Sunday, September 21, 2014

The secret, I'm told, is in being somewhere else...

I'm a great believer in the concept of somewhere else. As an Englishman with a rather quirky backstory - I was born here, unlike either parent - and a deep and abiding suspicion of nationalism - who is it, exactly, that you're against? - I hold firmly to a view that you only really appreciate your nation's strengths and weaknesses by comparing it with other places.

My country right or wrong? Well, not really, but it's still my country... and yours... and probably theirs too, even if they might be a bit of an embarrassment in civilised circles.

And so, it is necessary to visit other cultures, other places, to get a clearer understanding of where England fits into an increasingly interdependent world. Fortunately, I like to travel, have a natural inquisitiveness and an inability to focus on something for too long. I am also fortunate enough to have means - not vast, or unlimited, but sufficient to allow me to go to new places as opportunities arise.

However, today I am going somewhere slightly unusual, in that it is supposedly an image of a Britain perhaps thought to be lost. Gibraltar, it would be fair to say, is not somewhere that I might have thought of going, but after Ros took part in a debate on Gibraltar in the Lords earlier this year, the government there invited her to visit. As it seemed like a good opportunity to fact find on the ground, as it were, we decided to go - at our own expense.

So, wish me luck on my mission to find out why the apes are, how living in a small enclave is, and if Gibraltar and Spain can ever rub along. I promise to report back...

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