British Humour – Old Blighty in a nutshell

British humour – While it may seem amazing that Britain had not been granted its own personal collection of funny pictures by now, obviously as some may have suspected it was just a matter of time. Let’s face it, may it be online or IRL, the British nation is an omnipresent worldwide leading actor.

Indeed, dare to tell us that you have never heard of her Royal highness Elizabeth II (born April 21st, 1926 and who has reigned during 12 U.S president tenures) along with her media targeted Fam . Come to think about it, chances are that a fair amount of those who will stumble upon this post do actually live in a former colony; because there’s that too, when mentioning Britain it’s hard to omit mentioning its impressive colonial history (and notable figures such as Captain James Cook, Sir Francis Drake or David Livingstone –just to name a few). But hey, let’s not be bitchy, as we also owe Britain some very important (and life changing) inventions such as….. the TELEVISION (yay thank you so much John Logie Baird), underwater transportation, the telescope, soda water, steam engines, the tin can, photography, cement, pneumatic tires, the ATM, the World Wide Web,(…)Or even the CHOCOLATE BAR (the toothbrush too, mind you), as well as some mind blowing writers such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, J.R.R Tolkien, George Orwell, Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle (oh ok, Harry Potter fans, we shall include J.K Rowling….there, don’t be pissed).

As far as sport is concerned now, in addition to the creation of a long list of other sports including rugby or cricket, and while the origins of football (soccer as some of you refer to it) are subject to controversy (Egypt, Greece, Ancient China, Italy,….), we do owe the Brits the uprising of the modern version of the game (and no, we will not go into any details today), which to a certain degree probably explains the unique passion and devotion of British supporters for national teams such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Everton (….) or both Manchester City and United where David Beckham – probably Britain’s most famous football player- scored 62 goals between 1992 and 2003. For memo, in 1999 Beckham married Victoria (former Spice Girls member) which brings us to a very important chapter of British culture: Music. Indeed, it would almost be criminal and insulting to sum up Britain’s contributions to the world without mentioning its phenomenal musical input. A far from being exhaustive list including artists such as New Order, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, The Cure, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Queen, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Sex pistols, The Kinks, The Clash, The Who, Radiohead, The Rolling Stones or The Beatles paints the scene and can only but command respect.

A quick reminder before we go any further (it can always come in handy):

Great Britain - Is an island that regroups three autonomous regions : England, Scotland and Wales.
United Kingdom (aka U.K) – Is a country which regroups four regions: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
British Isles – Is a group of islands which includes Great Britain, Ireland and over 6000 smaller isles (such as the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey or the Bailiwick of Guernsey).
England – Is an administrative region part of the United Kingdom although, like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the latter is not an independent nation.

After this brief recap, the time has now come for us to get back on track and focus on what this post was initially going to attempt to flirt with: British humour.
Acting as a class of its own, British comedy is definitely a genre with an attitude, and more importantly a backbone. Indeed, taboos are fewer and satire is strong when our Brit buddies decide to target a specific subject. “Everyday life” tends to be their favorite aisle to shop, and auto derision combined with sarcasm are the secret ingredients which make the magic happen. British humour being fairly sophisticated and witty, it’s not uncommon for “outsiders” to miss the point, so don’t feel bad if this happens to you – it can take years to fully grasp the underlining of British comedy.
Notable figures in this field include Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais, Rowan Atkinson, Russell Howard, Benny Hill, The Monty Python or Charlie Chaplin.

Anyway, let’s grab a cup of tea and get started shall we?

Wishing you a delicious PMSLweb moment!