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UK EU Referendum
Sometime in 2017, the population of the UK will be invited to vote on continuing membership of the 28-nation European Union. The precise wording of the question is still being decided but, right now, looks to be two questions: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” The tick-only-one-box responses are “Remain a member of the European Union” or “Leave the European Union”.
And so it starts. Already, we have an official anti-EU propaganda team headed by businessman and UKIP supporter, Aaron Banks, and now a pro-EU propaganda team led by Stuart Rose, a former executive chairman of the British retailer Marks & Spencer. For the next 24 months, or so, we will be bombarded by all sorts of people presenting all sorts of reasons either for or against continuing membership of the EU. Politicians, businessmen and church leaders will make disingenuous pronouncements clouded in hyperbole, misinformation, unsubstantiated conjecture and subjective adjectives. Opinion writers will dazzle us with their barrage of facts, fiction and dubious deductions. Pop singers such as Bono, Bob Geldof, Taylor Swift and possibly Lady Gaga will make serious judgements that will be likened to the serious judgements of John Lennon. Professional footballers will say nothing because they think with their boots. The Queen will say nothing because that’s part of her job.
Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart: a true patriot?
Now, I solemnly promise not to add to the huge firestorm of propaganda awaiting us in the media. This blog will be my first and last word on the topic until the results of the referendum are known but I was intrigued by Stuart Rose’s choice of words when he launched the pro-EU campaign two days ago. He said, and I quote, “In this ever-changing and very uncertain world we need to engage with strength. It is a very strange kind of patriotism that suggests it is in our national interest to retreat from our position of influence in Europe.” Patriotism? That was the word that pulled me from my post-prandial reverie. Patriotism? Why would it be a strange kind of patriotism to vote against continuing membership of the EU? What does to be a patriot mean? My Oxford dictionary defines a patriot to be a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it. Cries of “God for Harry! England and Saint George!” come to mind, accompanied by mental images of drawing up the drawbridge, raising the banner, manning the ramparts, girding up loins, and moving all women, children and animals to a safe place away from the oncoming battle. That’s patriotism. Voting for a corrupt organisation called the EU is not patriotism. How can it be patriotic to vote for an organisation that has not signed off its accounts for 20 years; that allows unlimited immigration from other member nations and, more recently, from outside the EU; that constantly demands greater monetary contributions to pay for sumptuous new palaces in Brussels (the ridiculous and indulgent Europa building) while member-nation Greece crashes and burns; who paid a failed Labour leader and his wife over £10 million in salary, subsistence allowance and pension benefits while one was the UK’s European Commissioner and the other a MEP; and so on? The list is a long one.
I suppose these questions make it clear where my sentiments lie. I will read and attempt to digest the upcoming discussions about our continuing membership but as I do, one question will dominate my analysis: do I want to live in a United States of Europe or do I want to retain my national identity, my culture, my Britishness? It is clear to me that the politicians who inhabit Brussels want nothing less than a Union of European States ruled, and I use the word correctly, by a political oligarchy based in Brussels. Currently, we have a federation of European States but every day the federation is weakened as Brussels takes more and more control.
Am I first an Englishman and second a European, or vice versa? It’s a simple as that.
(^_^)
Ben's Blogs, Books & Pix 
Boscaswellite first, Pendeener second, West Penwithian third, Cornish forth, British fifth and lastly European. Is there such a thing as a national identity? So come on Ben, other than stating a stream of negatives (what you don’t want), you haven’t really said what you want your England to be. What are you willing to defend that makes out island so special? Morris dancing?
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Oh man, where to start with this one? I want to live in a land where the majority of adult inhabitants …
