Neighbours from Hell? English attitudes to the Welsh

By Cat Grogan

Mike Parker, co-author of A Rough Guide to Wales and a failed stand-up comic by his own admission, wishes to appeal to the those of us who, having grown up in England, have chosen to move west of the Severn bridge; the ‘In-migrants’. He strongly pushes the point that the book is not a drawn out apology for being English, but instead an attempt to delve into the stereotypes behind the well established gulf between the two neighbouring nations.

However within the first few pages it is clear that, in no way is he explaining the English behaviour, he simply assaults them in multiple, reckless unbalanced arguments, more along the lines of a Welsh nationalist than a English bloke gone native. It gives the impression of attempting to be quite a serious book, despite the liberal dosing of cartoons and deliberate avoidance of the Welsh attitude to the English.

Yet this sensationalist, over-adjectived rant is kept quite entertaining by both the tearing down of Welsh clichés and the contemporary references to programmes such as Room 101 and QI.

The latter half of the book is a different story, instead to trying to justify the opinion that the Royal Family is racist because William didn’t come to Wales for Uni., it has a look at the Welsh tourist industry and landscape, giving an historical perspective and discussing the English influences on it, (unsurprisingly the English are to blame for all the tainted bits). His description of some of the more spectacular sites does make you wonder why you never venture past Roath.

An unbalanced book that doesn’t examine any positive aspects of the Anglo-Welsh relationship or acknowledge any Welsh liability for its struggle, making a sometimes entertaining read, but not to be taken as seriously as Mike Parker intends it.