#JohnCleese London

Yesterday John Cleese posted a tweet regarding the character of London and how it has changed. His observations have created a storm - most notably accusations of racism. A couple more tweets followed from him in defence of the racism accusations. Here are the 3 primary tweets :

FIRST TWEET Some years ago I opined that London was not really an English city any more

Since then, virtually all my friends from abroad have confirmed my observation

So there must be some truth in it...

I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU

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SECOND TWEET

I suspect I should apologise for my affection for the Englishness of my upbringing,
but in some ways I found it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less tabloid, and less money-oriented than the one that is replacing it


THIRD TWEET

I think it's legitimate to prefer one culture to another
For example, I prefer cultures that do not tolerate female genital mutilation.
Will this will be considered racist by all those who hover, eagerly hoping that someone will offend them - on someone else's behalf, naturally
Here is a tweet in response from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan responded: "These comments make John Cleese sound like he's in character as Basil Fawlty.

"Londoners know that our diversity is our greatest strength."

He added: "We are proudly the English capital, a European city and a global hub."

Cleese's comments come eight years after the comedian made headlines for similar remarks, saying London felt like a foreign city and that English culture was disappearing.

In his new message on Wednesday, the 79-year-old added: "I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU."

This is my view : 

I agree with John Cleese in his sentiments and I have posted my views before following visits to London.

In many ways you might find London is a fine city - a world class city - a great place to visit - a cosmopolitan energetic hub.

But London is not England. It does not feel like England. How can it? In the 2011 census 37.5% of the London population were foreign born of which 24.5% were born outside the EU - and it is much higher % in Central London. 

Those percentages will have very significantly increased since 2011 and no doubt continue to do so. 

Is that a racist observation? I do not see why it should be. It is a fact. It is a fact that a mass influx of people from abroad (coming here for their own benefit) has changed the nature of London. It would be amazing if all those people were assimilated into Englishness - of course they are not. Is that a good or bad thing. Is multi culturalism a good or bad thing? You form your own view - but it is obvious there is something amiss if English citizens feel the English capital city no longer feels like part of England or reflecting English values. London has been lost to England. It is effectively a different country - a soulless and confused caricature of what it was once. All people now want from London is what they can take out from it for themselves.

EU citizens living in the UK can vote in local elections and EU elections and therefore have a significant impact on the political map of London.

It is no coincidence London voted remain in the EU referendum. (given the economic and cultural impact of the number of EU citizens in London (300000+ French for instance - the 7th largest French city by population). 

London is a remain city in a sea of leave. It is an indication of why John Cleese is right. It is a reality London is out of step with the rest of England and is a massive factor in why leaving the EU has become so torturous. Set London loose and it would have been done by now - but the genie is out of the bottle and it is causing a great deal of frustration and probably resentment !

Note to tourists - there are many street corner pubs in central London - with unchanging façades and décor. But don't expect the "cockney" experience. The real Londoners are long gone - you will be hard pushed not to be served by a foreign accent. Any attempt to retain these pubs is for cynical commercial reasons only. They are no longer what they seem and it is a great shame. Alas this is typical of just about everything in London.

2016 referendum result by region - blue is leave

And what is Englishness? Hard to define - ha!

Maybe some of this - democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs – are fine as far as they go.

What’s missing, though, is the essential quirkiness of the English character not to mention the suspicion of pomposity, which leads us automatically to reject state-prescribed value lists like the one above.

When we English get to define our own qualities, the ones we come up with are rather different.

Sense of humour comes top (80 per cent); then traditional (77 per cent); good manners (74 per cent); sense of fair play (72 per cent); friendliness (65 per cent); stiff upper lip and tolerance also come in at 65 per cent.

All this seems about right.

We like a joke and the pomp and ceremony of state occasions; good manners; we can’t abide a cheat.

As for tolerance, well, this is clearly not just a case of virtue-signallers telling the survey what it would like to hear.

We can see this from the answers to another question: 70 per cent of those surveyed think that all you need to be English is to have grown up in England.

#LondonVitality10k

Yesterday I "enjoyed" a thoughtful Christmas present from George and Laura. They bought me an entry in The London Vitality 10k. It was a great present - not just because it was a top event to participate in - but there was the "benefit" of the training leading up to it -ha!

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Finished - Green Park adjacent to the finish line outside Buckingham Palace.

The London Vitality 10k is a huge event - with some star runners - headed by Sir Mo Farah. What makes it particularly special is the course route. It starts on the Mall - and finishes outside Buckingham Palace and takes in the landmark sites of Central London - so it is a real buzz. (thinking about it I especially got a buzz out of running down Whitehall and saluting at the Cenotaph as I ran in on the last mile - despite feeling the finish could not come quick enough (putting it politely - ha!). The crowds line the compact course with plenty of cheering, excitement and music - a real party atmosphere that helps the runners. To make it even more enjoyable the weather was kind and the organisation slick.

So how did the fam go ? :

Laura now back from injury 39.11. Laura was aiming to get under 40 mins - knew she would struggle with a PB - but was very happy with how she ran and feels on track for The Island games in Gibraltar next month.

George is George. Not much running training because he is squash training for the Island games. He finished in 40.25!

