Britain obsessed with fame, addicted to junk food: Lonely Planet guide

caitlin1214

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Britain obsessed with fame, addicted to junk food: Lonely Planet guide

AFP - Wednesday, May 23 08:40 am
LONDON (AFP) - Britons are obsessed with celebrity and addicted to junk food and ready meals, a new travel guide said as it shed a sometimes unflattering light on the country.

The Lonely Planet guide noted that more people vote in television talent shows than in elections, saying this was "a symptom of Britain's ever-growing obsession with fame and celebrity."
Britons are fascinated with famous people "even though their 'celebrity' status is based on little more than the ability to sing a jolly tune, look good in tight trousers or kick a ball in the right direction," it noted.
Like many foreign observers, the guide noted Britain's particular problem with alcohol. "Vandalism and nuisance behaviour caused by binge drinking remain serious problems," it said.
On the food front, the guide asserted that Britons eat more junk food and ready meals than all other European countries put together.
All was not lost in gastronomic terms, however. "Without doubt you can find great food in Britain. It's just that not all the Brits seem to like eating it," the book said.
And there are some other good points, including Britain's multiculturalism, which has tempered some traditional stereotypes.
"Brits are just as likely to tuck into a chicken madras as a Sunday roast, or to check out the Notting Hill Carnival rather than Trooping the Colour," said co-ordinating author David Else.
"Everyone can find something which suits them," he said, also hailing how Britons' exposure "to different religions, festivals, music and food allows Brits to experience so many other cultures without even leaving the country."
"We need to revel in this diversity as this is the future of Britain," he said.

(http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070523/tuk-lifestyle-britain-a7ad41d.html)
 
oh its just something to drag up. Ofcourse there is a selection of the country that indulge in fast food and heavy drinking, but that is indicitive of every single country :biggrin: ;)

Im British, and incredibly proud to be so :smile:
 
unfortunately I can't disagree with the comments- although not all Brits are like this, but these are definitely social problems in the UK.

As regards the obsession with celebrity, a really scary current statistic is that the majority of young girls have Jordan or Abi Titmuss as role models (essentially topless models with keen business brains), and want to be famous when they grow up- not for anything in particular, just famous. Hopefully in 15 years time we will still have afew doctors/ lawyers/ teachers in the UK, but it isn't looking good!
 
ahhh I still believe it to be a small percentage ruby, I mean, look at American Idol, Americas got talent, and indeed, idol around the world. Just as many people want to be famous everywhere else!!!! We have our Wags, for sure, but its an inherant problem everywhere, not just in the UK!!!

Jordan, Abi, gosh yep, completely agree, but what about all the Bunny Girls surrounding Hugh Hefner? are they any better? and they are certainly not earning as much money!! Its rife in Society in general, its certainly NOT just Britain, its everywhere lol :biggrin:
 
Hi Chloe-babe,

ITA with everything you said, my reply was kinda tongue in cheek (though re-reading it, that isn't apparent), Lonely Planet frequently write this sort of critical stuff for publicity and I didn't really take it too seriously.

I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else, UK rocks!!!
 
Im 45% British and I'm proud of that.

:roflmfao: I am part English but I don't know the percentage.

I do agree somewhat with the article based on how I see my relatives in England behave. They love anything fattening. It has to be fried, boiled, breaded, within inches of having any nutritional value at all. I personally do not like English food. Every time I go there, I lose about 10 lbs.

As far as the celeb thing, I think it's like that in the US also.
 
newcastle came out as a top place for a night out, WTF? only if you enjoy being surrounded by almost naked drunken teenage mothers and being groped by football hooligans. (sorry to any geordies on TPF)
 
This makes me think of the thread in which critiziesed the "celebrity" clothing lines, or rather the women falling head over heels for what the author considered ordinary and overpriced clothing. She was blaming it on celebrity obsession.

Similar things happens in someother countries though, like a maxi McD limited burger made queues outside stores in Tokyo etc. But things like people queueing outside sainsbury even in the suburbs for I'm not a plastic bag seems a bit far fetched to me, usually these things are city happenings no? Maybe it spreads faster because the country is so small...

And bad food is such an old stereotype of GB. There are a lot of good places for food, in my experience the main difference between England and say some of the famous "gourmet" countries on the continent is that in some of those countries you usually get really good food everywhere no matter where you go, but in britain you have to know what to avoid and where to go. I never found it hard to find good food, but if I had some bad experiences with "random" places to eat. ...

The binge drinking is going on BIG time over here to. haha.

I guess every people has its tendencies when seen as a whole, but we're all still individuals who can make our own decisions. ;)
 
Since meeting some Brits I have started enjoying reading "Heat magazine" !!!! The Brits are good at laughing of their own nation , sign of openness, just watch "Little Britain" !! (And my friend is always "Oooh my poor country !!lol) I can´t even imagine the French doing such a show....