British day

[Idaho]

I'm now enjoying the image of Idaho prancing around in Union Jack boxer shorts scarfing down a chicken tikka cornish pasty and grroving to some Bollywood beats. Though I reckon he knows my tongue was at least partly in cheek.

I can't for the life of me think of a day that could be "British day" as opposed to an English day or a Welsh day or whatever. The 1707 Act of Union would be the only one that made much sense consitutionally, though it would just be an excuse for a load of whinging IMHO. Otherwise, err, the anniversary of universal sufferage? The first album released by the Beatles? Gordo's birthday?

I'll send you the video if you like. I chuck in the x-rated stuff too - when I pull aside those union flag boxers to reveal my good ole british meat and two veg

[English assassin]

is midsummer's day not a significant pagan (actually, make that religious) day?

Now we are getting somewhere ! Lets bring back druids. The day would start with a televised dawn ceremony at Stonehenge, followed by enormous feasts with plenty of beer and magic mushrooms, and a few eccentric events like the cheese rolling they do in Gloucestershire or the finals of an all Britain Cumbrian wrestling contest (caber tossing in Scotland). We would end with dancing round bonfires looking for fairies.

Thanks for the offer of the video Idaho but unless its got the royal arms tattoed on it or you have been boffing Sophie Marceau I don't think there is anything unusually patriotic about your todger, so I'll pass.

[matteus the inbred]

We would end with dancing round bonfires looking for fairies.

can't see John Prescott enjoying that...!
i'm game. just need to grow a big beard and practice building giant wicker men to roast victims in...

[Ja'chyra]

I say make it a day off work, say the 14 th of Feb which coincedentally happens to be my birthday, and make all pubs free bars. There's nothing helps people to mingle quite like getting them rat arsed.

Originally Posted by English assassin
We would end with dancing round bonfires looking for fairies.

Always a possibility with enough alcohol.

[matteus the inbred]

Commonwealth Day (second Monday in March) would be appropriate, but i already get that day off as i work for a Commonwealth Organisation...!

[InsaneApache]

As the suggestion was made by an idiot (GB) let's make it April 1st

[Red Peasant]

As the suggestion was made by an idiot (GB) let's make it April 1st

Aha, GB Day it will be then, that's his game, Gordon Brown Day.

Or, if the americans keep telling us what to do, George Bush Day!

[BDC]

Now we are getting somewhere ! Lets bring back druids. The day would start with a televised dawn ceremony at Stonehenge, followed by enormous feasts with plenty of beer and magic mushrooms, and a few eccentric events like the cheese rolling they do in Gloucestershire or the finals of an all Britain Cumbrian wrestling contest (caber tossing in Scotland). We would end with dancing round bonfires looking for fairies.

Thanks for the offer of the video Idaho but unless its got the royal arms tattoed on it or you have been boffing Sophie Marceau I don't think there is anything unusually patriotic about your todger, so I'll pass.

We could just make it a-level results day. Would need minimal changes then.

[Papewaio]

Thanks for the offer of the video Idaho but unless its got the royal arms tattoed on it or you have been boffing Sophie Marceau I don't think there is anything unusually patriotic about your todger, so I'll pass.

So boffing french maids is being patriotic to Britain or just makes more sense?

[English assassin]

So boffing french maids is being patriotic to Britain or just makes more sense?

It's a patriotic duty m8

[Brenus]

I have a good one: 20th of May, anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln in 1217. The last French King was expelled from England: Lincoln Castle was the site of a battle on 20 May 1217. The clash took place during the first Baron’s war between the forces of the future Louis VIII of France and those of King Henry III of England. Louis' forces were attacked by a relief force under the command of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke. The Comte de la Perche, commanding the French troops, was killed and the defeat led to Louis being expelled from his base in the southeast of England.
The English gave him some monney and his gave back the Crown. Anyway, he had another option.
So after roughly 200 years, the English finally were independant from France.

[GoreBag]

Even though the ruling class was French?

[BDC]

Even though the ruling class was French?

They were Norman, not French. And they ended up thinking of themselves as English anyway.

