British Culture

Awareness will be one of your best allies during your first few days in Oxford. Below you will find a brief overview of some aspects of life in Britain that may be the most strikingly different from your own country.

Greeting Etiquette

A handshake.When meeting someone for the first time, it is common to greet them with a firm handshake in Britain. Verbal greetings are usually enough when meeting old friends or acquaintances. Among close friends and family, women usually greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. If you are unsure about what to do —especially on social occasions— the rule is to observe what other people do and go with the flow.

If you are invited to dinner or to a party in their room by one of your friends, it is a good idea not to go empty-handed. A bottle of wine is usually enough. Though if you don't drink, don't let this dissuade you from accepting an invitation! There are a variety of non-alcoholic drinks you can bring instead, such as sparkling apple juice, non-alcoholic cider or wine, soft drinks, etc. Small snacks or nibbles (such as crisps, cake and the like) are another alternative.

Similarly, if you are invited to someone's family home —especially, if this is for the first time or for a meal, bring a small gift. If you will be dining together, then a bottle of wine is again ideal, but you could also bring a small gift of flowers or chocolates instead. These need not be expensive, but the gesture will be warmly welcomed. To thank your host, a phone call or ‘thank you’ card is a good idea. Remember that in Britain you can never say ‘please’, ‘thank you’ or ‘sorry’ too often!

‘Cheers’ is one of the most commonly used words in Britain. It has two uses. One is at the pub, where you will hear it said as a toast over drinks. But you will also hear it said instead of ‘thank you’ or ‘good bye’ or ‘thanks and good bye’ almost everywhere. Similarly, people will sometimes say ‘you all right?’ instead of ‘How are you?’.

A final point of note is about to how to address your tutors. As elsewhere, the general rule of thumb is to address a tutor as ‘Dr.’ or ‘Professor Burton’. But don't be surprised if you hear other students referring to their tutor by his/her first name, or if a tutor invites you to address them by their first name (for example, ‘John’). This is not unusual in Oxford. To repeat and to avoid any misunderstanding, the best —and by far the safest— thing for you to do is to address them as ‘Dr.’ or ‘Professor’, and only if they ask you to do so and you are sure they won't mind, then by their first name.

Food

You may find British food strange or unexceptional, depending on where you are from. Meat, fish, eggs and potatoes are staple foods. In particular, potatoes —whether baked, boiled, fried or roasted— accompany almost every meal. Breads, pies, pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads are also easily available, as are a variety of vegetables. Indeed, vegetarian options are commonly served in pubs, restaurants and college halls, so being vegetarian is relatively easy and even cheap in Britain.

Modern British food reflects the diversity of the people who live here. Curry, for example, rivals fish-and-chips as one of the most popular dishes in Britain today. It may occasionally be bland or look unappetizing, but British food is not as awful as you may have heard it to be and increasingly caters for a variety of tastes. They will not beat home-cooked food from your country and they will often have peculiar names, but typical British dishes are almost always filling and you should take the opportunity to sample some while you are here. Popular favourites include:

• Full English Breakfast (sometimes also called a ‘fry-up’): though one or two ingredients may vary, this usually includes eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans, black pudding and fried bread. Some cafes and restaurants serve smaller, healthier versions. Regardless, it is very filling!

• Sunday Roast: served on Sunday from early through to late afternoon, this consists of roasted beef, pork, lamb or chicken with vegetables, potatoes, gravy and Yorkshire pudding (which is a light and puffy, savoury pastry).

• 
  Fish and chips with mashed peas.Fish and Chips: this consists of deep-fried fish in batter or breadcrumbs and potato chips (otherwise known as french fries in the United States and a number of other countries).

• Bangers and Mash: this is the popular name for a serving of sausages and mashed potatoes.

• Shepherd's Pie: sometimes also known as cottage pie, this is a traditional dish made with minced meat (beef or lamb) and topped with mashed potatoes.

• Trifle: this is a dessert. It is made of custard, sponge cake, fruit and jelly or fruit syrup, usually arranged in layers and then topped with whipped cream.

• Spotted Dick: another popular dessert, this is a steamed pudding, which contains raisins and is often served with custard.

• Bread-and-Butter Pudding: made with buttered bread, eggs and milk, this is a baked pudding. Like spotted dick, it contains raisins and is usually served with custard or cream.

• Banoffee Pie: this is a very sweet dessert, which consists of bananas, cream and condensed milk on a pastry base made from crumbled biscuits.

