BritInParis

Swindon has a nice shopping centre inside some former engine sheds but that's about it. Reading, ditto, big shopping centre, but not much else. Scrap those two and spend some time in Oxford traipsing around the university colleges and then head out into the surrounding countryside. It's where I was born and raised and it really is the picture postcard England you are probably dreaming of.

robin1234

Er... There's other history, in addition to railway history?

robin1234

I'd keep away from Oxford Colleges. Hathaway is a sweetheart, but he won't stop you being murdered.

Sally Redux

LoveFortheUK

Wow so many responses I don't know where to start.
I'll respond this way.

To: Spouse of scouse
What did you think of the village? Did you see any shows during your month's stay?

To Christmasoompa
It is possible my friends were drunk when they went to Swindon but then again they were probably drunk when they went to Bristol, London and Land's End too.
I'm curious as to why you suggest I'm "Not British". I have British ancestry and I speak with a UK accent. Am I different than a person born in America with Italian, Spanish or Korean ancestry? Those American citizens consider themselves Italian, Spanish and Korean so why is my status different? I'm not insulted or angry at your comment, I'm trying to understand the logic behind your statement. Furthermore, I have ZERO intention of FOOLING anyone. I'm not planning a trip to Britain to take advantage of the people. If I did that, I'd be in a tremendous amount of trouble.

Now, about accents. Anyone can master an accent given enough time. Look at Kate Beckinsale, Peter Dinklage, Tatiana Maslany, Lena Heady and Jude Law just to name a few. Christmasoompa, I guarantee if you and I met and you spoke to me with an American accent, I would believe you were American and that's cool. There's nothing malicious about that.

To lgabriel73
You have proven the point of my above statement. 18 years in the US and you sound more American that you do British. Nothing wrong with that.

To BritInParis
How ironic you should mention Oxofrd. I was reading about that city today. I hope to visit the colleges however, I read that they close during exam time so I have to plan my visit accordingly.

I just want to add I'm not here to insult, offend or mock anybody and I hope my travels abroad are a positive experience.

Thank you everybody


To answer your other question, I will just be traveling at this point.

Sally Redux

Actors have to master accents. Not sure why you would want to do that in everyday life, but anyway, enjoy the site.

LoveFortheUK

I mastered the accent out of respect for my ancestry and my grandmother. In fact, my grandmother thought it would be a benefit to have both accents (from a cultural point of view)

Gozit

I'm similar in a way... I can speak with a Maltese accent when i'm around other Maltese people and slipping between Maltese and English in conversation... Or when just speaking English in a group of Maltese people i'll slip into a Maltese accent without realising it. Then my uncle if he is there usually pipes up and said "Ah we know you've settled into Malta you've got the accent back"

I'm Maltese by descent, grandparents were born there, living there at the moment, mum had/has close ties there and I do as well, have Maltese nationality but also have Canadian and for now I live in Canada.

Welcome to BE - enjoy the site. Hey, if you are a sneaky commonwealth national through somewhere else you would be eligible for an ancestry visa to the UK (US is not part of the commonwealth so you wouldn't be eligible on a US passport)

scrubbedexpat097

Actually, the picture postcard is probably Kings College in Cambridge. By far the better of the two University towns

LoveFortheUK

So presenting my great grandmothers documents wouldn't help me with that ancestry visa? She was born in London.

Sally Redux

You have to be a Commonwealth citizen and it would have had to be your grandmother.

https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/overview

christmasoompa

Because you're absolutely not British - if you were, you'd have a British passport! It's just a difference between the countries I think, stick around and you'll see it's a source of amusement on here how Americans often call themselves 'Italian' when in fact they've never even visited the country and their only Italian blood goes back 2 generations, or how the 'Irish' in the country celebrate St Patricks Day so strongly. Like this post - http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5.../#post11124971 Having a British great-grandmother doesn't make you in any way British IMO!

One of my grandmothers was French, another was American, and between my great-grandparents I have Polish, Irish, and German blood, but I'm British and wouldn't dream of even identifying with one of my grandparents citizenships.

Many people in the UK have grandparents from all over Europe, and can travel to it very cheaply and easily at any time (a weekend in France or Spain for example, can be done for no more than £200 including flights), but nobody would think of claiming that country as their own really. Maybe it's because Americans don't have a long history in their own country if their ancestors came from Italy, Ireland, etc, so they like to give themselves more of an identity?

But that's just one difference between our cultures I guess, and I'm sure you'll discover lots of others along the way!

bigglesworth

Only if you like newer Universities

scrubbedexpat097

formula

That begs the question: is a descendant of immigrants, more British than someone who has British blood from 200+ years of British ancestors?

And many don't.

Many Brits don't think of Red Ed (leader of the Labour party) as being British as he doesn't descend from Brits. He may have been born in the UK and have British citizenship, but his parents were immigrants. Although, I'm sure he would refer to himself as British.