# I love this British shit and I move move to England! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [April 28, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998 "2021-04-28T22:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/322 "2021-08-27T22:20:58Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Takeaway sandwiches in England are awesome. The story of how they became popular is interesting too. I’ve lived in around 30 odd years and I can I’ve never heard English sandwiches called awesome in any way. Or be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/323 "2021-08-27T22:33:48Z")
Canada has Subway restaurants pretty much everywhere. Since England probably does too, no one is forced to go to Pret-a-Porter, M&S, etc. And plenty do. Many more if you include Gregg’s. I’m sure some of my liking for this is the novelty of flavours and the inclusion of tasty things like trifle in combos. Things like that, even malted bread, are not easy to find everywhere. If they were, perhaps I too would be filled with Weltschmerz (kidding, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/324 "2021-08-27T22:37:35Z")
Although Subway restaurants make sandwiches to order, and the Guardian article was about ready-made sandwiches in Marks & Spencer and other shops. I could see buying that kind to bring to work the next day or buying them in a quick lunch errand. (And I’m American but I’d love it if quality ready-made sandwiches were easily available.) ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/325 "2021-08-27T22:54:26Z")
Well, if it’s difference, then perhaps UK is different for sandwiches, but frankly the US is much better at them. M&S ones though are better than most, and a typical UK sandwich is neither fully loaded or tasty. Single slice of not particularly strong cheddar on a not particularly tasty bit of ham on thin white bread is the typical UK sandwich. What is of note is M&S (and indeed, Pret which is not ubiquitous) are a lot more expensive than most typical sandwiches. What you’ve done is found some of the high end ones, not even always available about the country, and called it English. It isn’t. Case and point, a sandwich, drink and bag of crisp combo can be twice the price from M&S (and even more at Pret) than Tesco, Boots, Sainsburys and the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/326 "2021-08-27T23:03:38Z")
Prices for a lot of European things are eye-watering to Canadians. It is true the sandwiches I enjoyed perhaps are not typical. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/327 "2021-08-28T02:11:01Z")
By British takeaway sandwiches, do you mean the ones sold at Pret A Manger? (Note: not Pret A Porter) It’s a chain that’s based in the U.K., although most of the British ones are in London. Interestingly, there are two of them on one short block in Oxford. There are some in ten other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/328 "2021-08-28T13:26:19Z")
That type, yes. But also the ones sold at Boots or M&S. Like in the Guardian article above. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/329 "2021-08-28T22:00:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > (And I’m American but I’d love it if quality ready-made sandwiches were easily available.) Most large grocery chains have fresh, high quality sandwiches made for you in the deli departments. Sides as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/330 "2021-08-30T19:40:50Z")
It was _Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown_ > [@terentii](#): > > I recall one show (it had to be a parody) where a bunch of '70s cops and/or PIs trying to solve a crime gathered in a room Agatha Christie–style. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/331 "2021-08-30T21:42:47Z")
While it’s not in with some of the classics mentioned, I do enjoy [As Time Goes By](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Time_Goes_By_(TV_series)) as a somewhat guilty pleasure. The story involves an Army lieutenant (Lionel) and a nurse (Jean) who fell in love in 1953 just before he was posted to Korea. His letter giving her his new address went astray, she assumed he’d lost interest, he assumed she’d lost interest, end of story. Until many years later when Lionel unwittingly engages a secretary from Jean’s agency to assist him with a book he’s writing about his experiences as a coffee farmer in Kenya, which leads them to reconnect. Romance and hilarity ensue. Apart from the fact that I can identify with Lionel — going from being “serenely independent and content” to being the lone male in a female household — one thing I appreciate about the show is that unlike many British sitcoms of the time (at least those which made the ocean crossing), the main characters are not stereotypical “English eccentrics.” As a result, the humo(u)r arises more from the day-to-day predicaments ordinary people find themselves in than from some daft plot device on the part of someone who would be better off in custodial care. There are eccentric secondary characters, mainly Lionel’s father and his household, but they tend to stay in the background. Also the writing, while not up to Oscar Wilde standards, is several cuts above average; Lionel, in particular, talks the way I wish I could. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/332 "2021-08-31T00:36:50Z")
