I’ve been fortunate enough to move to my ancestral homeland of England for work. Many think it’s part of my role in the CIA, but the official job on paper is being one of the horses that pull the king’s cart. I have a lot to say about this country and the mixed experiences I’ve had.
Before I left, many people paid their respects as they believed I would be murdered by the Muslim population there. I don’t want to speak too soon, but I think the perception towards England and most European countries is incorrect. Western media promotes minorities so rampantly that it’s difficult to know what the true face of a nation is without visiting it.
Most of England is still Anglos, and this is clear everywhere but their capital London. And even within London, many of the ethnic foreigners are actually tourists or temporary workers like me. It’s also extremely easy to identify the better and worse forms of every ethnic group. Most of the foreigners are dressed well and behave extremely friendly. They also have contempt for the ones within their grouping that give them a bad image. Anyone of bad character is extremely easy to spot and avoid – I’m a jacked 7ft man weighing in at 120kg though, so I may just be intimidating to them. I have however slowed my alcoholism and am ensuring that I’m not gambling past dark. So being cautious has so far benefited me and I recommend it to anyone travelling in a new location.
One unusual occurrence I have noticed however is that hotels, bars and other venues hire a mix of ethnicities for security. This is for the sole purpose of having each guard prepared to fight off their correlating ethnic type. I imagine this is to avoid any perceived hate crimes between different groups. It probably also increases some level of empathy and respect to be thrown out of a bar drunk by your own kind. So yeah, the perception that many people have about England and Europe being overran by hoards of minorities is still pretty far from the truth.
To any art lovers out there, London has some of the finest quality paintings and collections that I’ve ever seen. I think I’ve only paid for one smaller gallery since being here because the others are all free. I’ve visited the National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery, Tate Modern and the Courtauld Gallery. I’ve spent days staring at pieces from the most famous artists in the world, and this is me merely scratching the surface.
I also admire the importance of every building, statue and even brick. Everything in this country has a story and is there for a reason. In Australia we list houses from the 1960’s as heritage for the fun of it; in Europe they have intact buildings that are thousands of years old. It’s really a difference that I think most from the colonies including me aren’t prepared for.
London is certainly expensive, and it doesn’t help that the Australian dollar is in the toilet. However once you get out of the capital, everything costs about half the price. I’ve only threatened two workers so far, so the service is pretty on par with home. They don’t seem to have an interest in financially scamming one another, but instead have a take it or leave it attitude. The women are similar – take them or leave them.
The people of England are generally friendly, however less laid back than the Australian crowd that I’m use to. The main difference is that they are very protective and proud of their institutions. The English truly have a respect for history that we don’t at home and present monuments, artwork and statues of controversial figures. An artwork of fascist leader Oswald Mosley hangs in the National Portrait Gallery and Captain James Cook is praised as one of the greatest navigators. Contrast this with Australia and the United States, where we let idiots without talent tear down statues of major historical figures – because it’s to much effort to stop them.
I wouldn’t call myself a Republican, but rather a Separatist. I’m a fan of monarchies, however I think Australia should have our own rather than a foreign one. My experience in England has so far reinforced this belief, because it’s clear that they really don’t care about us. The perception of Australia is still that we are a second – class colony, only existing to prop up the head of the empire. The awareness between the two nations, doesn’t really translate and their population seems to disregard everything relating to Australia.
For example, I went and saw the Australian War Memorial in London and was disgusted. They had built an abstract sculpture with a list of names featuring the cities that fighting Australians had been born in and the wars we had died in. With little exception, all the wars listed were pointless for us and just reinforce that we are fools for fighting and dying for a foreign nation’s benefit. And in return for the hundreds of thousands of dead men, we get some modernist garbage artwork to honor them. Within the same park, the memorials they build for their own English soldiers are a hundred times the size and feature a beautiful traditional style.
Overall I would recommend visiting England, especially for any Australians with heritage there. Consider you have an interest in history, art or culture in general than you will have a brilliant time. I can’t imagine living here in the long term, but for a holiday or temporary work it is ideal.