[Brenus]

“They were Norman, not French. And they ended up thinking of themselves as English anyway.”
That is not valid. If every time you disagree with something about France you say, well, he is not French, is Corsican (Napoleon) or, Alsatian, or Auvergnat, or Gascon, France doesn’t exist as country. France is composed of various counties and even different languages, before the great languages unification of the XIV century.
It is like saying, well, he is not English, he is Londoner…
The Normans were French.
The First English King buried in England and not in France was John Lackland.
And the reason why during the Hundred Years War, the English King was able to claim the Throne of France was because technically, he was French. And without the superb finding of the so-called Salic law, he would have been (no transmission of the throne to female).

[BDC]

That is not valid. If every time you disagree with something about France you say, well, he is not French, is Corsican (Napoleon) or, Alsatian, or Auvergnat, or Gascon, France doesn’t exist as country. France is composed of various counties and even different languages, before the great languages unification of the XIV century.

But at this point they really weren't French. Might as well claim that Bretons were French. They might be nominally under the French crown, but they weren't French.

[Brenus]

“But at this point they really weren't French. Might as well claim that Bretons were French. They might be nominally under the French crown, but they weren't French.”
So, your definition for French at this period was only valid for the Ile de France (Paris).
The Normans were in the French territory longer than Corsica when Napoleon became Emperor of the French.
They spoke French (reason why English is full of French words), the Duke of Normandy (as the Duke of Brittany) had to paid Homage to the French King, they were at least belonging to the Kingdom of France, got their power (in term of Feudalism) from the French King. The same thing is valid for Toulouse, and others fiefs.
It you take as starting point 1066 (Hasting) and the battle of Lincoln (1217), it was more than 150 years of full existence of the Duche in the French Kingdom. How much time more is needed to the Normans to become French?

[matteus the inbred]

I have a good one: 20th of May, anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln in 1217. The last French King was expelled from England: Lincoln Castle was the site of a battle on 20 May 1217. The clash took place during the first Baron’s war between the forces of the future Louis VIII of France and those of King Henry III of England. Louis' forces were attacked by a relief force under the command of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke. The Comte de la Perche, commanding the French troops, was killed and the defeat led to Louis being expelled from his base in the southeast of England.
The English gave him some monney and his gave back the Crown. Anyway, he had another option.
So after roughly 200 years, the English finally were independant from France.

that's very impressive, but even i didn't know much about that, and i have a degree in medieval studies...!
the English ruling class spoke Norman French as a matter of course until as late as the 14th century. the English crown lost Normandy, and therefore its original homeland, in 1204, but definite seperation of the English ruling class from the idea of being as much French as English probably didn't come until Edward III decided to claim both...then it became 'them and us' rather than the combination French/English nobility we'd had until then...

[GoreBag]

But at this point they really weren't French. Might as well claim that Bretons were French. They might be nominally under the French crown, but they weren't French.

They are now, but at that point in time, Brittany was still its own kingdom and its culture was very, very different from every French region.

[Brenus]

Brittany was still its own kingdom”: Brittany was never a kingdom, but a Duche. And it was probably one of the earliest to be attached to the future French Kingdom, by marriage.
As the difference in culture, go in France in Strasbourg, Lyon then in Toulouse or near Nice and you will see that France is a mixture of cultures. That is why there are more than 500 cheeses…

[The_Doctor]

In away aren't we all French.

[InsaneApache]

I'm not.

[The_Doctor]

I'm not.

En Francais.

[Rank Bajin]

Well in my own opinion I have to think the whole idea is a load of nonsense. There are already plenty of days that celebrate British achievements and 'Britishness' - Trafalgar Day, the Queen's Birthday, Bonfire Night etc.

It doesn't need a public holiday, although I rather support one for the 5th of November as it was proclaimed at the time that it should be a holiday forever more...

Anyways, but call me a tad cynical, but does anyone else believe that the true rationale behind Gordon Brown's dribbling such nonsense is to appeal to the electorate South of the Border by making himself seem less Scottish? I suppose he thinks the average joe Middle England voter won't even bother to notice the difference. (A moot point is that recently I have noticed his accent sounds even much softer than his normal broad Scottish burr. Hmmmm.... Suspicious, no?)

