Eccentrics

[Lynn Marie]

My heritage is English, and as long as I can remember I've thought Englishmen were a bit eccentric and prone to cross dress and other semi odd behavior. Warm beer?

Maybe the idea came from Benny Hill. Now there's an eccentric! Maybe not, and this is a really broad stereotype, I know. I'm not degrading anyone here, remember I are one. Just amused and wondering.

[lisalove]

My mother is English, so maybe you're not to far off there.

[Persephone]

Yeah, I've always been told that you could do anything in England as long as there was a club for it. So, for example, a guy who likes to wear a raincoat and expose himself can join The MacIntosh Club.

Me, I live on the other side of the pond and still feel that crossdressing is a harmless eccentricity.

[NathalieX66]

Warm beer is not eccentric...it's just English. That's the way it's done. I love drinking St. Peter's Porter warm. Refrigeration is a modern concept.
When I think of eccentric English characters, I think of Ian McKellan in the movie DaVinci Code, or Doctor Who characters throuout the years.

Eccentrics can only be such within their own culture. In the United States, J. Paul Getty was such a creature. In the UK, Grayson Perry is, well....Grayson Perry.

J. Edgar Hoover reminds me of the shenannigans that go on within the Catholic church. Same thing, different organization.

My favorite British eccentric is John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), particularly when he appeared on Judge Judy to dispute an issue with a band member. You can find that episode on youtube.

Eccentric, in myn opinion, is Harold, in the movie Harold & Maude.

[gabimartini]

I have no English ancestry whatsoever... and here I am!! ;)

[eileendover]

My first exposure to British TV was in the 60s - shows like "The Avengers", "Doctor Who", "The Prisoner", and of course "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Every show seemed to have characters displaying a very wide variety of eccentric but harmless behavior. There was always somebody with a large collection of something, somebody reliving some historic period, or other out-of-the-ordinary activities that people just casually accepted. There were similar eccentric characters in the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from the same time period.

Nothing like the buttoned-down gray-flannel-suit shows in the USA, where the main tv character always seemed to be some junior advertising executive - madcap hilarity ensued.

[EnglishRose]

As a British American I have to say that eccentricity comes with heritage; the rest of us are just barmy :)

[jenifer m.]

well im english irish german blood line soooooo maybe.

[docrobbysherry]

Plenty of eccentrics, but no English in my background.:brolleyes:

I believe "warm beer" is a myth! I drank a LOT of it in and around London, and all over Europe.:drink:

Never was served a beer there warmer than room temperature, if that. The warmest was probably Octoberfest brew in Munich. If our beer tasted THAT good, we wouldn't NEED to freeze our taste buds to get it down!:D

[Froggy's Angel]

That is what I was going to say Doc,
I lived in England for a few years and the beer was not "warm" it is just room temperature, and actually smoother that way, in my opinion. :)

And I think what is eccentric to some is perfectly normal to others, like calling the "bathroom" the "toilet"... "there are no "baths" in a public toilet" is what I would hear each time I messed that one up! LOL :D

[noeleena]

Hi..
Well many of us are from english stock or are scots & then of course our irish. so yes we have a few here in kiwi land . who are , & i have known a few over the last 50 years . & many more before i was born were around . so it cant be only england . & over in oz e yes a few there as well.

...noeleena...

[Imogen_Mann]

I'm English by several generations, maybe some would say British, not English... No matter.

Eccentricity is part of the English stock in trade, but it's something you have to learn... It comes with the ability to think for yourself, break free from the yoke of Rupert Murdock, Gordon Brown and daytime television, and at last... the British character can grow and mature.

Benny hill was not so much an eccentric, more that other staple of British life... A master of toilet humor (see also Carry-On films and Dick Emery).

As for warm beer ? Well... It's cellar temperature to be precise, and long may it be consumed. you have to remember it's not 'premium lager beer' we drink warm, it's "real Ale" and when it was invented (when god handed it down to the gentle folk of Burton On Trent) there were no refrigerators to be had.
Chilling it ruins the flavors and kills it.

The British also enjoy Spanking each-other, boarding school, dirty postcards, the Morris 1000 and abusing the French.

Up the ruling classes !

