In the wake of the attack on Manchester Arena on Monday, the nation has gone through a wave of emotions - grief, revulsion, horror. Political and community leaders have urged the country to carry on as normal, and the vigils and tributes to the victims have shown the stoic side of the British character. Last night poet Tony Walsh spoke for an entire city with his emotional ode to Manchester, This is the Place.
But there’s also something tremendously cathartic about British humour, and following the raising of the official threat level to critical and deployment of troops on the street, social media users have rallied around the hashtag #BritishThreatLevels.
We're British. You can't scare us until you raise the threat level to "I'm sorry, but there's only continental breakfast left".
— Jason (@NickMotown) May 24, 2017
It’s one of those moments when the nation’s chatroom lifts its head up from the gloom and the bile to celebrate Britishness. And of course they focus on our core shared cultural values - tea, queues, and awkward public transport experiences.
Someone makes you a tea but it's the wrong colour. #BritishThreatLevels pic.twitter.com/irbYv2lbAt
— Stacey Ami (@CzarnyBird) May 24, 2017
You join a queue, only to realise the end is actually three or four people BEHIND you. #BritishThreatLevels
— oscarfrankl IN (@OscarNMFranklin) May 24, 2017
Southern would like to apologise for the delay this will cause to your journey #BritishThreatLevels
— Rachel (@OpenMindMH) May 24, 2017
Actually, there’s an awful lot of jokes about British public transport.
#britishthreatlevels "A rail replacement bus service can be found outside the station concourse"
— Francis Whittaker (@frittaker) May 24, 2017
'Is this seat taken?'#BritishThreatLevels
— Viktoria Michaelis (@VikiMichaelis) May 24, 2017
"Can you move down please?" #BritishThreatLevels
— Ben Rathe (@benrathe) May 24, 2017
Making eye contact with someone who just missed the train you're on, as you pull out the platform #BritishThreatLevels
— Iain McDonald (@IainMcdon) May 24, 2017
Awkward shopping experiences also fit the bill.
“Unexpected item in the bagging area”. #BritishThreatLevels
— James O'Malley (@Psythor) May 24, 2017
#BritishThreatLevels The person in front of you in the 12 Items or Less queue clearly has 13 items.
— kathmayer 💫 (@kathmayer) May 24, 2017
'Approval needed' #BritishThreatLevels
— Ali Ⓥ (@thekentvegan) May 24, 2017
The British verve for politeness masking disagreement gets a look in.
"With all due respect" #britishthreatlevels
— Richard Lowe 🐧 (@RichardLoweUK) May 24, 2017
Those difficult work situations appear.
"Let's go round the room and say one thing about yourselves"#BritishThreatLevels
— Hash Piperdy ⚡️ (@HashPiperdy) May 24, 2017
"Now for a team-building exercise." #BritishThreatLevels
— The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret) May 24, 2017
#BritishThreatLevels SOMEONE used you favourite mug in work.
— Bunbury Publishing (@BunburyPublish) May 24, 2017
"Get into pairs and we'll do a fun role play activity" #BritishThreatLevels
— SeeingStars (@seeingstars76) May 24, 2017
"Can I just use your laptop for a second"#BritishThreatLevels
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) May 24, 2017
And the British shyness for dealing adequately with customer service problems.
#BritishThreatLevels When a waiter asks if everything is OK and the meal is not
— Gavin Curnow (@GavinCurnow) May 24, 2017
A thing that nobody wants to hear in the pub - why does this only happen when you are under time pressure to get a quick pint in?
"Just need to change the barrel" #britishthreatlevels
— Richard Lowe 🐧 (@RichardLoweUK) May 24, 2017
British television and radio does not escape scrutiny.
"With Adrian Chiles" #BritishThreatLevels
— David Brisbane (@DavidB1996) May 24, 2017
And now on radio four, our new comedy drama #BritishThreatLevels
— Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) May 24, 2017
And the next Doctor Who is... Kris Marshall! #BritishThreatLevels
— Friz Frizzle (@FrizFrizzle) May 24, 2017
Inevitably, Ron appears.
"we're going to go to the papers" #britishthreatlevels pic.twitter.com/4Bx4uusF4Y
— Ern Malley (@GeoffShadbold) May 24, 2017
Some of the jokes echo a Twitter bot that has been generating surreal randomised colour-coded threat levels for a year.
— Threat Update (@threat_update) May 18, 2017
— Threat Update (@threat_update) May 18, 2017
— Threat Update (@threat_update) May 22, 2017
In a week when we can all do with a little cheering up, it’s nice to be reminded of the lighter-hearted uplifting side to social media. And that Twitter users still feel able to address one of the most divisive issues in the country...
Trying to enjoy a Jaffa cake without someone bringing up THAT debate. #BritishThreatLevels
— Keira Tucker (@HavingChips4Tea) May 24, 2017
