backagen

I thought I'd start a thread for people who, like me, have made the decision to move back, but experience the occasional bit of doubt, due to all the negative publicity about the UK, and just need a little something to boost their confidence in GREAT Britain!

I'll start by suggesting, if you haven't already (or even if you have) that you get on Youtube and type in "Britains Got Talent".

I was lucky enough to be there recently while the semi finals and finals were on and WOW, does Britain have talent or what!!!!!!!

The Daily Fail et al might like to portray British people (especially young ones) as lawless yobs, but this show proved to me there are some top quality people of all ages in Great Britain and really helped restore my pride in my home country!

Hopefully these people will provide inspiration to lots of others in Britain to make something of themselves too!

backagen

One thing I really love to do when I'm on holiday is visit theme parks.

The ones in the Gold Coast (Australia) where I did have a short break recently, are some of my favourites, and include Sea World, Movie World, Wet N Wild and others.

Anyway while I was in the UK recently a friend of mine convinced me to go to Alton Towers. I must admit I was a little reluctant because I thought, being in England, that it would be somewhat disappointing as having recently been to the above parks in the Gold Coast, I thought it wouldn't compare very well.

Well I'm so proud to say I was VERY very WRONG!

Alton Towers is, in my honest opinion, even BETTER than any of the above parks, and is well and truly up to international standards in every respect.

Not only is it a fantastic world-class theme park, but it also features
- The most spectacular gardens I have seen in my life, anywhere
- A huge historic castle that you can explore
- 2 world class resort hotels
- Amazing monorail and chairlift rides
- A huge adventure golf course
- Numerous excellent restaurants and bars (as well as ample choice of fast foods)
- A fantastic day spa
- A brilliant indoor / outdoor waterpark that easily equals Wet N Wild in the Gold Coast, or any other water park I've seen in the world!

It may only be a tourist attraction, but it certainly did lift my overall opinion about the sort of standards one can expect in England in 2008.

nomads

Britain has got talent - you should have seen the winner of Stars in their Eyes New Zealand - the voters must be tone deaf. The contestants think they have talent - Kiwi's have all their taste in their mouth!!!! No one does it better than the Brits

TraceyW

The 'old' stuff, every time. Nowhere, in my opinion, does history and character like England.

When I was back there in February, me and Mum went for a lovely walk up to some woods. On the edge of the woods is a tea room dating back to the 1500's made of wattle and daub and full of exposed beams. It was wonderful............so was the bacon sarnie and pot of tea! Then when I was in Exeter my darling in-laws had made arrangements for me and F-I-L to have a guided tour of Exeter cathedral (not to everybody's taste I know, but I love history) and we were allowed up into the vaulted loft and the roof. The most amazing views from up there, but the grafitti dating back hundreds of years, carved into the lead tiles, gave us a laugh.

There's nowhere to compare that to over here.

quoll

Oh yes!!!!! I have a friend who lives in a 400 year old house - oozing character. When I go and visist castles, cathedrals etc I just stand there and imbibe the feeling because there is no way that pictures can capture the atmosphere.

In a similar vein, while googling the other day I came across a site that proposed that Troy was in fact in England, and, more to the point, about 5 miles from my parents' place - one of those highly atmospheric places at the best of times but seeing the theory and wondering if it may just be true was a real WOW!!! moment for me (on a par with discovering this week that my granddaughter is a direct descendant of Oliver Cromwell through her mother's family - sheesh, history surely is my thing)

R2D2

For us, its the countryside ...................everytime. In summer, its green and pleasant here in Alberta, but going back to Cheshire last July. WOW, we were just blown away !!! GREEN was not the word, and lush and beautiful and "HOME".

Tree canopies hanging over the roads,

Stone walls,

Sheep in the fields,

Hedgerows,

The sounds of the outdoors. Birds galore tweeting like crazy, church bells ringing out.

Going into a shop and someone saying....."what can I get ya love ?"

Country pubs with beer gardens on a summers eve.....oooooh.

That cosy snuggliness of sitting in your conservatory with the rain hammering down and watching repeats of yesterdays play at Wimbledon coz its been rained off.

I could go on and on.........but really its ALL the little things that seemed so insignificant before, but to us now, they are what we want back in our lives more than anything.

BEVS

You mean Sties in their Eyes. Cult viewing.

We still feel that Freddie Mercury's splendid gritted false teeth impersonation should have won for making us cry with laughter. Hysterical stuff.

ann m

I can identify with most of that - I do miss "Green" (though it's beautiful here at the moment).

But I have to say - when you first drive down the roads with all those tree canopies above and walled country lanes, I feel claustrophobic, feel I ought to duck and want to breathe in and that's even in those little biddy UK cars

R2D2

During our trip back to Cheshire last July, we came out of Mcr airport, the
M56 looked like a country lane to us, then we got onto the minor roads and felt as if we were about to have a head-on with the cars coming the opposite way ! I remember flinching one time, as I really felt there was no way two cars could get past eachother. So weird !

Yes, its fairly pretty here at the mo, but you just know that in 3 months time it'll start going back to brown sticks again, and thats too long a time without any greenery for our liking.

backagen

A lot of the roads in the UK were built before cars were invented, or when there were very few cars on the road (so little chance of 2 cars going in opposite directions and having to pass one another).

Many have not been widened since, hence a lot of UK roads are too narrow. No two ways about it.

Notts_bloke

Long may it continue. I would hate to see the UK's roads become as car dominated as Oz. It's the 21st century (although I still about 1980 in Oz) we should be promoting sustainable forms of transport rather than relying on private car use.

backagen

Sorry but I disagree.

Private car use can and should be sustainable, given that cars can run on Hydrogen, electricity, solar energy or possibly even garbage. All of these are free or very cheap, renewable energy sources and need cause no measurable harm to the envrionment.

This is not wishful thinking or science fiction, but proven fact. These cars are fully developed and ready to be mass produced NOW!

The real problem is getting governments to encourage, rather than prevent, these sorts of cars being mass prodcued and being able to be used on the roads. The obvious reason they don't want this to happen is that they haven't yet worked out how they can replace the massive income they'll lose in petrol taxes.

I'm sure they'll find a way!

Besides which, what is the real alternative solution? Public transport? I doubt it!

Kath & Graham

Went to Whitstable on saturday and the size of those mussels and prawns and fish made me go WOW!!!!! extremely yummie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW had my phone bill in the other day didnt make me go WOW made me go


Kath

Bijilo123

I really like the TV ads for loans. Ocean Finance is the one that makes me go WOW!!

Fantastic really - by consolidating all of your debts you pay less!! So you can get a new gold plated fondue set as well and not notice the difference in monthly payments.

Nu-Shooz

I was slightly worried about visiting the theme parks on the Gold Coast because we have done all the theme parks in Florida and was told not to expect too much..i was pleasantly surprised at how good the parks were at the Gold Coast.
But i do love Alton Towers, it was huge the last time i went, so it will probably have grown since then..never disappointed with theme parks, i love rides etc...
Saying that, Sea-World at Gold Coast was abit rubbish.