Rule Britannia?

Here's a dilemma I've been struggling with: Due to the fact my mother had the foresight to be born in England (thanks, Mom!), I'm actually eligible to claim British citizenship. This would mean I'd be a dual citizen of Canada and Britain, and I'd be able to hold a British passport along with my Canadian one. Because Britain is part of the European Union, having a British passport would make traveling into and out of E.U. countries a complete breeze. In fact, as far as I know I could even live or work in an E.U. country if I felt like it. This all sounds like a very good thing for someone in my position.

So what's the dilemma? Well, there are two:

1. The Cost: Applying for British citizenship currently costs £459.00, and that's just for the actual application itself. That doesn't include the cost of gathering all the properly certified paperwork that's required to accompany the application. It also doesn't include the cost of the passport itself (another $237 USD), or the courier costs, or the passport photos to be taken, or even possible costs associated with getting to a swearing-in ceremony, which is apparently mandatory. (I guess you can't just sign on the dotted line while humming a few bars of "God Save the Queen".) I estimate the whole affair would probably add up to about $1,500.00.

2. The Gut Reaction: I'm not sure why, but the thought of being a citizen of somewhere other than Canada gives me pause. Part of me worries because having citizenship in a country doesn't just mean having rights in that country, it also means having responsibilities. What obligations - legal, moral or otherwise - would I have to Britain if I went down this path? Deeper still, it just feels funny to think about being a citizen of anywhere other than Canada - it feels like a betrayal of the country of my birth.

I don't want to imply that I have anything against Britain - I strongly identify with all things English. I'm not just a WASP by default - I grew up with grand and great-grandparents speaking in an accent, and steak-and-kidney pudding for Sunday dinner (Mmmm!) (No, really!), and Beatrix Potter books. I still have family there. If any country other than Canada could really be home to me, I think it would be England. In a very real sense, they are my people. (This is not to lessen the contribution of the prairie farming stock that make up my Dad's side of the family. I'm also a big fan of Saskatoon pie and have been known to cheer for the Roughriders.)

Friends I've asked about this idea tend to take a purely pragmatic stance - Shorter line-ups! Legal short-term work if you need it! They might change the rules again - do it now while you still can! On a more philosophical level, they've pointed out that we live in an increasingly global society, and being a citizen of an E.U. country might have great benefits for me down the road quite apart from the advantage it would be on this trip.

So what do you think? I'd be interested to hear other opinions on the subject. Leave me a comment and give me something to think about.

This time next year - November 7

This week Winnipeg set a new record for the warmest temperature reached on November 3rd, breaking the old record set in 1905. On Monday the temperature went up to 19° Celsius; when I got up this morning the view from my back door looked like this:


So since winter has arrived as decisively as Barack Obama, I think today is a good day to introduce a little (hopefully) recurring feature I've been thinking about called "This time next year..." (posts like this will be labeled TTNY in the tag cloud). It's something I've been using to keep myself a bit more motivated. I've got a widget on my iGoogle homepage that shows me the weather in Winnipeg and whatever other location(s) I choose, so I've been viewing the place where I think I'll be in one year's time. Of course the schedule is all just theory at this point, but I still think this is pretty good motivation:


Today's "This time next year" location is Athens, Greece. Exciting! I imagine Greece will feature boatloads of history, crystal blue Aegean seas, and enough olives, feta cheese, lamb and ouzo to sink the Argo. (How appropriate that I'm currently working on a production of "Medea".) Greece would also be an excellent place for friends to meet up with me for a little R&R on the beaches of a Greek Island. I'm serious - think about it! I plan to be in Greece around November 3 - 17, 2009.

Even more exciting is that this time next year I hope to be running the Athens Marathon (I think it will be on Sunday, November 8th, 2009). This is THE marathon... the one that actually starts in the city of Marathon and runs to Athens, theoretically following the route that Pheidippides took to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. (The fact that the legend says he dropped dead after making his announcement is something marathoners like to gloss over).

The modern Athens Marathon actually finishes in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was built in 566 BC and has been renovated many times since then, most recently for the 2004 Olympic Games when it hosted the finish of the Olympic Marathon. How cool is that? Participants in the Athens Marathon run the last 170 metres of the course in a stadium built out of white marble that's 2,574 years old.


And that thought, my friends, is enough to get me through a snowy Friday afternoon in November, in Winnipeg.

An inspirational thought.

Thank you to my friend S for passing on this quote from Goethe. He (S, not Goethe) has just made a big, exciting decision to move his career, life, and family around the globe. He passed this on to me when I told him about my plan, and about how I'm still waffling about committing to it.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.

Goethe.

(Edited to add that it turns out this quote is actually from W. H. Murray in "The Scottish Himalaya Expedition", 1951. Thanks, Phonella!)

Sounding Off

Thanks again to Phonella, I now have the ability to paste a little MP3 player into a post so I can embed sound files into the blog.

Oh look - here's one now, a short Lonely Planet podcast:

My Maps

Here's a Google Map I've created to show where I plan to go. To get back to this post easily you can click on "Maps" in the menu bar. Eventually there will also be map of where I've actually been, which will probably a lot different than the plan. I may even add other close-up maps of my travels around a particular area, so you may want to check back here every once in a while.

You can also see this map in the side bar, but here it's much bigger. You can pan around on either map, change the view, and zoom in and out. Click any of the little blue markers or lines to read its label. You can also click on "View larger map" at the bottom of this one and be taken to the Google page where you can muck around even more.



View Larger Map

June 5, 2009:

Ok, rather that editing the original blue line from a hundred years ago, I've started a new RED line that shows what I've actually done! I thought it might be fun to see what really happens, compared to what I thought would happen. Also, I really didn't have the inclination or energy to muck around with that original line... Let's just say that these days, I've got bigger fish to fry.