CULTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE
Ramblings from a British Mind
Ken
Plymouth (England)
Hello!
My name is Ken, and I am a British citizen.
I was born here in a city called Manchester,
which is about the eighth largest city in the UK.
You may have noticed that I have referred to
my country by two different names. The
original name was Great Britain, but it has now
become the United Kingdom (UK). Quite
possibly it was believed that to refer to
ourselves as great might be misconstrued as
vain and overly boastful.
The UK is made up of four different
countries, England (where I live), Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Previously the
entirety of Ireland was part of Great Britain,
but the country was divided into north and
south when independence was granted.
Southern Ireland is a separate country and
Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Southern
Ireland is more closely aligned to the European
Union (EU) than the UK in as much as they
adopted the same currency and the entire
package of rules and regulations.
You may have heard some discussion in
your news regarding Brexit. The word is a
conjunction of Britain and Exit. The date of
departure from the EU is fast approaching,
and it appears our politicians can't manage to
agree with each other about the best form of
a deal to leave. The UK public were given the
opportunity to vote in a referendum to
determine whether we should leave the EU or
stay. The vote was to leave, but by a fairly
narrow margin. I personally voted to leave, as I
wanted the UK to have self rule, and not be
dictated to by unelected officials in Brussels.
There was a lot if invective aimed at voters
who chose leave, as it was believed they were
racist. The reason for this view is that
immigration into the UK could be more closely
controlled if we gained independence.
I live in a city called Plymouth. It has a
population of approximately 250,000 people.
It is the city from which the Pilgrim Fathers left
when they set off to America to start a new
life. There are plaques on the harbour wall
commemorating this event, however they are
in the wrong place. The harbour has been
extended since that time, and the actual
location of the departure point is in what is
now the ladies toilet in a harbourside public
house called “The Admiral McBride”. Try
googling it and see if its history includes that
esoteric fact.
February 2019 №2
I have never visited Russia, although I
have travelled extensively throughout my life.
Predominently in Europe, but also Australia,
Africa and America. I do however have a sister
who is currently working in Russia. She is
working in a school in Moscow. I also have a
brother who lives in Germany. He is now retired,
but was an orthodontist who had his own
practice. He is clearly the most wealthy of the
four children my parents had. Lucky devil!!! My
other sister is a speech therapist working for
the National Health Service (NHS).
The NHS is a wonderful institution that
provides medical care that is free at the point
of delivery for everyone. We pay a tax in our
wages which funds the NHS. Until recently
even visitors to the country such as tourists
were treated free in the event of illness or
accident. However, now they try to claim
money back from foreigners through their
insurance.
I didn't tell you about my own career
choices. When I left school I went to sea, and
was training as a navigating officer in the
merchant navy. We have two different navies
much as you do. We have the Royal Navy, which
are the military ships, and the Merchant Navy
which is made up of freighters etc. I worked for
Shell, the oil company. However, I found that I
didn't settle comfortably into the job as the
trips were usually 6 months. It was a long time
away from home, and we only got 4 weeks
leave at home before going back to sea. After
I left I joined the fire service and worked there
for 30 years. I took exams and managed to get
promoted through the ranks. When my career
ended with my retirement I was a senior
officer, and in charge of all firefighting
services in my city. Since my retirement I
started my own business, and now own and run
a small haulage company. I have two trucks
which are tipper trucks. They carry mud and
soil away from building sites or road works to
tipping sites. I did used to have larger
articulated vehicles doing long distance
transport. In fact when I started the business I
was taking goods back and forth between the
UK and Spain.
I am married, and my wife is called
Carole. It is pronounced Carol, but for some
reason has an e on the end. I have no idea why,
and never felt the urge to investigate the
provenance of the name. She is a nurse, which
can be useful when I feel ill, which is thankfully
rare.
SUNRISE
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