As a new edition of Lonely Planet’s guide to Britain makes its way onto our bookshelves, some of our British panellists have been pitching in with their ideas of how they would describe the British people, with many talking about the diversity of the nation, some referring to the stereotypical politeness and the reserved ‘stiff upper lip’ of Brits, while a few felt that Brits just ‘love to moan’.
Britain’s diversity came up again and again as one of our defining features
Others focused on the perception of Brits as being polite and reserved
Others, however, thought a tendency to moan was what most defined Brits
'Obsessed with celebrities?'
The latest edition of ‘The Lonely Planet’ travel guide for Great Britain has met with considerable media interest due to the sometimes unforgiving nature of its depiction of Britain and British people. It casts the British as a nation obsessed by celebrities and junk food, making the claim that, ‘More junk food and ready-made meals are consumed in the UK than in all the rest of the countries of Europe put together’. The British economy was also referred to as ‘dicey’, while famous landmarks such as the white cliffs of Dover and Carnaby Street are described as having ‘lost their charm’.
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world and the new British edition has forecasted sales in excess of 100,000 copies worldwide.