1. Drink warm beer.
2. Regularly moans about the weather.
3. Barbecues in the rain.
4. Always orders either fish and chips or steak in a restaurant, never anything else available on the menu.
5. Unwaveringly supports the English cricket team (the Norman Tebbit test).
6. Follows and respects the Royal Family (the Jeremy Corbyn test).
7. Wears a knotted white handkerchief on his or her head in hot weather while at the seaside.
8. Knows the meaning of and when to say “Bob’s yer uncle”, “Get stuffed!”, “I’m dead chuffed”, and “The dog’s bollocks”.
9. Wears socks with sandals.
10. Drinks tea at 4 p.m., always.
11. Regularly says please and thank you.
12. Also regularly says sorry, even when it’s not his or her fault.
13. Knows how to queue and doesn’t allow any pushers-in.
14. Eats a curry meal at least once a week.
15. Instinctively understands the various meanings of the word crumpet.
16. Has never heard of an English muffin.
17. Doesn’t talk in a lift, and calls a lift a lift, not an elevator.
18. Understands the protocol in a men’s barber shop and at a crowded bar.
19. Always takes a ticket at the delicatessen counter in the supermarket.
And , of course …
20. Aspires to be a Morris dancer and understood and even smiled at the intentional humour in number 6.
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I think I live in your vision of this country most of my working day. I also have had the opportunity of getting to know several people from many foreign lands who have joined us here in the UK without an invitation. Some, but not all, would drink any beer, warm or cold. As you would expect, a constant topic of conversation is the weather when you aren’t allowed outside. Given the chance they would burn to a cinder any steak on a barbeque even in a force ten gale. Unfortunately, access to a menu that contains steak is somewhat limited but fish appears once a week and chips every day. Curry only once a week! Why some of these boys have it every day! As for an ‘English Muffin’ they have never heard of it. Although you could argue that they have never heard of any type of muffin but the same can’t be said about crumpets as the lack of the said item is a common talking point in the establishment.
As for the cricket test, they have access to one channel and if England are playing on TV, it would appear that they give them their whole hearted support. ‘Come on you whites’.
As for supporting the Royal Family, it goes without saying that they are taking full advantage of The Queen’s generosity and luxury accommodation. Number 7 is a little ambiguous as many arrived at the seaside in Dover during the winter months and reasonably deemed it unnecessary to wear a knotted handkerchief. This seasonal variation in the attire should also be taken into account when applied to the wearing of sandals with socks (9).
I can’t pretend that all of them know the meaning of “Bob’s yer uncle” etc. but an individual was overheard saying that Alistair Cook is the ‘Mutt’s Nuts’. It was four o’clock and he was being handed a cup of tea, with a cucumber sandwich of course, and pleasantries such as ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ were very much in evidence in a variety of languages.
Many of these fine gentlemen also have documentary evidence that they say ‘sorry’ even if it’s not their fault. Granted, that may only be in order to not spend so much time at Her Majesty’s pleasure but can you produce such evidence?
OK number 17 is problematic to say the least. Some have only lived in abodes with fabric walls. This type of accommodation is low level and so they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to conduct any kind of conversation in a lift. Of course we could put them in a lift to see if they talk but this might be (a) traumatic, (b) against their human rights and (c) their present living arrangement doesn’t allow them to get acquainted with lifts/elevators. I think you must agree that the lack of lifts is a sad indictment of our Queen’s provision when it comes to accommodation. With regards to the ‘lift’ or ‘elevator’ question, this type of enquiry would simply create confusion as, it must be said, it would to millions of our elder fellow citizens who live in bungalows.
I must concede that the etiquette amongst the uninvited brethren when queuing for a haircut can seem rather confusing at first. The first man in the queue is normally the one with a double pack of Custard Creams. The next in line has Bourbons and so on down the queue to the odd fellow on the end who holds a packet of Rich Tea. There is a protocol, as you can see, that is based on the old biscuit hierarchy system that used to be common in her Majesty’s navy or was it amongst deep sea light house keepers? I might add that it is a common sight to see some of our uninvited guests with a packet of biscuits in their hands crowded behind bars while waiting for a haircut.
Taking a ticket and queuing at a counter in a delicatessen!! What kind of pleb are you? These boys are delivery only. No messing about. Put in your order sheet and it appears at your door quicker than Tesco’s delivery van.
As for number 20, who wouldn’t want to be a Morris Dancer? I even know of an uninvited guest called Morris something or the other who demonstrates his dancing ability while munching on a hot buttered crumpet. He specialises in the Argentine tango and has got a ‘seven’ on more than one occasion.
So come to work with me dear cousin and be proud of your country every working day.
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It is good to hear that English traditions are alive and well in the UK’s luxurious rent-free places of incarceration. I look forward to the day when those unfortunate enough to reside in such condominiums duly emerge possessing all the skills necessary to become gainfully employed in the UK as either (a) a Uber taxi driver, or (b) a UK Border Agency Immigration Officer, or (c) a representative in an onshore Customer Support Call Centre, or (d) a fully trained plumber, or (e) a chef in an ethnically-themed upmarket restaurant whose menu includes a cooked-to-order Cornish pasty.
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Great repartee you two – most amusing! Mozz
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Yep I enjoyed it as well.
The thing is Paul and Ben are talking about different worlds – same planet and same country but there it ends. Having been to The Isle of Sheppey it is a very different place from the environment that we ‘mainlanders’ have come to inhabit! I think Paul can see the whole world within the confines of his working environment, and it is confined to a specific area, and he can leave it behind when he goes home. The rest of us have to survive in the chaos everyday and all day – and yes, dear old Cornwall is no longer the sleepy county it was in my youth!!
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