Blighty definition (from Wikipedia).

Blighty is a British English slang term for Great Britain, deriving from the Hindustani word bilāyatī (विलायती), meaning "foreign", related to the Arabic word wilayat, meaning a kingdom or province. The term was more common in the later days of the British Raj, but can now be considered self-consciously archaic and, when used by speakers younger than the collapse of the British Empire, is generally intended slightly ironically.

According to World Wide Words, Sir Henry Yule and Arthur C Burnell explained in their Anglo-Indian dictionary, Hobson-Jobson, published in 1886, that the word came to be used, in British India, for several things the British had brought into the country, such as the tomato (bilayati baingan) and soda water, which was commonly called bilayati pani, or "foreign water".

During World War I, "Dear Old Blighty" was a common sentimental reference, suggesting a longing for home by soldiers in the trenches. The term was particularly used by World War I poets, such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. During that war, a "Blighty" was also used to mean a wound serious enough to require recuperation away from the trenches (that is, in Blighty).

yorkman wrote:Well the cause of that rant could have happened anywhere, so its not just part of the "joy" of living in Thailand. So that perhaps partially answers your question Sean.

Must have forgotten (thankfully for his sanity) about the "joy" of living in the UK I reckon.......

I like having a place to blow off steam especially when anyone knows that waht you are saying is just that. Lets face guys the hardest thing about Thailand is leaving that why I stopped doing that

Thank you Jimbo, for the dictionary definition of Blighty. To move on from there to the usage.In the first world war, the term was used in a moral boosting song which was sung by the troops round the camp fire, in hearing range of the enemy, to demoralise them and boost the spirits of our soldiers. This was repeated in WWII when a hit song was recorded by Vera Lynn, the forces sweetheart, which included the words:
Take me back to dear old Blighty, Blighty is the place I want to be!!
Then went on to descibe all the places and things missed by the men;ie;strolling down the prom, walking hand in hand with the one I love!
This was counter acted by the Huns with their own patriotic song, Lili Marlene which the resourceful Tommy(British soldier) put English words to which to say the least, were not complimentary to German women. The irony was, the English version became a huge hit and the Tommies sang it as they marched, as it was set to marching tempo, which effectively negated the German propoganda of the original.

ray23 wrote:[quote
I like having a place to blow off steam especially when anyone knows that waht you are saying is just that. Lets face guys the hardest thing about Thailand is leaving that why I stopped doing that

Thanks Ray, I am not the only one with the leaving problem.

Just a impresion it sounds like we may have a lot of guys around from the WW 11 era, I knw a lot of guys were here from the Vietnam era, but I had only met one guy form the WW11 era. A guy from Holland I was visiting and he showed me his nazi Germany passport. Now being WW11 history bufff, that was really a shock to me, I never in my wlidest dreams ever enviioned meeting someone other then Americans that had participated in WW 11. Being not exactly pro Nazi I can't really decribe my reaction. The guy then explained to me that he was taken from Holland, to Germany to work on the railroads. The German men were all tied up in the war, so they needed other people to keep the country working.

There must be some really great stories floating around our little community.

From ray23

I never in my wlidest dreams ever enviioned meeting someone other then Americans that had participated in WW 11

Well, unfortunately that's how it has mainly been portrayed by Hollywood which somehow managed to overlook the fact that WW II effectively started in September 1939.

It was only after the events at Pearl Harbour in December 1941 that the US joined in, some two years after it started.

BangkokButcher wrote:Paul, is this going to be a regular daily slot??

Just wondering how the things that gripe you over there compare with the things that griped you off back in blighty...

Interesting point Sean - however it can show that nowhere is perfect and things can get up your nose anywhere. Some people think being here is just paradise and its utopia even! - well let me tell them - its bloody not!

However - I would rather things got up my nose in a nice warm country with cheep beer and gorgeous women - so I guess I will stay a little longer

As Ray pointed out - its nice to blow off steam sometimes and gives others an insight into daily life here too, be it good or bad ! Some of the daily experiences are quite literally beyond belief and just when you think you have seen everything - along comes 'Somsak' and proves you wrong LOL

JimboPSM wrote:From ray23

I never in my wlidest dreams ever enviioned meeting someone other then Americans that had participated in WW 11

Well, unfortunately that's how it has mainly been portrayed by Hollywood which somehow managed to overlook the fact that WW II effectively started in September 1939.

