Great Scot, Andy Murray's a Great Brit too...

Sean Connery has been in the news again. Along with Sir Alex Ferguson, he's been in New York supporting Andy Murray in the last major of the year, the US Open.

Sir Sean and Sir Alex interupted a press conference to congratulate Murray on winning his semi-final achievements and to - bizarrely - announce that Scotland had invented the world. (Scots may have invented many things but I'm not entirely sure the world was one of them.)

Murray followed up that win with a five set thriller against Novak Djokovic, coming out victorious after near-enough five hours of play. After four previous attempts, he demonstrated the same steel that saw him achieve Olympic Gold against Federer. 

Over the past few years, we've seen Murray mature physically, become less temperamental and become much stronger mentally. We've also seen him demonstrate just how much he wants to win - whether that be through the tears shed after he lost Wimbledon, or the single-minded play that took him to two Olympic medals.

As he has developed as a player and a person, he has become increasingly liked and respected by the public at large. And, of course, he has increasingly become "British" as opposed to "Scottish". Something which Sir Sean takes umbrage at when asked about his success:

"I always felt he had everything and now it's really come to fruition. I met him for the first time a couple of days ago. It's great for Scotland. We've had a really great landslide victory. And stop saying he's British, he's Scottish. I have to go now because the champion is waiting." (emphasis mine)

But why does it have to be either/or? Murray is British as well as Scottish, Scottish as well as British. It's a false dichotomy which many - on both sides of the border - are all too willing to play up. Why do we feel the need to polarise things?

Of course, polarised stories provide a narrative which real life doesn't slot into. In so many walks of life the media story is portrayed as good v. evil, right v. wrong, moral v. immoral when the reality is infinitely more nuanced. It's one of the reasons I don't blog on politics as much as I want to - but so often when a big issue comes out I can see good points and bad points on both sides of any given argument. Politics thrives on creating a polarisation of the issues - practical solutions depend on a more pragmatic approach.

But I digress - why can't I, Murray and millions of other Scots have a dual-identity. If these past few weeks have shown us anything, it is that Britain can be great - it can deliver international sporting events and infrastructure to the highest standard and it can deliver world class sporting performances. Athletes who can come together and contribute to the success of one TeamGB (and I include in that our ParalympicsGB team).

It has shown that the Scots, the Cornish, the Northern Irish, the Welsh, Manx Islanders, the Yorkshirish* can come together for a common goal while retaining different identities. It really isn't that hard a concept.

I'm happy to see Murray referred to as either or both, as long as it's done consistently whether he's won or lost. [A note to my English readers, though: no matter how much you try and make out you're just joking about him being British when winning/ a Scot when losing, it really isn't that funny anymore (and never was). It's time to move on.]

So here's to Andy Murray - a Great Scot and a Great Brit - and here's to many more Major wins! 

Andrew

*Made up word, obviously.

A True Brit

In many respects Jessica Ennis has been the poster girl of this Olympic Games - and she's repaid that in style with a series of personal bests in the individual Heptathlon events and a British Record overall. Indeed - she made sure of the record - and put on a show for the crowd - by running the fastest time in the 800m even though she had no need too.

But if Jess Ennis has been the poster-girl, Tom Daley has been the poster-boy man. From a 14 year old boy in Beijing, he has carried medal hopes for this games through the past 4 years. He's had to grow up very publicly and has had the personal tragedy of his father's death played out in a very public arena. Next week, is has chance to shine; if he does his best he can take Gold, but if he doesn't we still shouldn't belittle his achievements - and I hope the press remember this.

But this post is about another, undersung, hero of British athletics - and a man whose story deserves to be celebrated.

Mo Farah arrived in the UK at the age of 8, a member of a family of refugees fleeing conflict in Somalia. Settling in West London, Mo took up running at school and was spotted by a PE teacher who encouraged him - although initially his ambition was to play right-back for Arsenal. At 13, he entered the an English Schools Cross Country. After finishing 9th that year, he entered again the following year and won the first of what would be 5 medals. 

