I haven’t been back to England in about a year and a half. I usually go every year, and for this years summer I plan to hopefully go back! England is such a beautiful place, and I have always loved it so much. From busy London with it’s beautiful architecture, to the quiet countryside, it is truly lovely every time I go. Aside from my dad, mum, and brother, the entire rest of my family lives in or around Europe, especially England. When I visit, I usually go in June, July, and the beginning of August. At the time when I arrive, for the first few weeks my cousins are still in school. I really enjoy this time, though, because each morning I go and spend the day with my grandma and granddad at their house in the more of a city part of England. I always catch up with my grandma while my grandad spends hours tending to his garden, whilst I eat all of the delicious pastries and food that she always makes. After spending a few weeks in north-central England, I take the train down to west sussex to visit my grandfather on my dads side, in the countryside. He originally moved to this house when my dad was a little boy, and it was constructed in 1709. It’s a beautiful home, with a little vegetable garden, pool, and lots of space to run around in the grass, which I did a lot when I was younger with my older brother. I’m really looking forward to going back again this summer.
I’m from the U.S., so it shouldn’t be surprising that I have a vendetta against England. There’s literally no way to explain how it started other than that I’m from the U.S.. I’ve just uncontrollably despised England since I was born. Anyways, here we go.
They drive on the left side of the road
Driving on the left side of the road is just fundamentally wrong. It doesn’t make sense. The majority of people in the world are right-handed, so theoretically, people should drive on the right side of the road. Also, pretty much every country other than the ones that used to be controlled by England drive on the right side of the road. By the law of “majority rules,” England is incorrect.
Hear me out on this one. Yes, the metric system makes a lot more sense for generic measurements, HOWEVER– using kilometers per hour is stupid. I know that pretty much all of Europe uses kilometers per hour and Celsius, but this article is about England specifically so I’m gonna pick on them. Using Celsius and kilometers per hour is dumb because they have no standard of what’s too much or too little. Hang in there, I’ll explain. 0 degrees Fahrenheit is way too cold, and 100 degrees Fahrenheit is way too hot. And 0 miles per hour is too slow while 100 miles per hour is too fast. Celsius not only doesn’t apply to the human body, but it has no reasonable standard of being too hot or cold. Like 0 degrees Celsius isn’t incredibly cold, but a human would die at 100 degrees Celsius. Celsius was a measurement system created for water, not humans. And I think it’s convenient that there’s the same metric of what’s too big or too little between Fahrenheit and miles per hour. This reasoning might sound stupid, but I’m sticking by it.
This one is really dumb. I’m not even gonna try to defend myself. I just think their accents are unattractive. Australian accents? Wonderful. Scottish accents? Great. German accents? Really pretty. English accents? Gross. The only good thing about their accents is that they’re really easy to mock.
Like, in this economy? Something’s gotta be wrong with them if they think having a monarchy and a democracy at the same time is a smart idea. I mean, I don’t know much about how a monarchy works, but I know that it didn’t work out well for France, so I’m gonna assume it’s a bad idea overall. Plus, the royal family mostly works as a publicity stunt. They should just get rid of it.
Boris Johnson sucks so much. To be fair, I’m pretty sure that a good amount of people in England agree with me, but I’m still gonna hold it against them. I don’t like him.
Since I’ve already hated on them so much, I guess I’ll put in something I like about England.
Russell Howard is from England
Russell Howard is a comedian with his own show from England. He’s really funny. I love him. He’s probably the only good thing that came out of England.
I hope you enjoyed reading my passionate ranting about hating England. I don’t get super patriotic very often, but I definitely whip out the stars and stripes when England comes up in conversation. I will never stop arguing for why I don’t like England.
I have always loved art, but not so much in a gallery, while I appreciate it, what really gets me happy is street art.
Street art is one of those things that you always have to appreciate.
I’m not saying all the ugly gang tags on the side of a bridge, but when you see something that someone has taken time to do, and invested more than just money into you have to stop and think about it.
Street art is an ever growing movement.
When people see actual street art and call it graffiti, it actually isn’t correct.
I love to make my Nan proud. Whatever I do, whatever my achievements however big or small, she is happy. Whenever her family is happy, doing well and meeting their dreams she is the one that will always be the most pleased.
Today I rang my Nan to talk about a summer internship I had earned and we discussed my grades in school, graduation etc. She was ecstatic that I had called her which shone through her shyness as she told me all about the family and her garden and life. When I told her about my achievements she was so pleased and told me how she was so glad my work had paid off and I was doing well.
Although I disappointed her when I told her I would not be returning to England she said she looked forward to seeing me in California this Christmas time and still never ceased to show her happiness.
Whatever we do as grandchildren and wherever we place she will always be proud to call us her grandchildren, and that is why I am ever so proud to call her my Nan.
