An Ode on the Piece

I.
As wand'ring late on Albion's shore
That chains the rude tempestuous deep,
I heard the hollow surges roar
And vainly beat her guardian steep;
I heard the rising sounds of woe
Loud on the storm's wild pinion flow;
And still they vibrate on the mournful lyre,
That tunes to grief its sympathetic wire.

II.
From shores the wide Atlantic laves,
The spirit of the ocean bears
In moans, along his western waves,
Afflicted nature's hopeless cares:
Enchanting scenes of young delight,
How chang'd since first ye rose to sight;
Since first ye rose in infant glories drest
Fresh from the wave, and rear'd your ample breast.

[...] Read more

poem by Helen Maria Williams
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Nova Scotia as a British colony also came into being as another result of these adventurous British expeditions to North America in the reign of James I.

quote by Harry Johnston
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Something is happening to Britain and the British. Or has happened. We are said to be passing through a transition, or a turning point, or a transformation; nobody is quite sure which.

quote by Ferdinand Mount
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

To Arms! (II)

Now let the cry, ``To Arms! To Arms!''
Go ringing round the world;
And swift a wave-wide Empire swarms
Round Battleflag unfurled!
Wherever glitters Britain's might,
Or Britain's banner flies,
Leap up mailed myriads with the light
Of manhood in their eyes;
Calling from farmstead, mart, and strand,
``We come! And we! And we!
That British steel may hold the land,
And British keels the sea!''

From English hamlet, Irish hill,
Welsh hearths, and Scottish byres,
They throng to show that they are still
Sons worthy of their sires:
That what these did, we still can do,
That what they were, we are,
Whose fathers fought at Waterloo,

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Austin
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Britain today is suffering from galloping obsolescence.

quote by Tony Benn
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

British fashion is self confident and fearless. It refuses to bow to commerce, thus generating a constant flow of new ideas whilst drawing in British heritage.

quote by Alexander McQueen
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

In Great Britain the price of food is at a higher level than in any other country, and consequently, the British artisan labours at a disadvantage in proportion to the higher rate of his food.

quote by Joseph Hume
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The basic policy of the British Government was that since the majority of people in Northern Ireland wished to remain in the United Kingdom, that was that. We asked what would happen if the majority wanted something else, if the majority wanted to see Irish unity.

quote by John Hume
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Britains Storm

O! Britain is battered
With windy rainy tatters
The Storm has arrived
Its morning and just after five

O! Dear, Helter- skelter, Helter-Skelter
Here and there, they run for shelter
From a series of windy belters
Walking backwards is not healthier

With winds of 80 miles per hour
Florists hide displays of flowers
Homes and caravans are evacuated
And peoples moods are de-motivated

O! Britain is battered
With windy rainy tatters
The Storm has arrived
Its morning and just after five

[...] Read more

poem by Sylvia Chidi
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

We must honestly face our relationship with Great Britain.

quote by Wendell Willkie
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

If you do a story about a British journalist rescuing a child from Sarajevo, then Sarajevo just becomes an exotic location, and the story's about this British journalist.

quote by Michael Winterbottom
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Gideon Scheepers

There’s a Boer commandant
that proofs himself at Magersfontein
and help to beat the British there
and at Paardeberg on horseback,
rides right through them
and they cannot touch him.

When his commando
enters the Cape Colony
rail tracts are blown away
and British trains stand and wait
and there are many Cape Boers
that joins him
to fight against
the overwhelming British might.

The British give guns
to the black population
and send them to farmsteads
to murder women and children

[...] Read more

poem by Gert Strydom
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Britain can be proud of its response to the tsunami appeal.

quote by Gordon Brown
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Once, when a British Prime Minister sneezed, men half a world away would blow their noses. Now when a British Prime Minister sneezes nobody else will even say 'Bless You'.

quote by Bernard Levin
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

I give no more paroles to British officers.

quote by Christopher Gadsden
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Be blind. Be stupid. Be British. Be careful.

quote by Virginia Graham
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Battle of Gujrat

'Twas in the year of 1849, and on the 20th of February,
Lord Gough met and attacked Shere Sing right manfully.
The Sikh Army numbered 40,000 in strength,
And showing a front about two miles length.

It was a glorious morning, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky;
And the larks were singing merrily in the heavens high;
And 'twas about nine o'clock in the morning the battle was begun,
But at the end of three hours the Sikhs were forced to run.

Lord Gough's force was a mixture of European and native infantry,
And well supported with artillery and cavalry;
But the British Army in numbers weren't so strong,
Yet, fearlessly and steadily, they marched along.

Shere Sing, the King, had taken up a position near the town,
And as he gazed upon the British Army he did frown;
But Lord Gough ordered the troops to commence the battle,
With sixty big guns that loudly did rattle.

[...] Read more

poem by William Topaz McGonagall
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Salmon Van As

On a night just as the moon is rising
a British officer comes by horse with a white flag
and the rifle barrels of the Boers follow him,
as they are on guard at the front post.

Evening after evening he comes
and sometimes rides past in a cloud of dust
where he is spying on their positions
and tries to lead them astray with his chattering.

With words that by now they know:
“No nation will win against us.
Surrender tonight,
as you have already lost the war.”

On a hillock Salmon van As is at the front post
and something creaks below him in the trees and bushes
where he is standing with his Mauser rifle at the ready
and he knows of the atrocities of this Englishman
where with a thunder clap he shoots at him.

[...] Read more

poem by Gert Strydom
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

There are actually quite high profile British TV star cameos in it that you probably wouldn't even notice, that the British wouldn't even notice, let alone the American audience.

quote by Simon Pegg
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role.

quote by Dean Acheson
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!