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JOSIE'S POEMS

BRITISHNESS

Reflective/Discussion Poems

By Josie Whitehead

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WE'RE BRITISH 
AND WE KNOW IT


By Josie Whitehead

We're British and We Know It
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We’re British, and we know it.
      We’re surrounded by the sea.
We start our day each morning
     With our morning cup of tea.

            (Or coffee nowadays)

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
     Go hand in hand, of course.
Apple pies or rhubarb crumble –
     Not without the custard sauce!

(Or is it curry?  Or fish and chips perhaps?)

We’re British and we know it,
     And our countryside’s a dream -
And you'll find some English tearooms
     Serving scones with jam and cream.

(Our countryside would be a dream if people took their rubbish home with them).

The tinkle of the china cups -
    But allow the tea to brew -
Or to mash the tea for some folk –
     Well, it just depends on you.

(hmmm - sodas, colas and energy drinks are favoured by the young, but is the sugar content too high?)

We’re British and we know it -
     And our history goes way back -
And we fight to keep our islands
     When our enemies attack!

     (And we try to support others too!)

We love our country villages
      And cricket on the green,
And the pride in British gardens
      Is something to be seen.

       (hmmm -sadly, not always)

You can say that you are British
    If you love your fish and chips.
British men don’t show emotions –
    They just keep stiff upper lips.

                (hmmm -do they?)

To jump the queue is something
    That you never, ever do!
It was bound to be the British
    Who invented the first queue.

British men just love their football:
    It’s then you’ll hear them shout.
They let off steam, they down their beer,
    And stiff upper lips are *out.

They support their teams most strongly
     And, if it’s a winning side,
You’ll see that they are British
     As they wave their flags with pride.

(Hmmm - But they love lots of other sports     and so do the women and the  children).   

        

​Do the British dunk their biscuits

     In their coffee or their tea?

No, not when they're out pubbing,

     Or where others just might see.      

I'm British - and also English -

     In a world we humans share.                

Are you British or another race?

      Well, let's show our love and care!

    

Copyright on all my poems

* Outforbidden; not permitted or out of bounds. 

                                                   

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CLASS DISCUSSION This poem probably reflects on a different world today than the world of my own childhood.  In what way would you say that Britain has changed over the last half a century or so?  Write down 5 changes that you can easily see in your life of today, which don't agree with those in my poem, and perhaps you'll find lots more things which have changed, ie people's attitudes towards things in our modern world.  What further changes would you like to see in your own lifetime here in Britain?
 

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