Please recommend smart British comedies on DVD. I liked As Time Goes By and am enjoying Cold Feet - what else should I look for? [more inside]
posted on Jun 16, 2008 - 61 answers

Which football club does Billy Bragg support? I understand he was born in Bridport, Dorset, and grew up in Barking, a suburb of the east Greater London area. Does Billy support Bridport FC, Barking FC, or some other club? [more inside]
posted on Jun 11, 2008 - 9 answers

Which body oversees British Telecom: Ofcom or Otelo? Or is it BOTH? [more inside]
posted on May 14, 2008 - 7 answers

Needing recommendations for TV blogs, including British TV [more inside]
posted on May 14, 2008 - 9 answers

What is going on with my teeth / gums (very disgusting stuff inside)? If you, like me, do not like to hear or see sensitive parts of the body going wrong, please do not read this question. [more inside]
posted on Apr 16, 2008 - 15 answers

Can someone identify a British (I assume) musical comedy bit from the 1960s or 1970s that's nothing more than a several minutes-long introduction of the members of the most bizarre band in the world? [more inside]
posted on Apr 10, 2008 - 5 answers

[englandfilter] what's so cool about cricket? [more inside]
posted on Apr 2, 2008 - 34 answers

Moving around in the EU - how about them fjords there? [more inside]
posted on Mar 25, 2008 - 3 answers

I think I may be a British citizen by descent. What now? [more inside]
posted on Mar 14, 2008 - 11 answers

British Fish and Chip Shops around Boston area / New England? [more inside]
posted on Feb 18, 2008 - 9 answers

I need to find Christmas crackers in Minneapolis. [more inside]
posted on Feb 14, 2008 - 4 answers

Great British mystery television shows/movies? My girlfriend and I are both rabid fans of good, old-fashioned British whodunnits. Nothing like a rainy Sunday curled up in the sofa to watch an insufferable amateur detective line up a bunch of eccentric upper-class Brits by the fireplace to expose their innermost red herrings: Poirot, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Cadfael, Inspector Alleyn, Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park -- we have pretty much watched them all, including numerous Agatha Christie movie adaptations. What else is out there? Must be British, or feature mainly Brits; extra points for smoking jackets, quaint little villages in Dorset, vintage automobiles and funny little Frenchmen. (We don't like modern police procedurals that much, though; Inspector Morse is all right, but not quite our cup of tea.)
posted on Jan 4, 2008 - 34 answers

Why do people treat me better when I use a British accent? [more inside]
posted on Dec 23, 2007 - 54 answers

What books/courses/web tutorials would you recommend to help me learn the Received Pronunciation (BBC) English accent? [more inside]
posted on Nov 20, 2007 - 9 answers

Has there ever been an American TV Show that was remade in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter) [more inside]
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - 23 answers

Several years ago I listened to a radio show which mentioned that there was this chemist who invented a perfume that had the smell of earth after rain. I need to find out this guy's name. [more inside]
posted on Oct 26, 2007 - 11 answers

For nostalgia's sake, I'm trying to recall the title of a British novel (or maybe it was a series of novels, I'm not sure) about a family of animated rag dolls who live anonymous lives until a human discovers their secret and falls in love with one of them (?) Yeah, it's a bizarre concept, but I remember it being kind of poignant in an Edward Scissorhands-esque way. Since I read the book as a kid, I suppose it would have been published about 15 years ago, give or take.
posted on Aug 9, 2007 - 3 answers

Please help me identify a music video that I saw on a British satellite TV station while traveling through Spain. [more inside]
posted on Jul 25, 2007 - 2 answers

Help me remember the name of this British cartoon show. It starred a bunch of little blue guys that had noses like faucets. That's all the information I have. Good luck!
posted on Jun 28, 2007 - 13 answers

I'm trying to find out the name of a British comedy show I saw on PBS once, but I only have a few details about it. [more inside]
posted on Jun 28, 2007 - 6 answers

What is this sporting event? Teams compete to move a functioning artillery cannon from one end of an obstacle course to another, requiring them to disassemble, move, and re-assemble the cannon. [more inside]
posted on May 29, 2007 - 6 answers

Advice needed on joining the British Army for ethnic minorities (Chinese in particular). Any servicemen on AskMe? [more inside]
posted on Mar 19, 2007 - 6 answers

ConfusedYankFilter: What's the deal with the British pronouncing "idea" as "ideer"? [more inside]
posted on Jan 18, 2007 - 57 answers

How can I get into writing for (British) television? [more inside]
posted on Dec 28, 2006 - 12 answers

Seventeenth-century history-Filter: where can I find a copy of the first and second volumes of S.R. Gardiner's History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate online? [more inside]
posted on Dec 9, 2006 - 4 answers

I'm looking for recent statistics on the voting rate of Asian communities and/or Muslim communities in Britain. Broken down by country (Scotland, England, Wales) would be great. Exit poll type info of which parties they vote for would be great.
posted on Sep 25, 2006 - 1 answers

What's a "German Favor"? [more inside]
posted on Jul 16, 2006 - 13 answers

Please help an American out with British slang: what is a flute shop? [more inside]
posted on May 26, 2006 - 19 answers

While abroad last fall, I had really awesome sandwhiches. It seemed like every pub we ate in had a brie-and-bacon-on-some-sort-of-bread available. Now that I'm back in the states, I want to know where to find English bacon, or how to substitute for it. [more inside]
posted on Mar 16, 2006 - 11 answers

