Yorkshire Puddings And A Brexit Tour – 5 Times The New York Times Got The UK All Wrong

Porridge and boiled mutton? The New York Times has done it again.
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The New York Times has done it again. In an article about London’s exciting food scene, a writer reflects on days gone by, proclaiming that when he last visited the capital, it was “inclining its palate to devotees of porridge and boiled mutton”.

Despite giving the impression his last visit may have been to a Victorian workhouse, the reporter goes on to reveal it was in fact just 10 years ago.

Of course, this led to immediate ridicule on Twitter:

There used to a stall on every street corner ladling out bowls of porridge and mutton. You could get that, a bag of broken biscuits, a pewter mug of warm beer, see Arthur Askey in panto at the Palladium, take a hansom cab home in the fog and still have change out of half-a-crown.

— John Porter (@Pieandapint) August 20, 2018

The @nytimes has discovered that British cuisine has moved 'beyond porridge and boiled mutton'. Other things that are surprisingly off trend: workhouses, colonialism, landlines, urchins, top hats, Cockneys, spotted dick, mods, rockers...

— Robert Colvile (@rcolvile) August 20, 2018

Ok first london kitchen to push out an authentically delicious mutton and porridge dish on insta wins... oh god none of this really matters does it? It's like mince on toast all over again.

— Jackson Boxer (@Jackson_Boxer) August 20, 2018

Unfortunately for the NYT, this isn’t the first time they’ve missed the mark when it comes to reporting on the UK.

In recent years, angry local councils have sought corrections, while a famous author derided the paper’s terror attack reporting.

And that’s before the batter-based telling-off from aggrieved pudding purists.

Here are five other times the NYT has got it wrong...

Sunderland Echo demanding an apology

Staff at the Sunderland Echo were not impressed when NYT reporter Kimiko De Freytas-Tamura arrived on their patch to examine how “the once-proud working class city” ended up voting in favour of Brexit.

De Freytas-Tamura’s decision to describe one part of town as “appearing as if out of a time warp” didn’t endear her to residents, and the Echo soon wrote its own response.

The paper’s managing editor demanded an apology and said: “This article doesn’t reflect the Sunderland of the 21st century and the astonishing progress we have made as a city over the past 30 years.

“We want to set them straight and show them what the people of Sunderland think about their article.”

They also criticised the NYT’s choice of photographer, pointing out that the one paid to capture Sunderland is usually dispatched to war zones.

The ‘Brexit Means Brexit’ tour of London

Alongside its articles, The New York Times offers readers a series of travel experiences and in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, one of these was a “Brexit means Brexit”-themed jaunt.

Priced at $5,995, the five-night trip promised readers a guided tour of the capital city, hosted by their London bureau chief Steve Erlanger, and an afternoon in a pub frequented by government ministers.

The problem – as Mashable pointed out – is that London probably isn’t the best place to get a snapshot of “Brexit Britain”, as 28 of its 33 boroughs voted Remain.

The Brexit holiday – if you could call it that – is no longer listed on the NYT website and we’re sure their readers eagerly await the announcement of a more authentic tour. Clacton, anyone?

JK Rowling vs NYT

The Harry Potter author led the charge when the paper claimed the UK was “reeling” from terror attacks in Manchester and London.

“The thugs who mowed down innocent people would love to think of the UK ‘reeling’ but it isn’t,” she wrote in June last year. “Don’t confuse grief with lack of courage.”

The thugs who mowed down innocent people would love to think of the UK 'reeling' but it isn't. Don't confuse grief with lack of courage. https://t.co/9MEUfPLnkv

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 4, 2017

Many like-minded Twitter users echoed Rowling’s statements:

Dear foreign journalists: London is not 'reeling' 'cowed' or 'on lockdown'. London is getting on with stuff, as usual.

— Paul Richards (@Labourpaul) June 4, 2017

This is what "reeling" means in British English @nytimes pic.twitter.com/F9QJ9kaR7X

— Andy L (@A_V_M_L) June 4, 2017

I've been out in London all day with my wife & baby & haven't seen anyone "reeling" at all. Be better at your job, NYT. https://t.co/S6Pc7akELU

— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) June 4, 2017

Telling ‘half the story’ on Prescot

In May, the NYT caused controversy with a piece on how austerity has affected Britain by singling out Prescot, Merseyside, as a town that’s been hit hardest.

The opening paragraphs of the article painted a bleak picture, describing a library sold off and turned into a luxury home, a leisure centre destroyed and a “shuttered” police station.

“As the local government desperately seeks to turn assets into cash,” it continued. “Browns Field, a lush park in the center of town, may be doomed, too.”

Britons reading online were suitably skeptical and soon enough, local website Prescot Online hit back with its own piece on why the area is actually “on the up” and claiming the NYT only “told half the story”.

The leader of Prescot town council also responded, accusing the NYT’s reporter Peter Goodman of “overlook[ing] the many positive aspects of our town’s development and regeneration, such as the addition of the new Shakespeare North theatre, which is a considerable investment and has already started to reinvigorate the town”.

The Yorkshire pudding debacle

On a lighter note, the publication had us all howling when it introduced readers to a “large fluffy pancake” suitable for breakfast or dessert.

Why? Because the pancake was quite clearly a Yorkshire pudding and it takes more than a dusting of icing sugar to fool us:

This large, fluffy pancake is excellent for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dessert any time of year https://t.co/rIYTybknnm pic.twitter.com/iAlpcidZxe

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 12, 2018

Fluffy pancake ? It's a YORKSHIRE PUDDING, don't even think of calling it anything else, especially in Yorkshire. I am spitting feathers right now

— sylvia kendall (@KendallSylvia) May 13, 2018

This is not a dessert! This is a thing of beauty that should be filled with beef and vegetables. Or sausage and mash. It is a Yorkshire pudding. pic.twitter.com/Nxf6syE6sq

— becky (@bexsta711) May 12, 2018

That's a Yorkshire pudding, mate.

— heartbeeps (@hrtbps) May 12, 2018

That's a Yorkshire pudding.

The recipe is older than America.

— Dadzia🦊Jazz (@jsfox8) May 13, 2018

Case closed.

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