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Chelsea Flower Show and our island mentality | Chelsea Flower Show and our island mentality |
(35 minutes later) | |
Among the exuberant and heady nostalgia of the 100th anniversary Chelsea Flower Show is an exhibit which touches a visceral British anxiety. | Among the exuberant and heady nostalgia of the 100th anniversary Chelsea Flower Show is an exhibit which touches a visceral British anxiety. |
You could walk past it without noticing. | You could walk past it without noticing. |
But if you do, it delivers a poignant message - particularly in a week overshadowed by grim events on the other side of the capital. | But if you do, it delivers a poignant message - particularly in a week overshadowed by grim events on the other side of the capital. |
A little oak tree struggles to fulfil its destiny on a small island. Here, in horticultural form, is the tension of our nation. Are we independent and proud or isolated and vulnerable? | A little oak tree struggles to fulfil its destiny on a small island. Here, in horticultural form, is the tension of our nation. Are we independent and proud or isolated and vulnerable? |
The wider message of the garden that includes the oak seedling (these days gardens at Chelsea are almost expected to have a message) is "Stop the Spread". Our countryside is under threat from invasive non-native species, says the leaflet. | The wider message of the garden that includes the oak seedling (these days gardens at Chelsea are almost expected to have a message) is "Stop the Spread". Our countryside is under threat from invasive non-native species, says the leaflet. |
"On the island in the middle of the pool a single seedling grows," the garden's designer Jo Thompson explains in the bumf. | "On the island in the middle of the pool a single seedling grows," the garden's designer Jo Thompson explains in the bumf. |
"While at first it may seem vulnerable, it promises new shoots of hope that reflect our aim of working together to help stop the spread." | "While at first it may seem vulnerable, it promises new shoots of hope that reflect our aim of working together to help stop the spread." |
Concern about the loss of indigenous wildlife to foreign invaders was also a theme of Wednesday's State of Nature report. Turtle doves and red squirrels, water voles and ladybirds - familiar and much-loved British species are declining, often because of external threats. | |
But does that fragile oak sapling also exemplify a force in our social and political sphere? | But does that fragile oak sapling also exemplify a force in our social and political sphere? |
For some, the horrifying event in Woolwich this week is another reason to question the diversity of culture and ideas in our little island nation. | For some, the horrifying event in Woolwich this week is another reason to question the diversity of culture and ideas in our little island nation. |
The challenge of globalisation and the worldwide web of communications that shrink our planet shapes the national conversation at the moment. | The challenge of globalisation and the worldwide web of communications that shrink our planet shapes the national conversation at the moment. |
The sense of national essence diluted or contaminated by multinational forces, is a large part of what drives support for the UK Independence Party. The blazered white British gent with his pint of foaming bitter is portrayed as an endangered species. | The sense of national essence diluted or contaminated by multinational forces, is a large part of what drives support for the UK Independence Party. The blazered white British gent with his pint of foaming bitter is portrayed as an endangered species. |
The frustration of some grassroot Conservatives is that the Tory prime minister does not appear to share their determination to hold out against the forces of change - whether that be the idea of gay marriage or the prospect of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants arriving courtesy of EU membership. | The frustration of some grassroot Conservatives is that the Tory prime minister does not appear to share their determination to hold out against the forces of change - whether that be the idea of gay marriage or the prospect of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants arriving courtesy of EU membership. |
These concerns are not exclusive to the political right. In deprived Labour heartlands up and down Britain, I have heard the same fears: | |
There is another anxiety reflected in that little oak tree, though. It is of an island people cut off from the wider world - isolated and exposed. | |
The British have a strong sense of their own decline. | The British have a strong sense of their own decline. |
Our national story is often framed in terms of a once-great global power on the wane. | |
You will regularly hear people talk blithely about this island country going to the dogs or to hell in a handcart. | You will regularly hear people talk blithely about this island country going to the dogs or to hell in a handcart. |
The news may often read like a litany of ghastly events, but look beyond the headlines and it is clear that we are not. | |
I was talking to BBC journalists on Tuesday about the positive numbers that belie the struggles of austerity and global change. | I was talking to BBC journalists on Tuesday about the positive numbers that belie the struggles of austerity and global change. |
In many ways, our neighbourhoods appear to be getting stronger: | In many ways, our neighbourhoods appear to be getting stronger: |
The response to the Woolwich killing will test the strength of these improvements. The first signs are encouraging. | |
Challenges remain - plenty of them. But it is probably fair to say that our island nation is somehow coping in difficult times. Keep calm and carry on. | |
Perhaps the message of the little oak tree is that, if we take the time to look, there are shoots of hope. | Perhaps the message of the little oak tree is that, if we take the time to look, there are shoots of hope. |
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