ali south

Hi everyone,

I just watched two stand up comics on the comedy channel, both made a remark about Brits being dirty.

What is that all about? What is this story about this remark?

Also a kid at my school finds Pom or Pommie offensive, I don't personally when it is used appropriately, how can I convince her to get used to it?
Thanks
Tara

Ozzidoc

Only that old, old research apparently indicated that Britis didn't bath every day, and didn't change their socks or underwear daily.

Wendy

Ozzidoc

Truth hurts hey Wendy

Wendy

Bloody water restrictions fault

ozzieeagle

It's a hangover thing, from about 40 years ago, Before central heating in the UK, when people used to have the weekly bath. When Poms in those days migrated here, they tended to keep that tradition for a while before intergrating into the new fangled shower thing that was an everyday thing here.

I can remember when most houses in the UK did not have showers in them.

renth

Hence the expression "to take a Pommie shower" meaning to put on deodorant.

moneypenny20

Met a woman at the weekend commentating about how dirty the British were - when I politely asked her what she meant, she babbled for ages about a trip her family had taken to London in 1976 when the whole family had to take a bath in the same 3" of water and how disgusting the scum mark was around the top of the water. I tried to explain that that was a very bad year for water restrictions, and she was in London where the water is very hard but she wouldn't have it, so I just walked away

Milo

Boy what a laugh this gave me moneypen20, thanks for that

When I was working here as a community nurse I had to shower an elderly gentleman, well I won't go into too much detail, but he did comment on how it made a change to see a pom in the shower as poms weren't known for showering, bloody cheek I told him, I happen to shower on a daily basis, always preferred a shower even in the Uk. However, he comment on something similar to what you have just said, how when they visited London in the 70's you could only have one bath per week and so they presumed that was what pom's did.

Somebody else commented on how Elizabethan English had only one bath per year So our reputation' aren't good.

DavidT

I think you'll find that the work ethic here is not to tax the sweat pores too much, hence when we arrive & work as normal, ie a full week, or even a full day, one tends to sweat in such climbs. You tend to stand out if your working, sweating, whingeing , or all three.

iPom

I'm a dirty, dirty girl and quite happy to admit that to anyone who wishes to know.

martynm

now we're talking !!!!!

TruBrit

lol that's the frogs not the brits

showdan

With regards to the calling of us Brits "POM's", I thought that POM originates from "Prisoner Of her Majesty" so surly it is a percentage of the current Australian population that descended from these prisoners that are "POM's" and not us conviction less Brits.

Also if our distant past still makes us smelly & dirty in their eyes, using the same logic would make the Ozzie's Murdering Rapists.

So just accept that your smelly and dirty until they accept you as a murder

iPom

I actually thought this thread was about British humour.

Oh well.