Reclaiming British Identity?

[DavyR]

Devolution seems to have had the effect of bolstering the unique identity of the Welsh and the Scots, but not of the English (give or take the now ubiquitous flags of St George).

Part of this is due to the rejection by the English of their own culture. Just ask TonyU about the prevailing view of morris dancing!

A friend of mine has been trying for years to found a National Centre for English Traditional Perfomance. He keeps coming up against the same problem - he has to tick the "diversity" and "inclusivity" boxes in order to get any hope of funding. In practice, this means including traditional performances by every other ethnic group currently living in England. If he does that, he loses the support of those who want to concentrate on performances that most people would recognise as being distinctively English: morris and sword dances, mummers' plays, the Cornish Furry Dance, etc.

I think he'll be battling uphill for a very long time...

[Peter Waller]

One thing that should be made clear is that being an immigrant is not always a problem. For those of you who don't know it Skippy comes from Great yarmouth. Yarmouth has a strong Greek community, has done for many years. Into second and third generations by now. I live nearby, in Lowestoft, we have a sizable Chinese community. Both communities retain their values and identities, they intergrate on their own terms, they are good folk. The people of these communities are a pleasure to know, and most are an example to us all. My daughters grew up with good friends of Greek extraction, however we don't see ourselves as English and Greek, just people, firm friends.

 

I belive that I am right in saying that the Eastern Counties has the biggest migrant work population in England.

[Peter Waller]

DavyR, don't we already have the English Folk Song and Dance Society? Have done for many years, or so I thought. And anyway, Folkies and Morris Dancers are wheird! http://www.waveneyfolk.co.uk/

 

[ 09. August 2005, 09:30 AM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Scapanapper]

captain birdseye:

Well said sportsman.

To go completley off topic ( Captain Birdseye has no PM link)

Captain I am really flattered that you are so impressed with my image that you borrow it.

However in order to avoid confusion please FIND YOUR OWN AVATAR!!!!!

 

Kindest regards

Scapa

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Quote from UK Fishing Tackle

 

These people are British citizens and there should be some way to find a compromise between retaining their values which are important AND integrating better into society. If they cannot then it reflects poorly on us all (and by that I mean everyone

 

The above was posted by Sportsman.

 

Why should it reflect poorly on the British public, why should we change our way of life to suit new comers.

 

Surely if they do not like our way of life, do not recognise our values they would be better to go else where.

 

They have even tried to ban Xmas street decorations, this is not acceptable to me.

 

The only area where we lack moral fibre is in failing to stand up for our own values and not inforcing the laws that we live by for fear of upsetting new comers.

[Sportsman]

Peter, the reason i mentioned pots and kettles is because Skippy complained that the point had been lost and you agreed with her. It was your early posts that lost it. You can hardly complain

[Scapanapper]

I saw a BBC TV programme last night (Real Story, I think) that featured British EX Pats ( you will notice they don't call them selves immigrants) in Spain.

Amongst some horror stories of how these gentle folk had suffered at the hands of totally unjust local laws there were some interesting statistics quoted.

In a recent survey only 4% of the resident Brits described themselves as fluent in Spanish and only 40% said they had anything to do socially with the local community.

It was also said that 90+% percent of the bars were run by Brits who insisted on serving only British style food and drinks.

There was also some lovely scenes of life in Spain including bingo at the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

Does this ring any bells???

 

Cheers

Scapa

[Peter Waller]

Sportsman, I'm not sure that we had lost it. The UK is in a state of flux, it is a dynamic society, always has been. But good change tends to come more gradually, and some incoming communities bring hurried, unwanted change, and what are sometimes unwanted values, or lack of them. No, we didn't loose the plot, just that we, independently, see the problem in a different light.

 

Thought Ken's last posting was very valid.

 

Skippy, that you need a stab vest is down to the fact that, unlike Lowestoft, Yarmouth is not refined . Even the old folk's social club has bouncers, and they are not there to keep unwanted punters out!

[Scapanapper]

On the subject of The British Legion.

I was invited to join as a full member recently ( there are fewer people eligible these days ) but I had to decline when asked to swear alligence to the the Queen and her heirs and successors.

Although I am a Republican at heart, I do have a personal respect for the current Queen. However heirs and successors is just too much of a blank cheque

[DavyR]

Peter Waller:

DavyR, don't we already have the English Folk Song and Dance Society? Have done for many years, or so I thought. And anyway, Folkies and Morris Dancers are wheird! http://www.waveneyfolk.co.uk/

Peter - Yes, we do have EFDSS, but although they have an excellent library, they don't have any exhibition facilities, which is what my friend wants to provide. Or much scope for performance, either. Also, EFDSS are primarily concerned with dance and song rather than other sorts of traditional performance like folk plays. As for being weird, you'd be surprised how many respected musicians started their careers in folk clubs, which still provide a forum for rising talent (as well as the old boy with his finger in his ear that everyone wishes would shut up).

And they ain't all old geezers - Liza Carthy (Mercury Award nominated) springs to mind:

 

http://www.elizanet.org.uk/ :cool:

 

And apart from anything else, it's our history - knowledge of which is sadly lacking in all age groups and especially the young.