Wow! So I’m not the only person left who remembers it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/333 "2021-08-31T00:40:18Z")
I agree, it’s a good romantic sitcom, a genre I don’t normally care for. I suspect a lot of it is the two stars. They fit together so well. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/334 "2021-08-31T02:49:41Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I periodically rewatch the famous “Private Browsing” segment just to watch Dara O Briain and Ed Byrne completely lose their shit laughing at each other. Did you know that Ó Briain was the best man at Byrne’s wedding and Byrne was the best man at Ó Briain’s wedding? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/335 "2021-08-31T15:42:45Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown I just finished watching this on YouTube. It’s hilarious, but I’m wondering about some of the shows that were parodied. Aside from _ **Jason King** _, I’m guessing two were _ **Starsky and Hutch** _ and _ **Cop Rock** _. Was there one in particular that overused the word “Guv”? I know “Guv” was used all the time on _ **Life on Mars** _, which also parodied '70s detectives but more seriously. It must go back a ways. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/336 "2021-08-31T16:33:50Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown This is a [Comic Strip Presents](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083402/), one of the greats of British comedy which never made it to the US. Predates the Young Ones with most of it’s cast, and French and Saunders, with other guest roles. It’s a series of individual film parodies of anything from Spaghetti westerns, to Cop Shows, to Famous Five films. One was even like Spinal Tap: [Bad News](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0544862/) and [More Bad News](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0544879/) but predated Spinal Tap [Mr Jolly Lives Next Door](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095664/) is a version of the Dangerous Brothers, a Rik and Adrian act like those later appearing in Bottom, but those predated the Young Ones too. There’s a few duds in there, probably more me not knowing the target of the parody, but Detectives on the edge of a nervous breakdown was actually I think a followup to the first one: [The bullshitters : Roll out the gunbarrel](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0544891/) a parody of The Professionals, a popular UK cop show of the time. Here’s the [List of episodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Comic_Strip_Presents..._episodes), if you’ve never seen them, but are a fan of anything which Rik and Ade, Fry and Laurie, French and Saunders, Alexi Sayle and a bunch of others of the similar style from the 80s-90s, then these are for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/337 "2021-08-31T17:37:32Z")
_The Sweeney_ was a police show made by Euston Films for London Weekend Television in the 1970s. Set in London’s Metropolitan Police Flying Squad (in the sense that they were mobile, not that they flew), it starred John Thaw and Denis Waterman, who invariably addressed their superiors as ‘guv’. Its mixture of fast car chases, violence and occasional flashes of female nudity (rare on British television in the 1970s) made it required viewing for anyone growing up at the time. _Life On Mars_ was a parody of _The Sweeney_, amongst other shows of the '70s. The name, explicit in the commercial break titles, is rhyming slang: ‘Sweeney Todd - Flying Squad’. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/338 "2021-08-31T17:39:41Z")
Thanks, that helps a lot! I can see the resemblance between the big guy and John Thaw. I knew he reminded me of somebody! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/339 "2021-08-31T17:45:52Z")
I’ve seen several British police shows where the superior officers are routinely called “Guv.” It seems to be pretty common. On TV, at least. I don’t know about actual British police practice. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/340 "2021-08-31T18:05:38Z")
“Guv” or “Guv’nor” is (or at least was) common slang for “Sir” or “Boss.” It’s a shortened form of “Governor.” Bert the Chimney Sweep might call Mr Banks “Guv.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998/341 "2021-09-01T10:16:50Z")
One for memory road, for us over here at least. Grange Calveley, who created _[Roobarb and Custard](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roobarb)_ is sadly no more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-this-british-shit-and-i-move-move-to-england/940998.md?page=18)