But first, we're going to chronicle some of the great things Great Britain has given the world.
Like the English language. What would so many of us be speaking if it wasn't this? And what would we be eating? Probably not jam and biscuits, and fish and chips. Or Yorkshire Pudding. Or Sticky Toffee Pudding. Or Banoffe Pie! I guess we'd be drinking tea, but certainly not English Breakfast or Earl Grey.
There's something to be said about the second agricultural revolution here, but we're not sure what it is (nor do we really have the time to find out). This goes along with the concept of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, the invention of TV, the jet engine, and antibiotics. We're more certain about the World Wide Web, since Tim Berners-Lee is British. (Thanks, Sir Tim, for your contribution to Britain and the world.)
We're more comfortable thinking about the great classical composers (Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Edward Elger, William Byrd and Henry Purcell), and even happier thinking about pop music. Great Britain's contributions have helped - and in some cases, soley -- define pop music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Small Faces, The Specials, The Kinks, Black Sabbath, The Who, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd. Echo & the Bunnymen, The Stone Roses, The Pet Shop Boys, The Jam. Franz Ferdinand, Blur, Oasis, PJ Harvey, Radiohead. Coldplay, Joss Stone, Adele, Muse, Amy Winehouse and Duffy. (No, the Darkness does not make this list.)
And while we're thinking about art, let's not forget Sir Christopher Wren, Francis Bacon, JMW Turner, David Hockney, William Hogarth, Banksy, Josiah Wedgewood. Or Jane Austen, JRR Tolkien, The Bronte Sisters, Oscar Wilde, JK Rowling, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Ian McEwan, Virginia Woolf, TS Eliot, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Robert Burns. Or, um Shakespeare.
And while we're listing people, we can't forget Sir Winston Churchill, Princess Diana, Charles Darwin, John Peel, Sir Isaac Newton, King Arthur, David Beckham, Sir Thomas More, and Richard Branson.
Cricket, rugby, darts and snooker all originated in Great Britain, as did the modern versions of golf, football, field hockey and tennis. Also enjoyed around the world are Cunard's QE2 and QM2, Rolls-Royce autos and airplane engines, Aston Martins, James Bond, Guinness, Marks & Spencer, Harrod's, some fabulous designers discussed here, and British Airways First Class.
Are we sure Jesus Christ wasn't British? We won't state the obvious here. God save the Queen.
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