Joyously British

A few nights ago I was driving home at about midnight and was listening to Radio 2 and they were talking about being "Joyously British" and it got me thinking; how can we say as Brits we are joyful when all we seem to do is complain or we open a newspaper to find depressing stories about a paedophile who planned to abduct, abuse and eat a child, or a woman who's house got burnt down with her 3 children inside, or a family who abused their 4 year old son so badly that he died at 1.5 stone. These things just don't seem so Joyously British to me. So I'm going to tell you what I believe is truly joyful about being a Brit and why I am proud of this country.

Let's start with the food side of things - afternoon tea. This is purely blissful. Sometimes my housemates and I will just pop the kettle on and make a pot of tea and sit at the kitchen table with homemade cakes and sandwiches just because we can and a cup of tea makes everything better. Fish and chips, a good old English classic. Walking along Brighton pier all wrapped up against the wind, the gorgeous sea air whipping your hair across your face and a nice big hearty bag of fish and chips to accompany you. Pretty picture yes? And my third favourite, an English classic - a Sunday roast with all the trimmings; beef, Yorkshire puds, peas, carrots, broccoli, stuffing, roast tatties and lashings of gravy. Perfect for a cold winters day yet still just as perfect in the middle of summer.

Another reason why I love being British is the Royal Family. I wouldn't say I am a royalist but I love that we still have a royal family and I support this completely and love the tourism that gets brought into London for the love of the queen. Just look how many people from all over the world turned up in London for the royal wedding. That just goes to show how amazing this small island is.

Other reasons for loving the Brit in me is that we love to queue. Recently I went on holiday with a girlfriend and as polite as the British are, we waited in a queue for food only to have every other nation barge in front and help themselves rudely to what they should have waited for. "well don't you just love being British, we are definitely the most polite nation" --- safe to say my friend got a few glances at this comment.

Also to come out of Britain are some of the best musicians known to man who changed the face of music; The Beatles. When asked by a friend of mine "who is better known, the Beatles or Queen"  stupid question my friend. Although Queen are amazing and lyrically phenom, The Beatles changed the pop world. Everyone can name at least 5 Beatles tracks, will hate yellow submarine and have heard so many covers they wouldn't know how to deal with it. This band can make anyone laugh or cry and just think about life and in my eyes they are sound! In their time they were known for their love of creating music all over the world, not for twerking inappropriately.

Anyway, I am a Brit and I am a lover of life. There are so many things I could write about why I love being British, but I think the most amazing thing for me is that this country has so much to offer from its land and the history of this country is so beautiful that you just can't take enough time to explore it. With this, I am going to spend a few weeks in the new year exploring different parts of Britain, painting the scenery and writing a lot. Happy Reading.