When are you British?

[snorri]

The Scottish and Welsh, however, used to go and actually buy the shirts of whatever team England were playing.

I think the behaviour you describe was a reaction to the London based main stream media who so often reported things in a manner that suggested the English team was the sole representative of the UK, even when other UK nations were in the competition. The English team was often referred to as "we" in broadcasts to the whole of the UK, and in the pre-match chat build up prominence was given to the likely performance of the English team rather than a fair coverage of each of the competing nations.
Little wonder the non-English viewers/listeners reacted a bit perversely in your experience.
Whilst passing through Belgium on a cycle tour a few years ago I was invited on board one of HM Ships. After a beer or two the tv was put on to watch a Scotland v England football match. I had already realised there were representatives of several home nations in the cabin and wondered what the viewer reaction was going to be like. It all turned out to be surprisingly amicable.

 

[PeteXXX]

Andy Murray was British when he was winning and Scottish when he'd lost..

 

[andabby]

When I joined up a year or so ago I was Brit/Scot, I always write that on anything i have to give nationality too

 

[welsh dragon]

I am a bit of a Heinz variety. No English blood in me at all.

 

[Venod]

If I am abroad I will tell people I am English, if in Scotland, Wales and even Ireland I tell people I am from Yorkshire.
For some reason that escapes me, the wife and I have been mistaken for being Swedish on more than one occasion.

 

[matiz]

My grandad was Irish my grandmother and mother both Welsh my dad English I was born in the Midlands so I'm English.

 

[classic33]

The Scots don’t have any chips on their shoulders as they eat them as soon as they notice

Unless the seagulls get them first!

 

[Slick]

Unless the seagulls get them first!

Pretty skinny seagulls round here.

 

[robjh]

Errrm; don't let the Irish hear you calling them British ; they aren't!

Have you met any NI unionists?

 

[GM]

According to my resent DNA test I'm..

Glad I'm a bit European!

 

[Slick]

Have you met any NI unionists?

One in particular springs to mind for me that gave me what for the first and only time I made that mistake.

 

[Brandane]

Have you met any NI unionists?

I might be mistaken but I thought the Northern Irish were part of the UK, but not GB.. Hence United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland. So by that definition, Northern Irish are not British.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I’m British on a Thursday....

 

[Slick]

I might be mistaken but I thought the Northern Irish were part of the UK, but not GB.. Hence United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland. So by that definition, Northern Irish are not British.

Your probably right but that's not how some see it. It was my mates wife who jumped down my throat to tell me she was British and not Irish. Probably a bit of a can of worms.

 

[Ian H]

London-born Lancastrian living in Devon, with an admixture of Spanish and Irish. Allergic to all forms of patriotism, nationalism, anthems and flags. But I do have a British passport.