It is always important to keep up certain traditions, family memoirs that mean something personal and connect you with those who have passed or those that are far away.
Today I cooked my Grandmas recipe for an Easter nest. In no way is the recipe extravagant or different but to me it really means something.
I was taught this recipe at the age of 3. With my pull up stool giving me a little height, but not enough for my eyes to meet the counter, I would help her as much as I could in the kitchen. When I would arrive at their house I would run into the secret cupboard retrieve the stool and run into the kitchen readily awaiting my grandma’s presence to bake our Easter nests together.
As I grew taller and could reach the counter on my own the stool grew dusty but never did the recipe in my mind of the famous Easter nest. Yearly we would bake this same recipe together; it was our tradition, until I moved away.
Last year I made the nest all the way in California but it was not the same without her there. This year I will do the same. Although in many ways it makes me sad, this ritual is a joyous motion that honors my grandmother in England and connects us through a single recipe, despite the distance. This is a recipe I will pass on to my children and one day make with my grandchildren to connect to my Grandmother wherever she may be, passing on the love that I feel for her to them through our Easter nests.
My college letters are due any time in the next few weeks. Yes this is very exciting, yes this is nerve racking and although my applications are in and basically completed the stress continues.
Two days ago I was told that I needed to submit additional material, my GCSE grades. This material must come from the official exam boards in an extensive, expensive process.
No my official certificates cannot simply be sent by me, instead they have to take 28days processing in England with postage, processing and other projects paid by me. This is truly ridiculous.
It’s not that the whole process that annoys me; it’s the fact that no one told me. Now I’m up late at night stressing out with no sleep filling out forms and wondering how on earth am I going to get into college.
Yes the nerdy quartet are back. After the end of their third and final season in October 2010 The Inbetweeners are back with a movie.
Released this summer, the film is truly hilarious. I can honestly say that I have never been in a full cinema where everyone laughed so much including my American boyfriend who doesn’t understand much proper English.
The film tracks the four boys adventure to Malia, one of the biggest party destinations in Europe. And follows their unlucky, laughable mistakes as well as their desperate attempts to find women.
Out soon on DVD the film is definitely the perfect Christmas for anyone who wants a good laugh. It is truly one of the funniest movies you will ever watch.
I find that mainstream hip-hop gets boring. In many cases artists release songs that sound identical, use similar lyrics and just do not have any flare to them. That’s why when I heard Brighton’s hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks I couldn’t help but to love them.
Rizzle Kicks are a two-man group from Brighton, England. Consisting of Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexandar-Sule, the pair produce alternative hip-hop, pop, music.
Unlike songs by many mainstream stars, they produce music that is unique, authentic and real. Their lyrics are simple but effective, talking the truth and shedding light on everyday subjects.
Releasing their album Stereo Typicalon October the 31st 2011, the band has received much admiration from the English Public with their single “Down With the Trumpets” coming #8 in the U.K charts.
Rizzle Kicks may not be for everyone, but they are worth listening to. Their catchy, upbeat songs and alternative sounds are fun and offer a change from mainstream sounds that fill many radio stations these days.
Lana Del Rey is an American singer-songwriter from New York. Born Elizabeth Grant, her music is reminiscent of old cinematic songs mixed with indie pop and blues. It is believed that she adapted the stage name Lana Del Rey from the 40’s to 80’s late actress Lana Turner and the 80’s Ford Del Rey car. The name suits her persona as her style is very old society, old America and Hollywood glamor.
Lana released her first songs Blue Jeans and Videogames in October 2011. Since their release, the New York singer has hit success around the globe. In England she has gained a lot of recognition for her music. Her popularity among the people led to London Show tickets being sold out in 3o minutes on release.
With a rusty, unique voice, simple lyrics, and beautiful backing sounds Lana Del Rey is really someone worth listening to. Her alternative sounds and fabulous old style music videos really show her for a true star.
Sometimes there’s only so much you can do when the world is crumbling at your feet. Despite the pain, fear and distress you have to fight through no matter what. Those down days we experience are for a reason, feel them, feel the loneliness, feel the hurt, but at some point you have to come out the other end, not feeling sorry for yourself.
Since my sister left I have felt down and weary. I missed England, I missed my life, I missed everything. As I began to climb into the deep slumber of regret and sadness I forgot about everything else. Not wanting to be where I was, everyday became a greater chore. My life in California became a chore.
So as everything slipped away I thought it was about time to suck it up and not give up the fight. Driving home from school, my windows wound down, my music blaring, the sky serenely blue, the mountains picturesque on the horizon and an eagle circling overhead, I couldn’t help but to love life.
Sometimes letting go is hard but you often have to realize the good things you have in the present to gradually push away the past.
OVS Journalism Blog 
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