Dear 2016,
It's been a long time. Things have really changed. It's a different world from in your day. I think that decision that we made to leave the EU really changed Britain and the world. It was hard at first, there was panic all over the country and the world. The financial markets went crazy and people thought that we were gonna go under. Unemployment rates soared and the pound depreciated to it's lowest point ever. What a time that was. In the aftermath of Brexit, many British citizens moved to Scotland and the European countries. Scotland had decided to stay in the EU and leave the United Kingdom to go on without them, so it was an appealing place to go for those that wanted to be close to their European roots. In the end it worked out well, because it avoided a civil war. For a few years after the Brexit decision Britain was divided between the Leavers and the Remainers. They would constantly snipe at each other and it made Britain into a political version of the American civil war for a while. At first no one had much of an idea of what Britain's Brexit future could be or what it would look like but then things started to get clearer.
With a lack of ideas on the table, many started to look towards the Commonwealth, that collection of states from the former British Empire that had gathered into an informal network after the independence struggles. Now, the Commonwealth was made up of like 2.2 billion people with all different colours and backgrounds most figured that it was not viable to join a formal political union with nations that were larger than the UK and were so disparate. Some people were kind of sceptical about the whole thing, they imagined that the former colonies would not see a point in starting a new redefined relationship with their former coloniser. Many thought it was just a nostalgic attempt to recreate the British Empire. Eventually, it was decided that whilst the Commonwealth of 2.2 billion would continue as an informal collection of states the Commonwealth Realms would become part of a new Commonwealth Free Trade Zone.
So, "the zone" was created with Australia, Canada, New Zealand the United Kingdom and those from what used to be called the British West-Indies but things were a little different than before. The nations of the British West-Indies had become part of the United Kingdom, essentially taking the place of Scotland after they decided to leave the United Kingdom and pursue their own path with the EU. Remember we used to talk about Black Britain? Well, it all got reconfigured and the Caribbean islands were given full recognition of their British citizenship. It took a while for people to see the sense bringing Black Britain into the franchise. There was some fierce opposition from some camps but in the end, no one could really deny that the West-Indians had as much right to be part of the United Kingdom and enjoy the freedom of travel that those from Scotland used to and those from Wales and Northern Ireland still do. In the end people came to terms with the ideas and wondered why they had never thought of it before. These were more than 4.5 million English speaking and cultured citizens, who had been in a relationship with Britain for hundreds of years. At the time Britain had an ageing population and they needed to make up for the shortfall of youth and young adults, so some time in the 2020's or the 2030's, I forget the date, the whole union was transformed.
But as I was saying, the Commonwealth. So, we created this thing called the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and it allowed free movement for the citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom including the West-Indies across all these land spaces. Could you imagine it? Well, it happened. We used to be a cold, isolated island just off the coast of Europe. Today, well Britain is still a cold, isolated island just of the coast of Europe but things did really change. With the coming of the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and free movement, UK citizens were given options to travel in a varying array of climates throughout all the states. They were able to live, work and study in any of the 5 regions and eventually many ended up in Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies. That Home and Away dream really captured our imaginations. Large amounts of people who preferred a colder climate but wanted more opportunities ended up in Canada. In fact during the Christmas period, people from all the regions make their way to Canada where it is all "Christmassy" and they can have that Hollywood Christmas with the snow and the reindeer's and they stay in log cabins and dress up warm. Believe me. It is like Mecca when it is Christmas down here now. It is a beautiful sight to behold. But there are still the die-hard's that hate the whole idea; mostly UKIP and EDL supporters. Do you remember those nutters? They took were so stubborn with their whole English nationalism, in the end they became a big joke to everyone. There was even a sitcom about them. A kind of combination of Alf Garnet; Dad's Army and that other revolutionary guy from the 70's with the beret. You know the one, he lived in Tooting, Citizen Smith. A bit like that but much funnier. But most of them eventually changed their minds when the war started. Today, good old Britain is where we keep the criminals and the prisoners. Things really changed aye? We used to send prisoners to Australia, haha. I am going to tell you about the war in a minute. Hold tight.
Anyway, it took a bit of time to get it all going. We never had the technology to make flights faster or cheaper at first. These long haul flights weren't like those short flights in the EU. These were working day and whole day trips. Many could not afford to make the journeys and enjoy the fullness of "the zone" - we still call it "the zone" after the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone but it is better known these days as the "Anglosphere", it's like a Star Wars name or something, "THE ANGLOSPHERE". What a cool name! Lol
But eventually, with so many people making the trips, engineers figured out ways to cut down the journeys to like half days and less. It made a big difference. With the quicker flights and the demand, the prices started to reduce. Do you remember those cheap flights to Greece and Spain? Well, you can travel in "the zone" for the same price today. Great thing is you don't even need to learn another language or a new cultural framework. We just all fit right in like one people; it was a really clever idea.
