ENGLISH CONQUEST: How the English still rule the world

Virgin Money London Marathon
Athletics - Virgin Money London Marathon - London - 26/4/15 Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge poses with his trophy after winning the Men's Elite race Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett Livepic

They exported civilisation and Christianity to Africa. Their language is the globe’s lingua Franca. The English colonised the world and are still ruling swathes of the globe from Down Under to some parts of Caribbean islands to-date.

They invented television sponsorship of football and took it to stratospheric levels. Football is now a major economic driver, nay an industry, all over the world, thanks to television sponsorship.

Sunday was a special day for the English, especially for sports lovers.
The whole world tuned in to the British capital from morning to evening. Virgin Money London Marathon started the day and was again watched by a huge audience.

Later in the day, English Premier League matches between Everton and Manchester United took viewers to Goodison Park and later when Arsenal hosted Champions-in-waiting Chelsea at the Emirates, some of the biggest and loudest football fans ever seen in social joints all over the world tuned in to watch London city. That is the English for you. The global attention was on London.

The London Marathon was bound to be dominated by Kenyan athletes more than any other, given the elite field picked by Dave Bedford. But I could not help marvelling at how culturally the English have colonised the world.

My 11-year-old son, Patrick Phillip, could not agree more. Despite not having been to London, the young lad wondered how clean and beautiful the city is. That is a young mind already ‘colonised’ by the English public relations and marketing stunt. The English know their stuff.

Victory for Eliud Kipchoge in the men’s race, followed by last year’s winner Wilson Kipsang, world record holder Dennis Kimetto and Stanley Biwott was vintage Kenyans. It could have gone the other way. And so was second place by Mary Keitany in the women’s race, won by Ethiopia’s Tigist Tufa. The results did not distract my attention.

 

CATCH ACTION

Social joints all over Nairobi’s Eastlands and leafy surburbs, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret were packed from 9.30am. In Eldoret, where athletics is a way of life, social places were predictably packed. The faithful stepped out of their churches and sought the nearest places they could catch the action.

It is estimated the marathon is watched by 100 million viewers. What a clever way to showcase a city’s features. Wide clean tree-clustered streets bedecked with the Union Jack hanging conspicuously throughout the 26.2 mile route, London showed the world why it is one of the most popular cities.

From the starting point around Blackheath, south of the River Thames, the race wound past various iconic and landmarks like the river, Thames, Big Ben, London Eye, the Tower Bridge, Canary Whaff, the Buckingham Palace to the finish at The Mall.

Panoramic views of the city project breathtaking aesthetic beauty. With some 38,262 starters yesterday, London Marathon combines one of the world’s most popular marathon for fun runners and one of the fiercest competitive events.

Throughout the route, companies like Holiday Inn, Abbott, Paddy Power, Fisherman’s Inn, Charity Shop, Tree House, among others get massive publicity for television viewers.