This blog likes to keep it light. The strapline does lay claim to ‘miscellaneous musings’, but I prefer to focus on humour, or at least my attempts to be amusing.
Sometimes, though, it’s hard. And this is one of those days.
Unless you’ve spent the last three months incommunicado down a mineshaft, you will probably be aware that yesterday a majority of English voters chose to leave the European Union.
You might want to turn right round and head back down the pit.
Note that I said ‘English voters’. Because they’re the ones who, through a combination of ignorance, xenophobia and misplaced nostalgia, allowed themselves to be seduced by the bunch of lying charlatans and their media cheerleaders that went under the banner of the ‘Leave’ campaign. Scotland and Northern Ireland clearly voted to Remain.
Let me point out that I am English and have always been proud of that. Proud, but not jingoistic.
Today, though, I am ashamed to be English. I would pass Norman Tebbitt’s cricket test with flying colours, but I don’t subscribe to the boneheaded mantra of ‘my country right or wrong’. Nor do I believe that the English are an innately superior race to whom the world owes a living because ‘we’ invented the railways and the Industrial Revolution. Patently a lot of people do, however – as you would well know if you’d heard some of the nutjob vox pops on news programmes during the referendum campaign
This map, taken from the BBC’s website, shows the regional split between the Leave (blue) and Remain (yellow) votes. Depressingly, most of England is blue (and, quite frankly, not much of Wales has anything to be proud of).
But even though I despair at what the English have let themselves in for, I do find a little solace. Look at that speck of yellow, surrounded by blue, about halfway up the west coast of England. For non-British readers, that’s Merseyside [honourable mention also for Manchester, just to the east]. That’s where I was born and raised, and we’re not like most of the rest of the country. Thankfully.
‘We’re not English We Are Scouse’
the only deadhead in the hameau 
Great post that I agree with entirely…..a sad day indeed!
Oh my word! That’s the first time I’ve seen that map. Did anyone in Scotland vote to leave – there’s not even a speck of blue. Very good post, I thought it might be tight but I was sure the majority would vote to remain.
Not everyone, but a significantly higher proportion than in benighted England. Thanks for your kind comments – and for following.
With what is going on in this world at the moment, surely, (if the British government had any balls), the BREXIT vote should/would be revoked on the bases that in the short, ant long term it is going to affect national security. So yes I agree, and I am also ashamed. Not just for being English, but of the whole human race as well!