Monday, September 15, 2008

This island...

(see below, previous post) has faint echoes of the England of my childhood...skinny-legged eager children running about on beaches, solitary men fishing, real pubs, boats, people being friendly on buses. Church yesterday evening was well-attended. There are tea-shops. Holiday brochures from the summer advertise walks and treasure-hunts and competitions.

Today's papers bring news of a dreary Govt initiative - I'm not making this up: British Day, an official public holiday on which we celebrate being British. After years of telling us we must be multi-cultural, teaching children a muddled version of our history - or practically none at all - sneering at our Christian traditions, attempting to crush our moral values, and remake the fabric of our everyday lives in things as fundamental as male/female marriage and begetting of children...do the Socialists really think they can invent a British Day and make us celebrate the version of things they have left? Probably they don't think they can...it's just a squelch from the last-ditch efforts of this hoples Govt and would be mildly funny if it wasn't so insulting.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I, here in the USA, feel the same sense of bemusement and sadness. I feel it especially when Thanksgiving draws near, and I re-read the writings of the Pilgrims, and see how far afield we, as a culture, have drifted.
We, as a society, pay homage to them, but mock the people they were.

Ann Margaret Lewis said...

Absolutely amazing. What do they expect everyone to do, have some fish n' chips, a pint of bitter and sing God Save the Queen?

Ah, England, how I do weep for thee. Queen Victoria is rolling in her grave.

.The Cellarer said...

The idea has not recieved a warm welcome up here even from a 'son of the manse'

Unknown said...

I'm glad America has drifted from the Puritans - the real ones, that is, not as they have been mythologized.

Anonymous said...

Please go to this link and sign the e petition to protest against the extention of the Abortion Act to N Ireland


Click here for petition


http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Anti-Abortion/

We are relying on people in the UK to sign!

Please promote this.

THANK YOU

Anonymous said...

lucille,
I would love to hear more of the Brits' take on the Puritans. . .who they were, their place in history from a different (non-USA) perspective.