British Culture: Albion Never Dies

Don't be shy, send me a message! President of the British James Bond Fan Club www.007gb.co.uk gives me an insight into why he set up the club, what it involved, and why he has such a love of the long-running franchise. We naturally talk about the joys of 1974's ' The Man With the Golden Gun ' starring Roger Moore, as we both have a love for that film and have visited key locatio...

Don't be shy, send me a message! I am delighted to be joined this episode by a *far* more experienced podcaster! Joe Darlington has run ' Being James Bond ' since November 2006. He has done detailed rankings on the 007 films on a range of media, most notably, his Youtube channel. Recently, however, he shared a ranking that caused controversy, so I talk to him all about that, about hi...

Don't be shy, send me a message! This hard-hitting episode looks into the Daily Mail allegations that the Prime Minister of the UK is wearing suits "too small". Rory Tingle wrote: "Why doesn't Rishi Sunak buy suits that fit? Men's fashion expert is 'baffled' by the 5ft6in Prime Minister's attempt to look trendy with his ankle-skimming tailoring (and says...

Don't be shy, send me a message! 9 months after moving into an unfurnished flat, and slowly furnishing it, and I've been served my 'no fault' eviction notice. It has been sold, and the new owner wants to move in, so I'm out. However, I may be in with a chance of another little flat close by, so fingers crossed that all can work out. Life's full of little challenges. Th...

Don't be shy, send me a message! From Donald Campbell's 1960s land and water speed records ~ referenced in 2002's 'Die Another Day' ~ to how you could get involved with high speed racing, Instagram's 'British Bond Addict' gives us his unique perspective on motorsport. Why him? Because he's a no stranger to a racing podium himself, that's why! Chris...

Don't be shy, send me a message! It's good to go back to basics from time to time. So, this week, I asked Chat GPT,  “Hi, I have a podcast on British Culture. Could you suggest ten topics please?” , and this is what it replied: "Certainly! Here are ten topics related to British culture that you could consider for your podcast: Traditional British Foods  British Monarchy  British Lite...

Don't be shy, send me a message! This second part of my exploration of the British Overseas Territory in the Mediterranean looks at what do to over a long weekend, and what culture you might be able to Google, glean, and observe. I am joined by my good friend Caine, who found all this out using the best method possible, by going there and doing the research. Although this is a 'Part 2&apo...

Don't be shy, send me a message! What do you know about a place called 'Gibraltar'? Hopefully, after this briefing, a lot more than you knew before! In this episode, I am joined by my good friend Caine, who has ten years of experience teaching about British culture in China. For the benefit of those of us in the West, he runs the Youtube channel "Videos By Caine" with a spe...

Don't be shy, send me a message! For 82 years, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus was a British colony. Here, I really focus on that era. Although I did two previous episodes on Cyprus, they are not ‘sequential’ and can be listened to in any order – reverse order can work as well as the release order. I draw on three key books: The Turks in Cyprus: A Province of the Ottoman Empire – by Ahmet C...

Don't be shy, send me a message! We've seen Sean Connery's 007 fly in You Only Live Twice, Daniel Craig's James Bond pilot a plane in SPECTRE, as well as Moore and Brosnan over the last 60+ years. So, I asked pilot and James Bond content creator Christopher Morales for his views on flying in the Bond franchise. Who was the most realistic pilot? Listen to find out! You can follow...

Don't be shy, send me a message! By listener request, I am covering the UK's influence on the Indiana Jones franchise, and I am joined by an Indy super-fan; Mr. Matt Wacker! I have been following this outstanding cosplayer's social media accounts for several years, and was truly delighted to have this opportunity to have him on the podcast. Of course, the original - and the latest -...

Don't be shy, send me a message! David Zaritsky ( The Bond Experience ) and I talk about the 007 franchise, and why so many official events are exclusive to the UK, especially London. So, why not have a few more US-based events for this British character? We also discuss the differences between US 007 fans and UK 007 fans. In some ways, this reflects both the national character, and the cultur...

