You English & Your Fucking Bacon & Eggs

"You English and your bacon and eggs"

"You English and your fucking bacon and eggs!" That is what the young Sicillian student used to say to my mate; an English teacher living in Italy. Interesting stereotype. We laugh about it to this day... the idea that, no matter what, we carry some bacon and eggs with us, 'just in case'. Actually, Italy provided me with a moment of epiphany, regarding my own Englishness. Prior to that visit, I had thought of myself as quite atypical. Very far from the stiff upper lip smoothies who are one of our national exports. However, my sense of outrage at the Italian queue jumpers, and their tendency to jump the traffic lights made me realise that I am, indeed, a bit more typical than I thought. 'Where's their sense of fairplay?' I thought. Not that far from - 'dash it, these Johnny Foreigner chaps just aren't playing the game!' However, over time, I have come to see that there are tendencies in our national character that are to be savoured. These are some of the things that I think we can offer to the world: - understatement - a sense of irony - self-deprecation - irreverence - a suspicion of zeal I tell you, having heard some of the fanatical voices hereabouts I cherish these qualities more than ever. Now don't get me wrong. I am not being unduly smug and superior here. I mean, this nation has been responsible for some atrocious acts, and has fought with virtually everyone else in the world at some point in our past. I also realise that there are other places where many of these qualities flourish. It is my view, however, that in passing through our Imperial hangover many of us have developed a healthy sense of the ridiculous; leaving these as particularly fertile fields for this world view. We can laugh at ourselves - and we do. Perhaps that is what we have left to give to the world