Campbells

Dude,

When I was a bachelor in SA the first three questions were

What do you do ?

What car do you drive ?

Where do you stay. ?

Sorry , but compared to Europe ( or other countries) I found the South Africans on this constant pissing competition.

When I left the UK the first three questions were:

Who’s your favourite band ?

What’s your local ?

Can I buy you a drink ?

Pablo

If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand the answer.

Pablo

Campbells

Growing up in Brakpan marrying a rich oue from Dainfern.

Kitten24

I've found the opposite really. I think the British are quite materialistic compared to the South Africans I know.

They always seem to want to class people into different boxes etc.
I'm sick to death of being asked what my parents do for a living, what class we are from (working, middle etc.), what car we drive, which branded/labelled clothing we wear. Even when it comes to children they want to know whether I buy my kids shoes at Clarks and which buggy/pram I use, where I buy their clothing etc. It drives me insane sometimes... Who cares really?

Pablo

I don't think I've ever, ever heard a Brit ask someone what class he is from. It's just not a question a Brit would ask. Either he wouldn't care a jot, or it would be so obvious that the question wouldn't need to be asked in the first place.

Of course, your average South African doesn't understand class, just as they don't understand why people drink wine when they could be drinking Castle, or why Bach is better than the Beetles, or why Rembrandt is better than Jack Vetriano.

But hey, there are materialistic people everywhere - just as there are vulgar people and loud dull people everywhere. The important thing is not to become one of them.

Pablo

sa2oz

I really cant understand why you would voluntarily go there and stay for 20 years if it was so kak? I had an excuse, I was born there and not knowing all the clever stuff about high society like you all from UK or colonies, and wife that thought it was a great place.
And then came to Australia where apparently there is none either.

Kitten24

Pablo, I am an Admin on a parenting forum and the vast majority (90%) of the people on there are British. The Class discussion comes up very often and there are also regular arguments about which designer label is best, whose child has a Chav/Posh name, who has the best/most expensive this or that etc. It also seems like the British girls on the forum are extremely competitive about the cars they drive, the shoes they buy (Crocs are the rage at the moment and you're nobody if you don't have a pair), where they shop, who buys the best brand of make-up and who has their nails and hair done more often.

And God help you if you don't own your own house,or stay in the posh side of town!

I never witnessed that back home and in my opinion S Africans are alot more down to earth that the english.

Pablo

Hey, Kitten. Did I disagree with you? You can find vulgar people everywhere if you look. Most of my friends in SA were certainly down to earth - honest, open, generous, unpretentious.

If there was a negative side, it was that there was a good deal of philistinism in SA, and a tendency to sneer at those things that require effort or intelligence to appreciate. And yes, you can find Philistines everywhere too. And where I find it, I despise it.

One gets weary at times of those Saffers who think that all there is to the good life is rugby, beer, braais, and sunshine.

In my experience of SA, I found that Afrikaners tended to care more about culture than the English. I suspect that was because they knew that any nation worth the name had to have a certain depth to it. I always respected the Afrikaners for that.

Pablo

Heartfm

Agree with you, British are Class conscious where I’ll go on to add South Africans are Race conscious but not necessarily racists.

British do it in a subtle way, you can sense what they thinking by the questions they ask and the things they boast about tells you what is important in their lives.

Obsessed with one-up manship, type of car on the drive etc

They different culture, that’s all.

Theirs a lot of Celebrity worshipping amongst the Brits, very small minded views, shallow, tendency to be two faced, Saffa’s better travelled, warmer, look you in the eye and tell you what they think.

Hey don’t let them get you down and never adopt their shortcomings, its Ugly..

Pablo

... Never adopt anyone's shortcomings.

Pablo

Tegwyn

Oh, this slag off is funny. It appears the Boer war is still being fought.

Kitten24

Except I am an English South African and the majority of my family are England, Wales and Scotland.

Does that make me a traitor?

Kitten24

This comment by you led me to believe that you didn't think the British were class conscious, so I was explaining to you why I had formed the opinion I had.

Kitten24

Ah, those are the words I was looking for, more than materialistic. There seems to be a neverending competition going on. Even when it comes to things like whose children walked, talked, potty trained etc. first. It's all quite silly to me and I choose not to make comparisons and get involved in the arguments.

Pablo

Sounds like you hang out with the wrong crowd, Kitten. The majority in any country are dull, mulish, boring, conformist, predictable.

Me, I don't conform. It always gets me into trouble. Just watch when everyone piles in on top of me for saying those horrid things about rugby, cars, braais and gormless chicks with perma-tans and sunglasses in their hair. You won't see me for blood when they've finished. Ha, ha.

Pablo