You
know I love you, but I'm playing for keeps,
Although
I need you, I'm not gonna make this,
You
know I want to, but I'm in too deep.
Last Friday, January 6th 2017, my lovely wife Olga and
I went to the United Kingdom, on a so-called minicruise.
This minicruise would bring us from IJmuiden (close to
Amsterdam in The Netherlands) to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom; we
would sail to England on Friday to arrive there on Saturday morning, with
roughly five hours to spend on a short city trip, before we would leave again
at 4.30 PM GMT in order to return to Dutch solid ground this Sunday morning.
Where I jokingly stated that it would be our “EU Final Farewell
tour” to the United Kingdom – with a slight amount of pitiful sarcasm due to
the oncoming Brexit – the trip felt indeed as us coping with a substantial and
bitter loss, as in a loving relation gone terribly awry. To be honest, the UK
will always remain the beloved neighbour of The Netherlands and the economic
and political ties between both countries will probably remain strong after the
Brexit, so things will not change too dramatically between our countries.
Nevertheless, the intended Brexit in 2018-2019 – or
much, much later when Sir Ivan Rogers was right indeed – still feels like a very
sad divorce, in which we all hope that the partners can get along fine in the
future and will remain friends on behalf of the children.
But we are far from certain about that...
When looks do not deceive, this divorce between the UK
and the EU could be a nasty one. A divorce with reciprocal feelings of
bitterness and envy but also remorse about all involved parties not being able
to set the record straight in time to save the relation.
At the time that the British population spoke in its
referendum, it was already too late; the damage was done and the effects could
not be mitigated anymore. And also in this case – like with many other divorces
– there might be desperate fights between the involved parties for a “fair division
of the shared property”. In this case the fights will take place on behalf of
fair future agreements between the UK and the EU countries, regarding all kinds
of economic, cultural, political and financial terrains.
These negotiations must succeed eventually, as the current
agreements on free movement of people, goods and money must be continued in the
future in any which way. Probably this continuation of the current agreements will
happen in a (very) different way than anticipated by both parties and nothing about
the final outcome is certain yet; not even the amount of time that these
negotiations will take before enabling the actual Brexit, as this is all
uncharted terrain.
As a matter of fact, the negotiations to achieve the
desired results could be really, really nasty and long-lasting; especially now
that the UK have abolished their very seasoned and understanding diplomat Sir Ivan
Rogers – who was very well-established and enormously respected in EU affairs –
in favour of the also very seasoned, but much less experienced Sir Tim Barrow,
who is considered a rookie regarding EU affairs.
And at the same time all the European populist parties
are chuckling for joy, as they see the Brexit as the first domino to fall on
their way to political domination for the extreme rightwing and leftwing
parties, at the expense of the moderate liberal, conservative and
social-democrat parties.
All these thoughts were tumbling through my mind when
we were debarking in Port-of-Tyne for our short, but nevertheless impressive
trip to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. And where I first felt some slight anger about the
British ‘betrayal’ of our long-lasting and somewhat awkward friendship and
harmony in the European Union and even gloated about the presumed British mistake
– “in the future they will get a good economic and political lesson from the
consequences of this event” – these negative feelings were soon replaced with
feelings of observance and even admiration for the United Kingdom and for its
long and impressive history, as one of the guiding nations in the world.
From the first Roman settlements in the city, via the
medieval castle and other centuries-old monuments to the landmarks of the
industrial revolution, my wife and I enjoyed this trip to Newcastle to the
fullest.
What impressed me most about this city was the
versatility of its inhabitants; these people were not only the archetypical
pale, red- and brownhaired Britons with their freckles and sun-sensitive skin,
but also a melting pot of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, African
and Carribean people, in combination with continental Europeans from all
countries.
And this proved in fact the current anti-immigration
hype as being mainly pointless, as it is already impossible to return to a
situation that does not exist anymore since the Fifties of last century. All
these people with their different looks and different descents are all Britons-out-of-choice
and they are all there to stay, unless something really dramatically happens. And
what such a dramatical event is? God would only know!
What many of the aforementioned populist parties in the
European countries want, is seemingly a return to a kind of fairytale country from
the Fifties that never really existed: a Disney-esque version of the United
Kingdom, Germany or The Netherlands, with all shiny, happy
people holding hands and having fun. The Utopia of an all-white,
all-native and all-Christian population, with the angry outside world being harmless
and especially far, far away.
Olga and I had a 4 hour stroll from the Central Station
to the Newcastle University in the North and to Gateshead in the South of this fascinating
and wonderful, old city. We admired the old and modern bridges and architecture
of Newcastle and enjoyed the riverside view upon the old city and realized that
time and history never stand still, but are always in motion: sometimes very
quiet and at other times very turbulent and intrusive. This is simply the
nature of time.
Nevertheless, after this short, but wonderful trip I
can only hope that both the European Union and the United Kingdom come to their
senses regarding the Brexit and aim at a friendly and respectful divorce, that
is in the best interest of our mutual heritage.
I believe unfortunately that it is too late to save the
marriage between the EU and the UK at this point in time, as it was never a
very happy one and too much animosity and misunderstanding grew during our
years together. Therefore our trip to Newcastle was indeed our “EU Final
Farewell tour”.
But let’s celebrate life and peace together and let’s
not be too harsh upon each other. We are still neighbours and we still need
each other very much, albeit in a different way than before.
Enjoy the pictures:
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| Port of Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Port of Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Poundstretcher "austerity shop" in Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Thoughprovoking art in Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Stunning architecture of this Gateshead building Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| WW I memorial bench in Gateshead Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| "View through a bridge" Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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| "View through a bridge" Pictures made by and copyright of Ernst Labruyère Click to enlarge |
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