The meaning of my declaration obviously lost on the guy got
his response, ‘I am New Britain’ and I was amused. In the sense of having been born there
relatively recently or perhaps of his preference for its current fads he
probably was right. It occurred to me though, that I was either dealing with a
communication problem or I was communicating with someone with whom I had
little in common.
First of all, New Britain is great. They have all this
enlightenment and things going on- catching up with the World, a friendlier Monarchy,
a 21st Century Power Couple and a populace screaming for a World
compliant, World conforming and less ‘rigid’ Britain. For every playboy and bra
burning babe New Britain is now as idyllic a country as any. Don’t get me
wrong! I’ve got nothing against relaxation; just everything against relaxed
values.
Oh, for the days of not just the Regency but a Regency that
commanded respect; for the days of afternoon teas and delicate manners! The
days when a Debut ball was a debut,
when things were slow but people died older and better, when a woman would not
think it okay to live unmarried with a man, when gardens were a common sight,
when food was fresh and unprocessed, when mistletoes were an excuse for
mischief that pale so frightfully in comparison to what obtains now. The days
when a woman’s ankle was so scarce a sight it was precious, revered and
definitely a scandal to be beheld in public. The days when decorum was
uppermost and playboys remembered where the definition of rake (rake hell) came
from and were called by just that.
Yea, yea I don’t particularly care much for the backstabbing
and intrigues that went on in the Royal Courts back then but then again, that
is still as present now as, if not more so than, it was back then. Only the
backdrop has changed. Even the blatant marrying among Regents for title and
dowry has not evolved much despite centuries. Except now it has moved further down the ranks
to the bottommost rungs of Society and making even more bottomed classes. So, we can readily say the evils of Old
Britain still permeates the New but scarcely if any of its blessings have remained-
save perhaps, the Monarchy and even that seems in a harried race (after a
rather valiant resistance) to catch up with ‘the World’.
In my esteem, the evils of old Britain sans its blessings
have simply been rustled up with some farce called Enlightenment and Exposure
and of course, Democracy and served up in what I now perceive New Britain to
be.
Rather like many Africans forgetting their roots and trying
so hard to forget everything African in their bid for ‘Europeanisation’.
Manners, Strength of Character and Neighbourliness, characteristics I like to
think Pre-colonial Nigeria shared with Old Britain, all thrown out of the
window- might I add rather like Old Britain evolving to the new.
Then again, what do I know? I was not born there and definitely
not then! But History speaks volumes. Or is it just my then-addiction
to ‘befuddled’, core value extollers like Enid Blytons and such other writers?
Everyone it seems, is in a hurry to forget Family Values,
the essence of Friendships, the sanctity of all male-female relationships (even
such as are ‘just friends’), Service to Humanity and Service to Country.
In a bid to embrace modernisation and live a faster life we
are more self centred, more divided and in a hurry to get.... where? I don’t know... Yes, New Britain is good. It
is the story of the evolvement of civilization the world over.
But, oh! For Old Britain! I am Old Britain....
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