Are you proud to be British ?

That's a relief Papa I admit for a moment there you had me worried.

Fear not, Aka, I'm not worried at all! At my time of life there is no point. I just wonder about how nationalism is defined and what factors contribute to it. The old 'British is best' attitude just because it is British is long outdated. I think the more that ordinary people can communicate with each other the better and am sure that modern technology (starting with the invention of the transistor) and the spread of universal languages have made that possible, though not necessarily linked to nationalism.

Why is Salmond so sure that Scotland will retain the £ when everyone is saying that they can't?
That seems weird to me!

There, there PapaOscar just sit down quietly and enjoy your Shrek films. Don't worry your pretty little head about those Nasty Nationalists upsetting the status quo.

Present-day Edinburgh was the location of Din Eidyn, a dun or hillfort associated with the kingdom of the Gododdin.

The claim that Edinburgh's name is derived from an Old English form such as Edwinesburh (Edwin's fort), in reference to Edwin, king of Deira and Bernicia in the 7th century is now refuted by modern scholars as the form Eidyn predates Edwin. Stuart Harris in his book The Place Names of Edinburgh declares the "Edwinesburh" form to be a "palpable fake" dating from David I's time.

There was a very good Radio 4 programme today about defining nationalism. Worth listening to if you can. The Scottish referendum came up. I wasn't aware that in the old days Scotland referred to Ireland and that what we call Scotland now was called Alba by the Romans as it had no name. The view of the programme was that nationalism as such is often an invented and transitory state based upon massaged versions of claimed history adapted to suit more modern requirements. Don't know if I agree with that but it reminded me of the Shrek films, which whilst they are good fun, mix up many countries histories to reinforce national stereotypes. Why does Shrek have a Scottish accent for example, The Lord of the Manor a posh English one, and Robin Hood French? I think we need to know!

Scotland's capital city even has an "English" name: Edwin's Burgh.

Three hundred years is a long time. I think that a wish for Scottish or Welsh or English independence, given how closely linked those countries are, politically, socially, historically and geographically, even ethnically in large part, is weird. Others are, of course, entitled to have a different opinion and to express it. And they do.

Therefore there isn't a problem. Just a discussion.

As a confirmed Scottish Nationalist for over 50 years I have been asking this question for a long time without ever receiving a reasonable answer, so without wishing to cause any strife, hoping for an answer that I can understand, here goes again.

Why is being British (a political construct which has existed for only 300 years) and wanting to protect our borders, rule ourselves, stand on our own two feet have our own currency and not be dictated to by any other country = normal, natural, something to be proud of, whereas being Scottish (a nationality which has existed for nearly 1000 years) and wanting to protect borders, rule ourselves, stand on our own two feet, control our resources, set our own priorities, protect our education, welfare and health services and not be dictated to by any other country = bad, extremist, selfish, foolish, (even weird)?

Perhaps we should have a history forum!

Indeed Rose and others, the Auld Alliance is the earlier. And this is why the French are generally more friendly to the Scots than to the English.

Corrected Anno. Perhaps my truncated version was just too truncated! Serves me right for using shorthand and attempting historical shortcuts!

The Auld Alliance pre-dates the Entente Cordiale by almost 700 years. The Entente Codiale was signed in 1904 and the Auld Alliance was periodically renewed from 1295 onwards.

Rose France's historic animosity towards England doesn't include Scotland. The Entente Cordiale goes away back. Bear in mind that Mary Queen of Scots was brought up in France and her first husband was the Dauphin. When Mary and Elizabeth 1 were at loggerheads, the French ( Catholics) supported her against the (Protestant) English. Later they backed (unsuccessfully) Bonnie Prince Charlie. It is a fact that if French people mistake a Scot for an Englishman or woman, they apologise profusely!

Yes bags just like the rugby and the football. Bit batty really but there you go.

I'm sure that there were Scots, Welsh and Irish as well as English on board RN ships during WW2, so claiming to be Scots would not help I would have thought! Surprising!

I was once spat at by an old French man in Brittany for no other reason than the fact that I was 'Anglaise'.
DH explained to me about the scuttling of the French Fleet to stop it getting into German hands, and said the old man was probably a member of the French Navy at that time.

You need to say that (or think it anyway) with a Scottish rolling r or it doesn't work.

As for belonging to a particular part of the UK... I don't feel I belong to any particular part. I never have. I just feel Britain is where I belong. I guess that excludes Norn Iron (as a lovely Scottish weather man always calls it).

Mmm, that is a bit weird, anno. I guess I hadn't been paying attention to Commonwealth Games until they came within spitting distance, so to speak, so I hadn't noticed that weirdness.

I'm reading Life After Life. I bought it for the Kindle but have had to get the paperback because the Kindle makes it very difficult to go back and check what has happened on the same date in a different life. I have to finish it for the book group on Wednesday.
All the four home countries plus the individual Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have always had their own teams in the Commonwealth Games which is something of an anomaly as they are not individual members of the Commonwealth.

Yes, read that * Elegran* and after the initial confusion, enjoyed the ever changing options.

jess, will there be teams representing each of the countries of the UK at the Commonwealth Games? I didn't know that.

MrB bought some tickets for various things for us to go and watch. That's great except he has lost them . Weird or what?

If I said that I think nationalists were weirdos then I apologise. What I meant and should have said is that I think nationalism is weird. But annieb should have understood that I was not being insulting when I said that my husband is a bit weird sometimes and so, no doubt, am I. Neither of us are nationalists of any kind. Playing the wounded card over a bit of flippancy... well, never mind.

Just to be absolutely clear, I think a lot of things and a lot of people are weird. I like weirdness. Makes life interesting.

Have you read "Life after Life" ?

That's a challenging question Aka. The thought of killing babies makes our blood run cold. But -I wonder if there was a point in history when taking Hitler out would have been less worse than the events that led to, and during WW2. There was the odd hint wasn't there, that this individual was not an asset as the leader of a country.