Drugs were legalised! Can you believe it? Do you remember you used to get arrested for possessing marijuana. That all changed now. People realised that the drug war was a massive waste of money and unnecessary. After people started travelling around "the zone" they were much happier. Spending time away from the grey skies really mellowed people out. We became much more like the people of the West-Indies and Australian's. It's all "Irie, mon" and "G'day, mate" these days. Jamaica still produces some of the best herbs in "the zone". Some Bob Marley level but more, trust me. With the harder drugs, well, we figured some things out. Once the drugs were legalised scientists figured out ways to change the molecular configuration of cocaine and opium and they became less addictive. Plus, society learnt to manage them, just like how they managed alcohol in your day. I was just smoking a joint with the Prime Minister of Canada; Lupita Trudeau. Yes, the great, great granddaughter of Justin Trudeau's son x 2 and the great, great great grandson + 1, or something like that, of Barack and Michelle Obama. How things changed for the better. Today, we'd be wondering what all the fuss was about. I mean have you ever smoked a super-grade joint on an Aussie beach with a West-Indian chick who you met in New Zealand on the way home from Canada, after surfing in pure blue water? Like wow, you gotta experience that.
Remember when Barack Obama was the first Black President and it was a big deal? Well, that is nothing today in "the zone". There have been black, white and brown leaders of the regions of the "Anglosphere". All that, "judge people by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin" that King used to talk about came to be, but not in the US, it all kind of exploded when we built "the zone". People came from all over. We were like the US but better. That was until they aligned with us and became our favourite ally. Mixed-race populations used to be still a little bit of a big deal in our day. Things look different than they used to now. There are many brown looking citizens that are a mixture of everything. Today, we call them neutrals. Much of the population is like that these days but there is a lot of diversity too within that. More than you have ever seen. There are people that you could only call citizens of the world. They are not citizens of the world because they are citizens of the "Anglosphere" but they are not like the racialised citizens of 2016, if you get what I mean? There is still discrimination today but it is not based on the old racial categories of 2016, being in "the zone" is a different experience altogether.
Oh, yes. Do you remember those mock up pictures that people used to do with Photoshop, where they made Queen Elizabeth II looking like what we used to call a black woman? Well, we got a "black" Queen. One of the Princesses of the Royal family married one of Bob Marley's descendants and they had a child and it became the Queen of England. Nowadays the Royal family has gone through an array of complexions that would never have been imagined before. It is just the changing tide of the openness of today.
But, I didn't tell you about the war. After we voted for Brexit there was a bit of anger about what had happened. Some thought that Britain betrayed it's European roots by reaching out across the seas. The EU became a bit chaotic and more and more member states began to leave. As they left, there was more bitter feeling and eventually Europe broke into war, like it used to. Luckily, we escaped being in the war because most of the citizens had left for the New World. I think that some of the EU nations wanted to have a rerun of 1939 but it made it more difficult when we were half-way across the world chilling on a beach or in the landscapes of Canada; if you get what I mean? The "Anglosphere", anyway, had turned into a fighting force like no other and there was little chance of a defeat. Plus, we were like 2 continents and more of people. Once we got the space, people weren't afraid to have children. They knew that they would have opportunities unlike they had had. Parents actually want to bring children into our world because there is so much to experience. It is a beautiful place. Like a Utopia.
Anyway, Europe was devastated by petty arguments and control freakery. It spread into Britain for a moment but the only ones left were the supporters of UKIP and EDL and few Conservative Party types. They didn't camouflage themselves very well when the enemy turned up; they were all driving white vans and wearing top-hats! They are really silly. Anyway, thousands of them died so we intervened and took them out of England. They were really embarrassed because the women flying the planes that collected them were black and they weren't too keen on the multi-racial society idea. Lol! That was funny. Today, the British Isles are mostly a museum dedicated to our past when we had little imagination. As I said earlier, we also keep prisoners there as a punishment. They are out of the way and we get to live our lives in peace. The EU is trying to reform. They have a few members, Germany, France and a few others but let's see what happens. The war really wreaked havoc. It is almost as if they never learned from their past. They were always fighting. To think that we considered ourselves to be Europeans rather than part of the "Anglosphere" for all those years.
We still got rivals. China and the Middle East, Russia too but we are further out of the way than before. Being in the America's and the Pacific really changed our dynamics. India is a big deal; they have a big population and Bollywood has quadrupled in output. Even in "the Zone", we watch Bollywood movies now. Because we kept the Commonwealth going, we kept peaceful and diplomatic relations with India and they are one of our closest allies today. The US are now the closest partner to us. Once we left the EU, after a few years the US decided that we would be their best partner in keeping world peace, order and stability and we formalised a special relationship between us and the US. But Africa, wow Africa has seen massive growth. Remember the days when we used to see starving African children? That hardly exists these days. Those African nations that are part of the Commonwealth in particular really took off. With the support of the "Anglosphere", the US and some input from India, Africa was able to really develop. Today, they still supply food produce to us up in "the zone" and we share our technical expertise. Things are working out well. Once we left the EU, we did not have to charge the tariffs on African produce, this enabled British business to really cut the costs of food produce for the consumer. African states like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South-Africa really became the breadbasket of the world and Swaziland, wow. Remember when the Commonwealth started working with Swaziland with mining in your day? Well, they eventually struck gold, well, more like oil and then really changed things around. Today, African states in the Commonwealth are some of our closest allies and partners. Many Africans even live in the "Anglosphere". Who would have believed it, with all that anti-immigration rhetoric in the old days?
In the end Brexit turned out OK. There were some difficult times in the immediate aftermath and for a few years as we got ourselves together, but then the New World started to take shape. I can tell you that it has been an adventure well worth having.
Anyway 2016; I'm depressed talking about back in your days, so I am going to relax on the beach with my medication. Get it medication? Loool.
All the best
Tony
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