When are you British?

[Globalti]

I've met plenty of British expats and in my experience most of them are nostalgic for some vague idea of Britishness and sometimes quite rude about their host country. In fact I've also met a few expats living in Britain and found them often damming about Britain. I used to have a Geordie colleague who hated NW England and I'm inclined to agree with him that people here are dour, as I wrote upthread. So complaining about your host country or place is nothing new.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Well if Britishness is based on tests like the one the government sets then I'm definitely not British.
I've sat two of these practice tests and failed. Best I could do was 17/24 or 70%.

Give it a try and post your score, especially if you identify as British primarily.

https://lifeintheuktests.co.uk/life-in-the-uk-test/

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Notwithstanding the farcical opening gambit of the OP, threads like this make me sad as they develop.

I'm uncomfortable with this now increasingly common, vehement rejection of being part of something that bit bigger and more diverse - A hatred of anything starting to resemble a group, or a coalition of smaller tribes, a family of peoples with lots in common, or, a union, if you will. It occurs to me that this small country / county mentality must surely be out of place in the modern world where we're all travelling more, where we're increasingly working with foreign people, naturally starting to increase our understanding and acceptance of "foreign" cultures. It's all a bit last century, a bit "he's not from round these parts". I love and value the different cultures of the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh, and I love going there and working there, but somehow it's becoming the norm to reject and hate your nearest neighbours? It's odd. We're becoming more insular, more blindly patriotic to a small country, some even blindly (and for no good reason) patriotic to a county for goodness sakes.

Like Julia, I'm also a bit uncomfortable with this notion that where you're from is something to be gleefully and blindly proud of, like you achieved that fact by your own toil and endeavour. You happened to be born there. That's all. It doesn't make you brilliant, or better than other people by dint of geographic location of where your Mother happened to be when you came into the world.

I'm from the UK, I'm British, and I'm alright with that. (I'd like to still be European too, but that's for another thread).
For what it's worth I'm English (Manchester) born, but left there at 17 and haven't really stopped moving since. I have Irish parents and families on both sides, I'm married to a Scotswoman, and our daughter was born in London. I'd rather celebrate and enjoy all of that, rather than go around harrumphing that I'm "proud to be Manchester born and bred", for whatever that might mean.

 

[oldwheels]

That's not true with regard to Scotland, where there is a substantial presence of Unionists who are vociferous about their loyalty to the UK and consider themselves British above all else. You'll also find many a pub here flying Union flags every day of the year.

I am going to venture into very dangerous territory here. Is it not possible particularly in West Scotland that this has more to do with religion and allegiance to a particular football club than nationality?

 

[Milkfloat]

Well if Britishness is based on tests like the one the government sets then I'm definitely not British.
I've sat two of these practice tests and failed. Best I could do was 17/24 or 70%.

Give it a try and post your score, especially if you identify as British primarily.

https://lifeintheuktests.co.uk/life-in-the-uk-test/

That is more of a general knowledge test than a Britishness test. This is coming from a mongrel, albeit one who has lived in Britain for most of my life.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I am going to venture into very dangerous territory here. Is it not possible particularly in West Scotland that this has more to do with religion and allegiance to a particular football club than nationality?

That's undoubtedly the bases for it but they are still very much British first.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

That is more of a general knowledge test than a Britishness test. This is coming from a mongrel, albeit one who has lived in Britain for most of my life.

View attachment 504922

Show off!

I'm getting a little better, I'm up to 79% now which appears to be a pass.

 

[Milkfloat]

Show off!

I'm getting a little better, I'm up to 79% now which appears to be a pass.

Now you have your pass I assume you will be allowed to stay in the country (Scotland/England/Britain etc)?

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

I tend to see nationalism as being a substitute for identity with people too young, immature or just "sheltered" from life to have developed their own. We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns after all, each individual but the same.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Now you have your pass I assume you will be allowed to stay in the country (Scotland/England/Britain etc)?

Don't know that I want to with things as they are now. If I had the finances to emigrate then I would.

 

[MontyVeda]

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.

GB stands for Great Britain, that being the largest of the British Isles... all of Ireland is part of the British Isles, so geographically speaking, the Irish are British

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Here's a handy diagram from Brilliant Maps:

"The map above demonstrates the difference between the British Isles, United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England. While the terms are often used interchangeably they actually mean different things.



