Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

British problems: The weather, 5p plastic bags and tea among the nation's most troublesome topics

Making tea and forgetting about it, spilling tea, being too embarrassed to ask for sugar in tea – the scenarios are countless 

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Wednesday 14 October 2015 04:56 EDT
Comments
Many a British problem can arise from a single cup of tea
Many a British problem can arise from a single cup of tea (Corbis)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

From over-apologising to complaining when it’s too hot, complaining when it’s too cold, or complaining about the 5p plastic bag charge, British problems are many and varied.

As a new social media discussion suggests - accompanied by the Twitter hashtag #Britishproblems - the range of potential complications when making and consuming tea seem to be chief among the issues most irksome to Britons.

Whether it’s making tea and forgetting about it, making tea and spilling it, experiencing the feeling of loss or irritation when a dunked biscuit gets too soggy and falls into a cup of tea, or the despair associated with a broken kettle, cuppa-related problems are rife.

But it is far from the only theme for quintessentially British problems - many of which people have been tweeting about it in abundance:

Problems with the weather:

5p plastic bags:

Problems with public transport:

Queueing:

Over apologising:

And, of course, tea:

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in