Great Britain is known for its history, their “stiff upper lip,” “keep calm and carry on,” their literature, the theater, music, respect for the monarchy and tradition. Traditions like afternoon tea, singing “God Save the King (or Queen)” Fish and Chip, Sunday Roast, Boxing Day, Strawberries and Cream at Wimbledon and following one’s favorite football team, just to name a few. The Brits are strong people as a whole. think about how they endured the Blitz of bombings from the Nazi’s during WWII. Haven’t you seen those black and white photos of people getting up in the mornings after the bombings to see the destruction. They went about their day and then indured more bombings the next night. Many children boarded with families out in the countryside for their safety. You have to be a hearty person to be ok with that and if you are a child, you have to be though to experience that. And then consider the rations during the war. I read recently that items were rationed into the early 1950s to get the country back on track following the war. That’s a lot for a population to get through and they did. These people as a whole, don’t complain, they get the job done. “Carry On” could be their motto and not just “Carry on” but carry on looking spiffy and classy. A story I wrote about a few years ago about the Dualit Toaster sort of sums up what many admire about Great Britain. We had traveled to London to do a driving trip of Great Britain. We were in Harrods department store in London, in the kitchen department. I was planning on purchasing a Dualit toaster. having seen them at Williams-Sonoma, liking their retro look, this was before Amazon and the internet. We inquired about the features of the toaster with a sales associate. He proceeded to tell us all of the qualities that made this toaster such a staple in quality British products. He ended his presentation with “Here’s how it works”
“You push this button to pre-heat the toaster,” my husband stopped him there.
“You preheat the toaster?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Mary Yana, do we preheat our toaster now?”
“No.”
“So, how long does it take to pre-heat the toaster?” Brad asked.
“Oh, just a few minutes, sir.”
“I know you want one of these Mary Yana, but I don’t see us having time to preheat a toaster in the morning while you are getting three kids ready for school.”
“Not to be disrespectful, but why don’t they add that feature to your special toaster, most of the toasters on the market now in the US probably have that feature, we have just a basic 4 slice toaster and that seems to have it.”
“Why sir, Dualit has been making toasters the same way for one hundred years.”
Burberry raincoats, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Rang Rovers, Punk Rock, red phone booths, Shakespeare, Red Double Decker Busses, Laura Ashley dresses and The Queen; all things British 🇬🇧
And THAT’S one of the things I love about the British, they do many things the way they do BECAUSE it’s tradition.” Like men wearing kilts in Scotland on special occasions and so on. The British are steeped in their tradition. One of our sons went to England and one of his observation was that they young people really know their history. His assessment was that the educational system must do a great job of teaching history. I’d say the same with literature as well. From what I have read, the average student, over their school career before graduation from high school has read a variety of good literature. Another point that allows for the average person to have an elevated experience (as compared to the average American) the theater is subsidized by the government, which means that theater tickets are very reasonable to purchase so that the average person could attend world class performances of WEST END plays and musicals (West End is the London version of Broadway). Tickets for a typical Broadways show are out of reach price wise for the average person in the United States.
London, like many major cities around the world is a melting pot. That was my experience when I lived in London when spending a semester there. We lived in the Knightsbridge area. At the time, there were some Indian and Pakistani immigrants who had little grocery stores in the area. Those store owners and employees I observed spoke good English, dressed like other Brits and seemed to assimilate into British society. They seemed to respect the country that had taken them in. We would go to the part occasionally on Sundays for a picnic while a band played in a pavilion. You would see some of these families with extended family sitting on blankets enjoying this tradition as well, music in the park. Back in 1984, London was a very safe place for a twenty year old young woman. I recall a murder while we were there that made front page news. Things like this didn’t happen often. I would run through Hyde Park by myself-probably NOT a good idea, but I felt safe running solo during the day…
Left to right-Muslims were invited to celebrate the end of Ramadan at Windsor Castle. Middle The celebration at the end of Ramadan in Trafalger Square, outside of the National Gallery. Right-Muslims protesting on London Bridge.
Much of Great Britain and several European countries have changed since then. I spoke with someone who was there recently who said that many areas of London and Great Britain no longer have that feel. With much open immigration from Muslim countries that has often lead to chain immigration with people coming with no skills, ability or desire to support themselves, the governments of these countries are left to provide services, housing and food for these people. One of the people I talked to told me that they saw open barbecuing on the street. Many of these people refuse to assimilate into the new country. Incidentally, there has been so much migration in the past decade that there are many Muslim in leadership position Great Britain. Here are a few facts:
Mayor of London-Muslim
Mayor of Birmingham-Muslim
Mayor of Leeds-Muslim
Mayor of Blackburn-Muslim
Mayor of Sheffield-Muslim
Mayor of Oxford-Muslim
Mayor of Luton-Muslim
Mayor of Oldham-Muslim
Mayor of Rochdale-Muslim
Over 3,000 mosques
Over 130 Muslim Sharia Courts
Over 50 Muslim Sharia Councils
Muslim Only No-Go Areas across the country the UK
Muslim Women…78% don’t work and on free benefits/housing
Muslim Men…63% don’t work and are on free benefits/housing
Muslim Families…6-8 children planning to go on on free benefits/housing
All of this achieved by 4 million Muslims out of the 66 million population. These statistics were based on a 2021 census.
