Part Six. Culture and Civil Society
In 1991 I devoted a part of Understanding Britain to British leisure. When I reflect on Russian society now, I believe that it will be more helpful to identify some of the ways in which 'civil society' works in Britain. 'Civil society' is a contentious term which I use here in a rather narrow sense to show the ways in which ordinary people decide to influence not only their lives as individuals but their lives as part of our wider society. These matters are chiefly discussed in Chapters 2 and 3. You should notice that, except on a few issues discussed in Chapter 7, there is no pressure on anyone to accept or reject, to take part in or to turn away from any of the many activities discussed in this Part.
Chapter 1. How the British Enjoy their Leisure
This chapter contains a brief overview of the ways in which British people spend their free time. 'Free time' is not an easily definable term. For some people, religious observance is their priority and not a matter of choice. For others, their voluntary activities become a binding commitment from which they do not wish to disentangle themselves. What these chapters share is that they explore that space between personal relationships and state institutions which is in some ways the space that most defines a society.
In 1991 when Understanding Britain was first published, the leisure activities available to the British and to Russians differed widely. Today we share much more - from computer games to trips to Turkey. In Britain the range of activities is more diverse than in Russia, partly because our society is more diverse, partly because we lack your long traditions of organizing activities for everyone. In what follows, do not assume that 'British people do this' or 'British children do that'. Some do, some do not, generalizations are difficult, and, except from friends and oneself, there is absolutely no pressure for anyone to take up any particular activity. In that sense at least we are considering 'free time'.
In 2009 the British Attitudes Survey found that 'watching television remains Britain's most common leisure activity', with 90% of our population watching several times a week. 'Watching television' ranges from recovering-from-exhaustion-on-the-family-sofa to intense shared experiences where everyone is sitting in the near-darkness, pop-eyed with excitement so perhaps it is not surprising that only a third of these frequent viewers say that they enjoy television very much, and nearly a quarter say that they do not enjoy it at all! By contrast, only 42% read a book several times a week. However 85% of those readers told the survey that they got 'a great deal of enjoyment' from reading.
Younger people turn to computers, partly for games but increasingly to enjoy social-networking sites. More than half the population use computers several times a week as a leisure activity. In fact if we look at 'leisure' in its widest sense, perhaps the most popular activities are using mobile phones and exchanging news on sites such as Facebook and My Space. Meanwhile older people are fast catching up; pensioners are not interested in computer games but are learning to use the internet in order to follow up their own interests - for example, discovering the history of their family.
Listening to popular music, is as widespread in Britain as anywhere. I am not qualified to say any more about this pleasure, but my son tells me to point out to Russian readers that 'one distinctive thing about British attitudes to music is that -along with the USA - we are its 'history': Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Sex Pistols and on and on. The success of these groups can make the British (and English in particular) very smug, but a huge proportion of massive and influential acts are British. This does, however, have its downside, since many British acts are compared with these pillars of popular music and understandably come up short.'
These leisure-time activities occur mostly inside the house. Outside, the British are indeed a nation of gardeners. Nearly half of us claim to spend time gardening. As I have explained, almost all houses have a small garden and the climate is ideal for growing plants from most parts of the world, since with a little ingenuity we can acclimatize them. I can walk out to admire the flowers in my garden during every month including January. Those of us who grow vegetables enjoy the fact that home-grown fruit and vegetables taste much better than those in shops. And, as everyone knows, we have a passion for lawns of grass which stay green throughout the year. For really enthusiastic gardeners who want more land, it is possible to rent an allotment from the local authority. An allotment can vary from about 100 square metres to 300 square metres; whoever rents it must cultivate it or it will be returned to the local authority since there is always a queue of people waiting for one. Unlike your bigger dacha plots, we are not allowed to build houses on allotments!
Even twenty years ago most people would have hesitated to include 'shopping' in their leisure-time activities. Shopping meant either going to the supermarket for the household's weekly necessities, or searching in department stores or specialist shops for clothes, shoes, and so forth. We have become an increasingly rich society with money to spare, so people have turned essential shopping into 'fun' shopping. What they buy is not necessarily very glamorous or expensive; much of it is short-term, to be bought and then thrown away. Going shopping, especially at the weekend, is therefore now treated as a pleasure in itself.
'Eating out' is another pleasure which is characteristic of an affluent society. In practice it can mean sitting around a table with friends in a pizzeria or a simple cafe; it can mean eating at a very expensive, exclusive restaurant but obviously that is for the very few. Tens of thousands of pubs provide cheap but decent bar meals and often, more elaborate meals, especially at lunchtime; cafes, restaurant and food-chain shops line our streets. Our enthusiasm for getting others to cook our meals is maybe laziness. But eating socially with others in public seems to derive from habits in southern Europe where eating in the fresh air is almost essential during the summer months. Sometimes, in good weather, cafes and restaurants here put out tables on the pavement or in a little garden, but too often the rain and wind disappoint them. So mostly our meals are served indoors. (Personally I mourn the decline in Britain of dinner parties where friends came together in someone's home; the host cooked the meal and the pleasure of being together in an intimate place lasted for hours. This still happens, but less often.)
Families with small children have their own priorities. Most parents try to spend as much time as they can with their children in two typical ways. The first is to read to the child or children, usually at bedtime. The second is to go out for a walk, as a family, on Saturdays and Sundays. The 'walk' may be to the local playground equipped with swings, slides, climbing frames, often constructed alongside a public space for playing family football, cricket or simply running around. Sometimes the walk may be to a large municipal park, or to a local pond or lake 'to feed the ducks'. As children get older, families may make expeditions to fairs, local celebrations or - if they live close to the sea - to the seaside. In any town on any weekend some group or other will be performing or displaying crafts or organising a public party or arranging special activities for children. Town festivals and art shows are increasingly popular-ways of bringing people together.
All of these activities imply a degree of spontaneous activity and spontaneous participation. The fete or exhibition which was here today will be gone tomorrow. And next week, some other attraction will appear. As you can learn in the chapter on Culture and the Arts, hundreds of thousands of people join amateur choirs and orchestras, act in amateur theatrical performances or contribute paintings to amateur art exhibitions. Overall, millions take part.