[t-girlxsophie]

Speaking as a Scotswoman,I can think of a few things to say about the English (only kidding)

Perhaps I should hold my tongue anyway,coming as I do from a Country,where our National Dress is a Skirt.I mean Ever noticed how many "girls" you can see wearing tartan minis? The point is I dont think Geography matters as regards to why we Cross-Dress

p.s. wheres the Scotland Flag smilie:sad:

[Imogen_Mann]

Ever noticed how many "girls" you can see wearing tartan minis?

My first skirt...The first time I dressed, although not a Mini... Was a Barclay tartan. (That's Black and yellow for all you not Tartan folks).

[Shari]

Does Welsh count?

Forget the warm beer though.

I'm not that eccentric.

[Phyliss]

Whlie the "English" may be considered "eccentric" it seems that the truly eccentric people left there so as not to be considered among the normal and came to the "New World" and colonized it, soon enough other cultures discovered this place and also arrived. Then came the fun of "melting" them all together, and still retaining the eccentric parts, the "cream" of this group went to the western part of the country and now live in California.

[Tamara Croft]

Warm beer is a myth :slap:

[NathalieX66]

Warm beer is a myth :slap:

warm beer = room temperature.

[TommiTN]

Part of the charm of Britain is the almost expected eccentricity that seems to be part of the national character. There will always be an England. As to the warm beer, the only reason I can think of as to why you lot drink it is because Lucas makes your refrigerators. :D

[kimdl93]

As for warm beer ? Well... It's cellar temperature to be precise, and long may it be consumed. you have to remember it's not 'premium lager beer' we drink warm, it's "real Ale" and when it was invented (when god handed it down to the gentle folk of Burton On Trent) there were no refrigerators to be had.
Chilling it ruins the flavors and kills it.

I've read that what Americans call beer came into favor after Prohibition killed all the local breweries. We ended up with what William Least Heat Moon described as "beer squeezed through a bar rag, then passed through a horse..."

[Edwina]

This reminds me of an old North Country saying...
"All the world's a little mad excepting thee and me
and even thee's a little queer" (origional meaning :heehee:)

I drink Scotch at room teperature :D

[MJ]

i don't know i turned out fine :heehee:

[Sarah_C]

Coming from someone in the pub/bar trade i can assure you that only real ale is 'warm' and even then its still coldish, not quite like a cup of coffee lol, our lager etc like is kept around -4 degrees which i imagine is the same for your bud etc over the pond?

[Lynn Marie]

So what if I edit my post and take out just two words and a question mark. The whole rest of this thread will look pretty weird. I'll naa speak of ale again. I've learned my lesson. Only drink wine, rum, and burbon myself.

[EnglishRose]

OT: Since when can lager enter into a discussion of beer? :) It tastes p&^%poor either side of the pond, whether it's bud / coors / carling / stella etc. Funnily enough the British have the view that American lager is weak comparitively, whereas they'd be surprised to find that the alcoholic content on average is similar to that of the stronger popular lagers (Stella again).

[docrobbysherry]

OT: Since when can lager enter into a discussion of beer? :) It tastes p&^%poor either side of the pond, whether it's bud / coors / carling / stella etc. Funnily enough the British have the view that American lager is weak comparitively, whereas they'd be surprised to find that the alcoholic content on average is similar to that of the stronger popular lagers (Stella again).

The beers that we get from across the pond, intentionally made for "export", suit our old 3.2% laws in the States!:doh:

Many states, including Cal, have changed those old Blue laws. But, in Oz, their "lite" beers have about 3.5% alcohol content. Similar to our "standard" beers" in Cal!:eek:

Take the brewery tours thru the Carlsberg, or Heinikin breweries, etc. See if those beers taste ANYTHING like what we get over here!:drink:

[Ruth]

It's too bad we got sidetracked into the warm beer thing, rather than exploring the idea of eccentricity being a national characteristic.
Myself I think the English are no more weird than any other tribe, but maybe there is in this country a history of (comparative) tolerance of those who are a little different.
It would be good if it were true, and would be a lot more important than the temperature of our beer.

[TommiTN]

Ruth, I'm sure you're right; the British are no more or less prone to eccentricity than any other group. Many on this side of the pond only know England through the media. The movies especially are prone to stereotype Britain as a nation of harmless eccentrics, something most of us find a charming notion even if untrue. We all have our idiosyncrasies.

[Rachel Newark]

Well, mostly harmless....

I'll have an elegant glass of Pedigree please.

