From the “flag” thread:

Something that accurately represents England in the 21st Century.

Perhaps a collage featuring an obese child eating a McDonalds’, a pregnant teen smoking a fag, binge drinker having a fight with a policeman, some youths setting fire to a high street and running off with a TV … all the things that England does well …

Personally, I don’t get all the doom-mongering, hand-wringing despair that everyone else seems to take part in. I like to see things a bit more positively:

I spend my days working with professional, pleasant, creative, industrious people.
When I go home, I eat decent inexpensive food, maybe watch some interesting creative television. If I want to go out, I stroll down the local High Street which is not on fire, and where I’m never stabbed, and can actually be quite pleasant on a warm evening. The groups of children are sitting about having a laugh, skateboarding, not doing any burglary.

My friends with whom I drink decent beer in pleasant pubs are all
intelligent, well-mannered people, as are the other patrons and staff. Some of them even have different accents and incomes, come from different countries or backgrounds and have different points of view.

At the weekends I go cycling in nice woodland, on nice hills, sometimes even on mountains. My riding buddies are invariably fun to spend time with. The other people in the woods, hills and mountains are also out there to enjoy themselves and we are happy to exchange pleasantries.

When I fall off my bicycle and hurt myself, there’s an amazing FREE service which takes care of me and patches me up.

I’m not even the most naturally buoyant, cheery kind of person, I just don’t understand where all this negativity and pessimism comes from. Let’s have a happy Friday thread about how It’s Not All That Bad.

I commend your outlook, Sir. Keep it up.

Also, have a 🙂 They’re free, after all.

aye it it not all bad then again, thankfully, I am not english 😀

Nah, that’s all boring. No one wants to tell other people on the internet how good everything is. It’s much better to talk about the things that spark a reaction, something news papers, especially The Daily Mail know very well.

I hate it, it makes everyone unduely miserable. I am unnecessarily politically charged from glancing at a Metro headline on my commute. Go away, get out of my brain!

😀

your young arnt you.

amazing FREE service

No it’s not. Well, if you pay tax it’s not anyway.

I just don’t understand where all this negativity and pessimism comes from.

TJ, mostly.

😀

With whom, we all agree.

“And so say we all”

I agree, i love this country, i should know i’ve been to lots of shit tip countries.

Just having the change of seasons and a proper cup of tea win it for me.

Yeah we’re very lucky in this country, and yet moaning is our main national pastime.

Yeah we’re very lucky in this country, and yet moaning is our main national pastime.

Don’t know about “this country”, it’s fairly similar in Spain (or at least where I live). And when I head back to my parents’ house in London, my impression is pretty similar to the OP’s.

To add to the general good feeling, there’s a cold beer sitting next to me. Beer’s better in the UK though 😉

and yet moaning is our main national pastime.

Nope that would be my fellow men favourite past time, you on the other hand are famous for your “stiff upper lips” that nothing can change 😉

We have both good and bad things in our country. The good things don’t excuse the bad things, and shouldn’t be used as an excuse to ignore them either. Why not try and make things better?

So long as when you complain about something you try and somehow make it better what’s the problem? Complaining without ever trying to offer a solution, now that’s what really gets my goat.

I have to say I’m still not convinced by the idea of a free press/media. I wonder how many “problems” would vanish over night if we enacted it! (I am joking, sort of, well, maybe just the Mail and Express and see how we go)

Personally, I don’t get all the doom-mongering, hand-wringing despair that everyone else seems to take part in. I like to see things a bit more positively:

I spend my days working with professional, pleasant, creative, industrious people.
When I go home, I eat decent inexpensive food, maybe watch some interesting creative television. If I want to go out, I stroll down the local High Street which is not on fire, and where I’m never stabbed, and can actually be quite pleasant on a warm evening. The groups of children are sitting about having a laugh, skateboarding, not doing any burglary.

My friends with whom I drink decent beer in pleasant pubs are all
intelligent, well-mannered people, as are the other patrons and staff. Some of them even have different accents and incomes, come from different countries or backgrounds and have different points of view.

At the weekends I go cycling in nice woodland, on nice hills, sometimes even on mountains. My riding buddies are invariably fun to spend time with. The other people in the woods, hills and mountains are also out there to enjoy themselves and we are happy to exchange pleasantries.

When I fall off my bicycle and hurt myself, there’s an amazing FREE service which takes care of me and patches me up.

I’m not even the most naturally buoyant, cheery kind of person, I just don’t understand where all this negativity and pessimism comes from. Let’s have a happy Friday thread about how It’s Not All That Bad.
^^^^^
This.

🙂

Aye, the whole “Country is going to the dogs/collapsing” BS gets really tiring, tho I guess I am lucky to live somewhere that isn’t rough.

We should have a general moan thread so that we may air our grievances & rants.