What is all this talk of Englishness?

[mjw47]

"British values" means (to me) going back to the social values of the 40/50's. When you could leave your back door open, when you actually knew your neighbours, when they could converse with you in the same language, when your street was a safe place to walk down, when your Local Pub sold REAL ale that tasted of something other than chemicals, when your local school had places in abundance, when your own local Doctor came to see you if you were ill, not some stand in locum who did not know you from Adam. Just simple things that made this Country a pleasure to live in.

 

Compared to 2015 it was utopia.

 

Angel1.

 

Well I was a kid in the Fifties, started school in 52, and there was a very good reason why you could leave your doors open.

 

Nobody had anything worth stealing.

 

As always change is inevitable and some will be for the better and some for the worst.

 

People tend to look at the past through rose coloured specs and remember the good stuff whilst forgetting the bad.

 

Certainly from a woman's point of view things are better in that household drudgery with an ongoing round of cooking cleaning and shopping was about all their lives consisted of.

 

As for Englishness we all have a view which may be somewhat idealized. I think of tolerance, fair play, humour and not getting 'up yourself'.

 

Ironically some of the loudest proclaimers of their pride in being English are the exact opposite of that view.

 

The shaven headed tattoo covered clowns shouting their allegiance to the country and making fools of themselves in other peoples countries are an embarrassment to all of us.

 

Thankfully they're a minority, unfortunately they're a vocal one.

[hyper]

Yeah, I bet it was real peachy in the 40's and 50's, what with the 2nd world war taking place, and then the massive hardship and depression that followed for a decade afterwards.

You couldn't be openly gay, in fact having a gay relationship was a crime, women knew their place, and the average life expectancy wasn't actually beyond retirement age! Sounds like a great time to live.

yeah, good point. Everyone only remembers and focuses on the good things - the bad is easily forgotten.

 

As a kid, I only remember hot summers days, it never rained. Or did it? Was the weather similar to todays summers and I have filtered out the bad days.

[Cyclone]

I agree with you here.

There was a great deal of poverty there is virtually none now.

Progressive right wing policies have done away with that.

There is work available to those who want it.

There is social security for those who don't

Healthcare is universal. Transport is abundant.

Housing is available with central heating and plumbing.

Gay people can do what come naturally to them.

Social mobility is available to all.

We live in good times.

 

We do, but I wouldn't credit the right wing with much of that, a lot of it is down to socialist politics or liberal politics.

[Anna B]

Querky.

Polite.

Self depracating

A 'Can do' attitude.

Tough.

Stiff upper lip.

Kind.

Ironic sense of humour.

Funny.

Tolerant and easy going - until you push us too far, then as stubborn and bloody minded as you can get...

 

Well, at least, that's how it used to be... I miss the English, I really do...

[jfish1936]

the average life expectancy wasn't actually beyond retirement age! Sounds like a great time to live.

 

Remember, the "average life expectancy" is an average. In those years, child mortality was higher than now, and pulled down the average.

Lots of people who survived childhood lived past retirement age; in my paternal line, the average age at death in the 40s & 50s was 84 years

[Chelle-82]

Don't know about Englishness but I am extremely proud to be full of Yorkshireness

[mossdog]

Well I was a kid in the Fifties, started school in 52, and there was a very good reason why you could leave your doors open.

 

Nobody had anything worth stealing.

 

As always change is inevitable and some will be for the better and some for the worst.

 

People tend to look at the past through rose coloured specs and remember the good stuff whilst forgetting the bad.

 

Certainly from a woman's point of view things are better in that household drudgery with an ongoing round of cooking cleaning and shopping was about all their lives consisted of.

 

As for Englishness we all have a view which may be somewhat idealized. I think of tolerance, fair play, humour and not getting 'up yourself'.

 

Ironically some of the loudest proclaimers of their pride in being English are the exact opposite of that view.

 

The shaven headed tattoo covered clowns shouting their allegiance to the country and making fools of themselves in other peoples countries are an embarrassment to all of us.

 

Thankfully they're a minority, unfortunately they're a vocal one.

........I think of tolerance, fair play, humour and not getting 'up yourself'..............................you could just be describing 'Mecky" ....aka 'Boomer"

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 16:37 ----------

 

Querky.

Polite.

Self depracating

A 'Can do' attitude.

Tough.

Stiff upper lip.

Kind.

Ironic sense of humour.

Funny.

Tolerant and easy going - until you push us too far, then as stubborn and bloody minded as you can get...

 

Well, at least, that's how it used to be... I miss the English, I really do...

.........sounds like your average Conservative to me Anna,well nailed:)

[mjw47]

........I think of tolerance, fair play, humour and not getting 'up yourself'..............................you could just be describing 'Mecky" ....aka 'Boomer"

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 16:37 ----------

 

.......

 

Now, now play fair.