As others have said, eccentric is mainly about culture. Unless you're a cam,in which case it's pretty much a job description.

E 3134 ah, the classics

Rachel :-)

[Sarah_K]

Hm, I LIVE for Dr. Who. and I've seen it mentioned in this thread a few times...perhaps there is something subliminal in it that caused me to CD... ;-)

[skirtsuit]

Don't forget the long tradition of eccenticity in the southern states...

I have lived in both the US and UK and am not sure that there are more eccentrics in the UK, but I do think that Brits tend to a more socially liberal attitude, so that maybe odd people in the UK have more chance to 'flower' than here in the US were conformity is more of the rule?

There's also all the crossdressing on classic British TV that many of us older Americans saw on Public TV as kids.

All the Best,
Ann / SS

[Frédérique]

My heritage is English, and as long as I can remember I've thought Englishmen were a bit eccentric and prone to cross dress and other semi odd behavior. Maybe the idea came from Benny Hill. Now there's an eccentric!

My heritage is also English (half of my heritage, that is), so I gravitate that way…:battingeyelashes:

I wouldn’t call Benny Hill an eccentric. He was a brilliant comedian (verbal and physical), writer and showman, much like any other successful entertainer. If you look into how he lived his life, you’ll find out he was more “normal” than we appear to be. To me, an eccentric is someone like Howard Hughes or Michael Jackson. Actual British eccentrics? I can’t really think of any off hand…:thinking: To an American, anyone who speaks in sentences, displays manners, cares about his or her appearance, and knows that other countries exist may seem like an eccentric. I wonder how they see us? Don’t answer -- that’s a rhetorical question…:doh:


I have lived in both the US and UK and am not sure that there are more eccentrics in the UK, but I do think that Brits tend to a more socially liberal attitude, so that maybe odd people in the UK have more chance to 'flower' than here in the US were conformity is more of the rule?
There's also all the crossdressing on classic British TV that many of us older Americans saw on Public TV as kids.

Yeah, that was my first exposure to crossdressing, as opposed to drag, which is what you got here in the States during that time. I was fascinated by the more restrained crossdressing on display in the UK, bordering on the possibility of being able to "pass" undetected. I recall wondering if I could do the same thing (the answer is YES), so that was a revelation for me…:)

[Lynn Marie]

Don't forget the long tradition of eccenticity in the southern states...

I have lived in both the US and UK and am not sure that there are more eccentrics in the UK, but I do think that Brits tend to a more socially liberal attitude, so that maybe odd people in the UK have more chance to 'flower' than here in the US were conformity is more of the rule?

There's also all the crossdressing on classic British TV that many of us older Americans saw on Public TV as kids.

All the Best,
Ann / SS

Well said Ann. By golly, I think you've got it!

[Sarah_C]

I suppose a good example if you're looking at how accepting different countrys are for me would be when the rocky horror picture show was showing at the city theatre, i remember going into town and i swear to god, there were more guys in kinky corsets and skirts etc than girls but nobody turned a blind eye even when things had thinned out and there were loads of "normally" dressed people and only one or "rocky horror" dressed people (which you could very well interperet as cross dressing i guess), nobody seemed to care!

I've seen it many times in town, i've clearly seen people "read" crossdressers and they really just dont care (other than the odd idiot that thinks they're cool for kicking up a fuss)!


.... sorry, i think i kinda rambled on there!


ps. sorry about taking things a bit over the top with the warm beer thing earlier but its something i'm quite passionate about and unfortunately, as anyone from the UK will tell you, the pub business is a dying trade :(

[Froggy's Angel]

My exhusband (who is British) LOVES Stella!!!

My current husband, Nicole, who is American, hates it and loves Guinness, lol

They both said that American beer tastes like p!ss though LOL:heehee:
I stick to "alcho-pops" (British for wine coolers) :D

And there is no "warm" beer there :tongueout :D

[t-girlxsophie]

Hm, I LIVE for Dr. Who. and I've seen it mentioned in this thread a few times...perhaps there is something subliminal in it that caused me to CD... ;-)

Not a Dr Who fan,but seen enough to have him pegged as eccentric,so wouldn't be that much of a stretch to think,maybe one day we may see a Cross dressing Doctor

[Alice Torn]

:love:Mr. Bean. Yes! I am German and Irish, both brothers in prison, i am extremely odd even not cding.