What is the United Kingdom?

mikewebs

Hi there

am fed up with businesses, companies etc saying they are going to 'do a tour of the United Kingdom' and then fail to cross the Severn Bridge into Wales! Isn't wales part of the UK? I know Scotland also gets this treatment and as for Northern ireland - they don't even get things near to them! It's about time the United Kingdom was treated as a UNITED Kingodm and not England alone!

Here endeth the Rant!

Poppycat

Georgie you forgot York thats often full of US too. But I do take both points

mikewebs

When I was in LA a few years ago I was talking to someone who informed me that Wales was a large town in England! I soon put him right!

ilovegreatdanes

i always wondered about fairness when i learnt that wales get free prescriptions and england still has to pay for theirs.if its the united kingdom,everything should be the same for everywhere in it, or total develusion(sp).....

Poppycat

Oh so you are from Wales, Do you no Mrs Jones from Cardiff?

mikewebs wrote: »

When I was in LA a few years ago I was talking to someone who informed me that Wales was a large town in England! I soon put him right!

superscaper

Georgie_Porgy wrote: »

I love it when you tell an American you're from the UK and they say "Oh I know a Fred Bloggs who lives in London, do you know him?".

Bless 'em.

Although once when on holiday a guy started chatting to us in Hollywood on another table in a cafe because he'd heard most of us had English accents, and asked where we were from and we kept being more specific as he kept asking whereabouts and he actually knew "Thornton Cleveleys" our hometown which is probably more than most Brits. Gave us quite a shock, turned out he'd done some project work in Blackpool. But at least it gives hope that at least some Americans have a broader geographical view of the UK.

superscaper

Georgie_Porgy wrote: »

I love it when you tell an American you're from the UK and they say "Oh I know a Fred Bloggs who lives in London, do you know him?".

Bless 'em.

Also had this too, first time ever went to America, the hotel receptionist said they have some other guests "from England, maybe you know them!".

marleyboy

When I was in Florida, I asked an American to describe his perception of England, he quoted as follows "You have a Big city called London, and the rest is all countryside, with quaint little cottages". I had to tell him he was close

Fruitcake

This might help.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/geography/unionjack.html

Produced by a bunch of junior school kids, so it might be too advanced for "The Jonathans"

I try and educate them everytime I visit the USA, espescially about their own(brief) history. Comment from one lady after I told her that the war of independance was actually a British civil war and the homeland forces only lost because we sent the A Team to the Windies, and the French bailed out the colonials. "Typical Brit, you think you know everything about our country."
"Well," I replied, "we did use to own it."

But yes, even as an Englishman I am also proud to be British and part of the United Kingdom. Domestic ignorance of how the UK is made up is worse than a foregners misconception of it in my opinion.

Fruitcake

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

moonrakerz

Fruitcake wrote: »

This might help.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/geography/unionjack.html

Shame they got (wrong) info from Microsoft !

The "proper" name is the Union Flag, although Union Jack is commonly (mis)used.

The Union Jack is flown from the Jack Staff of a ship (hence Union Jack) NOT the bowsprit ! The bowsprit is a spar extending forward from the stem (bow) of a ship to which the stays of the foremast were attached.

Sorry to be pedantic !

Mark7799

mikewebs wrote: »

When I was in LA a few years ago I was talking to someone who informed me that Wales was a large town in England! I soon put him right!

I used to explain by saying I came from the same town as Tom Jones:D