Leaving this Green and Pleasant land

I lived the first forty years of my life in Southern England.

A happy and traditional English childhood growing up in the Home Counties. Dad in the Army, Mum a housewife, grandparents for Sunday Lunch every weekend, two dogs and a thoroughly irritating little brother 😉

Growing up in a military family, the idea of travel and the thrill of foreign adventures have always been just under the skin. Maybe this engendered the feeling of patriotism and peculiar sense of pride this little lovely sunny, rainy, cold, warm, green island creates.

Years later, with a job offer in the USA, the summer of 2008 found me all packed up and on the way to Heathrow for a new adventure. Reluctantly leaving Blighty’s green and pleasant shores, but optimistic for a new future abroad. This emigration decision was multi-faceted, but in part due to sadly mourning the collapse of the England I had grown up in: A gradual diminishing of the society and the essence of what it means to be English.

I landed in the colonies, surrounded by a very different American culture.

Traveling the United States, every state has a different vibe and I’ve spent the last decade+ immersing myself in the nuances of American life and celebrating my personal English differences.

I have never dreamed of trying to change this place to be more English, even though the different table manners drive me to distraction.

Meanwhile, I watch my homeland from afar, as it drifts further down the road of massive immigration and the cultural dilution that comes with that. The British government campaigning for election, braying about next years immigration following the “only bringing in the best” model…. while opening the doors to just anyone regardless of background.

‘Diversity is our Strength‘ they declare!

Personally, I think that is nonsense. I believe ‘Unity is our strength‘.

Just like a family – you want your kids to date the best people to form relationships with intelligent, kind, considerate people. People with similar values. Adding to a family group, a community, or a country is a good thing. But there is nothing wrong with being selective. Grow your group without trying to dilute by enforcing religious, ethnic or cultural changes. The unity of its people is what makes a country great.

The failures of multiculturism are staring everyone in the face but no politician has the balls to stand up and confront their parties failed policies.

The #BREXIT vote is a clear NO MORE from the majority of voters, but I am sure that over coming years, the government will find every excuse to deliver a watered-down exit from the EU Political Block while retaining this level of mass immigration.

If this continues, which I am sure it will… it’s the slow death of England. The very essence of dilution of the English lifestyle.

What does it mean to be English?

To me “Being English” is a mish-mash of feelings, emotions and cultural imprints indelibly etched on me from my friends, family and peers.

Englishness runs through me like the writing in a stick of rock.

Being English means exercising good manners, queuing in an orderly fashion, a healthy level of patriotism and respect for the royal tradition, if not being a Royalist. It means tea and scones, Sunday afternoons in country pubs, groaning at Carry On Movies, admiring thatched cottages, a hint of self-deprecation (especially when we don’t mean it), church fetes, fried breakfasts, a particular sense of humour, crisp cold mornings walking the dogs, bobbies on the beat, watching Rugby/Football/Cricket with your mates and of course moaning about the weather…. but above all, a quiet pride in our country’s history and heritage (good and bad).

Sadly, many of these elements have slowly been diluted and eroded over recent years.

Go Woke, Go Broke

I’m not sure if it’s the pitiful spirit of political correctness which has taken over English life, or the huge influx of foreign cultures and customs which has diluted the essence of being English.

Perhaps it’s the last few decades of adoption of continental European lifestyle (as opposed to English lifestyle) or the constant barrage of negativity from mainstream media and corrupt political figures.

Migration is exciting and positive. Welcoming foreigners into local communities adds to the cultural mix and I firmly believe it’s a good thing.

However, this reaches a limit when the cultural mix starts to erode the very essence of the community itself. To take over and consume the original community and change it into something worse.

I’m an immigrant – so of course I support #immigration 🙂

I believe I bring something to the ‘foreign’ communities I live within; I enjoy and embrace these cultures different traditions and I don’t try to change them.

Without exception my neighbours have been welcoming to me and my family, as we embrace their culture… But I should really enforce the art of a nice cup of tea. 😉

After many years living abroad, I’ve wondered if I would ever move back to England one day?

Watching the British governments shameful handling of #Brexit (the biggest public referendum in the last 50 years) and an apparent abandoning of democratic principles, riots in the streets, soaring crime rates, Islamic Jihadi’s and religious extremists being welcomed into the country, the slow death of the NHS, increasingly reduced freedom of speech, all while native Brits are jailed for simply tweeting thoughts that are deemed to offend other people…. I think I am finally able to say “I don’t think so”

I’m contemplating migrating back towards Europe, possibly the Mediterranean area – focused on working, adding to the local community, asking for no cultural changes but immersing myself and contributing where I can. Southern France, Sunny Spain or maybe Croatia are on the adventure list.

Pay my taxes. Shop locally. Embrace the local culture. Learn the language and speak it with a dreadful English accent 😉

#RipBritannia