A Tale of Two Britains: Part Two

This Bejeweled Nation.

When I lived in London in my twenties, it never occurred to me to take ‘A’ roads to any place more than fifteen miles away. I couldn’t get anywhere quickly on A-roads (the rarely-straight, single-lane byways that connect Britain’s towns) and in my twenties, I didn’t want to go anywhere slowly.

Ten years on, it’s ironic that those A-roads provided the perfect way for Emma, William and me to unwind, explore and enjoy the finest scenery, most stunning architecture and mind-blowing history Britain has to offer.

Like the Septuagenarian motorists I used to get stuck behind and lambaste in the 90s, we happily tootled around the countryside averaging under 30-miles-per hour.

We drove through wooded Wiltshire; stopped in for outstanding pub meals in stunning hamlets in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire; explored the dreaming spires of the City of Oxford, toured the grandeur of Blenheim Palace and lost ourselves in the country lanes and oh-so-photogenic villages of the Cotswolds. Then we reverentially circled Stonehenge en route to the south coast before finally letting Admiral Nelson, Henry VIII, the White Cliffs of Dover and the waves of Britain’s maritime history wash over us at Portsmouth historic dockyard.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the Britain you need to go and visit if you don’t already live there (and maybe if you DO live there too!)

Yes, for all the criticism I heaped on dear old Blighty in my last blog post; there isn’t another country in the world that can boast Britain’s unique combination of history, culture, architecture and nature.

And it is this stereotypically-quaint, historic Britain of which we Brits are all so proud.

And why not? Don’t Britons have a right to “Lord it” a bit over their cousins across the Atlantic? After all, Britain’s first University was founded half a century before Christopher Columbus had even been born!

So okay (as this trip reminded me), the British can be defensive, a bit prudish, quirky, and just a little bit pompous, but if you’d been fighting back invading hordes of Vikings, Romans, Normans and Germans for a couple of millennia, you’d probably be a bit uptight too!

Comments

[ian]

Half a century? Closer to half a millennium!

[ian]

Most Brits would revolt if you suggested that one in three of the population should be unable to go to the doctors, because they can't afford it, the very criticism of which appears to be akin to blasphemy to a large proportion of Americans, and the disregard of love thy neighbour despite their apparent christian fervour . Given the choice between the veneer of caring with the reality of neglect, or the reality of caring, with a surface of disdain, I know which I'd choose.

[David]

Re: half a century...ok, yes, does look like Oxford was around in some form from the 12th Century, whereas your fella Columbus only appeared in 1451. Can we split the difference and say a quarter of a millennium?

[David]

By the way, it's not strictly accurate to say a third of all Americans (it's only about 15%) can't get access to health care. A large proportion of the 'uninsured' actually get coverage through the Medicaid and Medicare programs aimed at low income and elderly groups. The problem seems to be that low income groups don't actually proactively care for themselves, but wait until they're nearly dead before seeking help, and thereby increase the cost of healthcare. Yes, it's true, the US Gov should extend 'coverage' to all, but that costs a bit, as the UK folks who were around in 1948 would probably remember. There are evil idiots in the US opposing healthcare reform blindly, but there are also good reasons to proceed carefully.

[Lesley]

15%! over 45.5 million people gosh! Thank goodness they are trying to do something about it.