Social media jokes exploit the quirks of British national character to lighten the mood after some difficult days

#BritishThreatLevels hashtag delivers stoical humour in the face of terror

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.

Jason (@NickMotown) 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".

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.

Stacey Ami (@CzarnyBird) Someone makes you a tea but it's the wrong colour. #BritishThreatLevels pic.twitter.com/irbYv2lbAt

oscarfrankl IN (@OscarNMFranklin) You join a queue, only to realise the end is actually three or four people BEHIND you. #BritishThreatLevels

Rachel (@OpenMindMH) Southern would like to apologise for the delay this will cause to your journey #BritishThreatLevels

Actually, there’s an awful lot of jokes about British public transport.



Francis Whittaker (@frittaker) #britishthreatlevels "A rail replacement bus service can be found outside the station concourse"

Viktoria Michaelis (@VikiMichaelis) 'Is this seat taken?'#BritishThreatLevels

Ben Rathe (@benrathe) "Can you move down please?" #BritishThreatLevels

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Iain McDonald (@IainMcdon) Making eye contact with someone who just missed the train you're on, as you pull out the platform #BritishThreatLevels

Awkward shopping experiences also fit the bill.

James O'Malley (@Psythor) “Unexpected item in the bagging area”. #BritishThreatLevels

kathmayer 💫 (@kathmayer) #BritishThreatLevels The person in front of you in the 12 Items or Less queue clearly has 13 items.

The British verve for politeness masking disagreement gets a look in.

Richard Lowe 🐧 (@RichardLoweUK) "With all due respect" #britishthreatlevels

Those difficult work situations appear.

Hash Piperdy ⚡️ (@HashPiperdy) "Let's go round the room and say one thing about yourselves"#BritishThreatLevels

The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret) "Now for a team-building exercise." #BritishThreatLevels

Bunbury Publishing (@BunburyPublish) #BritishThreatLevels SOMEONE used you favourite mug in work.

SeeingStars (@seeingstars76) "Get into pairs and we'll do a fun role play activity" #BritishThreatLevels

TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) "Can I just use your laptop for a second"#BritishThreatLevels

And the British shyness for dealing adequately with customer service problems.

Gavin Curnow (@GavinCurnow) #BritishThreatLevels When a waiter asks if everything is OK and the meal is not

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?

Richard Lowe 🐧 (@RichardLoweUK) "Just need to change the barrel" #britishthreatlevels

British television and radio does not escape scrutiny.

David Brisbane (@DavidB1996) "With Adrian Chiles" #BritishThreatLevels

Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) And now on radio four, our new comedy drama #BritishThreatLevels

Friz Frizzle (@FrizFrizzle) And the next Doctor Who is... Kris Marshall! #BritishThreatLevels

Inevitably, Ron appears.

Ern Malley (@GeoffShadbold) "we're going to go to the papers" #britishthreatlevels pic.twitter.com/4Bx4uusF4Y

Some of the jokes echo a Twitter bot that has been generating surreal randomised colour-coded threat levels for a year.

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...