Visits to England – particularly those in recent times – have led me to ponder Englishness.

Because my first 30 years were in England many of my characteristics must, of course, be English. So perhaps this section is me trying to understand myself after 41 years based in Australia and 20 years of Australian citizenship.

Kate Fox’s book Watching the English became my text on Englishness, and its concluding diagram became my talisman. Unsurprisingly I interpreted Brexit through its insights.

Watching the English (Kate Fox 2004) and Brexit

Weather is a constant source of conversation.

English responses to weather

A visit to Winchester, with its statue of Alfred the Great, stirred up the English mythology that I grew up with.

Blood line or an unreliable emotional history of Englishness