It's bloody brilliant being British
Holding onto 2012's national pride
I'm a very proud Brit. I love this county. Don't worry; this isn't an advertisement for the EDL or BNP (if you're in one of these groups, fuck off). I just want to take the time to talk about how amazing the UK is, as we give it a bit of a bashing and it makes me FURIOUS.
Despite me ranting about how poor festivals are - festivals are great, and other countries don't have as many or do them as well. No matter which artist you love or are desperate to see, they'll eventually gig in the UK. Not just one date, but several dates. Across the country. Beyonce, Booker T, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Sigur Ros, The Killers, The Who, Jay Z, Pharcyde, The Specials, The Stone Roses, Rolling Stones, Atoms For Peace, Wu Tang and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all toured here. When any musician worth their salt announces a tour, they'll do loads dates in the UK.
Despite me ranting about how poor festivals are - festivals are great, and other countries don't have as many or do them as well. No matter which artist you love or are desperate to see, they'll eventually gig in the UK. Not just one date, but several dates. Across the country. Beyonce, Booker T, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Sigur Ros, The Killers, The Who, Jay Z, Pharcyde, The Specials, The Stone Roses, Rolling Stones, Atoms For Peace, Wu Tang and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all toured here. When any musician worth their salt announces a tour, they'll do loads dates in the UK.
It doesn't stop there. Do you love art? I do and what a place to live. We don't get the odd Picasso - we get an entire exhibition, showing his best and most famous works for three months. A master, Da Vinci, exhibited his awe-inspiring work at the National Portrait gallery. And his ridiculously accurate anatomical drawings are housed at Windsor Castle. Modern masters, like Munch, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Ai Wei Wei, Hirst and Lowery all exhibit comprehensive collections that attract thousands of people and media from all over the world. To top it all off, the Royal Academy's summer festival and the Turner Prize trailblazes and tastemakes art.
London 2012 taught me that our capital is the only city in the world that has residents from all 205 competing countries. So, it's a bubbling pot of international culture and cuisine. The hangover from the empire encouraged an open-minded and diverse UK. On the subject of empire - I'm still don't believe a tiny little island that you can barely see on a globe managed to rule most of the planet and change how the world trades and runs.
London 2012 taught me that our capital is the only city in the world that has residents from all 205 competing countries. So, it's a bubbling pot of international culture and cuisine. The hangover from the empire encouraged an open-minded and diverse UK. On the subject of empire - I'm still don't believe a tiny little island that you can barely see on a globe managed to rule most of the planet and change how the world trades and runs.
While I'm on it, I want to mention the fact that this tiny island produces music, film, industry, literature, plays, architecture, art, television, design, sport and political change that has pioneered and dominated throughout the ages.
And there's more
If you check out the list of 100 Greatest Britons, it's impressive. I mean really impressive. This miniscule country invented the internet. THE INTERNET. Not to mention the vaccine, the steam engine, mass printing, the railway, penicillin, British scientists unravelled DNA, computer programming, the mobile phone, modern nursing and the television. This is the tip of the iceberg. Think about it, all the great thinkers, authors, painters, scientists, military leaders, explorers and monarchs. It's impressive. Really impressive.
So next time someone says 'What have the British ever done for us'. Say, 'Great Scott, are you Turing mad - stick it up your Shakespeare, stop being a Thomas Paine and James Cook off.'
First published 23/11/2013
And there's more
If you check out the list of 100 Greatest Britons, it's impressive. I mean really impressive. This miniscule country invented the internet. THE INTERNET. Not to mention the vaccine, the steam engine, mass printing, the railway, penicillin, British scientists unravelled DNA, computer programming, the mobile phone, modern nursing and the television. This is the tip of the iceberg. Think about it, all the great thinkers, authors, painters, scientists, military leaders, explorers and monarchs. It's impressive. Really impressive.
So next time someone says 'What have the British ever done for us'. Say, 'Great Scott, are you Turing mad - stick it up your Shakespeare, stop being a Thomas Paine and James Cook off.'
First published 23/11/2013
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