Taking over quietly.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but if I have, I apologise, still, here goes.

From my point of view, this reared it's ugly head about ten years ago when coming back into the country via Gatwick airport.  

Picture the scene: it's about four o'clock in the morning and my wife and I have been up all day and night, it was a late night flight to save money and thanks to a delay.  So, we have about two hours before a train arrives to take us home, so I think "Coffee time"!

I toddled over to the coffee bar (who I won't mention as this is the only problem I have had with them), and through my sleep filled brain, I asked the "barista" for two white coffees.  Remember, this is in the days when you asked for a white coffee and got served with the establishments version of coffee with milk.

"Er, we don't do white coffee, only Americano, Latte or Cappucino", says the girl behind the bar.

"It's four a.m., I just want two cups of white coffee!"

"We don't do white coffee, only Americano, Latte or Cappucino", says the brain of Britain.

"Listen, in France, I'd ask for Café au Lait, in Spain, Café con Leche, in England I ask for a White Coffee or Coffee with milk!  Two, please!"

"We don't do white coffee, only Americano, Latte or Cappucino", says her again.

I gave up, scanned the menu board and requested, "Oh, heck, two hot chocolates please!" 

So the young mademoiselle turns to her colleague "Two hot chocolates"

While waiting, my eyes alighted on the cake display - "May I have two almond slices as well please?"

"Those have got nuts in them, you know" 

"Yeah, I think the idea's in the title, dear", she pulled two almond slices out of the display and then her colleague passes the hot chocolates over.

"Do you want chocolate on those?" says the young lady, holding a shaker of chocolate.

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you want chocolate on those?"

"Listen, sweetheart," says I, sympathetically, "there's chocolate in the cup, if there isn't enough chocolate in the cup why would I want more?"

So she capped the cups, took my money and I went back to my wife.  

So, the point -  it's not that some people are less intelligent than required, it's the principle of going to a coffee shop in England and having to ask for my coffee in a foreign language!  As I said to the young lady so long ago, if I'm abroad, I'll ask for coffee in the local language.

We're losing our identity.

But it's the thin edge of the wedge.

Look at the Ciabbata or Panini that you are going to eat with the coffee, even though I am the first to agree that it's the bread style that goes with those that names them.  But the coffee,  a white coffee, not Latte or Espresso or Americano or Cappucino is what I want.

Please Burn The England Flags!

I will freely admit I am a patriot, I love my country, I respect the monarchy and I respect the flags.

The title of this blog is not asking everyone to grab their nearest cross of St George and set fire to it, but to set light to the tautological flags.  Those that have the word England across the middle of it.  We all know that the N in PIN stands for the word number, and should not call it a PIN number as that would be a Personal Identification Number number.

The red cross on the white background already says "England", so why write the word across the middle of the flag?  We are the only country that does it, I have never seen "USA" written across the Stars and Stripes or "France" across the French Tricolore.

Why?

Is it that our country is so apathetic about teaching our population about the flags that represent us?  Thanks to Doctor Who we were all reminded that the flag that represents the United Kingdom is the Union Flag, when not on a ship.  Why do we not teach our children the flags of foreign nations and our own.neighbouring nations?  As a child I was taught the evolution of the Union Flag, the four flags of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales (For the Welsh dragon, look in the middle of the Union Flag).  I was taught a few of the neighbouring countries, the red, white and blue vertical stripes of France; the horizontal arrangement of the same colours said "Netherlands"; red, yellow and red of Spain and so on.  Does this happen in schools today?

The flag is the descendant of the coat of arms of the lord of an area and then the arms of the king.  For when the king was not on the field something was needed to give the troops to follow.  So all the troops knew that they were fighting for the right side, they had to know their flag.

So again, I say burn all the England England flags.  If you want to look stupid, fly them on your car or in your window but my recommendation is that you burn them!