I have changed my mind - the EU is growing on me.

[Britannist]

I don't consider 'england' to be a country anyway, are Prussia and Bavaria on the EU map?

England deserves a capital E (i.e. quote above) - you have managed to give capital letters to Prussia and Bavaria I notice.

England is a country within the nation state that is the UK.

The names of Wales and Scotland are on the EU map - why not England which has a population at least six times larger than the two combined?

[TashkentFox]

England deserves a capital E (i.e. quote above) - you have managed to give capital letters to Prussia and Bavaria I notice.

England is a country within the nation state that is the UK.

The names of Wales and Scotland are on the EU map - why not England which has a population at least six times larger than the two combined?

Because those are defineable geographic entities, england isn't, it's just the other bits of Britain that in days of yore were named after a group of Germans who invaded it.

[Alan Wood]

Search on Mary Ellen Synon, the Irish-American lady in Brussels for the latest EU chicanery.

"COSI creep: or how the EU Home Office will reach into every part of your life."

Mon, 22 Nov 2010
In my investigation for this week's Mail on Sunday about the shocking powers of prosecution the EU now has over all of us -- you can read it in yesterday's blog post -- I could only include a brief warning...


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Tyrannical & undemocratic sums up the EU nicely.

[Britannist]

Because those are defineable geographic entities, england isn't.....

Of course England is a definable geographical entity - we are one of the oldest countries in the world and our boundaries have been on the map longer than most other lands. Just look at the map of europe at the start of the last century to see how the european continental map has changed since then while ours have remained the same.

[TashkentFox]

Of course England is a definable geographical entity - we are one of the oldest countries in the world and our boundaries have been on the map longer than most other lands. Just look at the map of europe at the start of the last century to see how the european continental map has changed since then while ours have remained the same.

If you looked at Great Britain from space you can tell where Wales roughly is, but england is defined soley a few invisible lines that have meant nothing for over three centuries. I am of the opinion that england was never anything more than a state created by an invading foreign power in an attempt to secure their hegemony over our ancestors and keep them divided. Britain is a much older country, with roots stretching back to before the Greeks and Romans.

[Britannist]

If you looked at Great Britain from space you can tell where Wales roughly is, but england is defined soley a few invisible lines that have meant nothing for over three centuries.

How about giving England a capital letter when you name her like you do with Wales? Do you keep spelling England here without a capital E deliberately? You do not seem to have missed out capital letters when naming other lands.

Wales (which you mention in the quote above) looks beautiful - and I always enjoy seeing Wales on the map. Wales is world-famous not just for its attractive shape on maps but because of her Christianity, history, culture, music, scenery, industrial heritage and sporting successes.

Countries are not defined only by what they look like on the map. Landlocked Switzerland is an ancient sovereign land which might not stand out entirely in a satellite photograph of europe but Switzerland's borders, history and culture are well-known.

England is a remarkable country covering much of the southern half of the island of Great Britain. The whole world knows that the island of Great Britain includes England and a large part of England is coastal - a clearly defined border for all to see.

TashkentFox wrote: Britain is a much older country, with roots stretching back to before the Greeks and Romans.

England and the subsequent English Union with Wales are older than the country of Britain (i.e. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

The roots you refer to (in the quote above) relate to England as well as to the Scottish and Welsh parts of the island of Great Britain.

[TashkentFox]

I'm afraid I have to disagree, when the Romans were around they only ever spoke of 'the Britons', never the 'english' or the 'Welsh', pray tell me what you think that is? Surely it can't be because Britain is an ancient nation with a proud heritage and england is a non-entity created by a group of invading barbarians, can it?

[Eureka]

I'm afraid I have to disagree, when the Romans were around they only ever spoke of 'the Britons', never the 'english' or the 'Welsh', pray tell me what you think that is? Surely it can't be because Britain is an ancient nation with a proud heritage and england is a non-entity created by a group of invading barbarians, can it?

Your insistence on spelling England with a lower case 'e' is petty and the suggestion that it is not clearly delineated geographically when viewed from space is frankly ridiculous.

I notice you ask whether Prussia and Bavaria are on an EU map. I see that you honour them with capital letters. Whatever lies behind your strange obsession with 'invading barbarians' is a mystery to me but denying the very existence of a country, even as a geographical description, seems to be utter lunacy.

[TashkentFox]

Your insistence on spelling England with a lower case 'e' is petty and the suggestion that it is not clearly delineated geographically when viewed from space is frankly ridiculous.

I notice you ask whether Prussia and Bavaria are on an EU map. I see that you honour them with capital letters. Whatever lies behind your strange obsession with 'invading barbarians' is a mystery to me but denying the very existence of a country, even as a geographical description, seems to be utter lunacy.

All I am saying is that a Mediaeval state created to secure the power of a bunch of foreign overlords ceased to exist in 1707, that's not so controversial is it? I don't know why my beliefs are so shocking to you all, if some Muslims renamed part of Britain "New Afghanistan" would you get rid of the name and all other aspects of it's existance after those of an Islamic persuasion had been sent home? Or would you simply accept and even embrace the name and consider yourself a "New Afghan"?

[Eureka]

All I am saying is that a Mediaeval state created to secure the power of a bunch of foreign overlords ceased to exist in 1707, that's not so controversial is it? I don't know why my beliefs are so shocking to you all, if some Muslims renamed part of Britain "New Afghanistan" would you get rid of the name and all other aspects of it's existance after those of an Islamic persuasion had been sent home? Or would you simply accept and even embrace the name and consider yourself a "New Afghan"?

I'm not sure the analogy works. When were the English ever 'sent home' (away from Britain)? All that happened was that we entered into a political union. In any case, the 'invading barbarians' came to this island over 1000 years ago and I'm not sure we can so easily separate the invaders from the invaded, still less say where they should be sent. If we applied this principle more widely the entire population of Europe would be on the move.