The British Isles – While this is most common name for the archipelago, it is not used in the Republic of Ireland who instead refer to them as either the British-Irish Isles or simply as “these islands”.

Whatever name you choose, it consists of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles (including: the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man). In total they cover an area of 315,159 km2 (121,684 sq mi) and collectively have a population of just over 67 million people.

• Great Britain:
• Is the larger of the the two main islands in the British Isles accounting for 73% of the land area (229,848 km² km2; 88,744 sq mi) and 90% of the population (60.8 million). It is divided into three countries all of whom are part of the United Kingdom (see below).
  • England The largest country in Great Britain accounting for 57% of the area (130,279 km2; 50,301 sq mi) and 86% of the population (53 million).
  • Scotland The 2nd largest country in Great Britain accounting for 34% of the area (77,933 km2; 30,090 sq mi) and 9% of the population (5.3 million)
  • Wales The smallest country in Great Britain accounting for 9% of the area (20,779 km2; 8,022 sq mi) and 5% of the population (3 million)
• Ireland:
• Is the smaller of the two large islands in the archipelago, accounting for 27% of the land area (84,421 km2; 32,595 sq mi) but just under 10% of the total population (6.4 million). It is divided between the fully independent sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom (see below)
  • Republic of Ireland: Accounts for 83% of the area of Ireland (70,273 km2; 27,133 sq mi) and 72% of the population (4.6 million).
  • Northern Ireland: Accounts for only 17% of the area (14,130 km2; 5,456 sq mi) and 28% of the population (1.8 million) of the island of Ireland.

United Kingdom: The United Kingdom is a fully independent sovereign state made up of the the 3 countries on Great Britain plus Northern Ireland, which is reflected in its full name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Here's a handy diagram from Brilliant Maps:
View attachment 504929

"The map above demonstrates the difference between the British Isles, United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England. While the terms are often used interchangeably they actually mean different things.



The British Isles – While this is most common name for the archipelago, it is not used in the Republic of Ireland who instead refer to them as either the British-Irish Isles or simply as “these islands”.

Whatever name you choose, it consists of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles (including: the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man). In total they cover an area of 315,159 km2 (121,684 sq mi) and collectively have a population of just over 67 million people.

• Great Britain:
• Is the larger of the the two main islands in the British Isles accounting for 73% of the land area (229,848 km² km2; 88,744 sq mi) and 90% of the population (60.8 million). It is divided into three countries all of whom are part of the United Kingdom (see below).
  • England The largest country in Great Britain accounting for 57% of the area (130,279 km2; 50,301 sq mi) and 86% of the population (53 million).
  • Scotland The 2nd largest country in Great Britain accounting for 34% of the area (77,933 km2; 30,090 sq mi) and 9% of the population (5.3 million)
  • Wales The smallest country in Great Britain accounting for 9% of the area (20,779 km2; 8,022 sq mi) and 5% of the population (3 million)
• Ireland:
• Is the smaller of the two large islands in the archipelago, accounting for 27% of the land area (84,421 km2; 32,595 sq mi) but just under 10% of the total population (6.4 million). It is divided between the fully independent sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom (see below)
  • Republic of Ireland: Accounts for 83% of the area of Ireland (70,273 km2; 27,133 sq mi) and 72% of the population (4.6 million).
  • Northern Ireland: Accounts for only 17% of the area (14,130 km2; 5,456 sq mi) and 28% of the population (1.8 million) of the island of Ireland.

United Kingdom: The United Kingdom is a fully independent sovereign state made up of the the 3 countries on Great Britain plus Northern Ireland, which is reflected in its full name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

That Boris Bridge is going to be huge!!!

 

[Rusty Nails]

I must admit to not understanding this feeling of pride (or shame) in being any nationality or accident of birth. I am proud of how my kids have turned out and would be proud of any rare good achievement/action of my own, but not proud or ashamed over the actions of cousins/uncles etc.

Having said that I am pleased to be Welsh and live in Wales, and can understand why people are pleased to live where they do (except for those in the East Midlands and one or two other areas )

 

[glasgowcyclist]

That Boris Bridge is going to be huge!!!

Aye, based on that map it would be better to build it between N. Ireland and Wales. Hopefully someone can show it to Boris and he'll fall for it.