Thanks Steve!

her all. That's what I found exceptional. She could have just paced the second place contestant and won handily. She gave us a great show.

That last push was for the crowd. Well done.

What a great story.

http://www.flotrack.org/article/13915-Mo-and-Rupp-Olympic-Moment-Mens-10k-Final-100-Meters

The looks in their eyes when they finished was incredible.

It took AP writer John Leicester at least seven paragraphs before he finally got around to informing the reader which Britons won gold medals and for which events.

I gave up long before then.

Three awesome queens, two Elizabeths and a Victoria, and more than a couple kings.

Winnie Churchill!!

Shakespeare, Chaucer, and many between and since. I like Larkin!

Newton, Darwin, Wallis, Rutherford (although he was a Kiwi), Thompson, Maxwell (a Scott), Hawking, and scores of famous scientists.

Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Harry Seacomb could only have made The Goon Show in the UK. No other country would have allowed such self-effacing humor go on national broadcast for so many years. Of course, Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore, and Monty Python significantly extended the British to the highest art of social and political satire. To use an Olympic allusion, the Goons set the bar.

And the music. Even Henry VIII wrote music (Greensleeves? Didn't Snopes it). But just Handel ought to convince. But just maybe there is a little Shakespeare, Handel, and Goon in Gilbert and Sullivan. (Although I think with respect to Goons, it went the other way around.)

You do not have to remind us of WW II, when you stood up tall and proudly defiant when the rest of Europe had descended into chaos and misery. We saw Dunkirk and how you saved your army and likely your country with mere bear skins and bone knives, so to speak. That, under a very charismatic leader, good old Winston, who inspired the world, and may have singly saved it. I shudder to think of the outcome if Germany had overtaken Britain.

UK citizens have nothing to be ashamed of. Please do not judge USA by recent certain citizens' visit.

We love you all. Your triumphs are the world's triumphs.

From an Anglophile US citizen.

Lovely post, thanks.

And no, we don't judge America on the basis of its stupidest citizens - after all, we wouldn't like to be judged on the basis of Cameron and Osborne!

Britten, Elgar, Rutter and my fave, Vaughan Williams.

And of course, the Beatles, the Stones, and all the bands I can't even remember off the top of my head....

The last great post romantic symphonist.
Plus, the greatest tuba concerto in the literature.

I agree with the rest, too.

Love Britten, especially the War Requiem and his operas.

Britain indeed has a long history of choral music. I pretty much love it all.

Thanks for the response. I love this shit.

my favorite, favorite, favorite chorus. The solo is gorgeous. If I had only one to sing or listen to, that would be the one.

I forgot Daniel Pinkham. I got a fabulous review in a local Christmas Concert for the solo descant line in one of his choruses. Unfortunately, there *was* no solo. The conductor had a bad ear; he kept looking at me and asking for more, more, more, so I upped the volume and belted it out. I obliterated all 14 sopranos. It sounded good on tape , but boy were they mad at me when the review came out and the criminal soprano identified!

I sang the War Requiem twice. We were badly prepared and the results were a total embarrassment. I felt sorry for the very fine soloists and the audience who paid good money to sit through that travesty!

All I can say is Wow!

Peter Grimes, The War Requiem!

Another fave Brit of mine is Janet Baker. I don't think I've ever heard a bad performance by her. Her Schubert is astounding. What a voice!

And what ever you do, do not get me started about Glorious John Barbirolli conducting Elgar or Mahler.

and has been for decades. Beyond even Beethoven and Brahms.

Found him on DU myself - sort of a bastard love child of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. Strange image but you get the idea...

I have so much English and Irish blood in my veins that my love for everything British knows no bounds....

via the BBC on my computer and they are just beside themselves (besides being FAR superior coverage). I have so enjoyed sharing their excitement.

but by golly Her Majesty is no doubt pleased that her subjects can still take in and enjoy a might fine circus.

I would love, love, love to see the Brits knock the Germans and Dutch off the throne for a change.

Their team is on such an incredible roll....Dujardin and Vallegro are an inspiration!