Brit for brains Brexit is now a global joke

Last night in the Fun Palace of Westminster there was a learned and respectful debate among the honourable members.

However, the House could not ultimately reach agreement on the colour of shite.

It is not clear at this point in time if the word “meaningful” is actually…well…meaningful anymore.

I suspect that those in the Westminster bubble do not have any idea how this looks to the outside world.

On Sunday the Big Fella found himself at Gah training on a US military base in South Korea -as you do…

There was a fine selection of counties represented.

A few lads from the Kingdom, one of my own from Mayo, two Dubs and a denizen of Derry.

My fella was the sole Donegalie.

Apart from fitness work and the usual drills, there was plenty of craic.

He said that one of the major subjects of humour was the current state of the Brits.

Now, for the avoidance of doubt, when Irish people use that term it is almost always in reference to the British state and their political elite.

It does not include the ordinary folk who are governed by those privately educated charlatans.

Of course, at the moment they don’t look like they could organise Gah training!

My fella said that field his team uses is laid out for American Football, but it does the job grand enough.

So, it’s Gah on the gridiron and fair play to Uncle Sam for allowing these Irish lads the space to train.

When I was chatting to him he showed me the bottle of water that he had picked up on the base.

“Freedom’s choice”.

Jaysus…

Yes, he misses home and we miss him, but he’s giving it a lash out there and like his Mayo grandfather before him, he sought out his own in a foreign land.

Of course, it isn’t a crime to be Irish in South Korea so in that sense it is different from the land where he was born.

The only regret that his mother and I have is that we waited until he was nearly four before moving back home.

Importantly he started school here and progressed through the Gaelscoileanna system.

Now he travels the world on his Irish passport, a chilled out Gaeilgeoir who knows who he is.

From our respective vantage points my son and I have been looking in on the political chaos on the polity that once ruled all of our island.

So far the Corner Back has called it right all down the line.

In 2016 he said that Trump would get the nomination and that he would beat Clinton with a bit to spare.

He even named the counties in the swing states that would clinch it for President Twitter.

I was convinced that Remain would triumph in the Brexit vote, but himself demurred.

He immediately connected the Trump and Leave results when I was still processing it.

Moreover, this was before the wider world had heard of Cambridge Analytica.

As this Brexit chaos has stumbled on his assessment on the likelihood of a No Deal scenario has grown.

He told me that the word “Brexit” now produces polite giggles among some South Koreans.

The longstanding reputational damage that is being self-inflicted is a sight to behold.

This piece in the New Statesman on a “The humbling of Britain” is a must-read.

Perhaps the Brits could do with a bit of humility because any state that has “Great” in the title probably needs to have a word with itself.

This entire shambles makes me think of my undergraduate days reading politics at York University 40 years ago.

Back then I had to endure industrial quantities of self-regarding pish about “the genius of Britain’s unwritten constitution”.

For the avoidance of doubt, I believe that a written constitution is a sine qua non of any modern progressive polity.

Of course, we Irish are here to help our befuddled neighbours.

We could even show them how to properly run a referendum.

In the meantime, the slow-moving Suez Crisis of Brexit can provide a teachable moment for those who think that Britain is still a great power.

It isn’t.

Brexit has handed the Irish state power over Westminster for the first time ever.

Because of the support of our gallant allies in Europe Prime Minister May had to wait until the Dublin government signed off on the Phase One part of the Withdrawal Agreement talks.

These are truly different days.

Indeed, the best fans in Ireland left Croker Park on Sunday with a trophy!

On the same day that Celtic put Sevco back in their box, Mayo won the league title at Croker

I just hope that my lads stopped for every funeral on the way home.

Is this the summer that Sam finally makes it back to the Wesht and the Brits find out that they’re not that great?

No doubt, if there are any developments then the Corner Back in Korea will keep me apprised.