Our Heritage!

Is anyone else sick and tired of the stereotypical image which we as Brits are portrayed?  It does not seem to matter which international event; be it sport, historical, tourism or media, we are always portrayed and characterized in the same way.

• Bald or sporting a mohican hairstyle; usually with George flag incorporated in design
• Pasty-faced
• Tshirts displaying preference to particular football team
• Acned
• Long flowery shorts that clash dramatically with chosen tshirt
• Beer-bellied
• Sweaty and sweary
• Over-hairy armpits

And the men are even worse!

I have lived in England all my life and am usually proud of being British, unless I`m abroad.  Luckily, because of my toffee-coloured complexion and general appearance, I am not automatically put into the "British stereotype" basket; therefore enabling me to successfully blag my way through the holiday without committing or confessing to my birth origins. 

It really is such a shame.  My mother was a Yorkshire lass and I, the fruits of her feckless labours with a man of colour.  I love my heritage!  It`s what makes me special and coffee-coloured.  It hurts and angers me to think that the world takes notice and believes the British  conceptual image our thugs have helped to negatively compose of our tiny island.  We have become a country of ridicule and distain based almost certainly on the misguided notion that we all live our lives and behave like predatory neanderthal thugs with red and white hair, with beer in our over-stretched bellies and violence on our tiny minds. 
  What an absolute insult to our ancestry and our children.

Some of us actually live in homes, have pleasant, law abiding neighbours, well cared for gardens and lead relatively simple, civilised lives.  None of my friends are ruthless or brutal in any way and I like to think they capture the true essence of inherent Britishness much more honestly and truthfully.  I`m not saying I live in Wisteria Lane, but the only red and white hair I have seen in my street recently, was indeed on my own son`s head - a comical, curly wig, in support of England in the World Cup and I can assure you no extremities or expletives were delivered from his eleven year old mouth!

I must confess there once lived a family directly opposite me whos` unsavoury son necessitated fairly frequent visits from the local constabulary.  I witnessed on several occasions,  young visitors knocking on his front door, beeping their horns on souped up versions of VWs and Ford Fiestas and generally lowering the tone of the neighbourhood.  The family moved away unexpectedly shortly after the son was offered a home at one of HMs establishments.

Nowadays my street significantly demonstrates the Britain of today.  My neighbours living next door are from Pakistan who went out of their way to extend the hand of friendship when I first moved in some nine years ago.  It was they that knocked on my door offering to cook me some pasta.  It was they that rescued my then two year old son from the road as he attempted to find his way back to the "old house".  It is they who put my brown wheelie bin out when I forget. They have been the best neighbours I have ever had. 

Across the road we have a family of Somalians who have recently moved in.  At every opportunity they wave and smile a greeting, showing friendliness.  My neighbours across from me are also extremely friendly.  We often stand in the street passing the time chit-chatting.  They too are British with not a trace of a George flag anywhere to be seen.

This is the England that should be seen and celebrated.  We can and do live in civilised harmony.