The First Great British Write Off! (Closed)
Jul 01 '04 (Updated Nov 04 '04)
The Bottom Line A Write Off born from the fiery loins of impassioned patriotism....
Ooo-er..
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Yes I've finally taken the all important decision to retire this write off before it meanders aimlessly into the senile midst of the Epi-ether..
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in this, my first ever Write Off! I had no idea what kind of response to expect, but I reckon that 20 reviews aint half bad. And with an excellent diversity of topic, from beer to Blur this write off had it all (kinda) - the best of British on display for all to marvel at. Thanks again guys, and watch this space for future installements, this is one millitant Brit that you aint heard the last from!
Cheers
Tom
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(Ok, so it might not actually be the first, but it is to my knowledge, so feel free to correct me!)
Right, a little introduction, seeing as how this is my first Epinions Write Off and all.
I should point out that this wasn’t going to be my first Write Off at all, until last week – in fact I had no immediate plans to host a write off. But needs must.
So why the sudden change? I hear you ask in one giant inquisitive chorus..
Well, let me tell you.
The other day I decided to enter my first official Epinions Write Off, the ‘First June Write Off’. After a great deal of scouring the site I managed to find a film which I had seen and had no reviews – so all was set and off I went writing my review with merry abandon.
(Those of you are already familiar with my critically acclaimed review of 'The Bostonians' will know where this is going..)
And things were going well, right up to the point when I came to actually enter my review into the Write Off, and I read the following condition:
'4. ELIGIBILITY
To enter, you must legally reside in the 50 United States.'
Imagine, if you will, my utter dismay – and the consequent concoction of catatonic emotion all blended together in a crazy cocktail of shock, horror, disappointment and rage – served without ice, shaken and stirred.
Anyways, to read the full sordid details of check out the end of the review.
So, the upshot is that instead of sitting around whining about the Ameri-centric, anti-Anglo orientation of the site, and the discriminatory woes of being part of an underprivileged minority – I thought I’d take some positive action!
Hence the first Great British Write Off!
The rules are simple.
All you have to do to enter is write a review about something which is inherently British. Now this could be a British product (the latest Dyson for example - just don’t choose a car, we don’t do those any more..) an album by a British band, a film by a British director, a book by a British author, or of course a review of a British place (extra points for reviewing my home town of Liverpool)! You get the gist, as long as it’s got ‘Made in GB’ stamped somewhere on it, then here’s the place to review it.
Once you’ve done that simply include a link to this page in your review, and leave a comment here and I’ll add a link to your review from this page. (That seems to be how things are done around these parts)
You can write as many reviews as you like, provided they’re all new, and all have a tangible link to the good old U of K.
Note to my friends currently residing 'state-side'
Now don't get me wrong here peeps, my frustration isn’t with America, nor it’s people, nor even it’s products – it’s the big wigs at Epinions HQ who’ve decided that extending a competition entry to a humble Epinioner who happens to reside in a little old place called ‘THE REST OF THE WORLD!’ is just too much effort. 'And besides', they think, as they swivel on their black leather chairs on the 157th floor of Epinion-Towers, 'the British are such placid, amenable folk, that no-one is likely to kick up a fuss'. Well, you didn’t count on Spiderkid in your totalitarian attempt at world cyber-domination did you?!
Now, ehem, for the rest of you - I would like to make very clear the fact that this isn’t in anyway an ‘Anti-American’ Write Off, it’s simply a ‘Pro-British’ Write Off. It’s just a little bit of ‘positive discrimination’ on behalf of the native, tea drinking people of a little, near forgotten island adrift somewhere in the Atlantic
So before I start getting calls from the ‘Department for the prevention of Un-American activities’ (or whatever) I’d better add that I really do love America. I’m not just saying that, I do. I’ve had a strange life long fascination with it, and several of my closest friends are American and live in America. I’ve visited the place on several occasions and always look forward to going back. I’m probably one of the few British people who can name all 50 states, place them on a map and name their Capital cities (actually I’m sure there are some Americans who can’t even do that) (Ok, so that’s a rather sad confession, but this can be a pretty boring job sometimes, and that was in my pre-Epinions days).
One thing you American’s are very good at is national pride, and good on you. You love your country and you let everyone know. In England, if you express pride in your country it’s called ‘Nationalism’ and you’re branded a fascist and locked away. Now if you genuinely are a fascist, then you really should be locked away, but plenty of people just don’t know how to be proud of their country, let alone express it (excluding major sporting events involving balls), and this Write Off is an opportunity to express that, and generally show an appreciation of all things British.
If you're not sure how to go about expressing such appreciation, well, I'm British. So for starters you can express your appreciation for something British by pressing that little 'Very Helpful' button at the bottom of the page. You see, and you thought this was gonna be hard!..
Happy posting old chaps!
Cheers
Tom
The entries
1. Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles ~ aeb89
2. Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout ~ proxam
3. How could I miss the Great British W/O! ~ Susie-34668
4. Random Memories ~ dizzybint
5. Hey - where'd it go?!?! (York) ~ captaind
6. London Heathrow Airport ~ captaind
7. London Gatwick Airport ~ captaind
8. 'The simplest stuff is the best' - David Gray. The EP's 92-94 ~ spiderkid
9. "Are you Mary, Queen of Scots?" "I am." (hack-hack, chop-chop) ~ mothra3
10. When the Temperature's Rising... ~ proxam
11. Keeping the faith! ~ cr01
12. Why Liverpool is Worth a Visit for Beatles fans and non-Beatles fans alike ~ beckytcy
13. Britain's Beloved Potter ~ treeseed
14. Whenever this Doctor person arrives...all hell breaks loose (Dr Who) ~ sadgit
15. Decent Cup, but You'll Pay Up the Nose! ~ marybatson
16. Caribbean Soul-Pop for the Grown and Sexy ~ kookytree
17. All the Videos, So Many Videos... The Best of Blur ~ beckytcy
18. Thunderbirds are GO! (And much better than expected.) ~ captaind
19. My partner, the ghost. ~ adriennefoster
20. Dungeons without Dragons. ~ adriennefoster
21. The Baby Whisperer. ~ artemis8
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Epinions.com ID:
spiderkid
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Member: Tom
Location: Liverpool, UK
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 23 members
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