It is ironic that it just really seems that New Labour has a hidden agenda when they vehemently voted down the idea of a National day for Scotland, quite recently. They must have known that it would have done damage to Brown's idea of being British.

Brown probably thinks this 'British day' crap is going to appeal to England but it isn't. I have noticed the stock of 'Britishness' has plummetted down there over the past few years.

If he wants to get anywhere he might as put in celebrating an 'English day'. That would really impress the southern electorate much more. Oh, I forgot, Labour doesn't really 'do' Englishness, does it... even 'Jerusalem' was called a 'British' hymn by Brown.

Another thing, in relation to the article above, check out the quote:

"But he said the government had damaged Britishness by steps such as introducing devolution in Scotland."

Ironically, the hypocritical Brown had actually championed devolution for thirty odd years. The numpty had probably never given thought to the idea to the results leading to Devolution, that if Scotland began to feel more Scottish it might as a consequence feel well...less British!

Brown has been doing this for a while:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ht/4347369.stm

And of course it is all part of his (very) long running campaign to be Prime Minister. Of course Brown would much rather be Chancellor of Britain than First Minister, or even Prime Minister, of Scotland.

This is all really about one man's personal ambition. And quite frankly is rather amusing now to watch Gordon Brown desperately try to become accepted as 'British' in order to try and get Blair's job.

[Papewaio]

What you do is have a English Monday, Irish Tuesday,
Scottish Wednesday, Welsh Thursday and a British Friday, all in one week.

[InsaneApache]

I can see I'm going to like you Rank Bajin

[The_Doctor]

making himself seem less Scottish

I didn't know he was Scottish. I knew Blair was.

What you do is have a English Monday, Irish Tuesday,
Scottish Wednesday, Welsh Thursday and a British Friday, all in one week.

Any ideas as to what we would do on every day?

What about weekends?

[Papewaio]

Well a Cricket Test takes 5 days...

Traditional (popular) food, famous battle reinactments... not blue fleet vs red fleet ... positive, forward looking achievements etc

[GoreBag]

Brittany was still its own kingdom”: Brittany was never a kingdom, but a Duche. And it was probably one of the earliest to be attached to the future French Kingdom, by marriage.

Semantics, and Brittany became a part of the French nation-state, in the sense that it was being ruled by the French king, in the 1500's, if I recall. How that can be considered one of the earliest, you'll have to elaborate.

[Duke Malcolm]

Anyways, but call me a tad cynical, but does anyone else believe that the true rationale behind Gordon Brown's dribbling such nonsense is to appeal to the electorate South of the Border by making himself seem less Scottish? I suppose he thinks the average joe Middle England voter won't even bother to notice the difference. (A moot point is that recently I have noticed his accent sounds even much softer than his normal broad Scottish burr. Hmmmm.... Suspicious, no?)

Would it not also be plausible that he is trying to make more Scots support the Union? (Although I agree that he is playing down the fact he is Scottish by saying this, I'm just trying to look on a less shameful-of-background side of things...)

It is ironic that it just really seems that New Labour has a hidden agenda when they vehemently voted down the idea of a National day for Scotland, quite recently. They must have known that it would have done damage to Brown's idea of being British.

I was peeved off when I found I wasn't getting another bank holiday off school... But without a national day for Britain or for St George and St David, then Scotland shouldn't be special. The day would most likely be used by the SNP for Nationalist purposes.

"But he said the government had damaged Britishness by steps such as introducing devolution in Scotland."

Ironically, the hypocritical Brown had actually championed devolution for thirty odd years. The numpty had probably never given thought to the idea to the results leading to Devolution, that if Scotland began to feel more Scottish it might as a consequence feel well...less British!

Ah, I think that might have a hidden meaning. The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown is at odds with the Rt Hon. Jack McConnell and the rest of the Scottish Executive over a variety of things, the latest which appeared in my paper was the Executive's plan to increase the Forth Road Bridge tolls...

[InsaneApache]

and don't even mention the bridge to Skye......