Dudearchy in the UK

[Rev. Ed C]

I love these lazy Saturday's at work...

So, what's going on the in UK today?  Anything important?  Oh, wait, of course there is... Football, Rugby and the return of Doctor Who!  Oh, wait, I was looking for important things

Sport is a very British obsession, and lord knows we've invented enough of the buggers.  But, as has often been raised, is so dudely about sport anyway?  Well, we always look to find dudely activities and sports and I think we have a general agreement about most of them.

Football, as we've already covered in this thread, is not one of them.  Often dubbed "the beautiful game" by all truly souless meatheads football is mired in hooliganism, greed, corruption, on-pitch violence, farce and fame-seeking man-children.  What a waste of money and a Saturday afternoon, if you ask me!

Rugby (or rugger, depending on how posh you are) is a great British staple adopted by counties such as France, Italy, Austria and South Africa... and not many other people.  The forerunner of American Football, and a game for big, rugged men who are built like brick shithouses and have the faces of bareknucle boxers, it's not a game for the fainthearted.  Rugby, unlike its more popular cousin, football, isn't often as badly publicised and maligned by general social critics (such as myself).  The problem is, where football is the sport of the common man, rugby is often a more middle-class sport played by a certain type of gent (you know the ones I'm talking about, the chummy-chums who want to be toffs but don't have the breeding, but still like to coin the phrase "ya" when standing in a quiet country pub in their rugger shirt), and I'm stereotyping greatly there.  As such, it's seen as somewhat elitist, as well as more violent and physically demanding that almost any other sport in the world (apart from maybe the tooth-looseningly violent game of ice-hockey).

Cricket.  Ah, now, that is a true gentleman's sport.  A game meant to be played with gentle ease and topnotch sportsmanship.  A game where you are get dressed up in whites and meander out onto the green at the local cricket club on a sunny Sunday afternoon for a bit of standing around and saying "oh, I say" and "good show!".  I do love the idea of cricket, I'm just not any good at it, and I find it dull to watch on TV.  That being said, I'd love to watch it properly, lazing in a deckchair (the outdoor recliner) on the side of the pitch, in the shade of a willow tree, with my straw boater over my eyes and a glass of pimms nestled between my ankles, with a wasp swimming in it.  Ahh, that's the way to watch sport!

An interesting take on cricket can be found by Rev Scott Oliver at the following link: http://dudespaper.com/the-big-lebowski-and-cricket.html/

Hockey.  Ah, yes, a sport I actually wasn't completely shit at!  Mostly because I was great at getting in the way, a good trait for a defender.  Now, we're not talking ice hockey, or street hockey, this is field hockey, the original and best (not least because it's usually seen as a woman's sport and has a uniform consisting of short skirts and long sock... ding dong!).  Ah, the majesty of the Indian dribble and grace of running down field and slipping the ball over the short-cut grass and into the opposition goal.  Sadly, all my experiences with hockey were on hardcourts... gravelly hardcourts, where getting a sturdy wooden hockey stick in the face or shin will put you in a heap on the ground where tiny stones will immediately jump towards your open wounds... thankfully, my dudely sense of cowardice kept me from getting injured myself, but... hmm, i think we'll scratch that as a good dudely sport, shall we?

So, what is the best sport the British have invented?

Could it, crown green bowling?  Also known as bowls?  I'd certainly say it beats its french cousin boules (where they use metal balls and toss the thing and make nasty dents in a chap's lawn), and lambaste compeer croquet, where the the rules are mostly unknown and so people just whack the ball about with the mallet until some sense of satisfaction of it going through the metal hoops enough times has been achieved.

Bowls is a gentle, elegant sport that brings together the zen of bowling, the accuracy and focus of darts (and all without a pint of lager in your hand) and the outdoor goodness of cricket.  Once again, a good, comfortable set of whites and a sun-blocking white floppy hat are all in good stead.

The idea of bowls is to roll your balls gently and accurately down the green to rest by the "jack", the little white ball which is initially rolled out as a marker for the game.  Each player takes turns to land their balls as close to the jack as they can, with a little gentle competition by tapping the opponent's ball out of the way or nudging in closer yourself, or even knocking the jack's position to suit yourself.  All done with good grace and manners.  That is, unless you play like Paul Kay, who starred in the excellent film Black Ball http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackball_%28film%29 where he plays the bad-boy, hotshot maverick of bowls who attempts to light a fire under the stale and crusty arses of the old fuddy-duddies who rule the world of professional bowls.

Yes, I'd much rather spend this afternoon watching a good bowls match than having to listen to the yelling and cheering and jeering and disappointment that's attached to the avid fans of footy and rugger.  I won't deny people these pleasures, but, by jingo, I'd love a good game of bowls to mellow out the sporting giants of the weekend!

What-ho!

[Rev. Ed C]

Since aquiring the Kindle and subscribing to the Guardian/Observer on it, reading the newspaper each day is becoming like crack to me.  Now, let's not get bogged down in a long rant about the Murdoch empire and phonehacking, that's just too... too depressing to relive right now.

