No. 9, September 15, 2008
UK vs. US: a debate

Big Ben or Big Apple?

It’s not likely to put an end to the transatlantic alliance, but the jibes will likely come thick and fast in an upcoming debate on relative merits of British and American institutions and ways.
“Is the US President more relevant than England’s Queen? Does American dress down top British sartorial elegance? Is New York better than London?”
Those are some of the questions to be addressed in the inaugural Alfred Dunhill Debate on September 19 in New York City. The event is publicizing the opening of a Madison Avenue store by dunhill, the British luxury goods firm.
Taking the American side is Donny Deutsch, advertising agency head and host of CNBC’s The Big Idea, and for the British, Piers Morgan, former editor of the Daily Mirror and News of the World (News of the Screws, as Private Eye has it) tabloids and reality TV “personality.” The winner will be awarded $10,000 for his chosen charity.
Other debate topics will include football versus football (soccer) and possibly the New York yellow taxi versus the London black cab.
A number of other possibilities also come to mind: Hot dogs or pork pies? Harvard or Oxford? James Bond or John Rambo? Bourbon or Scotch? NHS or managed care? Kentucky Derby or Grand National? Overt class system or unacknowledged? Special Forces or SAS? Cadillac or Bentley? Yobs or rednecks? Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren? Grouse shooting or deer hunting? Walmart or Marks and Sparks? New York Review of Books or Times Literary Supplement? Bud Lite or Best Bitter? (Actually no debate on that one – I’ll have a proper pint, thanks very much.)
So go to it, boys. I’ll be interested to hear the result, while sharing with other Canadians the not unjustified view that this is really the best place to be.