This England.

See England on a glorious Summer evening,
As the setting of the sun casts itself over the land,

With skies that are mere whispers of the day,
Where ghosts fly away with the damned.

See England, the mighty and the brave,
Our Conquerors live on with pride,

The masters of Superiority,
Until the broken stopped and cried.

See England, the Capital of the World!
How proud are you now?!

Does the sky break down and thunder
As you rise strong and take a bow?

See England, on a glorious Summer’s day,
Where the streets are littered with cans,

Where lives just get frittered away,
And the war is here to stay.

See England, this wasn’t what you wanted,
You just got lost along the way,

The history books are in the bin,
And the schools are all shut down.

Bless you, bless the Lord and Bless the Prophet,
For there is no turning back now.

I'm not patriotic, nor am I nationalistic. I am not racist, discriminatory, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic nor do I dislike animals. If I ever behave or seem like that, for whatever reason, I feel terrible, but it is a human instinct to be afraid of those different to you, or those who appear different, and I am guilty of making this mistake many times. But I try and that's the important thing I believe.

But hey, this isn't about me. It's about where I live. It's about my country and everyone elses. But I am so confused. My history teaches me one thing and my current philosophy teaches me another. What I see around me, not only in my own country, but in the World also, is chaos. Nothing from my history tells me that this is good, nor does it make me feel proud. This is the State of Things that I talk about here and all that it taking place in this very period of our lives. My generation, the Thatcher generation, are probably feeling very bewildered. Everything she taught us now seems alien and evil, when everybody seems to be out for themselves and the world seems to revolve around money, power and greed.

But I want to steer clear of politics. I don't see myself as political anymore and I see little point in discussing it with anyone. It bores me. I just can't see what difference any political opinion makes any more when, in a democracy that we supposedly have in the UK, there seems little point in voting, and when we do we still go to war and hate each other.

Hello.

My name is Peter, and I live in the UK. I am 38, and I have lived in, and been a resident of this country for 38 years. I have never left for longer than 3 weeks at a time, which, given that I have probably had about 30 odd holidays, means that I have been here for approximately 36 years in total.

Of those 36 years, I have lived in Reading, Berkshire for 7. That's the South West. Near London.

I have been into London a few times since I have been here and I hate it with a passion. The last time I went in I drove through the Centre, past the West End, Piccadilly Circus etc, and out to the East at a place called Stratford. And it was a utter nightmare. It was at night too, well, evening to be precise, and it was dark, and yes the lights were pretty cool to see and it was interesting and eventful(!), but oh my good god.

Since I have lived in the South I have learnt a new skill. It's called driving like a twat. And I do. The faster the better, and usually as obnoxiously as possible. It's a skill I acquired since emigrating from the North and one which I rely on to survive here. To be fair, I figured everyone else was doing it, so why shouldn't I? They are very good at it in Reading, where I live, and seemingly, they are extra good at it in London. I mean those guys are the proffessionals.

And that's London for you. Well, OK to be fair, there's plenty to see and do. It's not just all about impatient and angry drivers. There's lots of weird and wonderful people to see and theatre's and great stuff like Art and Culture, Food/Music/Wine, Girls (lots) and the cool things you would expect from a place like London. You know, normal capital stuff?

In my short life I have been to Dublin, Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Brussels (yawn), Nicosia (Cyprus...very cool place. Actually that's me up in the Troodor Mountains on my profile), and Stockholm. Of course all very different, and all a long way from London in every respect possible. They all have their similarities too, and lots of zebra crossing and road humps, signs and more signs, lights and lasers, pictures, sounds, fume, smog, traffic, waste and shit.

But what's special about London? Historically, many things of course, when you think about the history and everything that London stands for, which might be an international recognition as a city of power and strength, industrial and financial superiority and wealth, status and intelligence. But that's an opinion, and not one that I share.

Is it just me? No, of course not. That's why only so many people choose to live there. Many of course want to. The streets are paved with gold, or so the story goes.