It was only after the events at Pearl Harbour in December 1941 that the US joined in, some two years after it started.

Although this may seem on the surface off subject, it is really a rant and rage from the past as many of the British older generation still feel a keen sense of being let down by the late involvement of USA. AsJimbo correctly states, the WWII started in Sept 39, and despite repeated requests for help by Churchill to Roosevelt, Britain stood alone in Europe against the relentless advance of Nazism, all the other countries had surrendered. During this 2 year period the only assistance we were given was to SELL us a lot of lousy , rotting ships. It was called lease lend and 10 years after the wars end, America was still collecting payment from us for them.
Although the relevant pages were deleted, both from Hansard and Winstons own diaries as being too sensitive, it was widely reported that British intelligence had prior knowledge of the Pearl Harbour attack and Winnie suppressed reporting it to Roosevelt knowing that it, the attack, would make US get off the fence and join forces with us.It worked and within days American forces, in force were on their way to Europe. That undoubtly played a major part in determining the outcome, as most Brits will readily confess, we could not have won without them.

Thanks Jimbo and Val...very interesting. And I thought it had something to do with weather.

In the early days of WW II there was a fundamental difference between the attitude of many US citizens and its Government (plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose).

Between 1939 and 1941 thousands of US citizens went to Canada and volunteered to serve in the Canadian armed services; this was because they wanted to go to England (even before the United States officially entered the war in 1941) to help during the darkest hours of WW II against the forces of Adolf Hitler.

Many of them were trained as pilots in the Canadian Air Force then shipped to England in 1940 to join the Royal Air Force and fly Spitfires and Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain.

Fighter pilot casualty rates from 1940 to 1941 were extremely high, almost all of the American RAF pilots were dead by 1943. Those Americans who volunteered to fly for the RAF in 1940 were honored and respected for stepping forward to fight prior to being required to do so.

Well stated, Jimbo! I know Val is probably very aware that 'Britain' included the hearty and selfless contributions from other Commonwealth nations such as Canada. My own father served, and was stationed first in Britain, and was even eventaully barracked in an English home. He later served in Holland, and became deeply involved with a Dutch woman he got to know. However, he was married, albeit shakily. His daughter was to die while he was overseas without any allowance from the army to come home; and this held when his mother took sick and also died. His wife even abandoned him. Quite a lot to take for a lad still in his late teens! To be truthful, he did not bear it well, as his life thereafter displayed. But I won't delve into that....especially with the maudlin "Do They Know It's Christmas Time?" playing right now on the radio! I'd never stop!

Thank you Garnet, I apologise for my ommision, there is a reason for it. At that time the commonwealth forces were all soldiers of the King and were generally thought of as part of THE family. Their home countries though many miles away were as but next door. They were our brothers. This was before the crazy government decided to unite with the very nations that were trying to conquer us. Now we have the ridiculous situation where"our brothers" have to get visas to come to the 'home country, while all the Europeans can freely walk in, work and live there.
I am in favour of making new friends but not at the expense of ditching your long time, proven ones.
Back to my apology. Yes there were many from all parts of the commonwealth that stood shoulder to shoulder with us, sometimes in direct contradiction of there own goverments wishes.I would also like to add, many from the occupied lands risked everything to join us in our struggle.Although not much official recognition was given, I can assure everyone, the people on the streets were appreciative, perhaps illustrated by the vast numbers that went home with English brides.

Hmm!!! Think we may have found a hot button here and a chance to learn, So I will start a new thread.

Paul wrote:However - I would rather things got up my nose in a nice warm country with cheep beer and gorgeous women - so I guess I will stay a little longer

Glad to hear it

just the driving, will never get used to it. sadly, i'm starting to fit in, yikes. the kid has a whole new english vocabulary she can't use. little sponges, they absorb everything. daddy, can i say that, no.