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Posted on Aug 12, 2011 by 
Every nation in this world would certainly want something to be called their core culture. Some countries (especially in Asia) label their cultures as hospitable and welcoming. Others label their cultures as hard working. Still others prefer the label easy going and fun loving. What is the core culture of the Britain of today? If someone were to ask you this question, what would you answer off the top of your head?
I was quite saddened when I read something about this over at Time.com. Here are some excerpts from the feature article:
What are the key components of Britishness? The bulldog spirit? A stiff upper lip? Or a penchant for Sex on the Beach? With Britain locked in an identity crisis (the English feel English, the Welsh, Welsh and some Scots are so eager to assert their Scottishness that they want to disunite the United Kingdom), these questions are troubling Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Oddly, Brown overlooked another fundament of Britishness: alcohol-fueled misbehavior. Booze culture unites Britons from Land’s End in southwestern England to John O’Groats at the northeastern tip of Scotland, and it’s also one of the U.K.’s best-known exports. In sun spots such as Ibiza, Mallorca, the Canary Islands, Spain and Greece, English, Welsh and Scottish holidaymakers raucously intermingle, indistinguishable from each other in their bright leisure wear and brighter sunburns, downing alcoholic concoctions such as Sex on the Beach, sometimes as a prelude to the act itself.
The feature is longer than these two paragraphs and I felt disturbed after I read it. Is this how people of other nations perceive the British people? Do they really think that the British is a nation of boozers?
Photo courtesy of mike harper
“I’ve got to get back
To the House at Pooh Corner by one
You’d be surprised
There’s so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh…”
Those are some of the words of the song “Return to Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins. I still remember hearing this song for the first time way back and feeling wistful about my childhood – and Pooh stories, of course. From toddlers to adults, this character created by A.A. Milne is forever imprinted in many people’s hearts.
But did you know that there really is a Pooh Corner? Did you know that the forest where Christopher Robin, Pooh, Eeyore, and Piglet played in really exists? Yes, they do – in Hartfield, Sussex. If you grew up on Pooh, then a visit to where it all happened should be at the top of your list.
Hartfield can be found at the south of London, easily accessible on a day’s trip. Once you get there, you can visit the print room, where all original artwork by E.H. Shepard is available for viewing. If you want to see all of it, you would have to allot several hours.
If you prefer the great outdoors, then you should visit Poohsticks Bridge – where you can play Poohsticks – and then head on to the Pooh Corner, which used to be the candy store where Christopher Robin got his Bullseye candy.
No, I am not talking about the parties that high school students look forward to each year in the United States and other parts of the world. This “prom” is a bit more, let’s say, cultured. I am talking about The BBC Proms or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts. Does that suit your taste better?
The Proms is an age old tradition in the UK. It started way back in 1895 and lasts for 8 weeks during the summer period. Today, one can look forward to over 70 concerts throughout the whole season. The concerts are held at the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, London – well, at least most of them.
This year, The Proms started on July 15. As it is every year, the world’s greatest musical performances will be attended by countless people.
A little more information on The Proms from Wikipedia:
Proms is short for promenade concerts, a term which arose from the original practice of audience members promenading, or strolling, in some areas of the concert hall during the concert. Promming now refers to the use of the standing areas inside the hall (the arena and gallery) for which ticket prices are much lower than for the reserved seating. Single concert promming tickets can be purchased, with few exceptions, only on the day of the concert, which can give rise to long queues for well-known artists or works. Prommers can purchase full or half season tickets instead for guaranteed entry, although not guaranteed standing position. A number of Prommers are particularly keen in their attendance, and see it as a badge of honour to achieve the grand slam of attending every concert of the season.
Photo courtesy of wallyg
It has been observed, one time too many, that people from the West seem to have a more liberal attitude than the rest of the world. Though this includes more countries than the United Kingdom, an incident in a beach in Dubai has brought negative attention to the UK once again.
