In just over a months time, I will be setting off on my travels again. I arrived back in England at the end of April 2010. I made a promise to myself that I would be gone again in under a year. Unless I fall off a cliff or get kidnapped by Al Qaeda between now and Feburary 14th, I will have fulfilled my self-given promise. I am excited, just as excited as I was when I left for Israel. But there is a difference this time.
When I left last time, I couldn't wait to leave England. I hated this place and seriously wanted nothing to do with it. But since coming home, I realised it's wasn't England I hated, it was my lifestyle. I was tired of staying in the same old town, working at the same old place, meeting the same old faces, same old everything. Some people like the security of this sameness, that's fair enough. It's not my cup of tea though.
So this time round, I'm actually really going to miss England and am a bit sad to be leaving her. But they way I look at it is, there's a big chance I will end up marrying England. But right now I have to go out there and play the field a bit before I make such a commitment! What is it I love about her? There's too much to list if I'm honest with you. Perhaps everything I miss will not be so unique to England, but at present I am none the wiser. I have learnt that England (and Britain as a whole) culturally shares quite a few things with nations such as Australia and New Zealand which now appears quite obvious why.
There are many people from outside the UK who read this blog. So let me clear something up before I continue. 'United Kingdom' and 'England' are two different things. The United Kingdom is the name for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all together. I am speaking about ENGLAND, because I am ENGLISH and live in ENGLAND. I can not speak on behalf of the other British nations. It is a complicated issue, which is debated constantly and I would only confuse you if I said any more on the matter. So let me continue with why I love ENGLAND. I am going to list what I love and also give a tourist board approach to my foreign readers who don't know much about England other than what they see on TV. This is a travel blog, read by people from all over the world. England is part of this world, so I see fit to inform you about some of it.
Food- If you come to England, you should try out traditional English food. I shan't go into detail about each one. But you can google image them, trust me, our food is amazing. Full English breakfast, Fish and Chips, Sunday roast dinner (my favourite), Sheperd's Pie, Marmite, Cornish Pasty's, Pork pies, Sausage rolls, Steak and ale pie, Lancashire hot pot and many more. We also have some of the best biscuits and cakes in the world to accompany our cup of tea ;)
Tabloid Newspapers- For those of you with an IQ of anything over 10, you will hate these. But if you have a minor case of retardation, like me, you will love them. Their 'newspapers' which basically tell you rubbish news that really isn't important. Like a man who got his penis caught in a car exhaust pipe, or something along those lines. Our biggest selling newspaper is 'The Sun'. This paper has a 'Page 3 Model' which is a rather attractive lady showing us all her breasts. To me this is normal, but foreigners are either amazed or disgusted when they see this. Usually the primary is a male and the latter a female!
Music- I don't even think I need to go into how much music we have exported to the world. But for those of you who are interested in listening to more English music, I will list some of my favourites: Oasis, The Clash, Madness, The Beatles, Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs, Iron Maiden, Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Muse, Queen, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Artic Monkeys and a lot more. England is also the proud inventor of jungle, 'drum and bass' and dubstep. Not for the light hearted. After America, England definitely contributes the most music worldwide.
Comedies- I can't stress enough how much you should all watch English comedies. Every foreign friend I have introduced to English comedies has not been let down. They have a completely different approach to American comedies. I am a big fan of American comedies, but ours are a different style. In America, the main focus is to laugh at what is being said. In England, our main focus is to laugh AT the character. I mean in a way that someone is doing something really embarrassing and you just laugh at them thinking "Oh my God, what a dickhead". It is sometimes so embarrassing that it is hard to watch. We call this "cringing". I can't do them any justice by trying to describe them. If you have torrents, then download one of the following: The Office (UK version, the original), Alan Partridge, The Peep Show or the hottest comedy right now: Inbetweeners.
