Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/12/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Larry, Hmmm. You left out the Irish in your comparison. -- John On 12/16/05, lrzeitlin@optonline.net <lrzeitlin@optonline.net> wrote: > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: lug-request@leica-users.org > Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:29 am > Subject: LUG Digest, Vol 31, Issue 43 > > Peter writes: > > <<The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland; > each > of which except for Northern Ireland, which has the status of "province", > is > legally a country in its own right and I am not going to discuss further > here. > For example Scotland has its own legal system and currency (same names > different > notes etc; very different laws in some areas). Under conquest and the > various > Acts of Union etc, all surrendered their powers to Westminster. Lately the > constituents have been granted limited autonomy, which has been seized upon > by > both Welsh and Scots, causing conflict with Westminster. In addition > various > other constituents such as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have > their > own legal and tax systems which interact with the Enflish system in various > ways. Berwick-upon-Tweed is a complete > ly different case with until recently a > seperate standing under international treaty and has only recently made its > peace with Russia after the Crimean War.>> > > > As a recently repatriated former long term resident of the UK I found it > hard to underestimate the mutual antipathy between the English Anglo-Saxons > and the Celtic Welsh, Scots, and Irish. To a foreigner, all Brits seem > alike, but that's not the way they see it. The English regard the Scots as > clannish dour folk, living in a cold forbidding country, who spend all > their > time fighting, drinking, doing sports that involve throwing heavy objects, > and inventing practical things like steam engines, television, and > penicillin. Whatever language they speak, it certainly isn't English. > > The Scots view the English as lazy wimps who cheated their way to the > Scottish throne and are incapable of running their own country. They regard > helping the English manage their affairs as a form of missionary outreach > work. Scots point to > the fact that if the British Cabinet were not 2/3 Scottish, England would > slip slowly into the sea. > > The Welsh are almost beneath notice by the English who believe that > singing > coal miners and drunken poets are the only good things to come out of Wales > in centuries. The Welsh reciprocate by regarding the English as jackbooted > thugs who delight in oppressing hardworking poor folk and appropriating > miner's pension funds for London based welfare grifters. To add injury to > insult, the English dominated supermarket chains import New Zealand lamb > and > mutton when the hills are alive with the sound of wooly Welsh sheep. > > So refer to a Scot or a Welshman as an Englishman at your own peril. > > Larry Z > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >