The Five British Exports That We Love the Most

Prince_Harry_and_Kate_Middleton.jpg: Nick Warner from Windsor, England
2007_WSJ_Prince_William.jpg: Alexandre Goulet - Fédération du scoutisme français

We admit it. We are just a teeny tiny bit swept up the last minute excitement over the Royal Wedding. Not because we particularly care about the monarchy, or weddings for that matter, but because as far as major pop culture moments go, something this big doesn’t happen every day.

Still we probably won’t get up in the middle of the night to watch Wils and Kate tie the knot. So we decided to pay a little pre-nuptial homage to our top five British exports.

Enjoy the wedding. God save the Queen. Pip-pip, cheerio oh. 

5. Fascinator Hats

By 1000heads 

 

Granted you will never catch a Passionista actually sporting a Fascinator, but we just love these diminutive accessories. How these fashion statements that seem to have been made for a Tim Burton movie went mainstream we’ll never know, but we’re oh so glad they did.


4. Digestive Biscuits

Photo by User:Caesura

These cookies have the most unfortunate name and they’re hard to find. But if you’ve got a Cost Plus near you, do yourself a favor and grab a roll in the food section. Not only are they yummy with a spot of tea, they taste delicious with some good English cheese on top of them. They must be good, Prince William has requested a special groomscake (never before seen at a royal wedding), made of these tasty cookies and melted chocolate.

3. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Photo by really short from NYC, USA 

We’ve always liked the Naked Chef, but what Jamie Oliver has set out to do with his Food Revolution is commendable. True we’re not thrilled that we’ll never be able to eat a fast food hamburger again thanks to him, but if he can change the way America feeds than good on him. He finally cracked through the Los Angeles Unified School District's impenetrable armor when they agreed earlier today to get rid of flavored milk. Viva la Revolution!

2. Dan Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business

Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC

Breaking out of an iconic role is tough, especially when an actor has been playing almost nothing but the same part for ten years — and it all started when he was 11. So we’ve had grave concerns for the soon-to-be former Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe. But last week we saw a clip of Dan in a big production number from his Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We’re happy to report that it seems the Boy Who Lived will have a career that doesn’t die with the Potter franchise. Not only could he carry a tune quite well, he didn’t just do the typical “movie actor in a musical” foot shuffling — he was dancing with the best of the ensemble.

1. Good Old Fashioned British Rock Music

 Photo by Heinrich Klaffs

You can keep your Cee Lo Greens and Lady Gagas. Nine times out of ten, if we’re looking for a tune to underscore an important moment in our lives, entertain us on a long car ride or sooth our broken hearts we turn back to England in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The Beatles will always live in a class by themselves as the greatest rock band in history. But we also have undying affection for The Kinks, The Who, David Bowie, T. Rex, The Hollies, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Moot the Hoople, The Rolling Stones and Queen. 

For more pop culture stories read:

Jamie Oliver Keeps the FoodRevolution Alive

Jane Austen Unites the World Via Twitter

An Interview with the Cast of Cinderella

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