St George's Day 2015: 5 English things not actually English....
David Cameron says the day has been overlooked ‘for too long’ and England should celebrate it, but is what we think is English actually so?
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David Cameron says St George’s Day has been overlooked ‘for too long’ and the country should celebrate what it is to be English.
A love of dogs, cricket on the village green and warm beer - there are three things that we think are just so quintessentially English.
And losing to Germany on penalties.
But not everything we celebrate about being English has its origins on this Sceptred Isle.
Here are five examples:
Fish & chips
Fried fish was first introduced by Jewish refugees
Fried fish was first introduced by Jewish refugees
The quintessential English fast food, what could be more English than picking up a portion from the chippie on a Friday? But fried fish was actually introduced into Britain by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain…
A spot of polo
We British learned to play polo in the Indian state of Assam
We British learned to play polo in the Indian state of Assam
Is anything more English than rubbing shoulders with the high-rollers at a polo match at the height of summer? Yet English plantation owners actually learned polo from locals in the Indian state of Assam in the 19th century…
A nice cuppa tea
Tea was first grown in China
Tea was first grown in China
We all know the English love a good cuppa! A lot of people know that tea was first grown in China, which was then taken to India by the British. But did you know that the tea bag was accidently invented by a New York tea merchant? In the very early 1900s, Thomas Sullivan sent his customers samples of tea in silken bags. Rather than emptying the tea from the bag, some assumed they should be used in the same way as metal infusers and consequently, the tea bag was born…
The good old pub
Pubs appeared after the arrival of the Romans
Pubs appeared after the arrival of the Romans
Long have the British population relished a pint in the local pub but it was after the arrival of the Romans, and the Roman road network, that inns began to appear where a passer-by could enjoy a refreshing beverage…
But for some of the best, read our guide to London's most historic pubs.
...and Saint George
Today's St George's Day Google Doodle
Believe it or not, even Saint George himself was born abroad! Although historians have argued the Roman’s soldiers place of birth for over a century, it is believed that that Saint George was born to a Greek Christian noble family in Syria…
But if you're looking for something bona fide English, take a look at these England's prettiest villages
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