What happened to our English traditions? (From Bucks Free Press)

What happened to our English traditions?

12:24am Sunday 11th March 2012 in Your Say By ivor

This week Saturday morning started as normal.

After rising at 9.30am it was straight down stairs to eat breakfast and read the daily newspaper.

When lunchtime came I tucked into a hearty meal of traditional fish and chips before going out into the garden in the afternoon.

If it had been a little later in the year with warmer weather I would have partaken in the quintessentially British activity of cutting the lawn on a Saturday afternoon however the conditions are not quite there yet so I did some weeding in the long flower border.

Soon it was tea time so yours truly duly went indoors and tucked into sponge cakes and some orange squash before retiring to my favourite arm chair to sit, while wearing my slippers, to finish off reading the paper.

I think it can be said that so far I have enjoyed a traditional English weekend.

With tomorrow being Sunday I will treat it as a day of rest. Once upon a time shops closed on a Sunday but now most of them are open for business.

All too often the activities that can be looked upon as traditional English activities are being slowly and steadily worn away and now English culture is being diluted and changed with every day that passes.

On Saturday evening a news article appeared on this site entitled “Regatta fireworks and concert axed” which stated that the fireworks and concert which have been part of Marlow regatta since 1891 are not taking place this year.

Events like village fêtes, regattas and fairs are all part of our cultural heritage and the news concerning the Marlow regatta is one more nail in the coffin for our long running traditions.

Our very own Wycombe show finished years ago and when it comes to parades and displays in the town centre there is very little done by the native townspeople.

Even when it comes to dress attitudes have changed.

How many men still wear a proper cap or hat or how many men still polish their shoes every evening? Not many I fear.

Food is another area where traditional dishes have been put to one side in favour of American style fast food with burgers, shakes and fries or even dishes from other countries.

Only last week one of the youngsters at work asked me if I wanted a shake with my sandwiches, not realising what they meant I told them that I wanted to be perfectly steady when eating and asked them not to touch me while I enjoyed my lunch.

In my opinion our society is in decline both morally and culturally.

The loss of community events and long running ways of going on is just one manifestation of the slow and steady slip further into the abyss.

What do you think?

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