April Newsletter

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” Samuel Johnson

Happy Easter!  St Patrick’s Day is gone.  The biggest day of the pub year, even if you are technically an English pub. So, thank you Ireland!  After last year’s St Patrick’s Day, I wrote in a newsletter that despite what you might have read, the British are very fond of the Irish. How could you not love the Pogues, Brendan Behan, Guinness and Oscar Wilde?  The Irish, with their troubles well in the rearview mirror, are just about the friendliest people you will ever come across. But how do the Irish view the British? 

The conventional view of the British is of a peculiarly tea-obsessed people with a deep-seated fear of causing a scene and an unmatched ability to be constantly apologizing. We are purported to love dogs unconditionally, hold endless discussions about the weather and go out of our way to patiently queue wherever we can find one.  

It’s true that we still tend to put the kettle on in a crisis and watch too many TV shows about moving to the country, but Modern Britain has long since moved on from its cliched image. It’s no longer a nation of posh tea drinkers with bad teeth living in Downton Abbey.

For a start, London now has the most interesting restaurants and private clubs in the world. It just ranked Europe’s Best City for the fourth year in a row. Not bad for a town that's been around nearly 2000 years. We seem to be more culturally diverse than everbefore, and yet we still have Oasis, Heinz baked beans, and Marmite. 

If you are the age of my daughter, Bella, twenty-three, Britain would appear to be at the dawn of a very cool renaissance. British leading men are getting all the romantic parts. Jane Austen and Wuthering Heights are back in vogue.  For the first time in over a decade, the first eleven number one albums of the year in the UK were all by British artists. Youth culture in England today is more visually and sonically proud of its Britishness than any time since The Beatles and The Stones.

Not since Mary Quant invented the mini skirt and “Enfant Terrible” Alexander McQueen doubled down on romance has there been such a buzz about British fashion designers with names like Talia Byre, Chopova Lowena and Tolu Coker. London Fashion week is now a lot cooler than Paris Fashion week. 

So, if you are considering a summer vacation in Europe, choose England. You won’t do much better.  Yes, it's relatively expensive but after you’ve hit London, reach out for the charms of Cornwall, the Cotswolds or the Lake District.  England is a tiny island.  You rarely need to travel more than a few hours to get to where you want to go. There’s always something of interest just around the corner. It’s a seamless blend of old and new.

If you’re going to Europe this summer, Britain is not just cooler...it is cooler. Temperatures in France, Spain and Italy reached the boiling point last summer, but it seldom soars that high in the UK.  An Englishman can still go out in the midday sun in England.

British Airways, if you’ve read this far, please send my complimentary ticket care of Mad Dogs. Cheers!