Instead, here is one of my favourite artciles of the last few weeks, that appeared in the Observer, by Henry Porter, detailing a very British way of enjoying the simple things in life.  It really does smack of dudarchy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/07/henry-porter-perfect-holiday?INTCMP=SRCH

[Rev. Ed C]

You know, I think this is a damned shame, and I am actually ashamed to be British when I hear the sentiments that are bandied about in times of crisis when holidaymaker's travel plans are affected.  Awwwwww, diddums!

At this present moment there is a rather large and nasty hurricane storming up the USA's east coast, and last I heard a total of six lives have been lost and thousands of homes are under assault from this terrible natural disaster.  So what's the reaction from Brits abroad?
"This is unacceptable, I have to be home tomorrow for [insert bullshit reason here]".

This happened twice in the past few years as well.  Most recently with the Iceland volcano eruptions and before than in Thailand during the political upheaval.  The common lack of compassion and understanding, I believe, comes from the modern sense of entitlement that's now inherent in most of the population.

"I paid for this holiday so i should be allowed to go there in spite of a massive earthquake that's killed hundreds of johnny foreigners who shouldn't be living there anyway if it's so dangerous.  I want to be sitting on the beach being a jetsetting prick."  I'm not sure that's a direct quote, but it's what I hear

The attitude in my house is that if things go awry, you get over it.  It's just one of those things.  We had a bugger of a journey to York back in June, but it's hard to really get uptight and throw around blame to make yourself feel better when you're aware it's down to an accident on the motorway, isn't it?  It's an accident, not a personal attack, these things happen.

Likewise, if I was trapped in or out of the US at the moment I'd be grateful I wasn't flying through that hurricane, and I'd feel a deeper sympathy for the people whose homes are being assaulted by the fury of the elements right now, not looking to find who I can sue to get my hotel costs refunded!

You make big plans that have no wriggle room of space for maneuver, you roll the dice you take your chance.  Surely if your son booked a holiday with plans to return on the day before he starts at university, your son's only got himself to blame, if anyone (why not just say "oh fuck, never mind"?) for planning things around such uncertainties of the universe without space to breathe in the face of such upsets?

The thing these days is all about entitlement and blame.  "I'm entitled and if I don't get someone's to blame... and as such I'm entitled to compensation!"

Get a grip, take some perspective and admit, shit happens, sometimes there's no one to blame, and in this universe you're not entitled to jack, you have to either earn it or make it yourself.

And, for gods' sake, have some sympathy for those less fortunate in times of disaster, willya?  My thoughts are with the people currently under attack by Hurricane Irene at this time.  Hang in there, dudes!

[Rev. Ed C]

A snippet of good articles from my weekend papers that I think have some baring on Dudearchy in the UK.


An insight into the family life of great British dude, Bill Bailey:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/27/bill-bailey-my-family-values?INTCMP=SRCH

Americans may often hang ten in style and cool, but this is how us Brits get on with surfing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/26/tim-dowling-surfing-cornwall

David Mitchell lets us know why it's better to laugh about Hitler than the less dudely alternative:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/28/hitler-madame-tussauds-david-mitchell?INTCMP=SRCH

[Rev. Ed C]

Has it really been almost 4 months since I did that talking to myself thing?

I was wondering what the opinion was on the rather undudely nature of David Cameron's recent attempt to shatter our relations with Europe and create disharmony in the EU?

The fact that he's taken steps that even Thatcher balked at is quite frightening.  Thatcher was happy to stay in Europe, and Major helped forge the Maastricht Treaty.

But who's one of the most famous Conservative PMs in history?  What did Winston Churchill think about Europe?  "We must build a kind of United States of Europe" he said in Zurich, in 1946.

Isolationism is very undude.  Afterall, in the world of Star Trek, the future of Earth is one big Utopian country, not tiny, factious nations holding grudges and sniping across the borders (both real and political).

And, if Britain leaves the EU, and Scotland leave Britian, it's said that Scotland will go straight for the EU.  Aren't we effectively shutting out Europe and casting off Scotland at the same time?

Major disharmony, wouldn't you say? :/

[tiem]

Man shut up with politics shit!!!, talk about dude stuff!!, fucking hell, BORING'!!!!!!!!! Go be a politician and stop boring us with this shit!!!!!!!

[Rev. Ed C]

Man shut up with politics shit!!!, talk about dude stuff!!, fucking hell, BORING'!!!!!!!!! Go be a politician and stop boring us with this shit!!!!!!!

Read the whole thread, or contribute something yourself.
Check the attitude at the door.  Chill man

[Andrea Da Fino]

C'mon Rev. Tiem, could you just take it a little bit easier? Also there are hundreds other threads to follow man. Let's chill a little. 


Rev. Ed, sorry but I haven't read all the thread, I did it in the past but now I forgot it and it's a bit long, anyway let me add a couple of things.

