It Always Pays to Ask Politely (well, sometimes anyway)

As the title says, it always pays to ask politely: unless, that is, you make the mistake of asking a politician, public functionary, government official, in which event, brace yourself for an avalanche of wilful and bewildering ignorance.

Having said that, a letter received by Dublin schoolboy, in response to his own, addressed to Queen Elizabeth II of England, asking if she would consider returning the six counties of Northern Ireland to their brethren in the south ('cos, it's not like she plays with them anymore - does she?) exhibited unusual civility.

Given the date of the letter however, we're still not sure if it is not a belated April Fools Day prank. If it's political satire on the other hand, it certainly has a disarming effect.

Queen Elizabeth II replies to Dublin pupil’s Easter Rising letter:

'via Blog this'

Britain! Britain! Britain!

Britain might seem a strange and confusing place to those whose knowledge is derived entirely from episodes of the popular TV series that stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas. It might surprise you therefore, to know that it is exactly like that, with much more besides.

Consider, for example, the geography of Britain, and the priceless gems that it throws up in the form of silly place names ...

... and, if you are confused by the diversity of spoken English accents to be found, we have this helpful guide:

That's all for today's lesson. Tune in next week, when we will be casting a condescending glance on some other poor country about which we know nothing, simply because it makes us feel incredibly smug.

Jane Austen's Fight Club

An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club that seems to be just crying out for Helena Bonham Carter yet, strangely, she isn't in it. Maybe she wasn't available.

If all of that went over you head, please understand that 19th century customs and mores were rather different to what we have today. Therefore, we have enlisted the help of these people to explain Jane Austen to a 21st century audience.

We hope that you enjoyed these short features, finding them to be entertaining, whimsical yet relevant, with an underlying revisionist conceit. If you didn't, go turn on your television with your 150 channels: see if Wayne's World is showing on any of them.