After a number of years competing as a junior - which included winning the 5,000m European Athletics Junior Championships - he moved onto the Senior circuit in 2005. He concentrated on the track races - winning silver in the 5.000m at the 2006 Europeans - although he won the European Cross Country Championship in same year.

Less successful events followed in the next couple of years including a disappointing Olympics  in Beijing when he didn't make the 5,000m finals. Since then, he has collected Gold Medals in European for both 5,000m and 10,000m and World Championship Gold for the 5,000m  and Silver for the 10,000m.

Whilst he trains in the States, and is coached by Cuban-American Alberto Salazer, a former American record holder at both 5k and 10k as well as being an accomplished Marathon runner. While he may have been born in Somalia and train in the U.S., there is no mistaking than when he runs, he runs for Britain.

Last night, in the wake of becoming the first British man ever to win the Olympic 10,000m, a journalist asked him if he'd rather be racing for Somalia. The Huffington Post reports the story:

"When asked in a press conference if he'd have preferred to run as a Somali, he said to the journalist: "Look mate, this is my country.”

Farah added: "This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud. I'm very proud.

"The support I got today was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. It was the best moment of my life.

"If it wasn't for the crowd and people shouting out my name, cheering and putting the Union Jack up, I don't think it would have happened.

"To win the Olympics in the place you grew up and went to school just means so much to me.""

Hear! Hear!

Mo is testament to a modern Britain, a place where a refugee child can find a home, a skill and achieve his dreams. Although not the one about playing for Arsenal - that dream has been left for someone else to achieve.

Hats of to Jess and all our medallists and competitors - but two hats off to Mo and his achievements. He makes me proud to be British.

Andrew


P.S. Never mind Olympic Gold though, I didn't know until today that Farah had taken on and beaten The Cube, too:

Flying the Flag

In a couple of weeks, it will be the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend. Aside from being an opportunity to have an additional Bank Holiday and celebrate the service Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II* has done for this country**, it has also provided a number of commercial opportunities. Coupled with the sponsorship opportunities of the British Olympic Team in this London Olympics year and all sorts of products and services are promoting their Britishness.

From the humble sandwich - Sainsbury's are phasing in boxes which feature the Union Flag and include "Jubilee Chicken" (an update of Coronation Chicken), Tesco have a full range which not only feature the flag but are based on classic British dishes (including, and I kid you not, a Yorkshire Pudding wrap containing roast beef and trimmings) - to luxury jewelry, you're currently never more than a few feet from the flag in Britain's High Streets!

Here's a few photos taken in the Cabot Circus area of Bristol one day last week - had I had a longer (and more shops had been open), I could have furnished you with many more examples:

Foyles

Links of London

Jones Bootmaker

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

Hotel Chocolat

Andrew

* Well, Queen Elizabeth II of England and Wales, I of Scots and I of Northern Ireland.

** For all my Republicanism, this is a sincere comment. It's probably a subject for another blog but, briefly, it's the principle of the Monarchy I object to not the individuals - I believe the Queen has defined and performed her role well over the period of her reign.

Guest Blogger No.2 - Lois Brown: The Moaning Moaners who Moan

Some time ago (OK, it was almost a year ago, for those of you who have been counting), I published this piece as the first an occasional series of guest posts. Today, I'm publishing the next guest post by History graduate, IT master and Internationalist, Lois Brown:

The Moaning Moaners who Moan

One of the fascinating things about British people is how much we moan. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have free healthcare, free education and free speech (which we predictably use to moan about the government), and all we can see is what is wrong with our lives, the country, the whole planet. I thought about this a few weeks ago when at the height of the Edinburgh International Festival, the month long extravaganza that hosts thousands of shows across hundreds of venues and packs out every hotel room, restaurant and pub in the city (and probably every tent too), I overheard this conversation:

American Gentleman: What do you make of the Edinburgh Festival?

Typical Scottish Moaner: Oh, I hate it. Every idiot who thinks he’s a comedian or actor descends on this city. You can’t go anywhere for all the crowds. (He went on for a fair bit longer than this. I am summarising.)

American Gentleman: And what do you make of the tourists?

