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The Most British Place in the World?

The Islands of the Anglo-Caribbean: Where Old Britain Lives

Spoke to a friend recently, who just had a friend of her’s report back after a six-month stint in the Bahamas. “This is the Britain my grandparents always told me about. It must be the most British place on earth. Men in ties and blazers and women in lovely hats. Just the right mixture of formal and laid-back.”

Above: The proroguing of parliament in Nassau.

“The police are stern, crisply dressed, and well-behaved, and you get the feeling they’re actually on your side, unlike at home.”

Wigs? Check! Maces? Check!

Funnily enough, hearing the description, it’s remarkable to me how un-British that all sounds (but then I’ve only been spending time in Britain from 1990, when I was six years old, onwards). I bet the Caribbean also gets a great deal more sunshine than Blighty, too.

Of course, the sovereign & independent Commonwealth of the Bahamas isn’t the only part of the British Caribbean. Above is the lower house of the Parliament of Bermuda, Britain’s oldest colony. The lady members wear their hats while the top hats of the gentlemen-statesmen rest on their desks.

Further afield is the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, another independent archipelago. Their governor-general, Sir Cuthbert Montaville Sebastian, GCMG, OBE, FRCS (Ed), FRCS, looks every bit the wise & merry monarch. Sir Cuthbert practised medicine in Scotland, and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.

Published at 6:02 pm on Sunday 28 November 2010. Categories: Errant Thoughts Tradition World Tags: , .
Comments

Jislaike Andrew, don’t let the folks in KZN hear you say there is a more British place than their’s !

Remuunj
LIMBURGIA

— Dave Cooper 29 Nov 2010 4:57 am

Love those photos!

— Irving Douglas Estella 1 Dec 2010 3:56 pm

Their proroguing of parliament seems a bit too… militaristic to be British. A cross between No. 1 army dress and the outfit of a Lord Lieutenant.

— David G 2 Dec 2010 5:23 pm

The changing of the guard in Nassau at Parliament is always very moving.

— Peter Kraus 14 Dec 2010 1:30 am
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