Britain is the Best Country in the World... but also most boring

An international poll rated the UK the world's best country - but its people the most boring on the globe.

A survey of 25,000 people in 35 countries said that ''brand UK'' was the best. But while UK citizens were considered to be the most polite and best educated, they were also rated the most boring.

The French were seen as the rudest in the world and Americans the most ignorant and ambitious.



The UK's overall number one position came after it was voted first on investment, third on sports and cultural heritage, fourth for having "highly-skilled citizens" and eighth for tourism.

Second in the overall top brand list was Switzerland.

Opinions on the US were divided, with America coming near the top for product brands, popular culture, investment, technology, education and sport, but near the bottom for cultural heritage and governance.

The top 10 nation brands were:

1 UK
2. Switzerland
3 Canada
4 Italy
5 Sweden
6 Germany
7 Japan
8. France
9 Australia
10 United States

Ah... sod it... Money be damned!

I was gonna contest my parking ticket, but honestly, they had me bang to rights and I was parked illegally, even if just a little (I had one wheel overlapping the double yellow line). Liklihood is the traffic warden'd have taken photos as proof, so contesting it is probably just a waste of time. In the end I've just bitten the bullet and paid the damn thing.

I couldn't resist, either, when I saw the BBC adaptation of Bleak House has just come out on DVD. Adapted like the original book in "serial form", the 15 part series showed at the tail end of last year and what episodes I did see rocked my world. So, when I saw the whole nine hour epic was out at just £15, I had to get it. I know, money I don't need to spend when I'm really struggling with my finances until the end of the month at least, but... so good.

Dickens' tale of tragedy, intrigue and love, and stinging satire on the English legal system, was faithfully recreated, closely following the characters involved in the infamous court case of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce. Then there's the ruthless lawyer is determined to find out the truth surrounding the Lady Dedlock's mysterious past. Throw in orphans, a whole cast of eccentrics, murder, baronets, lawyers and clerks, detectives, crooks and soldiers and you have the perfect Dicken's novel.

And I don't think I've ever seen Dickens adapted so well or so thoroughly. Nine hours gives time for a thorough adaptation of the novel and plenty of scope for all the colourful characters to interact. With a cast that includes Charles Dance, Gillian Anderson, the superlative Phil Davies, Hugo Speer, Pauline Collins, Denis Lawson, Timothy West, Ian Richardson, Richard Griffiths, Sheila Hancock, Warren Clarke and the brilliant Alun Armstrong as Inspector Bucket, along with many other British character actors, the pedigree of this one is assured.

If it ever shows outside the UK, be sure to catch it.

With apologies to any Germans...

...but this is just how NAZI Germany started.

Slow computers.