Typical Scottish Moaner (showing a modicum of tact): Oh they’re OK, I don’t mind them.

I don’t understand this mentality. What’s to hate? How else would a cold, grey city of 300,000 on the northern edge of the inhabited world attract the cream of the world’s talent performs on their doorstep? Imagine Edinburgh without the festival –with no culture, no entertainment and no money.

At the moment, with the banking crisis having decimated the city’s main industry, where else is the money coming from? The Edinburgh Festival brings tourists flooding into the city leaving millions of pounds in their wake. Half the businesses in Edinburgh are kept afloat by that one month of the year allowing us to enjoy them the other 11 months. And then there’s the small matter of pride that such a teeny tiny country can successfully run the biggest arts festival in the world.

But these are all minor considerations when Mr Moaner has to share his streets with performers and visitors.

I’d bet he’d really moan if there was no festival, though.

I think Lois has a point - we do tend to see the problems not the opportunities in all walks of life in Britain. Rather than celebrating what we've got and how fortunate we are in comparison with the vast majority of the world's population, our default position is often to complain about everything from the weather to the price of cheddar. A little more positivity and, if something is broken, positive action is required!

Andrew

Flying the Flag

The flag of St George is flying over Downing Street for the duration of the World Cup. Up and down the streets of England are awash with flags and pendants.

Is this a good thing? Is it appropriate that the flag of England should be above the residence of the British Prime Minister?

As a Scot living in England, I think it's important that the English feel a strong sense of identity and that they are able to express this freely. People should be able to fly the flag without accusations of jingoism and to reclaim it from extreme nationalists.

The re-emergence of an English identity - and the ability to divorce this from a British identity - is a positive thing. An understanding of our differences is as important to the Union as an understanding of the things we have in common.

But this has to work two ways. There are elements in Scotland, and Wales, that need to rediscover Britishness. They have to accept that "Anyone But England" is petty, foolish and ill-judged at best, pernicious and destructive at worst.

We all have multiple identities, whether that be Scottish, English, British, European or Human Beings. Supporting England may not come naturally as a Scot, but wishing another part of the UK well - particularly in a tournament in which the Scots are not involved - should.

All Brits should be willing the best for England and this is what makes it appropriate for the Prime Minister to fly the flag. It's not about English dominance of the UK, it's about respect for one of its constituent parts.

Andrew

Give them enough rope...

On Thursday, the BNP leader will, controversially, appear on question time. Should he be allowed? Well, on balance, probably yes. The BNP somehow manages to stay the right side of the various laws which govern the line between freedom of speech of inciting racial hatred. In addition, they now have over a hundred councilors and two MEPs so they clearly speak for a section of the populous, however objectionable they may be.

While their views may be, at the very least, distasteful they cannot now be ignored. To do so would risk them continuing to spread their bile at low level, letting it fester and spread like a cancer. It has reached a point where they need to be faced head on. They need to be given some (limited) exposure, a spade to dig themselves a hole and enough rope with which to hang themselves.

With the right counter arguments, their views can be shown to be ludicrous. Appropriate questioning will reveal their true colours. Their love for Britain will be shown to be a veil for their hatred of other races.

The British, whom the BNP claim to defend, are not some homogeneous, pure race that have inhabited this island for centuries. Wave after wave of invasions saw Celts mixed with Norsemen, Vikings and Normans. In more recent centuries, we have incorporated further waves of immigration from Ireland, China, the Caribbean and India and Pakistan, amongst many others.

This diversity, and acceptance, is core to British values. While immigrant communities may not always have had it easy, without them we would not be the nation we are today.

So questions for the BNP to answer: In identifying the “indigenous population” who do the BNP seek to defend? Where do they draw the line - families whose routes trace back prior to 1950 or 1900 or some other arbitrary date? Or do they just mean white people?

Nationhood is a complex subject on which there are many different takes. Many people are nationalistic and keen to celebrate their identity. Many people have fixed ideas about what being British (or English, Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish) means and their place in the world.

Having a sense of identity and belonging shouldn’t be about denying others the opportunity to share this. Being proud of who and what you are shouldn’t be about superiority and exclusion. Expressing national pride shouldn’t be about denigrating others.

