Celebrations
 

Can anyone tell me what, if any, celebrations are planned for the 300th anniversary of the Union of England and Scotland?

this has gotta be a loaded question - you may be launching another war between Scottish and English Fodorites -with Scots saying i think that there is nothing to celebrate about this union. They certainly won't be celebrating in Scotland, except perhaps at Balmoral.

The election of a Scottish prime minister

Seriously, I'm not winding anyone up. There must be something.....

The official answer to the question is at http://tinyurl.co.uk/r6sy . It had to be obtained under the Freedon of Information Act, which shows how excited everyone is about it.

There won't be a war on this site. The normal Scottish posters are intelligent people. So they realise that their Act of Union (there was another, too, you know - conspicuously uncelebrated in 2001) turned Scotland from a bankrupt failed state (raping the ruling monarch was one way the nobles asserted authority) to the centre of a spectacular intellectual flowering in a couple of decades.

And it relieved the Scots of what they're hoeless at (ruling themselves), but offered them a huge slug of the world as a place to do what they're global leaders at (telling other people how they ought to be ruled).

That's why repeated elections consistently fail to throw up a majority in Scotland for independence. Scots who're upset at remaining part of the Union are simply bemoaning their own inability to persuade their compatriots to their point of view.

And, of course, engaging in the Scots' favourite pastime. Blaming the English for their own failings.

If flanneruk's bluster doesn't provoke Scots to rebuttal then i cast doubt on the intelligence of Scottish Fodorites that flanner perhaps then falsely attributed to them.

Too bad this OP didn't have a better heading - Celebration of Union of England & Scotland in post would have insured a barrage of Scottish complaints.

A two pound coin? Is that all? Pitiful!
Will this help stop the Americans calling us British? Always grates a bit.."Hey are you British?"
British by birth, English by the Grace of God.

Author: londonengland
Date: 09/26/2006, 10:43 am
The election of a Scottish prime minister>>>>>>>>>>&g t;

Cameron may be a Scottish surname - but Dave is as English as you get. easy mistake to make though.

Or did you mean Ming?

Funny that both prime candidates for Prime Minister- Messrs Reid and Brown -are both Scottish.

Which is why it won't be either of 'em. Alan Johnson's the labour mob's only hope.

<Will this help stop the Americans calling us British? Always grates a bit.."Hey are you British?"
British by birth, English by the Grace of God>

What should i call a resident of Great Britain when i'm not sure if they are Scottish, Welsh or English? Please i'd like to no what is acceptable so as to not affend. I never dreamt calling any resident of Great Britain British was offensive - I mean the Sun Never Sat on the British Empire...or was it in fact on the English Empire, which would include Wales and Scotland as subservient entities that like flanner said about Scotland "turned Scotland from a bankrupt failed state to the centre of a spectacular intellectual flowering in a couple of decades." I assume the Welsh reaped the same benefit of English colonization.

Blair is as Scottish a name as you can get, and he was born in Edinburgh.
Who took over who?

What English colonisation?

It was a bloody Scots king who took over the English throne. And the instant the English bailed the Scots out from the catastrophe of their failed attempt at building an empire, it was the Scots who all went flooding to England. They've been colonising the English ever since.

Wales was never a state, so we've no idea whether it'd have been a failed one or not. It's always been more a state of mind, which is why they get so narky about their language.

In what flanner will certainly say is an indictment of American education, wasn't the Scottish royals who took over England really French - wasn't Mary Queen of Scots French and even Queen of France at one time. This is why they have croissant-like pastries in Scotland, right?

<What should i call a resident of Great Britain when i'm not sure if they are Scottish, Welsh or English?>

Ask.

Being called British, just sounds odd, a "British accent" is a meaningless phrase, "British English" slightly less so.

james VI/I depending on your counting system was Scottish.

Scotland had links to France - The Auld Alliance - and there were also cultural links. But he was definately a sweaty. As was the present Queen's mum. (and my mum is one too - they're everywhere).

And no-one wil get offended if you call us British. What gets up the noses of the little bits of Britain is when English and British are used as synonyms.

a est f -
well that makes sense. We do refer to collective residents of Great Britain as Brits because talking in general about Great Britain we'd never say English, which, on the other hand, many Americans use - "I'm going to England" when they are going to Scotland as well - it's all England to many. When i land in London i'm landing in England but to me i'm landing in Great Britain. But i see the validity of not saying a British accent as they are many variants of a British accent.

Now to important questions - do you have English muffins in Britain? English muffins are a favorite breakfast food here.

We have muffins. Which are a bread thing.

And we have American muffins which are like little cakes.

And we have all sorts of crumpet.

<Cameron may be a Scottish surname - but Dave is as English as you get. easy mistake to make though.>

Surely, David is a Welsh name

<wasn't Mary Queen of Scots French and even Queen of France at one time.>

Her mum was French, but she was a Scot. She was married to the King of France briefly, but he snuffed it, so she had to go home.

<What gets up the noses of the little bits of Britain is when English and British are used as synonyms.>

Well put.

<When i land in London i'm landing in England but to me i'm landing in Great Britain>

Great Britain doesn't sound right again. The UK would be more apt. Great Britain is the big island, the "United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern island" is what the country is.

When I go home I go to England or the UK.

