Becoming British

Last Tuesday I turned up at my local town hall for the Citizenship ceremony that officially conferred British citizenship upon me. I'd applied before the need to sit a test on life in the UK, for which I am grateful. The ceremony is now though an essential and compulsory part of the process. Having applied in Ocotber last year I received my letter saying I'd been accepted in February and this was my first opportunity to get the certificate and officially take up citizenship. I felt a bit odd about it as I'm retaining my original citizenship and aside form being able to get a passport making travel in Europe slightly easier it makes little difference to my life. And I'm not big on ceremonies at the best of times.
The ceremony itself was a very British occasion - including a obligatory waiting experience, though no queues. Due to the upcoming local elections we missed out on having a local councillor present the certificates and shake our hands, but a commercial photographer was present and the registrar dutifully posed and smiled for each group. We also missed out on singing the national anthem (well the first verse only) as the CD with the music was missing. The cermony mixed the formal requirements of the occasion with an informality of approach that was essentially understated, not taking itself too seriously, but also respectful of the individuals and families in attendence.