Country Studies / What makes England

What Makes Your England

(The Essence of England)

A Cup of Tea_______________________________________________________

Linda Barker, interior designer and TV presenter, says:

ABROAD, you can never find a decent cup of tea. It’s the first thing you look for when you get home. Tea is our answer to everything – good for shock, it is comforting, perfect for a treat or a break at work, and it helps to get us up in the morning. Afternoon tea at The Ritz has to be one of the most glamorous things to do in London.

Radio 2____________________________________________________________

Sir Terry Wogan, broadcaster, says:

IT’S conservative with a small “c”, upwardly mobile, middle-class and middle of the road, which is what this country is. And it has what as an Irishman I’d say is the key thing – the English sense of humour.

Church Weddings___________________________________________________

Fay Weldon, novelist and screenwriter, says:

A WEDDING on a Saturday afternoon in any town in England, with people standing outside in their best clothes. Usually it’s raining or windy and people stop and stare. You see it from a passing train and want to stop and look at the bride.

The Herbaceous Border______________________________________________

Sir John Mortimer, author and former barrister, says:

No other country has them but they appear in so many English cottage gardens and in cities. The flower garden as a whole is not really continental – French and Italian gardens are all very formal. But just give an English person a tiny square of garden and they start growing things in it.

Big Ben____________________________________________________________

Writer Bel Mooney, writer and broadcaster, says:

I can imagine British soldiers thinking of it during World War II, trusting Churchill was doing his stuff nearby – which, of course, the old Bulldog was. When the sunlight glints on it, and on the Palace of Westminster – all Gothic and gorgeous – I feel that swell of emotion which is patriotism at its best. With the sweet affectionate nickname of giant, may it chime for ever.

An English Village__________________________________________________ Rosie Boycott, journalist and broadcaster, says:

With a village green with a duck pond, bullrushes and ducks and a church. You wouldn’t get a village like that anywhere else and that is how I always imagine the English countryside – although sadly it doesn’t exist as much as it used to.

The Book of Common Prayer_________________________________________

George Courtauld, author of The Pocket Book Of Patriotism, says:

Not only is it a magnificent feat of English literature, it has provided the right words at the most important moments in people’s lives for 400 years. Christening, confirmation, marriage, and in any time of crisis or celebration.

Florence Nightingale________________________________________________

Ann Widdecombe, Tory MP, says:

She defined an entire society to invent female nursing and take it to the Crimea. She was also a typical English Lady with a stiff upper lip but knew what she wanted to do.

The Proms_________________________________________________________

Jilly Cooper, novelist, says:

It is such a wonderful time of year and the last night of the Proms is so glamorously, vulgarly patriotic, with lots of flag waving. The fact that there are musicians from all over the world performing together at the Royal Albert Hall also makes it wonderfully English. I have always seen England as a very welcoming country and the Proms represent that.

A Village Cricket Pitch______________________________________________

Jenny Bond, former BBC royal correspondent, says:

On a lovely English summer’s day with the men all in their whites playing. The women (I have done this many times) at the side making tea and sandwiches for the chaps to have after their game. There is something so civilized and gentle about cricket, it slows down the hectic pace of the modern world we live in and it is so, so English.

Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas______________________________________

Bernard Manning, comedian, says:

When you’re hungry it’s the finest meal in the world, as good as any caviar or any of these connoisseur things. Everybody likes it. Curry might be tasty but it rips your insides apart. Any doctor will tell you that fish and chips are better for you. You’ve got to look hard to find a good fish and chip place, but then you become a regular customer and they look after you. Then you ask them for a lightly battered fish, please. And fresh chips from the pan – you can’t beat that. And with that a good cup of tea. It won us the war, I’ll tell you that.