< do you have English muffins in Britain?>

In England or in the UK, your English muffins are our American muffins. English English muffins are totally different.

As Audere points out we have crumpets, pikelets as well as scones (the pronounciation of which could spark a whole new debate...Skownes or skonns).

Surely, David is a Welsh name>>>>>>

Hebrew innit. Means "beloved" I have a mug with that written on. You can't get a better cite than a mug.

In any case, Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish, English, Manxists - i sincerely love them all - i'm always excited to be in the United Kingdom and just love everything British (i have to use British because UKish just doesn't work!) That there are things i find cool about Cool Britannia (T Blair's words i think) there are of course things that seem odd and v.v. with Brits when they come to American - Brits always say i'm going to America it seems when it's really the U.S. or States as America of course includes Canada - if going to both i guess you could say America.

Anyway when push come to shove we are all loving brothers and sisters it seems - politics aside! Most Americans i know have a very positive attitude toward the U.K. and UKites.

""United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern island" is what the country is."

Actually, it's "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" - check your passport (if you're British).

If N.Ireland chose independance or ceding back to Eire, then we'd be the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain" (United Kingdom relating to the united crowns of Scotland and England - sadly Wales, as a mere principality, doesn't get a mention).

"Surely, David is a Welsh name>>>>>>

Hebrew innit. Means "beloved" I have a mug with that written on. You can't get a better cite than a mug."

Dammit, you win. Teach me to be an atheist.

The Isle of Man isn't part of the United Kingdom.

The Isle of Man isn't part of the 21st Century.

"Actually, it's "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" - check your passport (if you're British)"

I stand corrected, made me sweat for a bit tho, couldn't find my passport.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Northern Irish went their own way?

Please, Waring, don't start that argument, or we'll be warring. [sorry, I never could resist a pun]. i always thought that it was being called "english" which [understandably] enraged the scots and welsh, not being called british. Here in cornwall [which considers itself a place apart] we are not terribly excited about this anniversary; in fact I'd not heard about it at all.
Old cornish protest chant:
What do we want?
Independence for cornwall.
When do we want it?
Dreckly!

Again my education level may be cast into repute by flanner types but isn't the majority of Northern Ireland residents Catholic and Irish and thus in a democratic vote may vote to break away from the U.K.

Has there been such a vote? If not why not? It's the democratic way - i never could figure out why Northern Ireland wasn't a part of Ireland as it historically was before sheep came to the highlands of Scotland and other places and the rich English landowners kicked the now redundant peasants out and shuttled them over to Northern Ireland, where they became the Protestant minority ruling over the Catholic majority?

My family claims that part of their ancestory is "Shanty Irish" - Scots who were removed like this, were sent packing and and shantied to Northern Ireland (and then shipped off to Canada).
Maybe i'm wrong and the Protestants are in the majority and democracy rules in Northern Eire. (Forget the arrests of terrorists there without charges, evidence, etc. Guantanamo-like in past years and direct rule from London.)

Bob - There is democracy of a sort in N Ireland - but it keeps falling over as one side won't play ball with another.

As for the history - I'm not going there.

It is the last place in the world where you'll see a bowler hat worn though.

They are all Irish in my book, the Irish fighting the Irish. The protestants are in fact in the majority.

There has indeed been votes, with the result they remain British, inspite of all attempts to introduce self rule there. The only Parliament in history to vote itself out of existance.

It's no slur on any North American's education if they're a bit vague about the demographics of Ulster or the famiy tree of monarchs who ruled over states that no longer exist 450 years ago.

It IS a slur on all sorts of things if they then act, produce crappy blockbuster films or support terrorist groups based on that ignorance. Or make ridiculous comparisons between The Maze and Guantanamo.

Now Ulster demographics.

The majority of the population of Northern Ireland is Protestant. And has been rather longer than white people have ruled New York. Since Northern Ireland has an excellent educational system, a disproportionately high number of Northern Irish Catholics go to university. So the much-forecast Catholic outbreeding hasn't happened: the Catholic lasses are actually producing fewer Eamonns and Nualas than the (now less well-educated) Prods are producing little Billies.

Given my own background, I deserve great praise for having avoided calling them little Willies.

So Northern Ireland will remain majority Prod unless and until there's a wave of Polish immigrants. Incidentally, there's no poll evidence at all that a majority of Northern Irish Catholics wouold support joining the South.

Had it ever been the case that the North were majority Catholic and pro-unification, we'd have been spared the past few decades. Britain would have called a referendum within two nanoseconds of knowing for certain we could get rid of the place. And 99.9% of the mainland population would have put the flags out the moment we knew it'd gone.

And one argument for Scottish independence would be that England could insist on their taking Northern Ireland with them, since the core division is between Scots and Irish..

Having lit the blue touchpaper, I shall now retire.

How bout unlilateral independence for the Northern Ireland and make them take Scotland with them! Call it the Celtic Union - Wales can join if they want and then the words British and English will really be synonyms.

The only thing the Prods and Papes agree on in Northern Ireland - except the usual list of anti-English bigotries all the minor provinces share - is that they don't want independence.

Ah flanner - a slight of language perhaps - of course the Papes, presumably Irish Catholics, don't want independence, they want reintergration into Eire.