Top Ten moments/things/people/random shit/nostalgia/whatever the fuck I feel like ranking in England thus far:
10. Urban Munch: Explaining the joyous ecstasy that the Urban Munch Hog Roast baguette exerts upon the taste buds is an unsettling task; for, despite the numerous merits that I give the English language, I feel it may be outmatched in this particular duel. The Hog Roast baguette and countless other innovative sandwich-based masterpieces grants this Norwich based carvery an easy slot in the top ten. Local free-range meat and fresh baked bread, damn I’m hungry already.
9. Take That/Re-acquaintance with English Popular Culture: Combine the popularity of Nsync and the Backstreet Boys and it will equal less than half of the popularity of Take That in early 90’s. After the departure of Robbie Williams and subsequent breakup of the band, it has been an incredibly nostalgic and insightful journey into the heart of English popular culture watching this band’s rise back to the top since 2005 and now Robbie’s return to group. It is not really their music (though it is pretty catchy) that has fascinated me with this group, but hysteria and narrative behind these five nationally cherished lads. Their performance of their latest single “The Flood” on the wildly popular X-Factor was pretty sweet. Again, not a great song by any means, but you’ll see what I mean if you watch it. The convergence of these two national hegemonies of popular culture was quite insightful for someone trying to grasp what the nation is all about.
8. Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea: A belated birthday present and easily Liverpool’s best result in the disastrous first half of their 2010-2011 campaign, I watched with attentive (slightly squinted) eyes this great day for Liverpool Football Club from a comfortable booth at the pub. Two goals from Fernando Torres, midfield domination from Steven Gerrard and (I feel obligated to mention, even though I hate this player) Lucas and great saves from Pepe Reina proved to be the difference between the two sides. Along with Liverpool’s ownership being resolved earlier in the month and their following match which I attended in person, this great result stands as representative of my growing relationship with the club, only enhanced by my new residence abroad.
7. Sunday Roast: Many Sundays have brought me over to the Muir’s home for a traditional Sunday roast. In addition to the fantastic food that is always present, these visits to my lifelong family friends in England present much welcomed genial evenings from my English foster-family. I think perhaps the reason that I call home so rarely may stem directly from these fantastic meals.
5. City of Norwich: Not only my current place of residence while attending the University of East Anglia, but my home, many years ago, ’95-97, this place has been the cornerstone of my Anglo-American upbringing and scholarship. Through its many pubs (one for everyday of the year) clubs etc. Norwich has proven to grow to become so much more than the English city of my youth. The nostalgia grips me every now and then, but mostly I see the city in a completely new light from when I was younger, cementing the its place in my list.
4. Beer: English ale has rekindled my love affair with beer (sorry to be repetitive, loyal readers), and easily marks as one of the top aspects of English life. Every pub has local ales on tap. The frothy, bitter taste of hops and malted barley kisses the lips and caresses the tongue as the ale quenches the thirst and replenishes the soul. Drinkers of Natural Light and other vile beverages should probably just admit to the fact that they do not like beer, or just visit England, for that is where I learned, finally, what beer is.
3. London: The four-week residency in London, as part of the Dickinson Humanities Program, easily ranks in the top ten. There, I lived with 26 other students in the academic capital of the word, with every resource necessary to the budding intellectual placed conveniently at my fingertips. The British Library, Royal Albert Hall, The British Museum, The National Gallery and countless other aspects of this city proved to be the perfect place to accommodate any budding scholar. If nothing else, these four-weeks cemented London’s place as my favourite city in the world. Reading Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway in Regent’s Park, damn, life is good. (This is to say that I greatly enjoyed reading the novel; not that Mrs. Dalloway convinced me that life is good ... Oh shit! Literary zing! Snap!).
2. Union Pub: Due to the excess of free time that being a student at UEA affords me, I have spent (and yes I actually calculated it) over twice the amount of time spent in a classroom or library in the Union Pub. Located in the centre of campus, the Union Pub is central to most (if not all) of my activities on campus. Football matches on the tele, friendly service, great location and £1.50 pints of local ale make this a mainstay of my student life abroad.
1. Notting Hill Carnival: Oh god, this was an event! Unfortunately, I had not started writing the blog yet or you all would have read about this in great detail ... up to a point. The Notting Hill Carnival is a celebration of England’s Afro-Caribbean population; and, in 2010 it brought-out an estimated 500,000 Londoners. Why it is called a ‘carnival’ I am still unsure; for, it is not so much a carnival as it is a collection of about 8 city blocks swarmed with people, reggae music, Caribbean food, Red Stripe beer, other alcohol and the sweet pleasant smell of kind bud burning in the streets. Occurring in the first weekend of my stay in England, the Notting Hill Carnival functioned as a gigantic welcome-to-England party, a good omen for things to come in the ensuing year, and so it has proven to be.
So if this is best of what has been, only better things can be ahead. At this point in my year, I would like to thank all my readers. Much more to come, I assure you ... LW
luke! im so close to you now!! come visit ASAP
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