England my England.

England represents very different things to different people.

Many see her as 'El Dorado' where everything is free. Housing, money, health care, education, etc; all are handed to them on a plate, and they are prepared to take great risks to come here to get at it. As a result they mostly hate us.

Others see her as a place of opportunity. A place where if one works hard one is well rewarded.

Personally I see England as a place where freedom and liberalism are cherished, in a country of beautiful villages, country Pubs, and well-managed farming. My mental image of England is rural, even though I live at the very centre of a busy south coast city. 'Jerusalem' is the constant soundtrack accompanying my bucolic vision, and I travel around thanks to a Land Rover Series 3. Yes; I live in a dream-world.

Some sadly see our country as a battle ground where the past is despised and the future is uncertain. They have real difficulty with those who made our country great, and are unable to forgive whatever faults they may have possessed. They hate certain ethnic groups, and love no-one. They are a strange phenomenon of 21st Century Woke youth culture. 

Luckily England is still a country of great innovation. We led the Industrial Revolution, and are at present amongst the world leaders in AI. We also took civilisation to much of the world, along with France, Spain, and Holland; even though the Wokies detest all we achieved. We used to be a great manufacturing country but, alas, the Trades Unions put a halt to much of that. Sadly we no longer have the great Ship Builders and we no longer have any Coal to fire our metal-bashing industries. The Unions who were there to protect workers rights, actually ended-up causing their unemployment.

It is interesting to note here that the Trade's Unions in Russia are there to provide health and education facilities, as well as holiday destinations for their members. If they went on strike they'd probably all end-up in a gulag! Why on earth can't our Communist unions be more like their Russian cousins?

But, regardless of the enemies within, we are still a world leader on many fronts. Our financial institutions are still very powerful, we are world leaders in medical advancement, and we are still great innovators. Let's just hope that things aren't made too difficult for them. Many wealth makers are quitting England for more fiscally friendly climes, but they'll be back again when there's a new government in place. 

It might sound old-fashioned, but I still feel privileged to have been born English. It remains one of the greatest freedom-loving countries in the world. We are peace-loving, tolerant, and mostly friendly.

We are also known as being a tea-drinking and dog-loving country, and I think that says as much about us as anything.