A toast to Britain.

From Seko:

We were able to learn about Britain from Carol. She grew up in England and refers to herself as British. She also holds very special her Nigerian heritage, although she seems to be like many Nigerians born and raised in Britain (sometimes it's hard to determine where African customs can be expressed without seeming contrary to the culture of Britain). We have that same issue in the U.S. and I have witnessed a similar phenomenon while studying in Panama and the Bahamas. When the former oppressors culture is really beautiful, and remains to be the cultural scope that we judge things by, a more removed culture may seem unbecoming. Remember when there was a big fuss by so-called Educated Blacks on Ebonics? These folk' were downing our Soul-English and uplifting Standard "The King's" English. Then the educated Blacks would use their Soul-English when "The Man" wasn't around as a way to identify with others who weren't where they were. I firmly believe that we should embrace or Soul-English (another term I coined) and simply teach our youth when to use a particular form. Heck, our Soul-English terms "Jiggy" and "Bling-Bling" have made it into Webster's Dictionary in addition to others. We seem to value Euro-based creativity and devalue Soul-based creativity......... Yet, that's another post...

Back to our beloved bride. Her choice of a Church of England church (gorgeous edifice) gave us insight on a very English approach to Christianity. Her choice of a school for Girls for the reception (photo above) gave us a view of the British way of educating. As the Wifey and I walked around sight-seeing we saw many well dressed students. The boys wore blazers, the young ladies wore skirts. The entire educational look was very formal. I found out that many private schools have this look, as well as some of the public schools.... after all this is England. The formalities that I learned in Catholic school as a youth were a way of life here in England. I used to make fun of British accents and now my ear is bending towards becoming a Brit-ear. My attraction to older buildings and royal presentations was developed in the states, and now I can see where the U.S. received many of our styles and protocols from. England is pretty cool. Our Brit-Bride has become a member of my family and also has allowed me to appreciate the British influences upon American society. Hats off to the British. Hats off to Benny Hill !!!!! Hats off to "Keeping Up Appearances !" Carol's Britain is a place of formalities, a place of royalty, a place where customs are revered, a place where the antique is maintained and improved. Blessings upon Britain.