Don't be shy, send me a message! I've been taking a break from the news lately, but, even I could not  escape the media furor surrounding Philip Schofield's sex life revelations. It is simply dominating all British media outlets. If you're not based in the UK, as so perhaps not familiar with this long-time TV presenter, his Wikipedia page is being rapidly updated by an army of a...

Don't be shy, send me a message! The rollercoaster of life in the UK continues! The fuel bill saga takes a few twists and turns, my boiler had sparks coming from it, and I’ve been told the flat I’m renting is now up for sale, so I’ll be having people coming to view (goodness knows what that will ultimately mean). Meanwhile, I enjoy the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and ponder how Brits spend the...

Don't be shy, send me a message! Why cover one topic, when I can cover three!? I talk about the energy crisis, always on trend for fans of 1974's The Man With the Golden Gun , and how I'm being charged £700 for one month's worth of electricity. Even taking into account accumulation payments, that's more than a family of four or five in a five-bedroom house. Something is cle...

Don't be shy, send me a message! It is the 4th of May, 2023, two days before the coronation of King Charles III and the world's favourite spy has his work cut out for him… Bond is sent at the last minute to thwart an attempt to disrupt the Coronation by the wealthy, eccentric and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission of his own to teach the UK a lesson. Can Bond dism...

Don't be shy, send me a message! A second quick update from the special Bank Holiday to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. I travelled from Yorkshire down to London to join in the festivities. After that, I spent some time with family outside London, including my Nana who is part of the 1% of the UK population who have adult memories of the previous coronation. I am just back in Yor...

Don't be shy, send me a message! I'm in Hyde Park, where I watched the coronation of King Charles III! Support the show https://www.albionneverdies.com/

Don't be shy, send me a message! Homer wrote in the Odyssey (VIII) that Cyprus was the birthplace of Aphrodite (Goddess of Love), and that she came to Paphos ' where she has a shrine with an alter fragrant with incense' . That's how far back British colonial official Captain C.W.J. Orr choses to go in the second chapter of his book "Cyprus Under British Rule" (publishe...

Don't be shy, send me a message! Have you ever been to an Anglican church service? I have had requests to set out what it's actually like to attend a Sunday service from listeners in the USA, Spain, Bulgaria, East Asia, and more. Thank you to Bradford Cathedral ,  who allowed me to use their recordings as part of this podcast. Please do check out their media accounts: Website: https://bra...

Don't be shy, send me a message! REISSUE: I talked to Caine (normally in Fuzhou) about St. George's Day, which is April 23rd. It is often taken as a celebration of English culture and identity.  But, who was St. George, where was he from, why is he important to the English, and how can you celebrate this special day? We ask "Does it matter that St. George wasn't English?" a...

Don't be shy, send me a message! Many people have requested me to do an episode on The British Empire, which is such a vast topic, it can be hard to know where to start. For myself, the most obvious place is to start with the familiar; the island of Cyprus, where I lived for seven years. I have quite a collection of books on the topic. However, as an introduction, I as Chat GPT about the topic...

Don't be shy, send me a message! Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 is 70 years old, Casino Royale having been published on April 13th, 1953. But for the films, he may well have been forgotten, so here, I finally give my (not so definitive) rankings of the films. This order changes regularly, but my favourite for each Bond, that stays the same. I orignaly wrote this for Country and Town House m...

Don't be shy, send me a message! If you are unsure what a 'Canon' is, or the difference between a church and a cathedral, or curious about the relationship between England's state church and the state executive, then this is the podcast that answers all those questions. I am joined by Canon Ned Lunn, at Bradford Cathedral, in an interview recorded in their Peace Chapel (there wi...

Don't be shy, send me a message! Since this podcast started in December, 2020, three topics have been often requested, but never truly covered. In Spring 2023, I will be covering all three:  What is 'The Church of England'?  What was The British Empire really like?  What is my personal ranking of the 007 films? For the first, I am delighted to be joined by Canon Ned Lunn from Bradfor...