Olympic Gold

Did anyone catch the Olympics Opening Ceremony by any chance? Wiping out three hours of the BBC's evening schedule, it would be pretty hard to miss. Personally, I'm glad I made a point of watching; it was a fantastic celebration of our nation and I felt very proud to be British.

So often I think that as a nation we suffer from a lack of national identity. It's a fluid concept as national interests and tastes change, but most nations are known for something very specific, either in the character of the people or the character of the geography: Germany is famous for engineering and efficiency, Italy is known for flamboyancy, France is known for being insular (sometimes even xenophobic) but also for gourmet cooking, America is the nation of excess, etc., so what makes us British?

I think our lack of identity sometimes stems from the fact that we aren't one single nation. Scotland, Ireland and Wales have their own sense of identity and it's something which can drive a wedge between the people of those nations and their identity as a British National. (Scottish Independence, anyone?) In addition, I think that we are also sometimes guilty of holding on to our historical identity so steadfastly that we forget to embrace our present. Then again, our present isn't always something we would want to embrace when there's rioting in the streets, petty crime is rife and the media is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. However there are somethings that are completely unique to Britain and this is what Danny Boyle so successfully exploited.

We are an old nation with a history spanning millenia, not centuries. Britain was the seat of the industrial revolution and continues to be a breeding ground for some great technological wonders, celebrated in the opening ceremony by the inclusion of Tim Berners-Lee. We are recognised around the world for our British humour (so many of my overseas friends love the likes of Monty Python and Mr Bean), the British music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in the world and British literature is celebrated around the globe. And of course, we should celebrate the great British institutions, like the BBC and the NHS, which are both completely unique. Politically, we are both liberal and socialist, defending the rights of the individual and fiercely protecting the welfare state and institutions like the NHS, but also celebrating our monarchy. We are diverse and we are inclusive.

Danny Boyle reminded us of these facts by doing nothing more than putting on a terribly British show. For that alone, at least in my eyes, he is both a genius and a national hero.

NaBloPoMo Day 1 - Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny old thing. It can come from the most unlikely (or indeed, the most likely) of places. Sometimes it even seems like inspiration is ganging up on you; different sources of inspiration banding together to corner you until you submit. As is the case in this instance.

For a while now, I have been following the escapades of Erica Lucke Dean, a wonderful up-and-coming chick-lit writer from Atlanta, who posts a daily blog. To my shame, I am a little bit behind and need to catch up on the last week or so, but her posts almost always amuse me, make me think, or make me smile and it is with a measure of jealousy that I view her blogging regularity. I find it a challenge to remember to brush my teeth every day, so writing a blog every day is an achievement I have often felt envious of.

My Dad, of course, is a huge inspiration in so many aspects of my life, but recent contact with an old school friend has reunited him with his muse and for the first time since my brother died, the creative juices are flowing. My parents have been on holiday for the last couple of weeks in Vietnam (a part of the world that I would love to visit) and every day he has made time to write a thousand or so words of his 'Vietnam Diary', which he emailed to me whenever he had reliable Internet access. I have particularly enjoyed joining them for the ups (27th floor of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Towers in Bangkok) and downs (Dad falling off a bike in Saigon, or Mum nealy ending up in the Mekong) of their voyage, but the real gem has been reading the final few days in the 'Mancheater Diary' when I get to see my life and surroundings through another's eyes.

Finally, I have mentioned before about the friend of at least ten years that I have not yet met. Aaron DeLay is a Denver resident that I met digitally when he joined my role-playing / PBeM / writing group years ago. Although the group has long since disbanded, I have kept in touch with a fair few of the members, including Aaron. He is a young stroke survivor, talented writer and keen photographer. And it was he that added that final level of inspiration to join NaBloPoMo (interNational Blog Posting Month) for October.

So here endeth the first post. I wil TRY to get into a good habit, even if it is just for October, and do justice to the various writers that have inspired me over the last few weeks.