Last week Michelle Palmer, 36, from Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, of Bromley, southeast London, were sentenced to three months in prison in Dubai for having sex outside marriage on a public beach and offending public decency. They were also fined about £200 and will be deported when they have served their sentences. They were lucky: their punishment could have been much worse.
This incident is evoking a lot of varying opinions. On the one hand, these are adults who are supposed to be free to do whatever they want to. On the other hand, some people think that their behaviour is offensive and insensitive to others. The Times feature actually leans towards the second point and I tend to agree. Indeed, we live in modern times where the attitude towards sex and sexuality has changed a lot. However, these two people were NOT in the UK. They were in a country which has a different culture, a different religion. Come to think of it, if this happened in the UK, sensibilities would probably still have been offended. The point, I think, is that our freedom should end where other people’s toes begin. Freedom is only as good as not stepping on other people’s toes. Whatever happens in your own house is your business. What you do at the beach becomes everyone else’s business.
How do you feel about this?
[From the Archives]
How costly is your lifestyle? Do you think that you spend less than the average person in your country? How about comparing your lifestyle to people from other countries? Well, if you find yourself comparing your lifestyle to the British people, then you just might find out that you are not living such a costly lifestyle at all.
I read a report published about the cost of the British lifestyle. It was published by Metro.co.uk. Based on this report, the British lifestyle is the third most expensive in the world. The report states:
The study by the bank HSBC found that money in every other country in the world, apart from Norway and France, would go further.
It examined how long the typical British salary would last if people maintained their standard of living, including eating out in a restaurant twice a week.
It found that the average British salary would run out after 11 months and one week in Norway, while in France it would run out after 11 months and two weeks.
But, at the other end of the scale, a year’s British salary would last four years in Iran, two years and ten months in India and more than two years in Peru, Egypt, Argentina and Costa Rica.
Interesting – I always thought that our cousins from across the ocean lived costlier lifestyles than us. Then again, this study was conducted months ago and perhaps, with the changes in the economy, lifestyles have changed as well.
Photo courtesy of fishyfish_arcade
Any self-respecting music lover would know at least a teeny bit about Pink Floyd. If I were to describe Pink Floyd in one word, I would say psychedelic and I am sure that many people would agree with me. This English rock band is in fact, an icon in the music world. Their music continues to span generations.
So where does Pink Floyd come from? In the 1960s, Syd Barrett and a couple of other guys got together to play music. They got their name from two blues musicians – Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Though Syd Barrett was the lead man for a while, his erratic behavior led to his decline and departure from the band in 1968. It was also after his departure that the band started to experiment with other sounds, leading to the emergence of Roger Waters as the front man of the band. It was during his time that the phenomenal album The Wall was created.
Waters left the band in 1985, leaving David Gilmour as the lead member. Today, what is left of the band is more of solo acts. Despite the fact that a lot of the original members left the band, Pink Floyd remains influential in many people’s music preferences. From modern day musicians to people who merely appreciate music, Pink Floyd definitely holds a special place in their hearts.
Want to have children? Have you been trying for years to no avail? Then I suggest that you head on over to Dorset in southern England. Just outside the village of Cerne Abbas, you will find a legendary chalk figure – The Cerne Abbas Giant. It is also called the Rude Man or the Rude Giant due to its exposed phallus.
So why should you visit the Giant if you want to have children? Legend has it that if a childless couple made love (on a certain part of the giant), they would soon have children. Another legend says that if a woman walked around the figure three times, she would keep her lover faithful to her. Oh, just make sure you’re fit enough to do three rounds – this giant is not called a giant for nothing!
The Cerne Abbas Giant’s is thought to be created way back in Ancient times. However, its history has only been traced to the late 17th century. Wikipedia presents one version of its origins:
Some believe that the giant was carved during the English Civil War by servants of the Lord of the Manor, Denzil Holles, and was intended as a parody of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was sometimes mockingly referred to as “England’s Hercules” by his enemies. The Hercules connection is strengthened by the recent discovery of an obliterated line perhaps representing an animal skin (see below). The suggestion that the figure is Hercules was first made in 1764 by William Stukeley.
