I hope that some of my English blogging friends will see this post, and tell me what they think.
In 1971 Helene Hanff finally made it to England after corresponding with the London bookstore, Marks & Co. at 84, Charing Cross Road since 1949. She ordered books that she could not get in New York City. This is written about in 84, Charing Cross Road, one of my very favorite books which I read again recently.
Her book about visiting London is called The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and in it she says something about the English that I found interesting, and wonder what others will think. Well, she didn't say it, a man named Ken Ellis of the London Reader's Digest told her.
Ken explained to me why everybody over here hates the new money. It has to do with the Englishman's need to be different. The decimal system is much simpler than the old ha'penny-tupenny-guinea-tenner-tanner system, but the old money was theirs; no other country had it and nobody else could understand it. He said they hate entering the Common Market for the same reason. They don't want to be part-of-Europe, they want to be separate, different, set apart. He illustrated this by quoting an old headline which has become a cliché joke over here. During a spell of bad weather when the whole island was enveloped in fog, one English newspaper headline read: FOG ISOLATES CONTINENT.
So what do you think? Particularly in light of Brexit.
Not British, of course, but from my years living there, I can tell you that that's a trait that I came to admire. I especially enjoyed the competition between the French and the English (it wasn't so apparent to me from the Welsh or the Scottish) to be different from each other as often as possible. I wonder if this explains the Brexit vote.
ReplyDeleteFrom all the older English television shows I watch, I have picked up a lot of annoyance about the rules in the what was known as the European Union, and not knowing much about the climate there in more recent years, I thought they would want to leave for those reasons, but apparently it was more about immigration, etc. I didn't read enough to really understand the vote but it seemed very divided between groups of people. And, ah, the French. Always, always commented on in all those older shows!
DeleteHmm. This remark seems very dated. We all dislike major change to something we're used to, (think how you'd feel if they got rid of the dollar), and I did miss finding Victorian pennies in my change, but I don't think anyone would go back to the old coinage system now. As far as the EU goes, in 1973 the majority of people voted to join the Common Market, a European free trade agreement, but became angry when it morphed into a super-state with sweeping powers, which superseded British law, without the agreement of the populace. Hence Brexit. But as with most things, you will find some Brits think Brexit was a disaster, and some are fully behind it. .
ReplyDeleteIt is from 1971, so absolutely. Thank you for the information. That really helps me understand. And not just England but from the Martin Walker Bruno books, the French hated the laws about pasturization of cheeses! I just found a page that talks about it: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/dining/martin-walker-bruno-chief-of-police-perigord.html
DeleteThank you for writing!
I think people my age (and yours!) have never had a problem with the new money but weights and measures are a different matter. When told how long something is or what you weigh, people tend still to say, 'What's that in old money?' even though it's nothing to do with money. The biggest rebellion on this, which continues (after all these years!) is with buying fruit and veg. People will still ask for 'a pound of this' or 'a quarter of that'. At one time there was some hysterical newspaper reporting of market traders allegedly being prosecuted for using pounds instead of kilos. I'm not getting drawn into a discussion of Brexit as it's still divisive. You can probably guess my views :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to be missing your comments! For a while, I couldn't comment on your posts; the ways of blogs are strange.
DeleteSo glad you read this. Live Journal tells me I am not allowed even when I find all those bridges!
DeleteI recognise this as part of some English people's attitudes (e.g. "we" were very resistant to having women on our bank notes, even to the extent of sending death threats to the woman who was campaigning for it). I don't subscribe to this stuff and was devastated to leave Europe, and I definitely feel British not English and then European not English or British. But there are plenty of people who like the fog to come down and keep separate and have to be told that Black people have been on the islands since preshistory, etc.
ReplyDeleteI was so sure that it would pass with a huge margin. But what I didn't realize until after the vote is that younger people than I have not known any other way of life and want to continue being European, and be able to cross borders freely and live in other countries.
DeleteMy feelings are much like those of LyzzyBee. I've pretty much lost my sense of humour when I think of our government and the petty, small-minded and possibly very damaging Brexit vote. However, I did manage a wry laugh at fog isolates continent! I am British; Scottish mother, English father, past relatives from overseas. I believe that a diverse population is a positive thing bringing, fresh ideas and oportunities.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed!
DeleteOops, spelling! Opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI may have shared how I invited Helene Hanff to my book group's 5 year anniversary celebration some time in the 90s. We all read 84 Charing Cross Road and when my friend Maria asked with genuine interest if she had ever made it to England, Helene fixed her with a cold glance and said, "I thought you were supposed to read my books before I came!"
ReplyDeleteVery, very funny! And so like her. Wow!!!!!! Very cool that she came.
DeleteI was absolutely devastated and amazed when the results of the Brexit vote came through. I feel European and think that barriers should be coming down rather than going up. It’s still a political hot potato which no one really wants to tackle but we are poorer in every way since Brexit. Haven’t been here for so long, it’s lovely to reconnect.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment. From what I read, it is all such a problem. Who is this? Carol?
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