To want to tell old school friend she’s being thick?

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

I won’t, because I haven’t seen her in 20 years and she’d think I’d gone barmy, but I really, really want to.

She’s just shared this poem on Facebook. For a start, most of it is total nonsense. Take pride in being ENGLISH, yet wave the Union Jack?! Kids don’t learn Shakespeare any more? Since when? And kids never did learn Milton or Shaw at school - I didn’t cover Shaw until ‘A’ Level or Milton until degree level. I’d put money on her not knowing who they even were.

But this isn’t what annoys me most of all. What really gets my goat is this: Where does this true patriot, misty-eyed for the days when we all sat around discussing Saint George and Agincourt whilst eating Yorkshire pudding, live?

Texas.

leaving the European Union doesn't mean we will live in a different continent, does it? Still part of Europe, surely?

We will still be Europeans.

I’m more perplexed that the poem seems to suggest that we will stop being European

@Charlottejbt I was thinking more of general literature, rather than foreign language learning. Children in German schools read historical German translations of Shakespeare and other international authors as soon as they start studying literature, so they know about literary figures from other countries whatever languages they learn.

I heard a wise politician (very rare these days) from Scotland (not SNP btw) say that he was caught between Scottish Nationalism and English Nationalism. He said that Brexit was rampant English nationalism wrapped up in a union flag.

I'm pretty sure that because of shit like this the Union flag will cease to be relevant.

These are the same people that think England won the World War all by itself.

Since when CAN'T English people call themselves English?!! No one - but NO ONE - is stopping them. Because no one cares.

Self-pitying, victim-complex bollox.

OP - I know it’s morbid curiosity, but has anyone commented on her post?

Two likes but no comments.

First option: you could ignore her, or even mute her on your timeline, so you don’t have to see further tripe.

Second option: I give you a shiny 1p if you comment, “Oh, do they do all those things in Texas then?”

@ravenmum I believe OCR let you do Ibsen in translation for A Level English (which I find a bit strange). I'm not a big fan of literature in translation personally, though I suppose it's better than not reading texts from other cultures at all.

Yes, not too many Brits that could read Ibsen in the Norwegian :)
It's easy to avoid translations when there's a huge body of works in your language, it's true. You aren't restricting yourself in terms of the sheer number of books as a non-English reader would be. Just in terms of widening your horizons.
That's why this idea that English children aren't taught English authors seems quite weird.

OCR also allow one of the coursework texts to be in translation as well. This led to my shared class studying Catullus one year.

Scandi here, we are taught Shakespeare in English and Goethe in German language lessons. No translations here .

Would love if you had to suffer H. C. Andersen in original language, the same as we suffer Shakespeare.

It's annoying isn't it? Two of the people I had to hide who constantly posted pro-brexit stuff lived in Thailand and Dubai!

I would definitely unfollow this person

What? You can’t bloody escape The Bard in secondary school to this day. Bollocks.

Unfortunately, I had to leave Facebook because of family members doing this and me nearly biting... not worth it. Unfollow.

Sounds like Vote Leave shite!
Of course Shakespeare is taught, Gove has taken Eng Lit A level back to the Victorian age (the most modern book DS is doing is An Inspector Calls), plus they def learn early English history too.
Your friend is sharing a load of crap.

I did Milton at school at A-level >

Pretty much every secondary school starts y7 with the Battle of Hastings in history lessons.

Oh dear. Yes she is very very thick but what would be the point of telling her - there's nothing she can do about it. You saying it won't unthicken her.

Maybe post 'I am so sorry to hear about your thickness. I know nothing can be done. Sending thoughts (very simple ones, so you can understand them)'

Haha maybe not.

@FizzyGreenWater Ha! That’s brilliant. They should have it made on greeting cards.
Front: “Condolences on how thick you are.”
Inside: “Sending thoughts (very simple ones) and prayers (very short ones).”

Fuck sake I’m Irish and the first history lesson in secondary was the battle of fucking hastings 🙄
I have a cousin who posts about angles protecting her family and if we don’t repost her message we’ll all die 😂

Sounds like that idiot who was filmed saying we needed to get on with Brexit so we could get the British Empire back.