The Economist ~ Dispatches from the UK
Spite313
Dear friends,
I noticed a lot of people were doing "pictures of my city/country" articles. I was talking about it to Arrlo the other day in #a-team and he started bugging me to make one. Well I'm not exactly the best person to do it, since I'm not a nationalist by nature and I'm always more in love with the unknown than the known, but I've bashed something together. The UK is a country many people have on their list of countries to visit, and if you don't- you should. And please, don't just go to London. London is amazing, unique and all-consuming, but it's not the whole UK, only a tiny bit of it.
As I wrote this article I found myself falling back in love with the UK. We're in a pretty unique situation, with our thousand years of continuous rule just a few decades away. A country which was ancient even before the Romans arrived, ruled by successive High Kings, Dux Brittanium, Kings, Queens and even one Lord Protector. We're a country which has always been at war yet has maintained peace and the rule of law at home. A country where corruption and nepotism are despised and security, duty and loyalty are the most prized virtues. A country unafraid to embrace new ideas whilst protecting our traditions and values. A country which has been at the edge of innovation and a country which has stamped it's mark so thoroughly on the world most people don't recognise it.
In the 13th century the UK's oldest laws were passed (that are still in effect today) which establish courts not noblemen as the source of justice, which establish the right to a fair trial, establish parliamentary sovereignty, establish the right to vote without molestation. Until the 1830s violating these laws was punishable by death, and quite a few people did meet grisly ends for trying to circumvent the law, including a King and quite a few noblemen. Since King John was forced by his subjects to sign the Magna Carta granting limited democracy, the power of people in the UK has grown and we were one of the first countries to grant true suffrage. Since then the UK has almost aggressively pursued greater democracy, and now is one of the freest countries in the world
Anyway, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
If I may, some theme music
This is the one and only time I'll say this, but if you don't like the UK don't bother posting to tell me. I'm British, so I really don't care, and as a nation love is the one thing we do not crave.
For those of you who do, and are still reading, here is one more bit of music to finish it off
Iain
Comments
If you are British, and want me to include something, just post it. There are tonnes of cities and counties I've missed altogether (:
Voted for great pictures! Also for the UK : 3
voted o/
I used to live in the UK for over 9 years.. Loved it.
Great pics .
That bridge in Scottish Highlands reminded me of one scene from Trainspotting movie xD
Shewsbury, Ludlow, Much Wenlock.
The beautiful places around me ^
Get a picture of Wigan in there 😛
Include the working class towns of the north 🙂
I am in the UK on vacation and am loving it, the pictures are awesome 🙂
Emirate stadium \o/
No sing of Arsenal, no vote 😛
This one is gorgeous.
i49.tinypic.com/2itfos5.jpg
But... don't you need flags on every square inch of building?
Very nice it is. I was surprised by the night picture of Europe. I knew there is too much light in the Netherlands and Belgium. Seems that UK has also too much light in the night.
Voted!
that's very nice, but could u write names of that places?)
Great pics, thanks I enjoyed them.
07
Needs picture of an old lady being beat up by chavs in Dudley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRIAw6LkqlE
1) Don't know. Alnwick, Northumberland (?)
2) National Gallery across Trafalgar Square, London
3) Inside the Royal Albert Hall during Last Night of the Proms, London
4) Imperial War Museum, London
5) The Abbey, Bath
6) The Reading Room inside the British Museum, London
7) British Museum, London
😎 The Backs on the River Cam, Cambridge
9) Durham Cathedral, Durham
10) Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
11) Shining bright like a diamond!
12) Don't know which lake, Lake District, Cumbria (?)
13) Palace of Westminster, London
14) Somewhere in the Highlands, Scotland
15) Liverpool Town Hall, Liverpool
16) Manchester Town Hall, Manchester
17) The City of London, London
1😎 Looks like Tony Blair taking Prime Minister's Questions, House of Commons, London
19) Don't know, The Shambles, York (?)
20) Newcastle
21) Ummmm something in Wales?
22) Some of the Dreaming spires of Oxford
23) Tower Bridge, London
24) Idk! York Minster or Lincoln or Canterbury Cathedral?
25) Iain's study
How did I do?!
Those lyrics are very unBritish Kemal 😛
Pretty much right Arrlo, 1 is Warwick, the train bridge is in the highlands. Though Northumberland's castles are amazing, I could fill an article with just them 😛
http://youknowwhereyouare.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/londoneye-new-year-countdown.jpg
Nice to see the real UK, not just the countryside bits people like to show off about.
/me ♥ Chester
\o/
fagyan Day 1,811, 09:46
Emirate stadium \o/
No sing of Arsenal, no vote
====================
YEAH!!
shouts from Gooners across the globe! \O/