Common ideas

Many visitors to Britain do not have a clear idea about British food. Below are responses to some comments made by international students after being asked the question, " What do you think about British food? "

" What is it? "
Many visitors do not know what British food is, maybe because there are not many British restaurants in other parts of the world. If so, you can learn about some types of traditional British food by exploring all of the pages in the Britain/Food section.

" It's greasy"
You may think that British people eat greasy food (like fish and chips or a fried breakfast) every day. You may be offered a cooked breakfast every day if you stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast, but this is not normal life. Most British people only eat these foods occasionally (perhaps once a week, or less often). Britain is a dairy country, however - so milk, butter, cheese and cream are used more than in some countries.

" It's boring"
Perhaps you have already stayed in the UK and found the food boring or not tasty. This could be because you haven't tasted good home cooking or the food in high quality restaurants. There is actually a very wide variety of food. As well as the traditional British food shown here, there are also Chinese dishes, Indian curry, Spanish tapas, Italian pizza or pasta, Turkish kebabs, Japanese sushi and so on. Ingredients are available from many parts of the world, both in specialist shops and in ordinary supermarkets.

" It's dangerous"
British farmers have had some problems in recent years due to the spread of BSE (mad cow disease) within cattle in the 1990s, and then foot-and-mouth disease within sheep in 2001. These diseases caused many animals to be killed, and led to the introduction of new controls. Scientists believe that BSE can be passed to humans as a disease known as variant CJD, but cases are rare and seem to be linked to times before the new controls were put in place. Foot-and-mouth in sheep is not passed on to humans by eating lamb, and since 2001 there have only been a few cases of the disease in sheep. So is it safe to eat British meat? Probably - most British people continue to eat it, and the controls in the UK are now some of the tightest in the world. There are many shops or restaurants selling vegetarian and organic food if you prefer to eat this.

In Britain you will find most people are kinder to you if you behave politely, respecting local people and customs. You may sometimes upset people by things that you say or do, even if these things seem perfectly normal in your own culture.

SMALL TALK

When you first meet someone it can be difficult to know how to start a conversation, especially if your first language is not English.

Which topics are safe for small talk?

- Introductions, eg " Hello. May I introduce myself? My name is Mark"
- Travel, eg " Did you manage to find here OK? " or " Did you have a good journey? "
- Family, eg " How is your family? " (but only if you already know about the person's family)
- Hospitality, eg " Can I get you something to eat or drink? "
- The weather, eg " It's a lovely day today, isn't it? "
- Holidays, eg " Are you going anywhere this weekend? " or " Are you going anywhere on holiday this year? "
- Nature, eg " The garden looks lovely, doesn't it? "
- Pets, eg " What a lovely dog. What is his name? " (British people love dogs or cats)
- General news, eg " What do you think about the recent floods? " (but safer to avoid gossip and politics)
- Films, eg " Have you seen the film Bridget Jones's Diary? "
- Television, eg " Did you see The X Factor last night? "
- Music, eg " What sort of music do you like? "
- Books, eg " Have you read any good books recently? " (but only if you know the person likes reading)
- Sport, eg " Have you been watching Wimbledon? " (note that many British people, especially men, enjoy talking about football)
- Hobbies, eg " What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? "
- Business, eg " How's your business going? " (but only ask if you know the person has a business)
- Studies, eg " What are you studying? " (but only ask if you know the person is a student)
- Work, eg " What sort of work do you do? "
- Food, eg " I had a lovely Chinese meal last night - do you like Chinese food? "
- General matters about the person you are talking to, eg " Have you lived in this area long? "
- General matters on subjects that you know that interests the person you are talking to, eg cars, film stars etc