Pensioner accepts challenge

Makes a good headline, doesn't it?

One of the blogs I follow is written by Jim 'Suldog' and he recently listed 100 things he loves about America. Having done so, he challenged readers to come up with their own lists, whether about America or their own countries. Now, there's one thing some of us Brits (Limeys, Pongos, Rosbifs) can't resistn, and that's a bit of a challenge. It might take us some time to really get a response going, but we usually get there in the end. And I have.

What follows is a list of 100 things I like about England. Some of the are essentially English, some uniquely English (or even British); some are sentimental, some quirky or downright zany. Some can be found anywhere, some can be found elsewhere than England but not everywhere. All of them can be found right here in the land I love. Yes, I am proud to be English. Anyway, here goes.

1	Cheddar cheese
2	Cricket
3	Country pubs
4	Double-decker buses
5	Big Ben
6	Fish & chips
7	Nowhere is more than a couple of hours from the sea
8	The temperate climate
9	Bovril
10	Cottage gardens
11	Village greens
12	Roast dinners on Sundays
13	Bonfire night
14	The way the scenery changes even in short journeys
15	Ancient churches
16	The National Health Service
17	The South Downs
18	Melton Mowbray pork pies
19	The British system of justice
20	The monarchy - especially the Duke of Edinburgh
21	Royal Marine bands
22	The Last Night of the Proms
23	A stable political system
24	Policemen who don't carry guns
25	Stately cathedrals
26	Free speech
27	Public libraries
28	Free bus passes for the over 60s
29	English apples
30	Fresh cream
31	Crumpets
32	Cornish clotted cream teas
33	Tea - made the English way!
34	Electric kettles
35	A tolerant society (on the whole)
36	Morecambe & Wise
37	Public parks with grass in them
38	Our love of animals
39	The English Channel
40	The Lake District
41	Clean water at the turn of a tap
42	Roast potatoes
43	Mince pies
44	Victoria sponges
45	Cadbury's crème eggs
46	Bournville chocolate
47	Chris Barber's jazz band
48	Elizabethan manor houses
49	Bright red pillar boxes
50	The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
51	People not wearing their hearts on their sleeves
52	The BBC
53	Lack of the death penalty
54	A TV channel devoted to repeats of old programmes
55	Christmas pudding
56	William Shakespeare
57	Red telephone boxes
58	The musical drive of the Royal Horse Artillery
59	Freedom of religion
60	Thatched cottages
61	A reliable supply of electricity
62	Bitter beer
63	The British banking system
64	Strawberry jam
65	Blue tits
66	Chelsea buns
67	You can drive from one end of England to the other in a day
68	The Old Crock's Run
69	Punch & Judy shows
70	English understatement
71	Branston pickle
72	Independence of the press
73	Internet banking
74	Steak & kidney pudding
75	Oxford colleges
76	Cambridge colleges
77	Postman's Park
78	Most people speak the same language as me
79	Buses with signs advising the next stop
80	Seaside piers
81	The Royal Pavilion
82	Thick-cut marmalade
83	The song of the blackbird
84	Toasted teacakes
85	Train-spotters are tolerated
86	The massed bands of the Brigade of Guards
87	Not too many dangerous wild animals
88	Men wearing socks with sandals (thereby giving me a laugh)
89	Going abroad is easy
90	Digestive biscuits
91	The white cliffs of Dover
92	Full English breakfasts
93	No land borders with other countries (except Wales & Scotland which, for the purposes of this exercise, don't count)
94	The ability to poke fun at ourselves
95	A wide range of affordable foods
96	Hot, buttered toast
97	Christmas cake
98	Sea water spray in a storm
99	My family is here
100	A warm bed on a cold, windy, rainy night

I've included just a very few links, but I'm sure you can find more if you want to.