Most western civilized countries used to embrace immigration because it used to be that immigrants came willing to work and contribute. In the last few decades, it seems that philosophy is NOT the norm and Great Britain is a good example of that. I saw a video of a Muslim immigrant complaining that the hotel that the government had put him up in didn’t have food to offer that was up to his standards. This was a young man, age thirty-five who was on complete government assistance. I have seen similar videos and stories from Ireland. This has become a major problem and stress on a country’s social services and resources. If immigrants came with the attitude that I observed back in 1984 in Knightsbridge, they would be as asset to their new country, not a contributing drain to the system, taking away resources from tax paying Brits. Last year, I remember that King Charles had opened up Windsor Castle to Muslims celebrating Ramadan In March 2025, King Charles III made history by hosting the first-ever open event for over 360 Muslims to break their fast at St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle. Interestingly, it’s not just the governments of Great Britain and Ireland that have welcomed with open arms these large amounts of Muslim immigrants, many but not all others European counterparts have. It has become a problem for France, Italy, Sweden Germany, Belgium and Spain. Sweden is taking measures to send immigrants back, the problem has become so large and their social system is having a hard time keeping up with services when immigrants want to come but don’t want to work and expect the new country to support them and often with chain migration, bringing extended family members, not wanting to assimilate into western society, living the way they did in their previous homeland. The ‘onslaught’ of these immigrants coming and NOT assimilating into the cultures of Europe could have a huge impact on these historical cultures. Travelers come from around the world each year to see the sites of France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain and Ireland. Much of Europe benefits from this tourism.
Whether this was an organized plan from global elites to strategically distribute persons through the world, I don’t know, someone does though. For this pattern to continue for years to come, could become an even bigger problem. Japan recently took steps toward immigrant behavior. There will be a zero tolerance for immigrants not assimilating into Japanese society. The steps they are taking are to protect Japanese culture. Bravo to them!
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in Great Britain.
This week, on April 21, 2026, Queen Elizabeth would have been 100 years old. There were several posts and videos commemorating her birthday. She passed away on September 2022, living until age 96, the British Empire’s longest reigning monarch. She was a beloved queen who saw her country through so much history. Her father became King, when his brother, King Edward abdicated the throne to marry American twice divorced, Wallace Simpson. Elizabeth’s parents had planned to live a nice life, not in the spot light. But when his brother made his choice, George had to step up to the plate. He was a quiet man who felt the stress of his role which many felt led to his early death to cancer. Elizabeth wasn’t expected to be a queen, but when her Uncle left, her future fate was sealed and her life forever was changed. Although the British monarch has no power, it is a Parliament and Prime Minister who are the governing bodies of the United Kingdom, they are more of a figure head. The monarchy is one of those British traditions. The Queen was that tradition. You could count on the Queen to be a stabilizing figure for the people of the Kingdom. She was a style icon as a younger woman, she enjoyed visiting heads of state and entertaining them as well. The Queen often was seen at concerts and performances, she enjoyed the arts. Photos from her family’s August summer holiday in Scotland were tradition. It was at Balmoral where Prince Charles received word that his former wife, Princess Diana had been killed in a car accident and that is where he told his sons and where there Grandparents consoled them that week following their mother’s death. In the Royal family the public saw the average family with average problems, divorce, death and family strife. Seeing the photos and posts of the Queen’s birthday, reminded me of what a memorable figure in British society she really was…
There is a saying in Great Britain, “If the ravens leave the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall.” The saying refers to the crown falling and the kingdom with it. Some say it goes back to King Charles II who reigned from 1660-1685, but those who study the Tower of London say that it was more of a Victorian story, seen in an illustration from 1883. There are routinely six to eight ravens in residence at the Tower of London. there is a Yeoman Warder, referred to as a Raven-master whose job is to care for the ravens. They are even named, removed if they behave poorly or are retired to a preserve in the north country. During WWII most of the ravens died due to the bombings or stress from the bombings. Ravens other than those in residence at the Tower, were used in aided the military as unofficial spotters. When the ravens dwindled at the Tower during this time, Prime Minister Winston ordered more ravens be brought to bring the size of the flock back. A tour guide told us back in the 80s that they were actually taken for safety from the Tower during the war. Not sure if this is true, but many take this ‘myth’ seriously-if Winston Churchill took notice, there’s something there in my mind.
Again, the history, the traditions, the legends are all part of storied past of Great Britain, like the myth or story of the ravens at The Tower of London. When King Charles, the British Monarch who is the head of the Church of England invited Muslims to Windsor Castle for the end of Ramadan and his son, the Prince of Wales to say during Easter week this year “All faiths can learn from Islam,” I wonder if the ravens have left the tower. I sure hope not. There’s just too much history, tradition and British citizens who deserve the United Kingdom they all remember, and a place for tourists to come and see.
