The original title of this post was "The Proclaimers: Britain's most underrated band?"
After spending a bit of time "researching" on YouTube I realise I sell them hilariously short. They are obviously Britain's most underrated band. And they will continue to be so until British popular opinion catches up with the obvious: they are the only British band to give the Fall any competition as the greatest ever.
Allow me to make my case…
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
There is such a thing as Britishness!
With Scottish independence and all that there's been focus on the idea of Britain, and what it means and all the rest of it.
There is a British identity, one which makes sense, with shared history and cultural values. The problem is that this Britain is ruled by, but doesn't culturally include, the English South East.
England just isn't a real country. The differences between northern England and Scotland or Wales are much smaller than the differences between northern England and the south east. The Russian dolls of identity make more sense as northern > British than English > British.
There's a natural brotherhood of the Scots, Welsh, Cornish, (Northern) Irish and Northern English. These guys all have loads in common. Landscape, sheep, post-industrial decline, an interest in folk and country music, tea, fish suppers, reserve, good humour, a shared hatred of London.
An independent Scotland would be sad for the rest of this Britain, but at least some of us will have got out. It's just a shame that it's the wrong bit going its way. That bit at the bottom, the England of Top Gear and Bake-Off and finance and media and royalty and morris dancing and London. We don't need that bit. Also, they hate us.
A nice Britain of 40million, with the capital in, say, York, would be lovely. We could just crack on being a medium-sized European country and relax. England-minor could go its way making money and being "global". Everyone would win.
We've really buggered up how we've organised this place.
ADDENDUM: I don't really know where the South-West fits in, or the Midlands. I'd like to take Birmingham with us but I guess it's up to them.
There is a British identity, one which makes sense, with shared history and cultural values. The problem is that this Britain is ruled by, but doesn't culturally include, the English South East.
England just isn't a real country. The differences between northern England and Scotland or Wales are much smaller than the differences between northern England and the south east. The Russian dolls of identity make more sense as northern > British than English > British.
There's a natural brotherhood of the Scots, Welsh, Cornish, (Northern) Irish and Northern English. These guys all have loads in common. Landscape, sheep, post-industrial decline, an interest in folk and country music, tea, fish suppers, reserve, good humour, a shared hatred of London.
An independent Scotland would be sad for the rest of this Britain, but at least some of us will have got out. It's just a shame that it's the wrong bit going its way. That bit at the bottom, the England of Top Gear and Bake-Off and finance and media and royalty and morris dancing and London. We don't need that bit. Also, they hate us.
A nice Britain of 40million, with the capital in, say, York, would be lovely. We could just crack on being a medium-sized European country and relax. England-minor could go its way making money and being "global". Everyone would win.
We've really buggered up how we've organised this place.
ADDENDUM: I don't really know where the South-West fits in, or the Midlands. I'd like to take Birmingham with us but I guess it's up to them.
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