Saturday, February 16, 2008
BBC – The Big Brother Country
It's been a while since I last visited Great Britain. I've been on the island a couple of times, and judging from my own personal reflection I'd say not much has changed. People are still driving on the wrong side of the road (there is only the RIGHT and the WRONG side, isn't there?!) and it's one of the unexplained miracles why there aren't countless accidents due to visitors from countries where they drive on the right-hand side. I've more or less gotten used to driving also on the left, but shifting with the left hand is still a funny feeling. The potentially most dangerous thing is to make a right-turn – one tends to look left first and to roll onto the street already. Fatal!
We have travelled more than 150,000 km around the whole world and talked English most of the time. Especially eastern cultures often have their problems with the language – and ironically, so do the Brits! :-) It depends on where you are, but the pronunciation varies greatly throughout the country, and there are parts where it gets difficult to understand people. At least for those who are used to BBC English or the American version of the language (whatever that may be).
Talking about BBC: That may well stand for "Big Brother Country". Wherever you go, there are loads of electronic eyes watching you. Every place, 24 hours, no escape. People may have gotten used to it; they seem not to see the signs anymore: "CCTV surveillance – for your protection". It's a good question whether or not the extra safety outweighs the loss of personal freedom. Some will now cry "of course!" while others may think twice and frown. Matter of fact, everybody has to decide for himself. But the truth is: It won't make a difference! And on the long run the rest of the world will follow the British example. This way we'll create a safe world. Just, equal – and possibly totally uniform. Hey, wait a second! Isn't this exactly what went so terribly wrong in eastern states some decades ago? Well, if there is one thing that humanity obviously never does, then it is to learn from history. But let's stop here; we didn't make the trip to save the nation or the world, did we?!
Great Britain definitely is a class of its own, and there are traces of its rich history all over the country. Countless castles and other monuments await you to pay a visit (you actually do have to pay most of the time!), each of them has an exciting story to tell. Since compared to other countries there weren't many physical destructions during the last World War, the whole territory is a historical place in itself. We haven't seen many places in the world where it looks similar – the old, "typically English" glamour is still visible in all the pretty villages. Some may call it outdated, others picturesque; both may be true in its own unique kind of way. But the fact remains – England is still there, in all its glory, and it is as cool as ever! After all, we came here for a reason!
To avoid the usual confusion, here are three definitions:
a) The "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (the UK) comprises England, Scotland and Wales, plus the northern part of the Irish island.
b) "Great Britain" refers to the British main island and its smaller satellite islands. Like said above, that's England, Scotland and Wales. Officially, the term Great Britain does no longer stand for a country, but only for the island as such.
c) "England" is the country covering the larger part of Great Britain.
Okay, that's it for the moment. We're right in the middle of the adventure and will be back with stunning details shortly. Stay tuned!
Labels: Big Brother Country, CCTV surveillance, England, Great Britain, United Kingdom
# posted by hg/tuw @ 14:02 
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