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Eyewear's Best of British List

In honour of my becoming British here is a list of The Best of British things that spring to mind, mainly contemporary aspects of Britishness, in terms of pop culture, poetry, and politics, that make me proud to be(come) British.

I know that Britishness is a fraught and complex term and concept, and I also know that Britain has some darker sides (Thatcher, Iraq, colonialism, Cromwell, etc), but there is enough that's been excellent, wonderful and positive, that has been shared with the world.  Some of these things may not be "only" British - or more Welsh, Scottish, or English - but for now, Britain is a real place, with many aspects, that I love.  Here are a clutch of them, in almost alphabetical order...



AJ AYER
AGATHA CHRISTIE
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
ANDY MURRAY
ANDREW MOTION
ANTHONY HOPKINS
BANKSY
PJ HARVEY
IDRIS ELBA
THE BLITZ SPIRIT

BARBARA HEPWORTH
BOW WOW WOW 
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
CHURCHILL’S RADIO SPEECHES
COLIN WILSON
CS LEWIS
DAVID LEAN
DENISE RILEY
DEPECHE MODE
DIRK BOGARDE
DYLAN THOMAS
ELSPETH SMITH
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
EYELESS IN GAZA
GOING FOR A CURRY
GEORGE ORWELL
HARLEY STREET
HELEN MIRREN
HOLST
HONOR BLACKMAN
JAMES BOND
SWINBURNE

BLACK CABS
BLACK NARCISSUS
JOHN LEWIS
JULIE CHRISTIE
KATE BUSH
KITCHEN SINK DRAMA
THE LARK ASCENDING
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
LONDON PRIDE
MAIDA VALE
MARK RYLANCE
MARY POPPINS
MICHAEL CAINE
MONTY PYTHON
MY GRANDFATHER STANLEY
NATWEST
OXFAM
OLYMPICS & PARALYMPICS 2012
PATIENCE AGBABI
PETE SHELLEY
PM'S QUESTION TIME

PSYCHORAAG
PADDINGTON, THE STATION AND THE BEAR
PADDINGTON RECREATION GROUNDS
PHILIP LARKIN
ROWAN WILLIAMS
SHAKESPEARE

SARAH KANE
THE GUARDIAN
THE KINKS
THE QUEEN
THE SELECTER
THE SMITHS
ELTON JOHN
JOY DIVISION
UNFINISHED SYMPATHY
WH AUDEN
WILLIAM EMPSON
MATTHEW ARNOLD
PIPPA'S BOTTOM

COVENTRY PATMORE
XTC
SOHO

SHERLOCK HOLMES

SHIRLEY BASSEY
RAYMOND CHANDLER
SIMPLE MINDS
GK CHESTERTON
GRAHAM GREENE
WILLIAM BLAKE
JOHN KEATS 
TERRY EAGLETON
TEA
SCONES
SCOTLAND
WALES
ENGLAND
THE GOODIES
THE ALVAREZ ANTHOLOGY
THE ARCHERS (RADIO SHOW)
THE AVENGERS
HIGH STREETS
THE BBC
THE BEAT
VICTORIA PENDLETON
THE ENIGMA MACHINE
FR LEAVIS
WENDY COPE
WAITROSE
THE FOUR MINUTE MILE
THE FOUR QUARTETS
THE THIRD MAN
FOUR LIONS
A ROOM WITH A VIEW, MOVIE AND BOOK

Comments

Dennis Tomlinson said…
I concur with a good deal of this list: Dylan Thomas, George Orwell, Kate Bush, the Lawrence of Arabia movie, the BBC, the Kinks, Monty Python, Shakespeare. It is good to see someone standing up for Philip Larkin when all the right-on poetry critics seem to hate him. CS Lewis, OK for Out of the Silent Planet etc., but I would add the magnificent work of his friend JRR Tolkien.
Wed Apr 03, 07:17:00 pm 2013
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