Out of nowhere youngest son Rich ran an amazing 43.23. The joys of youth - he was well chuffed and he should be. A tremendous effort.

Andy - doing his first 10k ran a really excellent 50.41 - so big smiles (one for the future!).

And then the old man. I finished in 1.04.05 I was hoping to get under an hour - ran without a watch. My 5k split was 30.08. It was a laboured run - never felt I was going well and threw up on the finish line. But no matter - I did what I could do - and sat here now have a big smile.

What is great about it is to see the family thriving (touchwood) and although not everyone could be there today Vicky, Phil, James and even my little grand daughters are in training which is great.

It was a really relaxed weekend. We were fortunate to be able to stay at RORC in St James Place. A sensible dinner in Soho on Sunday - less sensible after the run. Thank you to everyone - especially George and Laura for making it happen. Another good one for the memory bank! xxxx

Here is the course detail and a few photos :

The course

The Mall has a unique place in British sporting history. Back in 2003 it provided the backdrop to Paula Radcliffe’s marathon world record – a record that still stands today – and more recently it was the setting for the 2012 Olympic marathon and cycling events.

On Monday 29 May more than 10,000 runners will set off from The Mall as they cross the Start Line of the London 10,000. The race starts on the exact spot where the Olympic marathon winners Stephen Kiprotich and Tiki Gelana made history four years ago.

Flat and straight on the whole, the course follows a clockwise path through the city before returning to St James’s Park and finishing outside Buckingham Palace.

Once the gun goes off, runners head east along The Mall, speeding under Admiralty Arch and through Trafalgar Square, passing Admiral Nelson, 46 metres up on the top of his granite column.

Next they run down the long straight of the Strand, passing the 1km mark. The name of the road was recorded as long ago as 1002 – the Old English word ‘strand’ meant shore, and referred to the River Thames, which was much wider in the era before the Victoria Embankment was constructed.

On this famous road runners will pass the world-renowned Savoy Hotel. When it opened in 1889 it was the first luxury hotel in Britain and has hosted the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne over the years. Savoy Court, the road into the hotel, is the only named street in the UK where vehicles are required to drive on the right.

Shortly afterwards runners will spot Somerset House on the right, a large Neoclassical building that has featured in many films including the 1995 classic James Bond movie GoldenEye, Love Actually and Sherlock Holmes.

Instead of passing alongside the famous old building, they will bear left onto Aldwych and pass the High Commissions of India and Australia, as well as the famous Aldwych Theatre, formerly home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Before the 2km mark, the course passes the Royal Courts of Justice. Above the imposing Victorian Gothic building’s main doors you can see statues of Jesus, King Solomon, Alfred the Great and Moses.

A sharp turn up Chancery Lane takes runners into the borough of Camden. After passing Ede and Ravenscroft, the oldest tailors in London, runners emerge onto High Holborn and make a right turn.

Just after the 3km mark runners go over Holborn Viaduct and pass another legal landmark – the Old Bailey.

Officially called the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, the Old Bailey is named after the street on which it stands, which followed the line of the City of London’s old fortified wall, or bailey. A shining bronze statue of Lady Justice, holding a sword and the scales of justice, sits atop the court’s dome.

Leaving legal London behind, for the time being, runners loop around the headquarters of BT, before continuing east along Cheapside into the financial heart of the capital, passing One New Change, the City of London’s only major shopping centre.

After a left turn onto King Street, one of only two new streets laid out after the Great Fire of London in 1666, runners will see the Guildhall, the ceremonial centre of the City of London. Legend has it two giants, Gog and Magog, were defeated by Brutus of Troy, who chained them to the gates of his palace on the site of Guildhall. Carvings of the giants remain in Guildhall to this day.

The next landmark is the imposing Bank of England. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world, after Sveriges Bank in Sweden. Runners then head west for the first time along Threadneedle Street. If they glance left as they turn, they should get a view of ‘the Gherkin’.

Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London and where suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was famously imprisoned while campaigning for women’s rights in the early 20th century, is the next famous building on the course.

The reward for reaching halfway is to run alongside the architectural masterpiece of St Paul’s Cathedral. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1720, the Baroque masterpiece was part of a major rebuilding programme after the Great Fire of London.

Runners return to familiar territory as they continue north alongside the Cathedral before the route passes the Old Bailey once more and crosses back over Holborn Viaduct to reach the 6km point.

Instead of continuing back to Camden, they now turn south down New Fetter Lane, which reconnects to the Strand at the junction with Fleet Street, the traditional home of the British national newspapers.

After passing the 7km and 8km marks along the Strand runners reach Trafalgar Square again before turning left into Whitehall, the avenue of government departments and site of Charles I’s beheading in 1649.

Once they pass Downing Street, they see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament ahead before hitting the 9km mark.

The final turn west is into Birdcage Walk, and if runners look into St James’s Park on the right they may catch a glimpse of the resident pelicans. There’s less wildlife than there used to be though – under James I’s reign camels, crocodiles and elephants all lived there.

At the end of Birdcage Walk, runners head into Spur Road to finish in front of Buckingham Palace, a fitting ending to a magnificent journey through arguably the most historic 10km route in the world.

Start in front of Buckingham Palace

Under Admiralty Arch into Trafalgar Square

ran with Sir Mo