Roast beef and three-pinned plugs
Whoever
came up with the word 'Brexit', or 'Grexit' for that matter, should
have his or her keyboard confiscated, if not for life, at least for a
very long time. Nonetheless it will not of escaped most of you that in Britain there was a referendum. The British public voted not to remain in the European Union.
While
in the media most of the attention during the campagne was on the the economy and
immigration, on the street many Brits are apparently still worried
about losing their national identity.
The
English have been worried about this since Britain joined the Common
Market in 1973. The Scots, Welsh and Irish probably much longer,
since they became part of the United Kingdom! The truth is, although
many things have changed over the years most of the changes are the
result of evolution or globalisation and have nothing to do with
European legislation.
Anyway,
judging by my recent visit to British Isles, the English are just
about as English as they ever were.
Before
crossing the Channel we had to change money, find an adapter plug,and
mask our headlights with plastic stickers. Despite 42 years in Europe
they still have their own currency and different power sockets. They
still drive on the left and still measure distances in miles. A large
portion of drivers still hog the centre lane on motorways.
They
still drink tea with milk, in other countries that's only for small
children and elderly ladies.
They
still serve their beer flat and at room temperature.
They
still have their pubs, although many have disappeared, most that
have survived are fresher brighter, cleaner, offer more choice and
serve good food, whilst retaining much of their traditional
atmosphere.
Somehow
they still manage to find cricket exciting
They
won't walk on the grass if instructed not to and they stand in
orderly lines when waiting for a bus.
They
are still making the same old jokes about the French and still
finding them funny.
Women
in shops still call you 'love'.
They
still eat fish and chips even if the 'chippies' are owned by Chinese,
They
still love lawns, gardens, horses and puppies.
They
still don't like to complain or 'make a fuss' .
They
still like walks in the countryside, especially if there is a pub
involved.
They
still go on about beating the Germans, yes, in two world wars, but
more importantly
in
the 1966 football World Cup.
The
British still laugh a lot, they still have a wonderful,
ironic,sarcastic individual and self mocking humour. However, at the
same time, they still secretly think Britain is best at everything
and the British way of life the best there is.
A
staggering 71% of the population, despite wall to wall cookery
programmes on TV, still consider 'Sunday Lunch' to be the high point
of the week... every week.
Sunday
Lunch: Roast beef, roasted potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire
Pudding.
Yorkshire
Pudding, by the way, is not a pudding. Made from batter, in less
affluent times it would have been covered with gravy and served
before the main meal to fill the stomach and thus save on more
expensive ingredients. Now that meat and vegetables are plentiful and
affordable the Yorkshire Pudding should be have become obsolete, I
certainly wouldn't miss it , but instead it has become one of the
most important parts of the Sunday culinary ritual.
In
England many find it difficult to understand how inhabitants of other
countries can live, or would even want to live, without Sunday Lunch.
Which
brings me to a theory of mine: the English are not xenophobes, they
do not, on the whole, fear or hate foreigners. They are simply
confused by them and the whole concept of foreignness. What are
foreigners for? Why would anybody want to be one? They are not sure
if it is an affliction or a bad life-style choice. Is there a cure?
Oh,and don't try to explain that the English are, in fact, foreigners
when they are abroad – they will find the idea absurd!
.
Yes,
Brexit arguments have mostly been about
the economy, immigration and independence but deep down the real
problem with Europe, as far as the English are concerned, is that it
is full of people who don't drink milk in their tea, don't appreciate
the wonders of cricket and have never experienced a Yorkshire
Pudding!
bob
powers June 2016