First rugby is a cool sport, especially the third time, if the nomenclature is correct, when both teams and supporters have lunch together. That's pretty dudeish, imdo. And they use a ball, even if not a bowling ball. But I can understand your preference for bowls, which is shared by many Italians especially at the beach or at picnics. Darts are pretty cool too.

As for Mr. Cameron, he did the right thing. That is he said "this is not in the interest of UK". And this is his duty, to do what is in the interest of UK. While everyone around Europe bends at 90?toward Bruxells he said no thanks. I know that he might have done it to please UK banks but I think UK should stay as it is now. Europe is collapsing and the euro is going the road of the old russian currency. We in Italy have a Prime Minister who being a man of the banks and a fellow of Bilderberg group made the Save Italy financial plan which is going to kill Italy's economy and empty common citizens pockets. We are just a step away from Greece and democracy is just an empty word.

His solution to reduce italian public debt in a broken economy has been to raise taxes instead of cutting privileges, public expenses and inefficiencies. Raise taxes, a three yo child would have found the same solution, and without a 25.000 euros salary.

Believe me, Cameron saved the UK economy, and don't worry about Scots, Europe will have collapsed before they can join it.

[Rev. Ed C]

Believe me, Cameron saved the UK economy, and don't worry about Scots, Europe will have collapsed before they can join it.

You cynical old bastard   Maybe... time will tell.  Most of us here are just worried that he passed on one thing in our interested and ignored the big picture.

Ho-hum!

And you play bowls in Italy?  I did not know that

Well, at least this wasn't a Blog today and someone else put something into the opinion pot.  Dudos!

[Caesar dude]

Man shut up with politics shit!!!, talk about dude stuff!!, fucking hell, BORING'!!!!!!!!! Go be a politician and stop boring us with this shit!!!!!!!

All those exclamation marks? That's a sign of something or other!

Take it easy Rev Tiem there's no need for this unchecked aggression. The Dudearchy in the UK thread  is for all things British (and also a place for Ed to talk to himself out loud until we decide to humour him)

Go read some other topic if this upsets you or better still start your own thread dude.

And as for your post Reverend Ed... I think I agree with you...my immediate reaction when I heard what Cameron had done was "oh shit we've just been isolated"

Ahh we're all fucked anyhoo....lets crack open an oat soda or two before we can't afford it any more!

Peace

[milnie]

Cameron seems to be confusing the uk with the financial city of London as usual.
And as for scotland, salmond is under the delusion that the oil industry will keep Scotland afloat, which it doesn't now.

Ed, keep on venting that spleen man. It makes for good reading and no doubt keeps you sane.

[Rev. Ed C]

Ed, keep on venting that spleen man. It makes for good reading and no doubt keeps you sane.

The Dudearchy in the UK thread  is for all things British (and also a place for Ed to talk to himself out loud until we decide to humour him)

Aww, you all know me too well

Now I just need to start formulating something that's in line with the ideas in my first post, and we might have an article ready to kick this project into life!

[Rev. Ed C]

Just read back to the first post I made (almost 2 years ago... this has been a long stream of consciousness for me ), and realised, when calling for GBDs (Great British Dudes) and asking for nominations for female Brits... I managed to omit my hometown area's only two local celebrities:

The late, great Linda Smith, and internationally renowned Kate Bush.

Linda Smith - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Smith_(comedian)

Comedian, socialist, activist and president of the British Humanist Association.  The only person to ever say anything noteworthy of my parent's hometown of Erith: "I'm from Erith.  We're not twinned with anywhere, but we do have a suicide pact with Dagenham".  Beloved TV and radio personality with a gentle wit.


Kate Bush - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Bush

Groundbreaking musician/singer-songwriter, feminist icon and someone who took a career break of over a decade to dedicate to raising her son.  Her style has influenced so many music acts on both sides of the Atlantic from Tori Amos to Florence and the Machine.  Her decision to take creative control of all her albums and shun the stress of touring made her a bastion of Independence in an often subjugated profession, bowing out of the corporate and commercial game.  Often cited for the poetic sexual content of her lyrics she's definitely got a strongly vaginal thing going on

Also, in her video for her single Experiment IV we saw the first televisual appearance of fellow GBD Hugh Laurie.


Two unique, intelligent, gentle souls.  Definitely proof that I'm not the best example of Dudely to come out of Bexley (thank gods for that!)

[Andrea Da Fino]

Kate Bush rocks!  And as a general rule I fucking love UK and Scotland, and probably also Wales and all those islands around, even if I haven't been there yet. Just London and Edimburgh. 

[Rev. Ed C]

Kate Bush rocks!   And as a general rule I fucking love UK and Scotland, and probably also Wales and all those islands around, even if I haven't been there yet. Just London and Edimburgh.  

My special lady would love to go to Italy... although I'm a little wary of the Mediteranean climate.  If I can find a time of year when the temperature is around only 20degrees, I might consider paying your great country a visit

ps, when are we going to see some of your Dudeismo site turn into a project like this, so all us ignorant English-speakers can learn about how Dudely Italy is?

*the sound of hints hitting the floor*