Whoever the Giant may really be, the fact remains that it is one of the more popular sights in that part of England.
Most people know Clive Staples Lewis because of The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) series of children’s books. If you pay any attention to the movies, you would know that two of the books in this series have been made into movies recently.
C.S. Lewis is much more than a children’s book writer, though. In fact, his work spans a lot of topics and interests. From medieval literature to Christian apologetics to literary criticism – Lewis has touched upon all these. So who is C.S. Lewis and why are we writing about him in the English Blog?
He was born on November 29 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the classic Lord of the Rings. Like Tolkien, Lewis was one of the most known figures in the English department of Oxford during their time. Lewis was born and baptised into the Church of Ireland but digressed from his faith as an adult. It was only till he was 30, due to the influence of friends –Tolkien among them – that he came back to his faith. Since then, his works have become known all over the world.
Aside from The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis is known for his works such as:
-The Pilgrim’s Regress
-Mere Christianity
-The Screwtape Letters
-The Abolition of Man
These are only among of my favorites. If you have not experienced the work of C.S. Lewis, I suggest that you start now. You just might find what you are looking for. You can rent textbooks on CS Lewis at Bookrenter.com.
While the Americans (and other nationalities of the world) may relish waking up to the aroma of coffee, there is no doubt that the British prefer sipping a hot cup of tea in the morning (and mayhap other parts of the day). I love coffee, I am not denying that, but there are times when I simply need tea as my drink for the day. One of my favorites is the English Breakfast Tea, which I can drink at any time of the day. What is this tea anyway?
The English Breakfast Tea is usually a blend of different black teas. The blend may consist of teas coming from areas such as India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malawi and China. The fact is that the English Breakfast Tea was first invented in Edinburgh, Scotland by a man named Drysdale, a well known tea master. His idea was to market the blend under the label Breakfast. The rest is history.
This kind of tea is a perfect accompaniment to the traditional English breakfast and goes well with milk and sugar. If you want a more technical description of this tea, here is Mr. Breakfast’s take:
It is a robust, full-bodied beverage with light floral undertones (sometimes referred to as “coppery”). When blended with milk, it produces a comforting aroma eerily similar to warm toast and honey. And as we know, the olfactory receptors in our noses are responsible for 80% of what we perceive as flavor.
Indeed, English breakfast tea can give you a warm fuzzy feeling just as you brush away the cobwebs of sleep in the early morning. Why not have a cup today?
Photo courtesy of Scott Feldstein
Curry may originally be an Indian dish but there is no doubt that London offers some of the best variants of curry. This could largely be due to the fact that London is a melting pot of cultures and there is a large number of people from South Asia in the city. So, anyway, could the curry in London be better than what other countries have to offer?
I would not dare answer that question but I do know that a restaurant in London is serving what it hopes to be the world’s hottest curry. AFP reports:
A London restaurant was serving up Thursday what it hopes will be confirmed as the world’s hottest curry, with even the chef admitting it is “too extreme” to keep on the menu.
Vivek Singh at The Cinnamon Club grabbed some of the hottest chilli peppers known to man to create the Bollywood Burner, a lamb-based dish with a fierce kick.
The curry is so hot that diners are asked to sign a disclaimer confirming they are aware of the risks involved before daring to eat it.
The Bollywood Burner is being submitted to Guinness World Records for verification of its status as the planet’s hottest curry. The verdict should be announced within three weeks.
I wonder what risks are involved if you eat a dish that is too hot to handle? I don’t really know. What I do know is that although I love curry and could eat it several times a week, I am not too strong in the spicy department. I probably would not be trying the Bollywood Burner anytime soon.
