DD, our hostess, compiled a charming collection of distinctively "English" images for the invitation - the most arresting of which was a rural phone box. Her pic, alas, is only a thumbnail, and I haven't been able to dig up the original on the Net. This one is a reasonable substitute, though. It does make me rather nostalgic for the old home land.
I dislike so many things about the place (chiefly the people, or at any rate the substantial yobbish segment of the population), but it is an exceptionally beautiful country (whereas China..... part desert, part rubbish dump, part rice paddy...... really is not very attractive, for the most part), and it has bequeathed so much of value to the world: the English language, cricket, the common law, a sense of fair play, rooting for the underdog, gin & tonic.
As the great man himself put it:
As the great man himself put it:
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
And here are some more "icons of Englishness" (some good, some bad) that I just turned up.
I still like this one best.
Happy Birthday, Will. Cheers.
4 comments:
Bombay Sapphire! An Icon of 'Englishness'? Hmmm.... And you see a lot of Cinchona trees in the UK?
The point has been made many times that when you live in a semi-frozen offshore island with few resources except its wit the only way ahead is out. Most Great Englishmen seem to have taken up The White Man's Burden at some point in their lives. Rudyard Kipling (that quintessential 'Englishman') hardly set foot in the country, having spent much of his life in either India or the USA. Indeed, he described the UK - on a rare trip here - as "the most marvellous foreign country in the world". You are following in a noble tradition, dear Frog.
Your picture of the lone telephone box in the snow brings to mind images of sore throats; cold feet; 'phone boxes smelling of urine and very probably vandalised to boot.
I recall watching a video of 'Another Country' while sweltering in some eastern jungle and feeling momentarily 'homesick'...the feeling passed quite quickly. Generally my most intense feelings of homesickness are at Heathrow...on my way IN...being heartily sick of the place within seconds of arrival. It's okay as a place to have a brief holiday in during a good summer (yes, both days!) However, as a place to live in full-time the only place that I can think of that I would dislike more is probably China...maybe Belgium too ;-)
Sorry - don't know what happend there...feel free to delete one copy!
I thought maybe you'd been trying to amend the "dear Frog"!
Oops... ;-)
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