Tales from Oxford - Poll Results

Celebrating at the Kings Arms

View from Nancy's table at the King's Arms
Noticing the lamp, it looks so cozy there
I truly wish we had proper pubs where I live

Surveys

Tales from Oxford is fabulous guest reporting from Nancy Langham in Oxford, England. A couple of weeks ago she wrote about her newly acquired British citizenship and today she has poll results to share with us. I found it fascinating and I think you will, too! Enjoy!

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How does one celebrate a new citizenship? It’s not exactly a “bake a cake” occasion - I don’t believe there are any greeting cards for it (but I could be wrong). When I told people that I was going to be sworn in as a British Citizen, all agreed it was a big deal- but short of going to the pub and getting slightly trollied, I had no idea how to mark the occasion.

Then it came to me- why not ask everyone why they love Britain? Now, I must explain to American readers (and those who are unfamiliar with Brits) that asking them for 5 reasons they love Britain made most of my respondents VERY uncomfortable. It’s a British thing - putting themselves down, sarcastically undervaluing their country and being very suspicious of any sincere patriotic nationalism.

So asking them to say why they love the place they live is like asking an American for 5 reasons America sucks: it’s just not the default option. Some people joked with me as I handed them the survey, “You mean 5 reasons to immigrate to Australia?” or “Five reasons I hate the awful weather?” Others asked to take it away and get back to me later, so they could really think about it.

So that’s how I celebrated my citizenship. I got 25 people (Brits and foreigners who live here) to think about this amazing country in a positive way. And their answers were great. Here are the general poll results, in order.

Top Reasons We Love Britain:

1. The beautiful countryside
2. The weather/changing seasons
3. History/historical buildings
4. Tea (including cream teas)
5. The British sense of humour
6. Tied for sixth: pubs, British “stiff upper lip”, freedoms (of speech, religion, etc) and a multi-cultural society
7. Tied for seventh: the Queen’s English, London, The National Health Service (NHS)
*Honourable mention for fish and chips!!

There are some surprising things there - firstly, that the WEATHER made #2! The changing weather, the thing EVERYONE complains about - the thing which is always too hot, to wet, too cold or too foggy is actually one of their favourite things about this place. Who knew? As a British friend commented when I remarked on this, “If not for the weather, what would we talk about?” Touché.

There were marked differences in the answers of native Brits and foreigners. In general, Brits appreciated the culture of Britain’s past, and foreigners its present diversity.

Except for the Americans I asked. They love things that are old. In fact, “old” was an actual Yankee response, along with “posh old ladies drinking beer”, “small children with English accents singing”, “grown men dressed head-to-toe in white playing cricket” and “political and religious wackos are not in charge”.

Other foreigners made a big deal of our democratic freedoms, along with lighter subjects such as “hairdressers that are open on a Sunday”, “the average-Joe (or should I say John Smith?) likes to read books”, and from a Swede: “I’ve suddenly become average height (I can look down on women for the first time!)”.

The Brits themselves were typically witty, with “queuing”, “the series of scandals the press and Royal Family give us every couple of years” and “ascorbic wit being acceptable as an alternative to emotional interaction” all coming from their biting biros (pens). Other Brit responses included “multiple flavoured crisps!!”, “world centre of motorsport” and “Marks and Spencer”.

They really do love it here…

So finally, because I get the last word, here’s my list:

5 Reasons Nancy Loves Britain:

1. A beautiful, green and pleasant land- inspiration to writers and artists
2. The history of law, justice and rule by the people (Magna Carta, anyone?)
3. The toughness and humour of the Brits
4. Rich history of Christianity
5. Pubs, salt and vinegar crisps and real ale!

Dear reader, don’t feel left out. Comment 5 reasons YOU love Britain. It’s not too late!!

Tales from Oxford - God Save the Queen

You may remember meeting Nancy Langham a few months ago, where she generously agreed to be a guest contributer to PineappleLuv. Today Nancy describes for us what it's like to become British, officially. Or in her words, "I'm both Yankee and Brit. It's how I feel on the inside, why not have passports to prove it?"

Here is her story:

A few weeks ago I went to Oxfordshire County Hall, in the middle of Oxford. I met my best friend Kerry in the lobby, and we went up to a very 1970s looking desk, with a slightly-unhappy woman behind the counter. I checked in for my appointment, and was lead, thankfully, into a much older and more graceful part of the building.

We queued up, registered and made ourselves a cup of tea. The room had huge windows, a golden chandelier and a long wooden table. On the walls were the pictures of all the past councillors and lieutenant governors, and as we were trying to guess how many people were going to actually take part in the ceremony, the current lieutenant governor came up to us and started to chat. He was very friendly and obviously terribly good at making small talk with soon-to-be-ex-foreigners. He asked which one of us was becoming a British citizen, asked me where I was from originally and if I liked Oxford. We chatted about the countryside and his house in Norwich, but all the time I was idly staring at his waistcoat (vest) and suit, which were very formal, and his gold watch chain.

Finally we were all asked to go into the councillor’s chamber, which was a round room that looked rather like a small version of the US Senate, with deer horns hanging where the American flag would be. We were told to sit on the right if you wanted to swear an oath (“I swear by Almighty God”) and on the left if you wanted to affirm (“I do solemnly and truly declare”). I’m quite good friends with Almighty God, so I sat on the right. To my surprise, most other people did too, and out of about 12 of us, only 3 affirmed their allegiance to the Queen. By the way, the Queen was very present- a huge 2x3 foot colour photograph that was nearly 20 years out of date half smiled at us from a golden easel at the front.

A small welcome was given by the Registrar of Oxford, who let us know the legal and cultural ramifications of citizenship, followed by the very friendly lieutenant governor, who gave us the history of Oxfordshire (in 10 minutes). We were made to feel that we were not only becoming British (and therefore citizens of the European Union) but also full members of our community- so Oxford was adopting me, basically.

Each of us new Brits was from a different country, I was the only American, but there was an Italian, a South African, a Nigerian, an Argentinean, etc. We were a pretty diverse bunch! We then stood up, said our names, and then repeated the oath together. After that, we were called up to receive our certificates of naturalisation- and I was first. I wasn’t really ready for it, and that may account for my super-lame smile as I awkwardly shook the LG’s hand while receiving my certificate. (You can see the blurry photo evidence- but the official photograph reveals more than I want to share with the world...)


As I sat back down I noticed my friend Kay had snuck in late- she had ditched work just to see the ceremony! After the certificates were presented, we were congratulated and told to stand for “God Save The Queen”. I proudly belted it out- I didn’t even need the words!


After the ceremony Kerry, Kay and I took some very silly photos outside the county hall, then went for a drink in a swanky bar, which was empty at 4pm on a Thursday, so we had plenty of time to decide which cocktails to order, and to flirt with the very good looking bartender. He made me the best gin and tonic ever, and I made him fill out one of my “5 Reasons I Love Britain” surveys- the results of which I will share with you soon.


We then headed to the King’s Arms (pub) where we were eventually joined by a few friends. We drank beer, ate bangers and mash, and told funny stories to each other for hours. I love being British already...!


Brilliant Nancy, congratulations! We are looking forward to those survey results. I'd like to dedicate a very special song to you because dual citizenship - now that's punk!