Mike Harling Featured in AP Story
April 14, 2009 by jonathan
Filed under Anglophilia, Britishness, Living in the UK
Our very own weekly Dispatches From the South columnist Mike Harling was quoted this past weekend in an Associate Press Article about the idea that Britain is becoming America’s 51st State due to globalization and commercialization infecting Britain.
Mike said:
Michael Harling, an American who moved to the town of Horsham in West Sussex 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of London, said small, quirky British shops have gradually been replaced by chain stores and burger shops, including many of American origin.
Most upsetting, he said, is the loss of all but one of the town’s tea shops.
“It’s becoming like America in that you have the same McDonald’s and the same stores in every town,” said Harling, author of “Postcards from across The Pond.”
“It’s hard to stop this American invasion because people like fast food and cheap stuff, but it’s very sad. If I had wanted that, I would have stayed in America.”
The rest of the article is really interesting and it raises some interesting issues about how American culture is being assimilated (willingly mind you) into the British way of life.
Congrats Mike!
Author Info - Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis. He keeps Anglotopia running in his spare time, always dreaming of his next trip to England, wishing he lived there - specifically Dorset - and is always trying to figure out a way to move to England. It will happen one day. Keep up with him on Twitter here. Read more from this author
