St Georges Day
Its St Georges day. The day to celebrate the patron saint of England...who was Turkish and died in Palestine....oh and he was a Roman soldier. No dragon then?
So any way it means I should go out and be very English.......nope no idea. So what is it to be English?
According to the Rough Guide England is a nation of "overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity obsessed television addicts." Not a very appetizing picture of my nation and not one I'd like to celebrate. Also not entirely accurate. I think if push come to shove we would drink anything really. Don't think it has to be alcopops.
On the plus side they do say we are a nation of "animal loving, tea-drinking charity donors who thrive on irony and Radio 4".
This must be a very confusing image for any foreigners. They surely have an image of a fat couple sitting in front of a TV watching some z list celebs doing, oh I don't know doing ballroom dancing, getting slowly drunk on sugared alcohol while drinking tea from dainty little cups having donated all there life savings to a donkey sanctuary. In the advert break this fat couple will obviously be talking about the latest Radio 4 documentary or garderners question time - but in an ironic way you understand.
Lets face it to be English is to have not the faintest clue as to who you are. We are a mix of Celts, Picts, Romans, Anglo Saxons, Danes, Norsemen and Normans (who were just French Norsemen with silly accents). Sprinkled over the top we have some Irish, German, French, Dutch, Too many African Tribes/Nations to mentions, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Afro-Caribbean, Australians, Kiwis, Canadians. For most of the life of this nation the majority of the people spent all there time trying to get off the island to go around the world and rule others.
We have had great military victories as well as lying and cheating our way around the world. We have done great things and many that perhaps we shouldn't mention. Our national dish is Chicken Tikka Massala. I can't actually think of any nation on the planet we haven't been at war with at some time.
We have a screwed up national identity, we don't know what to do with our future, we don't know if we are barbarians or high culture, we have too many problems for a nation of our size, we don't know if we are Europeans, we don't know if we really should be Americans.
strangely enough though I kinda like the place. Its like a knackered house that has so much potential that you don't know where to start.
So any way it means I should go out and be very English.......nope no idea. So what is it to be English?
According to the Rough Guide England is a nation of "overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity obsessed television addicts." Not a very appetizing picture of my nation and not one I'd like to celebrate. Also not entirely accurate. I think if push come to shove we would drink anything really. Don't think it has to be alcopops.
On the plus side they do say we are a nation of "animal loving, tea-drinking charity donors who thrive on irony and Radio 4".
This must be a very confusing image for any foreigners. They surely have an image of a fat couple sitting in front of a TV watching some z list celebs doing, oh I don't know doing ballroom dancing, getting slowly drunk on sugared alcohol while drinking tea from dainty little cups having donated all there life savings to a donkey sanctuary. In the advert break this fat couple will obviously be talking about the latest Radio 4 documentary or garderners question time - but in an ironic way you understand.
Lets face it to be English is to have not the faintest clue as to who you are. We are a mix of Celts, Picts, Romans, Anglo Saxons, Danes, Norsemen and Normans (who were just French Norsemen with silly accents). Sprinkled over the top we have some Irish, German, French, Dutch, Too many African Tribes/Nations to mentions, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Afro-Caribbean, Australians, Kiwis, Canadians. For most of the life of this nation the majority of the people spent all there time trying to get off the island to go around the world and rule others.
We have had great military victories as well as lying and cheating our way around the world. We have done great things and many that perhaps we shouldn't mention. Our national dish is Chicken Tikka Massala. I can't actually think of any nation on the planet we haven't been at war with at some time.
We have a screwed up national identity, we don't know what to do with our future, we don't know if we are barbarians or high culture, we have too many problems for a nation of our size, we don't know if we are Europeans, we don't know if we really should be Americans.
strangely enough though I kinda like the place. Its like a knackered house that has so much potential that you don't know where to start.
posted by gerbil at 4:07 pm
2 Comments:
That was very educational... now, I know I know less abut my English ancestors.
lol,
Every March 17th the English get miffed about how we don't celebrate St Georges day. However, if you then ask them how they want to celebrate or what it is to be English the conversation descends into confusion as no one knows what it is to be English. But actually I like that. I am quite happy to be English as it to me it includes many people and histories shared around the world becuase of Empire. Some of it can make me proud some of it ashamed. I like the fact that it is complicated and rich.
It has to be said the English are just plane weird.
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