You can express Nationalism without being isolationist. You can be patriotic without closing the borders and keeping the country for the “natives”. Above all, Britishness is not about telling Natural Born Britons, or any other residents, they should participate in a voluntary repatriation programme.

Further questions: Where do the BNP draw the line in international co-operation – the EU, the UN? Who would be eligible for voluntary repatriation? Is the Black or Asian soldier less of a patriot than his white counterpart?

While I do not believe the BNP stands for a true definition of Britishness or a correct interpretation of what it means to be a Nationalist, I can’t really question their status as a party – even if clauses in their constitution currently run contrary to anti-discrimination legislation.

I hope that Thursday’s appearance by Nick Griffen on Question Time really shines a light on the true identity of the BNP. They may speak of a love for Britain and it’s people, but at the heart there’s nothing but hate. They may dress themselves up as patriots, but what they stand for is a white isolationist agenda.

Forcing the mask to slip and thereby revealing the truth is the only way to combat the lies, half-truths and innuendo of a party whose core beliefs are contrary to that of the overwhelming majority of true Brits.

Andrew

Guest Blogger No. 1 - Stephen Chapman

Some time ago, I did a guest blog entry for The State of the Nation UK. Now it's the turn of Stephen to return the favour. He's decided to post on the subject of being English:

The Importance of Being English

I am pleased to be able to contribute as a guest blogger and would like to discuss the silent majority in Britain… the English!

If you ask the owner of this blog where he is from, he will undoubtedly say “Scotland” and could easily enlighten us why he has national pride without embarrassment or the need for justification.

The majority of people living in Britain are English – a varied group of people with many originating from across the globe. Although most are white, a good proportion is of black and Asian origin, but if you look closer and go back just a few generations, the mix is remarkable.

Whatever the original roots, my perception is that the English almost have to apologise before showing any national pride and when they do, they must provide explanation that their views are not racist or against minorities. It’s ludicrous political correctness that benefits nobody and is killing traditions that go back centuries.

National pride can be as simple as celebrating religious and local festivals, supporting the village fete, being part of a local group, getting behind sporting heroes, reveling in our history or flying our nation’s flag. In my opinion, the flag of St George should be flying above every single public building alongside the Union flag, yet has racist connotations due to a small number of evil activists. Let’s take back the flag and connect it with the many many great English achievements that we should be truly proud of.

Having visited Scotland on dozens of occasions (mainly through work commitments), you get a real sense of national pride. It is everywhere, from business names to shop window displays and from local and major events to what people actively say. I am a little jealous that it’s so natural and freely promoted without any PC analysis. It’s not done with a view to put another nation or group down, it’s just ingrained in the national psyche.

Another blogger I read is pro-British and will correct those who overuse “England” and “English” and technically he is correct. However, if you visit to Wales or Scotland it shows how national pride can be a positive and inclusive thing – irrespective of race and religion. Take the loony councils who want to ban the word “Christmas” stating that it may offend minority groups… it offends no-one and simply divides communities! Being fully inclusive allows everyone to enjoy English traditions. And for religious festivals, appreciating what they stand for means that over time, other faiths will be naturally included as part of English tradition.

Minority groups, whether based on racial, religious, sexuality or any other type, actively promote and celebrate their individuality and we must not be afraid to campaign for Englishness despite the local councils only looking to support minorities. I would love to keep our ways alive and welcome all kinds of people into this wealth of history and tradition, but is it possible to engineer such a thing?

Scum like the BNP have got it completely wrong in my opinion. Those that want to maintain traditions and observe Englishness don’t have to be English and anyone can make a contribution to society, so let me make it very clear: this rant is all about inclusion and celebration. It’s great to be British and it’s great to be English.

The English have an outstanding history and number of traditions that are being eroded by local councils, politically correct biased media, schools, racists and even embarrassment. And to end, consider the words of Ray Davies in the Kinks song “Village green preservation society”…

“Preserving the old ways from being abused,
Protecting the new ways for me and for you”

Stephen Chapman