Inbetweeners has been such a hit that it is broadcast worldwide, keep your eyes out for it because it might not be on your 'main' channels. I know it is definitely in Australia, Canada, Sweden, Israel. It's about four teenage lads at school and will bring back a lot of memories from school. Everybody will be able to relate at least one character to somebody they know/knew in real life. There is Simon, the geek, Jay, who lies 24/7, Neil, who's so stupid it's hilarious and Simon who is having trouble with the ladies. America want to make their own version of it (typical). You can actually find the episodes on Youtube. Here's a trailer for it:
Rich history- England's got a really interesting history. The whole United Kingdom has interesting history. So if you're into sightseeing, England will not disappoint. Most people just think Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Stone Henge are all we have to offer. These places are nothing compared to many other historic places in England. If you're a history geek like me, then look up the history of the British Isles, you will be entertained for hours. We have battles and interesting characters coming out of our ears. From the Roman Empire, to the Battle of the Roses, from the English Civil War to how we forced the rest of the island to make the 'United Kingdom'.
Drinking- This isn't a uniquely English thing. But it is part of the English culture never the less to get 'plastered', 'legless', 'hammered', 'wankered', 'messy' and 'drunk' (that is an English word after all ;) ). Drinking is a massive part of English culture and always has been. Back in the Battle of Hastings, the French Normans prayed to God the night before their battle. The Anglo-Saxons decided to get drunk instead. Probably why they lost! Drinking out of a pint glass is the best way and I think the whole world should adopt it!
Beautiful scenery- A lot of people make the mistake of only visiting London when they come to England. London is a great city to visit. But there is so much more to England. If you want nice scenery, I highly recommend going to the North of England where you have the Yorkshire Moors, Peak District and the Lake District. The South-West of England is popular in the summertime for holidaymakers. The west coast of England is truly stunning and is where I currently live right now. Here are some pictures I took:
English Radio- We have a radio station for young people called BBC Radio 1. The music is your general mainstream pop music. But that's not why most people listen to it. The reason we listen to it is because it's hilarious. The DJ's spend most their time talking instead of playing music. Their usually cracking jokes, prank calling people etc. I didn't know this was unique (in Europe anyway) until my foreign friends said they were loving the English radio because it's so funny where as their's is just boring people playing song after song.
Sense of humour- The English love to 'take the piss'. This doesn't mean stealing urine from somebody. 'Taking the piss' or 'taking the Micky' is when you make a joke about somebody. I know many nations like to do this, but in all honesty, I think the English are the best at this. An Englishman will have a comeback ready before you have even finished your sentence. I love it. It's not everybodys cup of tea as they see it as harsh and bullying. But you shouldn't take it to heart, if someone 'takes the piss out of you' then you just have to give it back as good as you get. I know this is not just an English thing, as I have many foreign mates I can have some decent banter with. But only a handful of them were willing to go as dark and brutal as an Englishman does in his sense of humour. Remember, don't take it personally. We also love to play on words and be a bunch of sarcastic bastards. The Inbetweeners clip above presents all this quite well.
Sport- Football is England's most popular sport. Yes Football, not 'Soccer'. Anyone who wants to call it 'soccer' needs to be hung, drawn and quartered. Football is the most popular sport in England. I'm sure all football fans reading this won't need to be told about the Premier League as it is the most popular league in the world (along with La Liga). I seriously could not imagine my life without football, I know it would be very dull for one thing! England is the proud inventor of the most popular sport in the world. England is also responsible for rugby, cricket, darts, lawn tennis, badminton to name a few. England invented modern day hockey which then bred ice hockey. American 'Football' derives from rugby. Baseball was introduced to America by English immigrants. Wikipedia all this if you think I am wrong. So basically, every sport you know and love, you have England to thank.
That will do for now. I will comment more on England in future blogs. It is an amazing country, which is yet to let down anyone I know who has visited. We may be lacking in hot weather, but our abundance in culture, history and landmarks more than makes up for that.
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