923 words
Part 1 of 3 (Part 2 here)
(The title comes from De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, a work written by the monk Gildas the Wise in the sixth century AD.)
While bumptious Boris leads a Tory bounce in the polls, Little Englander Brexiteers seem to have finally had their way, and the civic nationalists wear their molded-plastic Union Jack hats and wave their paper-thin flags with pride. Read more …
London Calling . . .
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared and battle come down
–The Clash (1979)
Forty years ago this month, the punk poet Joe Strummer penned his apocalyptic lyrics, heralding a step-change in the ongoing culture war that has dogged Britain for decades and reduced our nation’s capital city to a multiracial melting pot akin to the Tower of Babel. Read more …