I've added another blogroll for the Brit blogs I've discovered. The political blogs here tend to be less polarized than in the states; there's virtually no wingnut/moonbat divide. Bloggers of every persuasion link to each other respectfully, with wide allowance made for humor. Or humour.
Not all the blogs I've linked are political. Some I just read for the pictures. If you don't get British humor, you probably won't get British blog either.
They don't seem to be as heavily trafficked as US political blogs, and the reticent Brits don't comment as much either. There's a whole new vocabulary to contend with: bollocks and arse and lollies, hopefully not all in the same sentence, whilst the spelling conventions are puzzling: "fetus" is spelt "feotus" and "theater" is "theatre" and is not where you see films.
Here's a handy cultural glossary to guide you:
"Is This The Way To Amarillo" is a horrid song by Tony Christie. For some reason it's very popular.
Stella Artois is not a woman, it's a type of beer that's popular. Sort of like Budweiser, which here is made in the Czech Republic, not by Anheuser Busch.
Flapjacks are not pancakes, they're oily granola bars.
Oxbridge is a way to refer to Oxford and Cambridge at the same time. Its American equivalent is "Ivy League."
Poncy is a word people use to make themselves feel superior to ponces.
Robert Kilroy Silk is a nutcase former head of the UKIP (UK Independence Party), but now has formed his own party, Veritas. The American equivalent is Pat Buchanan.
Boris Johnson is a Tory known for having affairs and insulting Liverpoolians. The American equivalent is MSNBC's Chris Mathews.
Andrew Marr is the leading political reporter for the BBC. There is no American equivalent.
Plaid Cymru is not an oddly patterned Camry, it's a Welsh political party.
The Archers is a horrid radio programme on BBC Radio 4. It's immensely popular, for the same reason certain songs are.
Radio 4 is sort of like NPR with horrid melodramas spliced in between the news and other stuff.
A cell phone is called a mobile. It just is.
Trainers are what are known as tennis shoes, running shoes, or sneakers in the US.
Subject verb agreement rules are quite different in the UK. Do not assume someone is ignorant if they say "Labour are going to win."
Top-up fees are still a mystery to me, despite the fact I've asked an Oxbridge professor.
Actual British bloggers are welcome to comment. I might be wrong; I often am.
UPDATE: Nick informs me people from Liverpool are known as "Liverpudlians." Why Boris Johnson would bother insulting such a creature is still a mystery.
And we refuse to discuss "Mancusians" or in fact even go to Manchester.
UPDATE II: Or Mancunians. Whatever.
