Love for the UK

A passion for a country: United Kingdom

This week not a blog post about illustration but about another love: the United Kingdom.
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming Basil and having a hotel named ‘Fawlty Towers’. I lacked the essentials: a lean figure and oh: I wasn’t male. The British accent I had covered. At age 11 my rapport card said: “Marloes should watch less TV because her accent is really British”. Being born in the Netherlands, in the countryside at that, this was of course a tad weird. Ever since that rapport card I have been trying to sound as Dutch as I can when I speak English. I feel slightly embarrassed about this! 😀

Growing up my love for the country never changed. When I was younger I never visited the UK, as my parents were more fond of Italian campsites. But when I turned 18, I took the chance and travelled to London for the first time. Since then, I have been visiting the country multiple times. If I can, I visit it two times a year.

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Manchester

I have the luck that my best friend Emma Reynolds lives in Manchester, so I have a really good excuse 😉
Since visiting Manchester regularly I really grew fond of the city. I like that I know my way around it, I know where to find the good book- and art shops, I know where to order the best pie… At first the city didn’t appeal to me that much, but it’s an absolute gem once you get to know it. Since two year I have plans to make my own little guide to Manchester, but it will take a while to have it finished. No worries, I will make it!

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Kent

The picture above and the one in the top are taken two years ago. I went to visit with my parents as they had never been to the UK and it was about time. This is in Frant.
We went with the car which is easy to do, because you take the ferry from France to Dover and just drive from there. First, we went to the Canterbury-area and stayed in a really small village (picture below) in Maidstone. It had a fruit and veg shop, a cigar shop that sold magazines as well, a post office and the best B&B called Dog & Bear.

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I like the old little villages, with old fashioned shops. This photo above almost seems like a set up, but it was just a shop by an older lady in the village.

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Scotland

Before I met my current boyfriend, I always assumed I would marry a man from the Northern parts of the UK. Preferably Scotland, as I love the accent. When a man speaks with a Scottish accent, I can’t help but swoon. Doesn’t matter if I don’t understand a word he’s saying. Which would make the perfect marriage! Am I right?! 😉

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Every time I visit, I feel like coming home. Which is weird as I’m born on the other side of the canal. I always said that one day I will move to Great Britain. I have no idea why I feel so strongly about this. It’s just how I feel.

Hastings

Next week I will be going again. This time it’s Hastings I will be visiting, as I have not yet been there. During that week I will try to convince the boyfriend to move to this gorgeous country with me. He already said ‘no’ but who can resist the beautiful sight of the English sea, right?

If any fellow illustrators want to do a drawing afternoon in Hastings, let me know!

I hope you enjoyed this more personal blog post and hope to see you again here!

Marloes De Vries

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9 reacties

  1. Marloes! So nice to know more about you! I really enjoyed reading your blog ! Beatiful pics!! Please! Let us know if you convince your boyfriend to move!😉

  2. I share your passion for this country! I was lucky enough to spend 9 months there and can’t wait to have another Britsh stay, whether short or long. Such an adorable place!

  3. I’m so glad to hear your love for the UK, I think many British people don’t appreciate how diverse and beautiful it can be. Be sure to come to the West Country on one of your visits, Devon and Cornwall are very different from the places you’ve already explored but every bit as wonderful!

  4. I love your blog Marloes! I adore the UK and since 30 years Jan and I tray to sleep in every county. I guess we have done two third of the UK. In july we stayed in Sommerset. Wow that was so nice and stunning!
    Enjoy your stay Marloes!

  5. Wat een mooie foto’s en bedankt voor de tips. Ik ben ook een angle-fan en wij willen over een paar weken 5 dagen naar Zuid-(oost)Engeland gaan, wat kan je mij adviseren? Wij zijn nog nooit in deze regio geweest. We vinden het leuk om in een B&B in een dorpje met een mooie omgeving te blijven in de buurt van een wat grotere stad. Heb jij suggesties? En hoe is Hastings?

  6. I have always felt the same way about the uk.Although I am Dutch too.I moved to the UK in 1993 and have never been happier.😬😉🙌🙌 .The rest I will write in Dutch ! Hoi Marloes! Ik had inderdaad precies hetzelfde.Misschien hebben we beiden ooit een vorige leven in Engeland gewoond! Toen ik in Nederland woonde, heb ik mezelf beloofd als ik ” volwassen” werd , ging ik naar Engeland verhuizen.E n dat heb ik inderdaad ook gedaan.Nederland is ook mooi en ik heb er vrienden en familie waar ik ook naar toe ga.Gelukkig is er tegenwoordig internet en Skype.Maar Engeland is prachtig✌💚💚Groetjes.Beertje. ( beertje_vonk_artist on Instagram).

  7. Ha tof! Ik herken me erg in je verhaal – ik ben ook illustrator, ook fan van Fawlty Towers, en ook fan van Engeland. De eerste keer dat ik er heen ging was een aantal jaar geleden, ook toen ik al op mezelf woonde, op uitnodiging van een artiest die ik tof vond. En daar ontmoette ik ook een meisje waar ik een tijd mee heb gedate. In januari ga ik eindelijk weer met m’n huidige vriendin, superveel zin in!

    En qua Fawlty Towers – het hotel is er nooit van gekomen, maar ik heb wel een keer met John Cleese gesproken om samen een FT project te doen. Qua rechten lag dat helaas nogal moeilijk, maar het was wel heel leuk om te bedenken.