door, hold it for the person, and then don't even get thanked for your extremely kind act. This has happened to you hundreds of times in the past, but you'll just swear under your breath at the person and then do it all again in a couple of days.

25. Would You Like A Cuppa?

You've finally achieved the dream, and have landed in a place of work that supplies free tea and coffee on demand. Unfortunately there's now a very serious problem €“ if you make one, you're making one for everyone else as well. Our polite Britishness demands that we ask all those in the immediate vicinity if they'd like a tea or coffee whenever you need one. If you're lucky, someone else in the same boat might offer to make them before you do.
 
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Contributor

Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.