When you want a change from British cooking, Oxford offers a variety of choices. There are plenty of Indian and Chinese restaurants, as well as others that serve French and Italian food. You can also find a number of ethnic delis, while most supermarkets stock some variety of readymade meals and food ingredients from other parts of the world. You may want to read the Shopping section of this Handbook to find out more about where you might be able to find food from your home country here in Oxford.

Pubs

Students in a beer garden.The word ‘pub’ is short for ‘public house’, which is a place where you can buy and consume alcohol on the premises. A pub is not very different from a bar. Indeed, it is often difficult to tell them apart in cities today and opinion can be divided even among the British. Though it is difficult to generalize, pubs are more traditional and have a more intimate atmosphere. They also tend not to sell cocktails and liquors, but serve a variety of beers and wine instead. You can find a pub in or near every village, town and city in Britain.

Going to the pub is very popular and you may be surprised by the amount of beer people drink! This does not mean that you have to drink alcohol, if you go to a pub. All pubs serve non-alcoholic drinks and small snacks (such as crisps or salted nuts). Going to the pub is a common social activity among students and central to British social life. People go to the pub not simply to drink, but as importantly to meet friends, socialize and relax.

Many pubs also have gardens —often known as ‘beer gardens’— where people can sit and eat or drink in summer. Most pubs serve food at reasonable prices, making them a great place to eat lunch and dinner with friends as well. As with drinks, meals usually have to be ordered at the bar.

Most pubs close at 11pm. Although recent changes in licensing law allow them to have longer opening hours and serve alcohol round-the-clock, only a few pubs make use of these new rules. A number of them, however, stay open till later on Fridays and Saturdays.

Weather

Britain has a temperate maritime climate, which basically means it is mild and damp. Summers are warm and air-conditioning unnecessary. July and August are usually the hottest months of the year. Probably the most surprising thing about summer in Britain is how long the days are. It can stay light until 10pm in June! In winter, on the other hand, it gets dark as early as 5pm in December and there is a lot of fog on most mornings. Winters are cold in Britain and a warm jacket or heavy coat are a must from November to March and sometimes even in mid-April. Rain and cloud are frequent throughout the year, as is wind.

You might be wondering why we've included this description of British climate and weather in an overview of British culture. This is because, as you will soon discover, talking about the weather is a near-obsession in Britain. And there is a good reason for it! The weather is notoriously variable. It can be warm and sunny one day, and pour cats and dogs the next! It can sometimes vary enormously even from one minute to the next, and it's best to step out of the house prepared for anything, especially rain. It's a good idea to wear clothes in layers, which can be shed or put on as the temperature varies, and to have an umbrella —or brolly, as it is popularly known— to hand all year round.

General habits

In general, the British are very polite most of the time. ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ are among the most commonly used words in Britain. People also have a tendency to apologize —some would say too much— and so, you will also hear ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’ a lot. The popular stereotype of the average British person is more often than not true —they will say sorry to you, even when it is in fact you who has accidentally stepped on their toes or bumped into them!

It will not surprise you to know then that queuing, or waiting in line so that someone who arrived first is served first, is another British near-obsession. It is sacrosanct. Seriously! Be it in the pub, at the supermarket or at a bus stop, people in Britain queue for everything. Pushing in or cutting into a queue is considered very impolite and you will be heavily frowned upon for doing it. It is one of the few occasions when the famously reserved British can get visibly annoyed in public, so do bear it in mind.

In most cases, queues are easy to spot. They tend to be tidy lines of people waiting. In public places, including shops and restaurants, there will also usually be a sign —such as ‘Please Wait Here to Be Served’ or ‘Please Queue Here’. Where it can be a bit tricky is in pubs, where the lines are neither tidy nor so easy to spot at the bar. The best thing to do is to take note of who was there before you and wait your turn to be served after them. Bar staff are usually very good about keeping track of who should be served next.

Finally, punctuality is important in Britain. As a rule, you should arrive on time for lectures, tutorials and any other appointments. Similarly, if you've arranged to meet someone at a pub, café or elsewhere and find yourself running late or unable to make it, then let the person you are meeting know.

More british culture

If you would like to discover another part of Britain and get a small taste of the way of life outside Oxford, then you can stay with a British family for a short break of one to three days through the Host UK programme. For international students at Oxford, it costs £35 to sign up for this programme through the University's International Student Advisory Service. This will cover the cost of your stay and meals with your host. However, you will have to bear any personal expenses and the cost of your travel to and from the host family's home. To find out more, visit the website of the Host UK programme or alternatively, email the University's International Student Advisory Service at international.office@admin.ox.ac.uk.