What's the best way to get British cask beer to Mexico City? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2006 - 11 answers

Movie trivia - killer! Trying to recall a 1960s-ish (?) movie about a knock-out female British hair dresser who decides to improve herself and take continuing-ed university classes - very toff university, very toff professor (possibly Donald Sutherland or Peter O'Toole - except I can't seem to find anything similar on their IMDB career lists). Very along the lines of 'To Sir With Love,' (shot similar also) but focusing on the female's growth from bleached blonde bimbo to an academic over-achiever. Arg, this is killing me. Anyone remember this flick?
posted on Feb 9, 2006 - 10 answers

Name that Book TV speaker: British author, late 30s/early 40s, spoke about West & rest international politics, looked roughly like a bearded Kevin Kline. [more inside]
posted on Jan 30, 2006 - 9 answers

Is "Starlight" some form of British slang for "Medic"? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2005 - 15 answers

Why do Americans have such odd ideas about the British? [more inside]
posted on Nov 17, 2005 - 81 answers

Just wondering: is there any official situation where the British Prime Minister and the Queen must meet and/or relate in some manner? I know the heads of state/gov't are supposed to be independent, just wondering if there is a protocol for such things.
posted on Nov 16, 2005 - 5 answers

Historical movies. I love movies taking place in older times, and I have a particular fascination for the golden years of the British Empire, and the European civilization during this era. What might I like? Also: Bonus question about 1980s, possible 1970s series or movie set in this historical period. [more inside]
posted on Aug 26, 2005 - 23 answers

What's the name of the British horror/suspense movie made around 1948 that consists of four separate stories, the last one of which is about a ventriloquist whose dummy starts talking to him? [more inside]
posted on Jul 30, 2005 - 10 answers

I'm reading Princesses, by Flora Fraser (which, OT, is a bit too much like school to be really enjoyable) and am interested in a term I don't understand. [more inside]
posted on Jul 25, 2005 - 5 answers

How would an American pick up a British accent while in Britain? [more inside]
posted on Jul 8, 2005 - 40 answers

In the US, the first syllable of "privacy" rhymes with "eye." In the UK, it rhymes with "give." So why, when listening to an audiobook, did I hear a British reader (with a standard British dialect) pronounce it the American way? Was the reader just being weird, or is the pronunciation of "privacy" becoming Americanized? Are there any other common Brit-pronunciations that are migrating across the pond? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2005 - 22 answers

This is my first 'AskMetafilter' question, but browsing around here, I've noticed that several other people have posted similar queries, so here goes: Sometime in the late '70's, I recalll seeing at least one episode of some British ITV-produced show about a clutch of people who were floating around the galaxy in the British Museum. Yep, THE British Museum. However absurd, I remember that the Earth had somehow been destroyed, and this clutch of heroes was charged with preserving the remains of human civilization en route to a new, undetermined home. While this scenario bears many similarities to 'Space:1999', 'Journey to the Far Side of the Sun', 'Blake's 7', 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Silent Running', I know it is none of those, and it was British. I distinctly remember aliens -actors in costumes, flowing robes, leather, that sort of thing - pursuing the human protagonists within the museum. It very much seemed an episode of a television show, in a hip, Quartermaas key, but with the better production values of the live Gerry Anderson/ITV shows. Any ideas? I really don't think it was Doctor Who...
posted on Apr 30, 2005 - 10 answers

i am interested in recommendations for novels about british colonial period (india, africa, etc). what are your favorites?
posted on Mar 15, 2005 - 27 answers

Back in the early/mid 80's here in S. Africa the local TV station broadcast a live action children's series about two minitaure elves(I think they were elves) who lived amongst normal size folk in the modern day. What was it called? [more inside]
posted on Mar 10, 2005 - 4 answers

What is it with the British and big brother? I've seen countless pieces of British that have to do with Big Brother. It really seems like a very British theme. TV shows like the Prisoner, comic books like Braintax's Futureghost, books like 1984 (british right?) all seem to hold to this. Am I right in thinking that it is a predominately a British theme? If it is, why? Also what good/popular British media deal with this subject? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2005 - 10 answers

LegalMusicDownloadFilter: Why can't I download the albums I want from iTunes just because I'm in America? [MI]
posted on Jan 30, 2005 - 15 answers

I am a certified vintage British car nut living in the States. My question is for the Brits here. What is the general opinion of the modern MG automobiles currently sold in the UK? Do they do justice to MG's heritage...or is this brand engineering of the worst kind?
posted on Nov 18, 2004 - 7 answers

What are those red and green things pinned to the lapels of nearly everybody on the BBC these days?
posted on Nov 6, 2004 - 16 answers

Are people who are from countries in the British Commonwealth 'British'? For instance, would you say that someone from New Zealand is 'British'? Is being 'British' cultural, or legal, or some amalgamation of the two? Anyone care to explain this to a confused Yankee?

Sorry if this has been asked before. I looked, but my google fu is not super.
posted on Oct 13, 2004 - 21 answers

Does anyone still get upset about split infinitives? [more inside]
posted on Oct 10, 2004 - 29 answers

My hazy memory of high school history is leading me to see parallels between the era of the British East India company and our current situation in Iraq. I'd like to read more to find out if this makes sense. Does anyone know of a particularly good book on the East India Company? I don't usually read history books so I don't know how to figure out which are credible and which aren't.
posted on May 28, 2004 - 6 answers