Originally Posted by
Keyser Soze
As always, when someone dies, the eulogising goes overboard.
But that "poetry" below shouldn't be lauded as "brilliant" for the simple reason that the opening line has an obvious error. The Silures WERE Celts. The Picts were not Celts so yes they should be treated as a separate category. It cannot be "great" if the opening line is incorrect.
The rest of it is just flakey guff, trying to redefine Britishness. If you were white British living in Iran you would not be "Iranian". This is just simple logic. An Ethiopian living here isn't "British". He is an Ethiopian with a British passport - a citizen. Being precise and accurate is a de facto requirements of greatness, and being consistent at it. Someone may personally like it, but it is not "great".
My opinion is that he was a decent guy, of decent values, and had a good general talent in several areas. He made the best of little opportunity which shows depth of character. He could also show native white British guys the values of getting off your arse and applying yourselves to hard work, something many lazy Lefties could learn from in this country.
So for me, not a "great". Good, but not great. Morgan Freedman would be an example of a "great" for me, but not this chap.