Absolutely - I think it’s a very British thing to strive through adversity. I think there is a cultual propensity/protestant work ethic which breeds the “no pain no gain” attitude we have. I think we expect cheap things to be crap and expensive things to be excellent, that we are often bemused by things being easy and expect good things to be hard.
I also think Seb is right about racing. There isnt enough financial support at the grass roots level. My other half and I are desperately trying to help change this, along with the club we race with. We are very positive for the future.
At the same time, I think we are at a cultural plateau in relation to how we run things here. For too long, there has been a fatcat vs pauper disparity in this country and I feel that it is no longer sustainable, indicated by the backlash in relation to the current banking crisis. Only the rich can race, for example. I hope this is going to change. But it takes war to make peace by effecting cultural progression and it seems we may be fighting our own war through the Banking sector.